Higher order MC questions

Multiple-choice (MC) exams are gaining prominence due to the increasing demand for more efficient assessments. MC exams have the advantage of efficient, even automatic, marking. MC exams are not a solution for assessing all kinds of learning objectives, but they can be used to evaluate more cognitive skills than is often thought. They can be used for questions that require analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. But... it requires skill to construct good-quality questions. For general tips on how to construct MC questions, see Assessment support-Constructing questions.

Workshop on Higher Order MC questions

Would you like a workshop on HOT questions for your programme?
With examples from the teachers mentioned below or teachers from your own programme? Maybe combined with a practical work session in which teachers
work on their exams?
Contact: W.D.J. Vlas@utwente.nl (CELT)

In the UT Week of Education, May 2025, a masterclass on Multiple-choice questions for higher-order thinking was offered. Two BMS teachers (teaching at IEM, IBA, and BIT) shared examples and experiences. The examples Ipek Seyran Topan showed gave an idea of how one can use MC questions in combination with asking students to do separate (on scrap paper) calculations, analyses, and make judgments. The examples from Martijn Koot showed that you can have students work with a case study and a programme like Excel during an exam, while at the same time using MC questions for the assessment.
Guidelines, tips, and sources were added by Helma Vlas (CELT/Teaching Academy BMS) and can be found in the handout. If you want to know more about the examples the teachers showed, please contact the teachers.

Creating HOT MC questions handout.