Effective Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) are an essential component of the assessment and evaluation process in Education. So, it’s crucial to ensure that MCQs are designed effectively. With this regard, College of Nursing organized a Faculty Development Workshop titled ‘Constructing Effective MCQs’, on October 18th, 2023, from 3.30-4.30pm. The session was delivered by Prof. Salah Eldin Kassab, Associate Dean of Academics & Professor of Physiology and Medical Education, College of Medicine, GMU.
The workshop was attended by 11 faculty members from College of Nursing and College of Medicine, and it provided an opportunity for participants to gain a deeper understanding of MCQ construction techniques.
Prof. Salah provided a comprehensive overview of MCQ design, covering key principles such as clarity and relevance with examples of wrong and right MCQs. The session also delved into the advantages and disadvantages of using MCQs in assessments. Additionally, faculty members had the opportunity to explore best practices in MCQ construction, learning how to avoid common pitfalls and biases in question development.
This was followed by an interactive discussion, allowing participants to evaluate the quality of MCQs by identifying whether they were well-constructed or not.
The workshop emphasized the importance of crafting plausible and effective distractors, which are essential for evaluating students’ comprehension. The session was extremely beneficial and the faculty participated actively by asking relevant questions and clarifications.
The session concluded with an expression of gratitude from Prof. Selva Titus Chacko, Dean-CON, towards Prof. Salah for sharing valuable insights and expertise. In addition, it was suggested to consider organizing another session in the future, specifically focusing on item analysis. This proposed session would further enhance our faculty’s ability to assess the quality and effectiveness of assessment items.