Google Forms is a versatile tool that can do a lot of things. One of the most helpful things it can do is help differentiate student learning through something called branching. Google Forms has an option called Go To Section Based on Answer that you can use to loop students to the same question until they get the answer correct. Basically, you can set up a branching system to guide students through a Form. If they get the answer incorrect, they can revisit content or watch a video that explains the concept, then answer the question again. It’s a powerful tool for review and solidifying understand of concepts. Here’s how you set it up:
Make it a quiz
For this to work, you need quiz mode enabled. Click on the gear box at the top to go to the setting window. Then, click over to Quizzes and toggle the “Make this a quiz” option. If you’re using this as a class activity, then you don’t need to worry about any of the other options.
Set up different sections for each question
There are two ways to go about this, depending on what you’re using this for. You can create a standard section for any incorrect answer, or you can create a custom section for each question to remediate misunderstandings. In my example, I just have one standard section for incorrect answers.
Count up how many questions you have, and make a new section for each question. Then, make another section for incorrect answers. Go ahead and title each section to make it easier to find.
Side note: If you’re using this activity to help students develop skills, you can set up a second section for each question. If a student misses the question, you can embed a video or a link to resources that helps them. Then, they can go back to the question and try it again.
Add your first question
Go to the first section and add the question and answer options. Since you set this up as a quiz, you now have the answer key option. Click on “Answer Key” and choose the correct answer. You don’t need to worry about point values for this.
Go to section based on answer
Here’s where it can get tricky, but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of this. Go back to edit the question. Click on the three dots at the bottom right of the questions and you’ll see an option “Go to section based on answer”. When you select that option, you’ll see a dropdown menu next to each answer option. For each incorrect answer, select the incorrect answer section. For the correct answer, select the next section for them to go on to the next question. Basically, you’re creating a loop for them until they get the correct answer.
Quick note: You’ll notice underneath each section, it says, “After section X” and then has an option of where to go next. Check your incorrect section (probably the last section) and change this option. If you leave this at the default setting, when student get to that section, they can go directly to the submit page and skip everything. I change this option to take them to the same section, essentially putting them into a loop that requires them to click the back button.
This is definitely something you’ll want to click through yourself to make sure everything goes to the correct section. It may sound complicated, but once you get the hang out it, it’s pretty easy to do.
I have an example of a 5 question scavenger hunt I had my students do with the course syllabus. Check it out here.
The Educator's Quest 