Multiple-choice questions in the Humanities

A case study of Peerwise in a first-year Popular Music course

Abstract

The web-based system Peerwise allows students to submit their own multiple-choice questions (MCQs) about course content, complete with distractors and an explanation of the ‘correct’ answer. Other students can then attempt their peers’ questions and provide feedback on the quality of each question. To date, Peerwise has been used mostly in subjects where typical MCQs have a finite number of correct answers. This paper – a work-in-progress – suggests that Peerwise is potentially useful in units with a more ‘discursive’ orientation, such as MUS100, offered at Macquarie University, Australia. The system provides a good forum in which students can test each other on both lower-order and higher-order tasks. Future research will explore the efficacy of the tool across multiple iterations of the unit MUS100.