Letter input, multiple-choice, multiple select, image match, text input, blah blah blah. Do question types actually matter when it comes to your training materials?
YES! Understanding which question types to select before you start building your game is key to the effectiveness of your training, and we’re here to help.
There are 9 question types available in The Training Arcade®, and which question type in conjunction with which game type you’ll use is going to depend on the nature of the material you are looking to educate your employees on.
Association
When you have concepts that have a triangulation relationship between them, using a game like Sort-It where several concepts have an association is key. The triangulation relationship comes to life when you have a bank of fixed answers and the player is asked to associate those answers with one of the criteria listed across the top of the game board and one of the criteria listed on the side of the game board.
Letter Input
Letter Input questions are great when you want to utilize games such as Wheel of Fortune®.
Here, players are presented with a quiz question and a bank of letters to pick from. Through the process of deduction, players will pick one letter at a time to input what they believe to be the correct answer. As more letters are chosen, decisions are either confirmed or shifted before arriving at the correctly filled in answer on the game board.
Linkage
When you want to see your players create links between multiple independent concepts, this question type found in Detective is top-notch. Detective is all about creating questions that require judgment and having multiple concepts that need to be linked together based on information provided upfront. Using deductive reasoning and the information provided, players will build a solid case by linking together concepts they thoroughly learned about throughout the game.
Multiple Choice
Sometimes you don’t want your questions to be so open-ended or have what seems like an infinite number of answer choices. In this example using Recall, players are being quizzed on Black Jack and the question waiting for them on the next slide is a multiple choice question regarding the information being provided. Using their newfound knowledge and the finite number of answer choices, the player will need to choose only one correct answer.
Multiple Select
Multiple Select questions are great if you like the foundation of Multiple Choice questions, but just want to push the critical thinking a little bit further. Using the game Match as an example, questions are presented pre-gameplay in order to gain power-ups heading into the next game round. One of the question type options for Match is Multiple Select where multiple answers can be correct and in order to get the overall question correct, players will need to select only the combination of correct answers.
Image Match
So, the above question types are great and all, but you want to go a bit more visual with your question types for all your visual learners out there. Using Jump to showcase an Image Match question, players are presented a question with images as the answer options to make this information and quiz question more of a visual experience.
Scramble
Scramble question types are great when there is a simple 1-2 word answer or a short sentence as an answer that you’d like your players to assemble given a fixed letter or word bank. There are two types of Scramble question types: Letter Scramble and Sentence Scramble. In Letter Scramble players are presented with a letter bank and are asked to assemble the correct answer using those available letters. In Sentence Scramble users are presented with a word bank and are asked to assemble the correct answer using those available words.
Text Input
Let’s up the difficulty a bit with an open-ended question type. Using the Text Input question type, players are presented with a question with an open-ended answer area where they are asked to spell out the correct answer without any word or letter banks. Spelling can count on Text Input questions, or the game creator can input multiple common mis-spellings as correct answers on the backend to account for those common mistakes but still reward players with correct answer points. Here is an example from our JEOPARDY!® game.
Polls
And then there are question types that don’t count for points at all! There is no correct answer when it comes to polls; they are simply for gathering information about your players, game, training material, or anything else you want to know from your employees. You have the option to show the answer results to the players after selecting their answer or leaving that information completely to admins only.
For more information or to schedule a walk-through of our game-building software, get in touch with a member of our team and start your journey to becoming a training hero today.
