Recurrent Online Quizzes: Ubiquitous Tools for Promoting Student Presence, Participation and Performance

Abstract

We present the idea of recurrent, in-class online quizzes as an effective and efficient way to pro- mote student attendance (presence), engagement (participation) and to provide formative assess- ment (to enhance performance) within a face-to-face course. Quizzes during each class meeting encourage students to attend class regularly and participate actively. In addition, automated feed- back helps students identify strengths and weaknesses and allows instructors to immediately ad- dress common mistakes and gaps in learning. In this exploratory study, the perceptions of stu- dents toward these recurrent quizzes are investigated. Results show that students feel the quizzes motivate them to attend class and participate actively. Students also reported that the quizzes helped contribute to their performance in the course by providing immediate feedback on pro- gress and helping them identify important course concepts. All of these objectives can be achieved with minimal workload for the instructor and can easily be adapted for blended or dis- tance courses.