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

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.