Guide to Problem Settings#
In addition to the text of the problem and its formatting or OLX markup, you define the following settings for problem components. To access these settings, edit the problem. With the exception of Display Name, you can find all of these settings on the right side of your problem. Click on Show advanced settings to view additional options such as Show Answer, Show reset option and Time between attempts.
If you do not edit these settings, default values are supplied for your problems.
Note
If you want to temporarily or permanently hide problem results from learners, you use the subsection-level Results Visibility setting. You cannot change the visibility of individual problems. For more information, see Set Problem Results Visibility.
Display Name#
This required setting provides an identifying name for the problem. The display name appears as a heading above the problem in the LMS, and it identifies the problem for you in reporting and analytics systems. Be sure to add unique, descriptive display names so that you, and your learners, can identify specific problems quickly and accurately.
You can find the display name setting at the top of your problem. To edit, click the pen symbol to the right of the field and enter the desired text.
The following illustration shows the display name of a problem in Studio, and in the LMS.
Type#
You can change the problem type after your initial selection. The current problem type is shown with a check mark. Selecting any other problem type will change your problem to that type while carrying over the content you have already prepared. Please check your selection for correct answers as these may not carry over when changing problem types.
Note
If you would like to convert your problem into an advanced problem, scroll down to the bottom of the settings, click Show advanced settings and then click Switch to advanced editor.
Scoring#
These settings allow you to change the amount of points your problem is worth and the number of attempts a student has for answering it.
Problem Points#
This setting specifies the total number of points possible for the problem. This defaults to 1 point. In the LMS, the number of points a problem is worth appears near the problem’s display name.
Note
The LMS scores all problems. However, only scores for problem components that are in graded subsections count toward a learner’s final grade.
Attempts#
This setting specifies the number of times that a learner is allowed to try to answer this problem correctly. You can define a different Attempts value for each problem. Setting the Attempts value to empty means that learners have an unlimited number of attempts.
A course-wide Maximum Attempts setting defines the default value for this problem-specific setting. Initially, the value for the course-wide setting is null, meaning that learners can try to answer problems an unlimited number of times. You can change the course-wide default by selecting Settings and then Advanced Settings. Note that if you change the course-wide default from null to a specific number, you can no longer change the problem-specific Attempts value to unlimited.
Only problems that have an Attempts setting of 1 or higher are included in the answer distribution computations used in the Student Answer Distribution report.
Note
The recomendation is to set Maximum Attempts to unlimited or a large number when possible. Problems that allow unlimited attempts encourage risk taking and experimentation, both of which lead to improved learning outcomes. However, allowing for unlimited attempts might not be feasible in some courses, such as those that use primarily single select or dropdown problems in graded subsections.
Number of Attempts#
This setting appears under the Show answer dropdown when the After some number of attempts, After all attempts or After all attempts or correct option is selected. This limits when learners can select the Show Answer option for a problem. Learners must submit at least the specified number of attempted answers for the problem before the Show Answer option is available to them.
Time Between Attempts#
This setting can be found on the collapsible settings to the right of the problem editor after clicking Show advanced settings. It specifies the number of seconds that a learner must wait between submissions for a problem that allows multiple attempts. If the value is 0, the learner can attempt the problem again immediately after an incorrect attempt.
Adding required wait time between attempts can help to prevent learners from simply guessing when multiple attempts are allowed.
If a learner attempts a problem again before the required time has elapsed, they see a message below the problem indicating the remaining wait time. The format of the message is, “You must wait at least {n} seconds between submissions. {n} seconds remaining.”
Hints#
When you add hints, the Hint button is automatically displayed to learners. Learners can access the hints by selecting Hint beneath the problem. A learner can view multiple hints by selecting Hint multiple times.
For example, in the following single select problem, the learner selects Hint after having made one incorrect attempt.
The hint text indicates that it is the first of two hints. After the learner selects Next Hint, both of the available hints appear. When all hints have been used, the Hint or Next Hint option is no longer available.
See also
Configure a Hint in a Problem (how-to)
Best Practices for Providing Hints#
To ensure that your hints can assist learners with varying backgrounds and levels of understanding, you should provide multiple hints with different levels of detail.
For example, the first hint can orient the learner to the problem and help those struggling to better understand what is being asked.
The second hint can then take the learner further towards the answer.
In problems that are not graded, the third and final hint can explain the solution for learners who are still confused.
Show Answer#
This setting can be found on the collapsible settings to the right of the problem editor after clicking Show advanced settings. This will add a Show Answer option to the problem for the learner. The following options define when the answer is shown to learners.
After All Attempts |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have used all of their attempts. Requires max attempts to be set on the problem. |
After All Attempts or Correct |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have used all of their attempts or have correctly answered the question. If max attempts are not set, the learner will need to answer correctly before they can Show Answer. |
After Some Number of Attempts |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have attempted the problem a minimum number of times (this value is set by the course team in Studio). |
Always |
Always present the Show Answer option. Note: If you specify Always, learners can submit a response even after they select Show Answer to see the correct answer. |
Answered |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have correctly answered the problem. |
Attempted |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have made at least 1 attempt on the problem. If the problem can be, and is, reset, the answer continues to show. (When a learner answers a problem, the problem is considered to be both attempted and answered. When the problem is reset, the problem is still considered to have been attempted, but is not considered to be answered.) |
Attempted or Past Due |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have made at least 1 attempt on the problem or the problem’s due date is in the past. |
Closed |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have used all attempts on the problem or the due date for the problem is in the past. |
Correct or Past Due |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have correctly answered the problem or the due date for the problem is in the past. |
Finished |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after they have used all attempts on the problem or the due date for the problem is in the past or they have correctly answered the problem. |
Never |
Learners and Staff will never be able to Show Answer. |
Past Due |
Learners will be able to Show Answer after the due date for the problem is in the past. |
An explanation for the correct answer can be entered below. This explanation is displayed when the learner presses the Show answer option.