Dropdown Problems

Dropdown problems are a type of basic problem that allows the learner to select their answer from a dropdown list. The current implementation on Open edX is currently fundamentally identical to a multiple choice question, in that a learner can only select a single answer from a list. The only difference is that not every option is visible while reading the question.

Open

Dropdown problems are typically used in two primary ways - first simply as an alternative way of structuring a multiple-choice question. The second is in Cloze questions, which are used typically for reading comprehension and factual recall. 

It’s worth noting that this implementation as it exists in Open edX is fundamentally non-standard. Most platforms do not have a question that is simply answered by a dropdown menu unless it is as part of a Cloze activity, which will be discussed at length elsewhere.

Open

edX.org ’s course insight data lists dropdown problems as the 4th most-used problem type, with 13,687 instances out of 292,554 problems - approximately 4.7%.

Links:

• Interactive activities: the key to learning programming with MOOCs

• Cloze Procedure: a Review