Paying Attention in Class: Using In-Class Quizzes to Incentivize Student Attention

Abstract

Background Methods are needed to incentivize student attention to class material. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of in-class quizzing to incentivize student attention to class material to boost exam performance. Method A randomized, alternating treatments design embedded in an introductory psychology class compared learning benefits of two types of quiz-based engagement activities, mastery quizzes, and concepts checks, as compared to a no-engagement activity control. Results Students performed significantly better on exam content linked to classes with quiz-based engagement activities. Learning benefits of engagement activities extended across levels of cognitive complexity indexed to Bloom levels, although were stronger for low-level items. The effects of engagement activities were also stronger for content directly discussed in class. There were no significant differences in learning outcomes between the two engagement activities. Conclusion Students performed better on exam content linked to class sessions with quiz-based engagement activities that incentivized attention to class material compared to those that did not. Teaching Implications Using in-class quizzes as attentional cues offers instructors a means of incentivizing student attention to class material with minimal disruption of class time and lecture flow, while also improving exam scores.