TITLE:
Enhancing University Student Engagement Using Online Multiple Choice Questions and Answers
AUTHORS:
D. Biggins, E. Crowley, E. Bolat, M. Dupac, H. Dogan
KEYWORDS:
Student Engagement, Peerwise, MCQ, Gamification, Technology-Enhanced Learning
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.3 No.9,
September
18,
2015
ABSTRACT: For many education providers, student
engagement can be a major issue. Given the positive correlation between engagement
and good performance, providers are continually looking for ways to engage
students in the learning process. The growth of student digital literacy, the
wide proliferation of online tools and the understanding of why online gaming
can be addictive have combined to create a set of tools that providers can
leverage to enhance engagement. One such tool is Peerwise, https://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/,
an online, multiple choice question (MCQ) and answer tool in which students
create questions that are answered by other students. Why use MCQs? Using MCQs
tests knowledge, provides reassurance of learning, identifies gaps and makes
this data available to student and provider. Students use this information to
focus their time on areas requiring additional work [1], benefiting from the
early feedback provided. Formative assess- ments using MCQs are beneficial in
preparing students for summative testing and are appreciated and liked by
students [2]. Providers can use this information to determine how the material
is being received and react accordingly. Students use Peerwise to create MCQs
that are answered, rated and commented on by their peers. Students’ engagement
in Peerwise earns trophies for contributing regular use and for providing
feedback, all of which act to stimulate further engagement, using the
principles of gamification. Bournemouth University, a public university in the
UK with over 18,000 students, has been embedding Peerwise in under-graduate and
post-graduate units since 2014. The results experienced by Bournemouth
University have been beneficial and correlate with other studies of using
Peerwise [3] [4]. A statistically significant improvement was seen by one cohort
of students compared to the previous year where Peerwise was not used. However,
no correlation was found between Peerwise participation and a student’s unit
mark. The processes followed by Bournemouth University and the advantages and
disadvantages, backed by qualitative and quantitative data, will be presented
so that other institutions can gain an informed view of the merits of Peerwise
for their own teaching and learning environments.