Whether you are starting from scratch or working with a choice poll already created, using the choice activity in a topic ideally consists of 5 stages, in a looped process.
The choice (poll/survey) activity is a way of engaging with students in your topic, and applying a just-in-time or responsive approach to your teaching. It is an example of active teaching and feedback.
Using the choice activity or a similar tool in a lecture adds interactivity. The Active Quiz has a greater level of interactivity.
The choice tool enables a teacher to ask a single question and offer a selection of possible responses. Choice results may be published after students have answered, after a certain date, or not at all. Results may be published with student names or anonymously.
The choice can not be graded (for a gradeable alternative, check out the Active quiz).
Good practice guides and tip sheets
Good practice guides and tip sheets have been developed to support quality in both curriculum design and teaching practice. Good practice guides provide
a pedagogical overview and tip sheets provide you with practical strategies and ideas for implementation. Links to teaching-related resources are provided below.
Creating a choice activity requires you to know what you are going to ask your students. Do you have more than one question? How many options/responses are you going to offer? Is the activity going to be anonymous?
A choice activity may be used:
as a quick poll to stimulate thinking about a module
to quickly test students' understanding (e.g. in a lecture/workshop)
to facilitate student decision-making (e.g. allowing students to vote on a direction for the topic)
2. Build
Creating a choice poll can be completed once you have the question and answers/options created.
The first time you use the Choice activity, it recommended to do so with a small group of students.
Preview the choice activity in FLO (Profile >Switch role to> Student)
4. Administer
Be sure to check your responses and acknowledge the results
Share the results with your students - either automatically through the Choice tool or afterwards using a visualisation tool, like a word cloud or pie chart
5. Review
Before using the same choice activity, consider reviewing your activities prior to use.
View the choice as a student - switch your role and vote
Evaluate the purpose of the choice activity - what does it add for your students? When is it best utilised?
The choice (poll/survey) activity is a way of engaging with students in your topic, and applying a just-in-time or responsive approach to your teaching. It is an example of active teaching and feedback.
Using the choice activity or a similar tool in a lecture adds interactivity. The Active Quiz has a greater level of interactivity.