Teaching and tutoring
Write a knowledge check for workplace training
A knowledge check should ask what a trainee would do, not what they can recall. Turn real situations from the job into scenarios with a decision point. Write each answer with a reason and point to the approved procedure or document that supports it.
A text to start with
I am training new staff on [task or procedure]. Here are situations that come up on the job: [situations]. Our approved reference is [document name or section]. Write [number] scenario questions, each with a decision to make, answer choices, the correct answer, a short rationale and the part of the reference that supports it. Use only the content I supplied.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Scenario question sheet
Task or procedure being trained: [ ] Approved reference and version: [ ] Scenario: [ ] Decision the trainee must make: [ ] Answer choices: A: [ ] B: [ ] C: [ ] Correct answer: [ ] Rationale: [ ] Reference section supporting it: [ ] What a wrong answer would show: [ ] Colleague who tested it: [ ] Disagreements found: [ ] Action after a missed question: [ ]
Cut questions that test trivia
For each question, ask whether a trainee who answers correctly would handle the real situation better. Cut questions about names, numbers or dates a person would look up on the job. Check that wrong answer choices are plausible mistakes and not obvious jokes. Verify every rationale against the approved reference, because a draft may add a rule you did not supply. Rewrite any scenario with two defensible answers until one is clearly better. Remove any scenario that depends on information the trainee would not have.
Ask another agent to check the result
Challenge each question: would answering it correctly predict that someone can do the task? Flag trivia and recall items. Find questions where two answers could be defended or where the rationale adds a rule missing from the approved reference.
Try it before using it
Ask an experienced colleague to answer the questions without seeing the key and note where they disagree with it. Fix scenarios that produce disagreement or confusion. Decide the passing standard and what happens when a trainee misses a question, such as review with a trainer. Have the owner of the reference confirm each cited section is current before the check is used.