Self-Paced Question Sets

Self-Paced Question Sets are the latest addition to the Promethean family of interactive learning tools. You can use them side-by-side with Prepared Questions and ExpressPoll.

In this section we introduce Self-Paced Question Sets and show you how to create and use them.

Introduction

As the name implies, Self-Paced Question Sets are sets of prepared questions, that allow learners to respond at their own pace.

You can do the following:

How it works

You insert Self-Paced Question Sets into a flipchart page with the Insert > Self-Paced Question Set... command.

Unlike Prepared Questions, Self-Paced Question Sets are not displayed on the board during a voting session.

During a voting session, questions are only displayed on participating learners' ActivExpression devices.

While a voting session is in progress, the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' Dialog Box is open on your display. It shows all responses received in graphical format.

At the start of a session, the first question is sent to each ActivExpression device.

As soon as a learner sends a response, this is recorded and displayed in the results Dialog Box, and the next question is automatically sent to their device. Each learner progresses at their own pace.

There are two ways to create Self-Paced Question Sets:

  • Individually or in blocks with the Self-Paced Question Set Wizard.

  • Automatically with the Question Generator.

The Question Generator is currently only available for basic numeracy questions.

Whenever you open a flipchart page that contains a Self-Paced Question Set, Start/Stop Vote  is enabled.

After a vote has started, you can pause or stop it at any time.

Results are stored in the Results Browser part of the Voting Browser.

You can display results in different formats, add them to the flipchart page, evaluate them at your convenience, and export them to Microsoft Excel for further processing.

Benefits

Self-Paced Question Sets provide a structured framework for flexible learning and assessment. They help to focus the attention of the whole group, because everyone participates and every vote counts.

During a voting session, responses are displayed dynamically and provide an immediate insight into:

This dynamic display can help you decide, for example, when to:

You can make each voting session as competitive or stress-free as appropriate, by setting time limits and choosing to show incoming responses on the board, or hide them from learners to avoid distraction.

What do I need?

To use Self-Paced Question Sets in the classroom, you need the following:

For details of how to prepare your equipment for self-paced learning, see Upgrading to the next generation.

Process overview

Working with Self-Paced Question Sets is a 3-stage process:

Creating Self-Paced Question Sets

This section describes how to prepare questions with the following:

Create questions with the Self-Paced Question Wizard

  1. Select Insert > Self-Paced Question Set... The Self-Paced Question Set Wizard opens.

  2. Click Insert. The Insert Question Wizard opens. This is similar to the Question Wizard you use to create prepared questions.

  3. Select the following:

    • The type of questions to be created:

      • Multiple Choice

      • Sort In Order

      • Yes/No True/False

      • Likert Scale

      • Text entry

      • Number Entry

    • The number of questions to be created.

You can create questions one at a time, or create a block of identical questions and edit them later.

    • The question level, where 1 is the easiest and 9 the most difficult. You can change this later if necessary.

    • For Multiple Choice questions, select the number of possible answers. You can change this later if necessary.

  1. To edit question properties, click Next >. The 'Edit the question properties' Dialog Box opens. What this looks like depends on your chosen question type.

Enter the question text and text for any options, if applicable, choose the appropriate options, then click Next >. The 'Assign correct answers' Dialog Box opens.

The example on the right shows the Dialog Box for Multiple Choice questions with the details completed. There are five possible answers to the question, of which only one is correct.

  1. Skip this step if you do not wish to assign correct answers.

 

To assign correct answers, check the 'Assign a correct answer' box, then check one or more boxes as appropriate.

In the example on the right, the correct answer has been assigned.

For number questions, you can also assign a tolerance level of +/- n, where 'n' is a number.

  1. Click Finish. The Self-Paced Question Set Wizard opens again.

Here you can do the following:

  • Remove a question from the set.

  • Change the order of questions by moving questions up or down, or by shuffling them.

The example on the right shows a set of identical questions, ready for editing.

 

Create questions with the Question Generator

  1. Select Insert > Self-Paced Question Set... The Self-Paced Question Set Wizard opens.

  2. Click Generate... The Question Generator opens. Currently only the Basic numeracy generator is available.

Change the following options as appropriate:

    • Set the number of questions.

    • Set the level of difficulty (1-9) the higher the level, the greater the number range for a and b.

    • Select the operator (+, -,  ./., x, random) from the dropdown list.

    • Set the range of the value of a (Note: range and level are tied).

    • Set the range of the value of b.

  1. Click Generate to create the questions. The questions are displayed in the right-hand pane. Check that they satisfy your requirements.

If you are not satisfied, click Generate again, or change the options as appropriate, then click Generate.

  1. When you are satisfied, click Insert to add the questions to the current set.

  2. Repeat steps 2-4 as required to complete the question set, then click Done. The Self-Paced Question Set Wizard opens again and displays the questions and their level.

Here you can do the following:

  • Insert one or more questions.  For each new question, complete Steps 2 to 5 in Create questions with the Self-Paced Question Wizard above.

  • Generate more  numeric questions.

  • Select and edit a question. See Edit questions.

  • Remove a question from the set.

  • Change the order of questions by moving questions up or down, or by shuffling them.

Edit questions

You can edit questions while you are creating a question set, or at any other time, by selecting Edit > Question on Current Page.

  1. In the Self-Paced Question Set Wizard, select a question and click Edit. The Edit Question Wizard opens.

The question type is highlighted in green and cannot be changed.

You can do one or more of the following:

    • Use the up/down buttons to change the level of difficulty.

    • Use the up/down buttons to change the number of options.

    • Click Next > to edit the question properties.

    • Click Finish to save any changes and close the Edit Question Wizard.

    • Click Cancel to close the wizard without saving any changes to the question.

  1. When you click Next >, the 'Edit the question properties' Dialog Box opens. Make the appropriate changes, then click either Next >  to assign correct answers or Finish to close the Edit Question Wizard.

  1. After you click Next >,  assign the correct answer or answers, then click Finish to return to the Self-Paced Question Set Wizard.

  2. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 until you have edited all the questions, then click Next >. The 'Specify Level Requirements' Dialog Box opens.

You can, of course, click any of the buttons on the right of the Dialog Box.

  1. Here you can accept the defaults, or do the following:

    • Double-click the 'Correct Answers' column, then use the up/down buttons to specify the number of questions a learner must answer correctly before they can proceed to the next level.

    • Double-click the 'Randomise' column and select Yes, to ensure that each learner receives the questions in a different order from their neighbours.

    • Click Back > to make other changes.

    • Click Cancel to discard any changes.

    • Click Next > to enter a title and duration.

  1. Here you can enter a title and description for the Question Set. These will appear on the flipchart page and can help to set learners' expectations.

You can also do the following:

  • Set the duration of the voting session.

  • Choose to add the Self-Paced Assessment to the current page, or to insert it into a new page after the current one.

When you have completed the details, click Next >. The 'Choose a design' Dialog Box opens.

  1. Select a design, then click Finish. The chosen page design and the title and description you entered in Step 6 are added to the flipchart page.

The Start/Stop Vote button is now enabled.

Running a Self-Paced Question session

This section describes the mechanics of running a Self-Paced Question session.

Before you start

Before you start the Self-Paced Question session, do the following:

With Self-Paced Question Sets, the learners' attention is focussed on the display of their ActivExpression devices. If you are displaying incoming responses dynamically on the board, this may distract attention from the questions and adversely affect response times.

You may wish to run a trial session to accustom yourself and your learners to this way of voting.

 

Notes for learners

As soon as your teacher starts the voting session, the first question is sent to all ActivExpression devices.

If the questions have been randomised, you will receive them in a different order from your neighbours.

When you receive the first question, your display looks similar to the one on the right.

The number 1 is bigger than the other numbers, because this is the first question.

Read the question.

When you're ready to answer, press any key. This clears the display.

The cursor in the centre of the display means that you can start to put in your answer using the keypad keys.

 

The example on the right shows that the answer to the question is a number.

 

You can tell because of the small numbers 1, 2, 3 on the left above the text entry area .

When you enter your answer, it is displayed in the text entry area.

 

If you want to change it, use the keypad.

 

 To read the question again, press the multi-function key Question.

 

 To send your answer and receive the next question, press the multi-function key Send.

 

 

When you receive the second question, your display looks similar to the one on the right.

This time the number 2 is bigger than the other numbers.

If your teacher pauses the session, your display shows the word 'PAUSED'.

 

While the session is paused, you can't answer any questions.

 

When your teacher resumes the session, the keys are reactivated and you can continue.

When you have answered all the questions in the set within the time limit, your display shows the message 'No more questions'.

If you have answered one or more questions incorrectly, and if you are within the time limit, you have the opportunity to answer these questions again until you run out of time.

If you run out of time, your ActivExpression device displays the opening screen showing the Promethean logo and you can't answer any more questions.

Run the session

When everyone is ready to begin, do the following:

  1. Open the Voting Browser and select anonymous or named voting .

  2. Navigate to the flipchart page that contains the Self-Paced Question Set.

  3. Press Start/Stop Vote . The 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window opens. It remains open during and after a voting session until you close it.

The following picture shows the two views you can display in the Self-Paced Assessment Results'  window. The list identifies each numbered component.

'Response Timeline' view shows incoming responses on horizontal lines next to the device name or number, where each coloured block represents one question.

This is the default view.

In this example:

  • We chose anonymous voting and each device is identified only by its number.

  • No  responses have been received yet.

'Level Summaries' view shows for each student how many questions they answered correctly and incorrectly at each level, and their average response times.

In this example, we chose named voting and each device is identified by name.

Countdown showing the remaining time available to answer questions.

Pause button. Click to pause or resume a paused session.

Abort button. Click to permanently stop a voting session.

You are prompted to save any responses received so far.

Drop-down list for changing the view.

Paste current results into the flipchart.

All responses are displayed in the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window as soon as they are received. If you are using an interactive whiteboard, you can choose to display the window, or drag it our of sight of your learners.

 Do not close this window unless you want to abort the voting session.

At any time during a voting session you can do the following:

  • Pause a vote.

  • Abort a vote.

  • Change the view in the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window.

  • Paste the current results into the flipchart

  • Display more detailed information about a particular learner or question. For more information, see Evaluating results below.

When the timeout is reached, the session ends:

  • The Pause and Abort buttons in the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window are deactivated.

  • All participating ActivExpression devices display the opening screen showing the Promethean logo.

Evaluating results

In addition to evaluating responses dynamically during the voting session, you can do the following:

After a session has ended, the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window remains open, letting you change the view or display results in different formats.

You can open the 'Self-Paced Assessment Results' window again at any time by double-clicking the results in the Results Browser part of the Voting Browser.

The following sections contain some examples of the different ways in which you can display results both during and after a voting session.

Response Timeline

 

To see details of how a particular learner responded to a question, hover the cursor over a response. A Pop-up window shows the following:

    • Level and question number.

    • Question text.

    • If the response was correct.

    • Learner's response.

    • Response time.

 

To see a statistical breakdown of how the whole group answered a particular question:

  1. Click a particular learner's response to a question. Two things happen:

    • The question text is displayed.

    • The Show Question Results button is activated.

  1. Click Show Question Results . The 'Vote Results' window opens. By default, it shows a horizontal bar graph, where:

    • The answers are plotted along the Y axis

    • The number of participants is plotted along the X axis

    • The percentage of the total number of answers received is shown as a horizontal bar for each answer.

You can paste the results into the flipchart with this button

If you have specified correct answers in your question set, click Identify correct answers .

 

 You can include or exclude devices that have not responded to a question from statistical calculations.

For more information, see Reference > Settings > Learner Response System.

 

You can also display the same information in the following other formats:

  • Text Report

  • Sorted Value Horizontal Plot

  • 'Who Answered What' List

  • 'Who Answered What' Graph; click the Show Voting Response Times button to display response times.

  • Statistics Graph

 These reports are also available from the 'Level Summaries' window.

 

Level Summaries

This report shows the following details for each learner:

  • How many questions they answered correctly at each level.

  • How many questions they answered incorrectly at each level.

  • Their average response time at each level.

To see details of how a particular learner responded to a set of questions at a particular level, hover the cursor over a cell in the 'Level Summaries' window. Depending on your choice of column, a pop-up window shows some or all of the following details:

    • Question number.

    • Question text.

    • Answered correctly or incorrectly,  and how long each answer took.

    • Answer.