In the annals of questioning, few approaches can be so frustrating for learners and simultaneously incapable of raising the level of thinking as fill-in-the-blank questions (FIBQs). Consider the following poorly constructed FIBQ: Process Education is a ____________________ philosophy of education which integrates many different ______________ theories, processes, and ______________.

Isn’t it frustrating? And that’s when you already KNOW about Process Education and practice it yourself. Imagine the level of frustration that would be felt by someone just beginning to learn about Process Education. What this question seeks isn’t understanding, but rather rote memorization and eidetic recall. Most poorly constructed FIBQs can only be answered correctly by someone who has memorized information, word for word, as it was provided in a book or lecture, or a telepath, who is able to read the mind of the instructor and knows exactly what words he or she is looking for.

These kinds of questions are probably fine, if the goal is to test sheer memorization ability:

I pledge ________________ to the flag of the United States of ________________ and to the ______________ for which it stands…

or

You have the right to remain __________. Anything you ___________ can and will be used against you in a ______________ of law. You have the right to an _______________…

If the goal is simply to test for the Information level of knowledge (Level 1 in the Levels of Learner Knowledge, Faculty Guidebook 2.2.1: Bloom’s Taxonomy—Expanding its Meaning), well-constructed FIBQs will work:

In the electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelength of red light is at approximately ______nm.

Note that this is still a directed question – it is forever parked at the Information level of knowledge, no matter which word we leave out:

In the ___________________, the wavelength of red light is at approximately 700nm.

In the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the wavelength of __________ is at approximately 700nm.

In the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the _____________ of red light is at approximately 700nm.

Plainly put, FIBQs are Directed questions (as opposed to Convergent or Divergent questions; see Faculty Guidebook 2.4.15: Writing Critical Thinking Questions) that ask for discrete information to be supplied with a further strongly implied constraint that the final sentence should be grammatically correct. Is there any other pedagogically defensible use of fill-in-the-blank questions? They are traditionally very popular, probably owing to the fact that they make for easier grading of exams or quizzes, as the answer(s) comprise only a single word or group of words.

One problem with poorly constructed FIBQs is that they can actually penalize students who have progressed beyond memorization/recall to the higher level skills of conceptual understanding, where the ability to demonstrate comprehension through relating, comparing, interpreting, explaining, rephrasing, and summarizing is indicative of actual understanding.

A student who understands Process Education (for example) can probably explain what it is, how it works, some of the implications of it as a practice, and the similarities and differences between it and other approaches. This same student, unless he or she has an eidetic memory or is telepathic, would probably still be unable to fill in these blanks:

Process Education is a ____________________ philosophy of education which integrates

many different ______________ theories, processes, and ______________.

In case you're wondering, it should be:

Process Education is a     performance-based     philosophy of education which integrates

many different     educational     theories, processes, and     tools    .