GoTestMe: Student-Generated Test Questions
At a Glance
Discipline
- Social sciences
Instructional Level
- College & CEGEP
Tasks in Workflow
Social Plane(s)
- Individual
- Group
- Whole Class
Type of Tasks
- Creating & designing
- Reviewing & assessing peers
Technical Details
Class size
- Medium (50-99)
Time
- Single class period (< 90 mins)
Inclusivity & Accessibility
- Variety of action & expression
- Diversity of engagement
Instructional Purpose
- Consolidation & metacognition
Overview
Individually, students create test questions (multiple-choice, true/false, or short answer).
They exchange with a peer and answer each other’s questions (open book). If needed, they may consult with the peer to seek clarification or help.
Once all questions have been answered, they exchange again and correct each other’s answers. At this point, they are encouraged to discuss their answers with each other and/or the teacher.
Each student submits a document with their questions and the peer’s answers.
The teacher chooses the best questions for the upcoming test based on students’ submissions.
Topic: Any topic where multiple-choice, true/false, and/or short answer questions are appropriate.
Modality: in-class OR online
Course: Any course where multiple-choice, true/false, and/or short answer questions are appropriate.
Instructional Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Synthesize their knowledge of class material by generating and answering test questions.
- Compare their understanding of class material with that of their peers.
Workflow & Materials
Activity Workflow
Contributor's Notes
- Promotes autonomy and critical thinking
- Encourages peer learning
- Stimulates motivation to review and consolidate class material
- Decreases performance anxiety and improves performance on subsequent evaluations
- Some students are tempted to turn to AI to generate / answer questions. This activity works best in-class when students don’t have access to digital devices.
- Depending on students’ grasp of the material and their analytical skills, some questions are more likely to be chosen than others. In these cases, the teacher might want to expand / improve the questions to make them admissible to the test.
- Some students struggle to create high-quality questions, so it is important to discuss beforehand what constitutes a good question.
- In addition to the suggestions given in the Challenges section, it is advisable to discuss with the class why this approach to test review is beneficial: critical thinking, peer learning, active learning, etc.
Applied Strategies
Published: 01/04/2026
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