Scenario Questions are one of the highest-value learning assets available. They can be used to introduce topics, helping to engage and motivate learners while also setting up cognitive hooks for new knowledge. Scenario questions can be used as formative assessment for learners, helping them contemplate and ensure they fully understand concepts. Scenario questions can provide powerful and realistic decision-making retrieval practice to support long-term remembering. They provide enticing nuggets for spaced learning, engaging learners and supporting remembering. They can also be used for LTEM Tier-5 assessments, providing critical evaluation information for learning professionals and credentialing bodies.

Scenario questions are powerful, but not easy to write. True, when you see a scenario question, it looks easy, but the subtleties are often hidden. In this workshop, noted research-to-practice leader Will Thalheimer will share his insights and specialized techniques for writing scenario questions. Before he earned his PhD, Will worked in the trenches developing scenario questions for computer-based simulations, he hired writers and trained them in writing these questions, and he learned what worked and what didn’t from a practical perspective. Through the years since, Will Thalheimer has continued learning more and more about the science behind scenarios, about the evaluation aspects, about how to write scenarios that align with learner cognition to get results. He’s also developed unique question-writing strategies, including the powerful SEDA model and techniques for turning multiple-choice questions into deeper artifacts for learning.

This two-day workshop will introduce topics, concepts, and approaches; but will also provide time for practice and feedback.