Student-generated question bank

How to do this 

1. Create student groups (recommended 3 in each group)
2. Assign student roles (Question Planner, Answer Designer and Question & Answer Auditor)
3. Create a question-bank template using Quizzes in Microsoft Forms or Blank Quiz in Google Forms
4. Create a copy for each group and allow sharing for collaboration so that all group members can add and edit questions
5. Assign students the content they are going to generate questions about
6. Ask the students to generate, answer and evaluate questions based on their role – this could be before class or after class
7. Rotate the roles over a 3 or 6-week cycle to ensure each student gets equal turns in each role.

Student roles and responsibilities

Question Planner

• Generates the questions while considering the learning objectives of the topic, which makes the learning and teaching goals more apparent to the student
• Determines the difficulty level and reference for the question

Answer Designer

• Writes answers to the questions with as much clarity as possible to develop their communication skills and deepens their understanding of the topic
• Creates plausible multiple-choice alternatives, which requires the student to consider misconceptions, ambiguity and possible interpretations of concepts

Question & Answer Auditor

• Evaluate the relevancy and accuracy of the questions and answers, which requires higher-order cognitive skills as they need to consider not only the content, but what makes a particular question more effective than another
• Provides and verifies references for the answers

Question evaluation rubric

Before class: use basic information questions

When asking students to complete this activity before class, we recommend asking them to generate basic information questions. These can be either factual or procedural.

• Factual questions usually require only recall of information in the textbook or some simple observation made about an event
• Procedural questions seek clarification about a given experiment or asked how a task is carried out

Basic information questions can be designed using multiple-choice, true/false, ordering or filling in blank types of questions.

After class: use wonderment questions

When asking students to complete this activity after class, we recommend asking them to generate wonderment questions. Wonderment questions are usually pitched at a conceptually higher level, require an application or extension of taught ideas, and focused on predictions, explanations, and causes instead of facts, or on resolving discrepancies and gaps in knowledge.

These questions are usually open-ended questions, so they should be essay question types.

What tools can you use? 

You can use Microsoft Forms in this activity, which is supported by UTS. Get started quickly by duplicating our pre-designed Microsoft Forms template.

If you would like to experiment, try Google Forms (please note, it is not officially supported by UTS).

When and where to use 

This activity is suitable throughout the session, before and after class activities for the following:

• Large collaborative classrooms
• Group work
• 12-week subjects
• Subjects with heavy theory components

How long will it take? 

What research tells us 

Question production, particularly of ‘thinking’ or more probing questions, is not a usual student role. This activity is designed to engage students in collaborative learning activities that promote higher-order thinking. Student-generated questions also provide the teacher with information with which to organise future teaching in response to students’ needs.

Basic information questions are easier to generate as these are closed questions and require recall of information. They are more commonly asked compared to questions requiring deep processing of ideas. Knowledge questions involve a reframing, application, or extension of taught ideas (Chin and Brown, 2002).

Basic information question activities can be created for before class activities as these require a basic understanding of the topic. Students are usually able to ask questions relevant to the processes at later stages of the learning cycle after some intense scaffolding, which is why generating knowledge question activities can be introduced after class activities.

Student-generated questions also proved to enhance students’ learning performance and improve results on exams or quizzes (Sanchez-Elez et al., 2013). However, the strategy requires teachers to act proactively and motivate students to engage with the process. This can be enacted by making them feel more involved in the evaluation of their learning when questions are used in quizzes and final exams.

References

• Chin, C., & Brown, D. E. (2002). Student-generated questions: A meaningful aspect of learning in science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(5), 521-549.
• Sanchez-Elez, M., Pardines, I., Garcia, P.,Miñana, G., Roman, S., Sanchez, M., & Risco, J. (2013). Enhancing Students’ Learning Process Through Self-Generated Tests. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(1), 15-25.