Using Student-Defined Questions activity to facilitate critical thinking in a large online classes
Time and Effort
Instructor Prep Time
Medium
Student Activity Time
Medium
Instructor Response Time
Low
Complexity of Activity
Medium
Description
Student-Defined Questions help students individually reflect on a reading assignment, lecture, or presentation. Before class, students write a question based on that content and write a model answer for it. In class, student pairs exchange questions and write a response to the partner’s question. They trade, read, and compare answers. In large courses (150 ), facilitating active learning cannot be easy. This document walks you through planning and implementing this approach in your large course.
Example: Asking students to write one exam question and answer based on the lecture content just covered. If the question is multiple-choice, students should provide a set of choices for their answers. Students share their questions and answers with a small group that reviews the answers to each question. One question from each group is submitted for your consideration of being used in a quiz or exam.
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Use it when you want...
To have students practice identifying important features of course content,
To formulate questions and answers, review responses given by others, or
To give students a chance to rehearse responses to questions and examine sample responses outside of a formal testing environment.
The following workflow facilitates Student-Defined Questions learning activities in large courses within an online learning environment.
Pre-Class
Formulating a good question is a difficult task with which students are often unfamiliar. This activity will work best when you have spent some time teaching students how to formulate valid questions and answers.
Prepare guidelines, sample questions, and responses that model the level of complexity and depth you expect.
Create an online assignment that asks students to reflect on a learning activity (e.g., reading an article, listening to a lecture, watching a film), formulate an essay question model a response to the question, and submit it to the instructor.
Create a Canvas Group Set for the activity. Create groups so they have between 10-15 students in each group.
Create a Canvas Group Discussion topic. Add the guidelines and your sample question/response in the discussion description.
Create a Canvas Group Assignment in which the final question will be submitted.
Creating a Group Set in Canvas
Select People from the course navigation.
Select Group Set for the assignment(s) you will create.
Provide a descriptive name in the Group Set Name box (ex. Student-Created Questions).
Select the Split students into ___ groups option in the Group Structure section. Enter a number that ensures 10-15 students per group. (ex. 200 student class 18-20 groups).
Select Save.
Creating group discussion activities in Canvas
Select Discussions from the course navigation.
Select Discussion.
Provide a title for the activity (ex. Student-Created Questions).
Provide a description and directions for the activity. Include an example question/answer. Provide guidelines for reviewing and selecting a question to be submitted by the group.
Under Post to, select which section(s) the activity to be released.
Under Options, select Allow threaded replies, Users must post before seeing replies, and Allow liking. Under Allow liking, select Sort by likes.
Under Group Discussion, select the This is a Group Discussion box.
Provide a start date and time for the assignment under the Available From box
Provide an end date and time for the assignment under the Until box.
Select Save & Publish.
Creating a group assignment in Canvas
Select Assignments from the course navigation.
Select Assignment.
Provide a title for the activity (ex. Student-Created Question Submission).
Provide a description and directions for the assignment.
Specify the points to be assigned in the Points box.
Specify the way students will submit the assignment (ex. Online and Text Entry) in the Submission Type box.
Specify Unlimited in the Allowed Attempts box.
Select This is a Group Assignment from the Group Assignment section. Select the Group Set you created for the assignment (ex. Student-Created Questions).
Provide a start date and time for the assignment under the Available From box.
Provide an end date and time for the assignment under the Until box.
Select Save & Publish.
Online (Synchronous)
Direct students to the group discussion.
Students post their questions/answers. Provide a deadline for submissions.
After submissions, group members review and rate the questions/answers using the Like option.
The group confirms the accuracy of the answers and selects one to represent the group.
The selected question/answer is submitted through the Assignments tool.
Post-Class
Review the submissions and provide feedback on the quality and accuracy of questions/answers.
Select one or more questions from the submission for a quiz or exam inclusion.
Accessibility and Room Considerations
Some students might not have the network bandwidth to participate in synchronous sessions. Make sure students turn off their cameras to reduce bandwidth. Students can also use the dial-in phone connection for audio instead of their network connection.
The technologies recommended here should meet most campus accessibility requirements. However, you should check with the McBurney Disability Resources Center for guidance on any specific accommodations for your students.
Technical Documents
None
Citation/Source
Barkley, Elizabeth F. et al. Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook For College Faculty. Wiley, 2014. pp. 302-306.
