Design good questions

Updated 05 Mar 2024

Design questions that support your learning goals. The more experienced you are, the better questions you'll design.

  • First, decide what students should get out of the material.
  • Decide what uncertainties or common misconceptions they might have about that material.
  • Ask questions that help them change their misconceptions.

    Open-ended question types and peer discussion are particularly effective. They require students to produce and discuss, not just recall, the correct answer. These questions can uncover misconceptions you didn't anticipate.

If less than 30% of students consistently answer a question correctly, it may be too hard; if more than 70%, too easy.

If between 30-70% of students get the answer right and the wrong answers show misconceptions, the question is ideal for peer discussion.

No need to reinvent the wheel — Learning Catalytics has a searchable shared question library where instructors can share questions that they have successfully used in their classes.

Thank you for sharing your own questions!