Introduction
Quizzes and Surveys are an important part of the teaching and learning process, providing valuable feedback on student performance and progress and gathering information from students throughout the course. Before developing a quiz or survey, it's important to consider the following:
- What are the goals for the quiz or survey?
- What are you hoping students will gain after completing it?
- What are you hoping to gain from the results?
- Does the quiz align with your overall course goals?
For any activity to have a valuable impact on the learning experience, it must have a purpose. A particular, a quiz should clearly and strategically align with your course objectives and learning outcomes.
Use the Quizzes feature in your Canvas course when creating a Quiz (mid-term, exam, quiz, test, etc.) or Survey (entrance, mid-course, course evaluation). Both quiz types can be either graded or ungraded.
Quiz and Survey Types
You can use quizzes and surveys in various traditional and creative ways. Consider if any of these work for your course:
| Quiz/Survey Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Pre-tests |
Students take preliminary tests to gauge their knowledge, assumptions, and skills around topics that will be covered later in the course. Revisiting these tests at the end of instruction can measure knowledge gained. |
| Knowledge Checks |
Ongoing mini-quizzes allow students to recall information and self-assess their understanding of the course content. These are usually low-stakes and optional to support learning by providing immediate feedback. |
| Weekly Quizzes |
Formative tests allow you to gauge a student's comprehension of core concepts covered within the week. These quizzes can introduce questions that may appear in future exams—such as mid-terms and finals. |
| Mid-Term or Final Exam |
Summative tests allow you to measure how much students learned at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it with a benchmark of what they should have learned. |
| Entrance Survey |
This type of survey asks students about their knowledge, skill sets, opinions, and experiences at the onset of your course. You can use feedback from this survey to tailor the course experience to fit your students' specific needs. |
| Mid-Course Survey |
This type of survey asks students about their course experience mid-way through the course. Students provide feedback on what has worked so far and what needs improvement. You can use feedback gathered from this survey to course-correct and enhance instruction. |
| Course Evaluation |
This type of survey asks students about their overall course experience at the end of the course. You can use feedback gathered from this survey to refresh the course materials and enhance instruction. Note: This is separate from UCLA Extension’s student course evaluation. |
Guidelines for Designing Quizzes or Surveys
To explore guidelines as you begin designing quizzes and surveys for your course, click the tabs below.
Determine the purpose of the quiz/survey.
Are you gathering feedback? Are you measuring whether students achieved course outcomes? Determine the objective of the quiz, and then decide on the quiz type that best supports this objective.
Provide clear instructions up front.
Share with students the purpose of the quiz/survey, the number, and types of questions (e.g., multiple-choice, essay, etc.), the time allotted, the number of attempts allowed, and the number of points each question is worth as well as the number of total points possible. These details can help ease the test anxiety that some students experience.
Avoid trick questions and answer options.
Your goal is to teach students, not trap them. Write questions and answer options that are clear, plausible, and intriguing, provoking learners to think about the consequences of each choice.
Support multiple learning modalities.
Provide visuals, job aids, audio, or video files to help contextualize questions. Use different question types to assess different levels of learning. Canvas offers a variety of question types: multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, Likert scales, essays, and more.
Provide specific, timely, and goal-oriented feedback.
Feedback for correct and incorrect answers can prompt students to review the content and deepen their understanding of the material. Meanwhile, discussions around survey questions can show students that you value their opinions.
Build up to more substantive assessments.
If you plan a mid-term or final exam, help students prepare and learn by offering smaller, lower-stakes quizzes throughout the course. Give them opportunities to self-assess and provide regular check-ins leading up to the main event.
Tip: Adding an Existing Quiz as a Canvas Assignment
While creating a Canvas Quiz or Survey is the most accessible option for students and allows for easy grading, you can also upload a PDF of a quiz and add it to a Canvas Assignment. Your students can download the PDF, complete it, and upload it to the assignment for grading. For more details, see our article on using the Canvas Speedgrader and DocViewer.