Cross-discipline question set
Different disciplines. The same learning loop.
TAIF works when a question contains alternatives worth discussing. These three examples show how the format can move from diagnostic feedback to a course-weighted team decision.
What transfers
The subject changes. The productive uncertainty remains.
A strong TAIF question is not difficult because its wording is obscure. It is difficult because more than one option represents reasoning a student might genuinely use.
The retry matters because students must revisit that reasoning before the explanation appears. Assessment weight, team formation, thinking sequence and devices can then be chosen around the learning purpose.
Example 01 · Law
Procedural fairness before the merits.
Teaching decision
Can students identify the missing process without assuming that every dispute requires an oral hearing?
The strongest distractors represent two common moves: jumping directly to the complaint’s merits or treating one particular kind of hearing as mandatory in every case.
- Teams
- Student-formed groups
- Thinking
- Team from the start
- Devices
- One shared device
- Scoring
- Feedback points only
South African administrative law · PAJA procedural fairness
Assume that a municipality’s decision to cancel Lindiwe’s street-trading permit is administrative action under PAJA and that no emergency or other reasonable and justifiable basis for departing from the ordinary procedure exists. After receiving a complaint, the municipality cancels the permit without warning, gives Lindiwe no opportunity to respond and sends a one-line cancellation notice. Which is the strongest procedural-fairness concern?
- A
There is no procedural concern because receiving a complaint allows immediate cancellation without hearing from the permit holder.
- B
Lindiwe was not given adequate notice of the proposed action or a reasonable opportunity to make representations before the decision.
Best supported - C
The cancellation is procedurally unfair only because every individual permit decision requires a public inquiry.
- D
The only defect is that Lindiwe was not offered an oral hearing; written representations could never be sufficient.
Reveal teaching answerHide teaching answerCheck the supported option and feedback sequence
After an incorrect attempt
Not yet. 4 feedback points remain.
The team must separate the substantive reason for cancellation from the procedure followed before the decision.
Explanation after completion
Why B is best supported
For administrative action affecting a person, procedural fairness ordinarily includes adequate notice of the proposed action and a reasonable opportunity to make representations. PAJA permits a reasonable and justifiable departure in appropriate circumstances, but the question expressly excludes such a basis. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances and does not always require an oral hearing.
- Why D was tempting
- A hearing sounds protective, but written representations may provide a reasonable opportunity in some circumstances.
- What mattered
- Lindiwe had neither advance notice nor any opportunity to answer the complaint before the permit was cancelled.
Example 02 · Nursing
Gloves do not replace hand hygiene.
Teaching decision
Can every student commit to the infection-prevention step before the group normalises an unsafe shortcut?
Think First is useful here because students may follow a confident peer unless they first identify what changes between routine contact and a clean or aseptic procedure.
- Teams
- Assigned groups of 3–5
- Thinking
- Think First
- Devices
- One per student
- Scoring
- 4 · 2 · 1 · 0 marks
Simulated nursing education · WHO hand-hygiene principles
A student nurse finishes helping a patient to reposition, removes the gloves used and is about to prepare a sterile wound dressing for the same patient. Which next action best follows WHO hand-hygiene guidance?
- A
Put on new sterile gloves immediately because sterile gloves replace the need for hand hygiene.
- B
After removing the used gloves, perform hand hygiene immediately before the clean or aseptic procedure, then use the appropriate new gloves if indicated.
Best supported - C
Reuse the removed gloves because both tasks involve the same patient.
- D
Complete the dressing first and perform hand hygiene only after the procedure.
Reveal teaching answerHide teaching answerCheck the supported option and feedback sequence
After an incorrect attempt
Not yet. 2 marks remain.
The team should reconsider whether glove use changes the moments when hand hygiene is required.
Explanation after completion
Why B is best supported
WHO guidance requires hand hygiene after removing used gloves and identifies the moment immediately before a clean or aseptic procedure as an indication for hand hygiene. Gloves can be appropriate for the task, but they do not replace cleaning hands at the required time.
- Why A was tempting
- Sterile gloves feel like a complete barrier, but glove use does not remove the hand-hygiene indication.
- What mattered
- The student is moving to a clean or aseptic procedure and must clean their hands immediately before it.
Example 03 · Engineering
Design load is not allowable strength.
Assessment decision
Can teams translate a required factor of safety into an allowable stress before selecting the section area?
The question is short enough for a recorded team decision but exposes whether students apply the factor of safety to load, strength or the final answer.
- Teams
- Assigned roster teams
- Thinking
- Think First
- Devices
- One per student
- Scoring
- 6 · 4 · 2 · 0 marks
Mechanics of materials · Simplified axial-yield design
A prototype steel tie carries an unfactored axial service tensile load of 80 kN. The material yield strength is 250 MPa, and the assessment specifies a factor of safety of 2.0 against yielding applied to that service load. Ignoring holes, stress concentrations and other load cases, what is the minimum gross cross-sectional area?
- A
160 mm²
- B
320 mm²
- C
640 mm²
Best supported - D
1,000 mm²
Reveal teaching answerHide teaching answerCheck the supported option and feedback sequence
After an incorrect attempt
Not yet. 4 marks remain.
The team should write the allowable stress first, keep N and mm² consistent, then return to the area calculation.
Explanation after completion
Why C is best supported
The allowable stress is 250 MPa ÷ 2.0 = 125 N/mm². For axial stress, σ = F/A, so the required area is 80,000 N ÷ 125 N/mm² = 640 mm².
- Why B was tempting
- Using 250 MPa directly gives 320 mm², but that ignores the specified factor of safety.
- What mattered
- The factor of safety reduces allowable stress before the unfactored service load is divided by it.
Start with the learning decision