Surveys/Interactive Polls
A quick survey at the start of a course, lesson, or module can engage the participants and provide them with a glimpse of the important concepts they are going to encounter. You can use a survey to get a rough measure of the participants’ background knowledge so you can adjust your delivery to better meet their needs.
To get the answers you need, ask the right questions. Use the learning outcomes as a guide when choosing question topics. Depending on the information needed, you can write questions that require factual answers or questions that solicit participants’ opinions.
Survey questions can include:
- What is your experience with the topic?
- What other courses related to this topic have you taken?
- What is your job title (or job responsibilities)?
- What are the “pain points” in your job?
- What are you interested in learning from this course?
- How do you see yourself applying what you will learn from this course?
Example
Module 5 of the NHI “Bridge Inspector Refresher Training” course includes the following survey question about structure inventory and appraisal and structure type codes. The module is designed to gauge participants’ experiences in appraising bridge structural components and entering codes into the National Bridge Inventory database. Figure 53 displays the survey question slide from the Superstructure Type Identification module.
Source: NHI.
Instructor-Led Training
You can create a PowerPoint slide to display the poll question. Collect survey responses on note cards, by a show of hands, or using “clicker” polling devices. Another option is to create and share a survey using free online form-building software or an online survey app that participants can access via their laptops or smart phones. The benefits of online or clicker devices are that they can be anonymous, and they allow results to be displayed to the class in real time. Be aware: while clicker devices are popular with participants, they can malfunction or run out of battery power. So, this may require you to carry more equipment to the course site.
Web-Based Training
Some learning management systems (LMS) include polling features. Others require you to embed a link to poll hosted on an online polling site or to a form you created with form-building software on the course page. Another option is for you to embed a poll on a content page that participants can access using a free mobile app.
Web Conference Training
Your web conference platform is likely to support multiple choice or true/false poll questions. You can keep the results of the poll private or share the graphed results of the poll with participants.