Well-designed multiple-choice questions can do far more than test factual recall; they can reveal student thinking, diagnose misconceptions, and assess higher-order problem-solving skills. Yet writing strong questions is challenging. This interactive workshop is designed for STEM faculty who want to create more effective multiple choice questions that provide students and instructors with deeper assessment of learning. Participants will explore research-based principles for constructing clear, rigorous, and fair multiple-choice questions that align with learning outcomes. We will examine how to write plausible distractors based on common student errors, design questions that assess conceptual understanding rather than rote memorization, and ensure that items are more inclusive and free from unnecessary barriers. We will also discuss strategies for using student response data to refine questions over time and improve exam reliability and discrimination.

Are you curious about using play or playfulness in your teaching? Incorporating playfulness can encourage your students to actively engage using the intrinsic motivation baked into the fun of playing.

But how to start? In this workshop we will go through the process of creating a playful activity that starts with your student learning outcomes or a specific topic. We will briefly discuss a framework for approaching activity design and then we will dive right into a collaborative space of brainstorming and creation while exploring what implementing playfulness in the classroom could look like. Every classroom and instructor is different though so you will also have time to playfully create an activity or approach to use that is specific to your teaching.

Roll the dice and come join us to learn about playfulness in the classroom!