Abstract
Background
Maintaining learner attention and engagement during traditional lecture-based teaching remains a persistent challenge in education. Cognitive icebreakers that introduce novelty and promote active participation may help mitigate mental fatigue and reenergize learners.
Objective
The pilot classroom initiative was undertaken to assess immediate student perceptions of rebus puzzles as an engagement strategy during lectures and to explore their feasibility as a low-cost intervention to enhance learner attention and interaction.
Methods
Rebus puzzles were introduced as cognitive icebreakers and midlecture engagement tools during teaching sessions. Student feedback was collected and analyzed qualitatively, focusing on learner reactions in accordance with Kirkpatrick’s Level 1 evaluation framework.
Results
Students reported positive perceptions of the rebus puzzles, describing them as “fun to do,” and expressed a desire for their regular inclusion, with comments such as “something I’d want before every class.” The puzzles stimulated curiosity, facilitated peer interaction, and reduced perceived mental fatigue through their novelty and collaborative nature.
Conclusion
Rebus puzzles appear to be a feasible, low-cost strategy for enhancing student engagement in large-group teaching. Although the evaluation was limited to learner reactions and did not assess learning outcomes, behavioral change, or academic performance, positive learner perceptions are a necessary precursor to deeper learning. Future studies should incorporate higher-level evaluation measures and repeated implementation across cohorts to strengthen evidence for educational effectiveness and scalability.
Introduction
Large-group didactic lectures remain a common way to deliver core content, but they often leave students as passive learners, with attention and engagement declining as the session progresses. Research indicates that student attention begins to wane within 10-15 min of lecture onset, and brief cognitive breaks may restore focus. 1 To address this, educators have experimented with a range of in-class engagement strategies, such as think-pair-share activities, multimedia prompts, and other interactive approaches. 2
Rebus puzzles, which use combinations of images, letters, and symbols to represent words or phrases, offer a visually stimulating method for activating critical thinking. When introduced as an icebreaker at the start of the lecture or during the session as a brief engagement activity, these puzzles can ease mental fatigue, stimulate curiosity, grab attention, promote analytical reasoning, and break the monotony, allowing for a cognitive reset. This pilot classroom initiative explored the perceived usefulness of incorporating rebus puzzles as both fun icebreakers and content-related engagement tools in lecture-based undergraduate sessions.
Methodology
Time Period, Setting, and Participants
The rebus puzzles were developed and implemented as a pilot intervention during a single 60-min lecture delivered to final-year undergraduate dental students. The session was conducted in a conventional large-group classroom setting, with 50 students in attendance. The activity was integrated within the routine teaching format, and the facilitator ensured active participation of all the students.
Description and Implementation of the Innovation
The introduction of rebus puzzles into the lecture format was informed by Cognitive Load Theory. 3 It explains that working memory has limited capacity, and when learners are exposed to excessive information or multiple simultaneous tasks, cognitive overload occurs, resulting in reduced learning and performance. Traditional large-group lectures often impose high intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load, leading to learner fatigue and disengagement, particularly when delivered without interactive breaks. 4
To address this challenge, rebus puzzles were introduced as brief, structured cognitive novelties to facilitate a mental reset without disrupting instructional flow. The puzzles were custom-created using Google Slides, with royalty-free images sourced from Pixabay.
Two formats of rebus puzzles were used:
Introductory icebreaker activity: All the students were introduced to the concept of rebus puzzles. Simple, fun puzzles related to the broader theme of the lecture or some key dental terms were presented, and free responses were invited from the students. Time allotted for the activity was 3-5 min. This initial exercise served to ease students into the session, created interest and a more relaxed, participatory learning environment (Figure 1).
Introductory Rebus Puzzle Used as a Lecture Icebreaker.
Midlecture reengagement activity: Puzzles were also designed to break monotony and to reengage the students midlecture. For this, the students were divided into five teams of 10 each. A multipart rebus puzzle related to lecture concepts was introduced. The first team was given 30 s to decode part of the puzzle that formed a meaningful word or phrase. If answered correctly, the next part of the puzzle was presented to the second team with a 30-s response time limit. If unsuccessful, the puzzle rotated to the next team with a 15-s time limit. This continued in a cyclical manner until the entire puzzle was solved. In case a part of the puzzle could not be answered by any team, the facilitator decoded it to maintain the flow. A brief debriefing followed, linking the puzzle content explicitly to key lecture concepts (Figure 2).
Team-based Rebus Puzzle Activity for Midlecture Reengagement.
Criteria for Assessing Innovation Success
Student feedback was collected at the end of the session using an anonymous, semistructured questionnaire administered via Google Forms, consistent with Level 1 (Reaction) of the Kirkpatrick Model. The instrument included Likert-scale items to capture student perceptions of engagement and usefulness, as well as open-ended questions to elicit qualitative feedback. Student responses have been summarized descriptively using counts and percentages. Open-ended responses were reviewed and grouped thematically to identify common perceptions (see Table 1). The responses facilitate the determination of the immediate acceptability and perceived value of rebus puzzles.
Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Rebus Puzzles in Teaching.
Results
The outcomes suggest that the intervention successfully met its immediate objectives of generating interest and enhancing student engagement within a large-group lecture context. Facilitators observed increased student participation, quicker peer collaboration, and more energized classroom dynamics during and after the rebus puzzle activities. Student feedback supported these observations, with learners reporting heightened mental alertness and engagement.
Quantitative responses suggested that students perceived the use of rebus puzzles as a novel and underutilized instructional strategy in higher education. In qualitative feedback, students described the puzzles as “Fun to do,” noted that they “Enhances creativity and mental reasoning,” and expressed a desire for their regular inclusion with comments such as “Something I’d want before every class.” These findings indicate that rebus puzzles worked effectively as both cognitive icebreakers and midlecture engagement tools and can be utilized as a feasible intervention to reenergize learners, stimulate curiosity, and facilitate peer interaction. Their novelty and collaborative nature helped to mitigate mental fatigue and promote interaction.
Discussion
However, as the evaluation was limited to Kirkpatrick Level 1, learning outcomes, behavioral changes, or academic performance of students were not assessed. Although positive learner reactions are a prerequisite for deeper learning, they do not alone demonstrate educational effectiveness. Nonetheless, within the context of the broader challenge of sustaining attention and engagement in traditional lecture-based instruction, these findings align with existing evidence that cognitive novelty, active recall, and curiosity-driven activities enhance attention, retention, and motivation.5, 6
To address the challenge of learner disengagement, future interventions should extend evaluations beyond learners’ reactions and include additional indicators such as knowledge retention, concept application, and/or sustained engagement across multiple sessions. Repeated implementation across multiple lectures and student cohorts would help build and strengthen the evidence base and improve generalizability.
Rebus puzzles require limited resources. They are low-cost and easily adaptable across diverse settings, with easy integration into existing teaching sessions. Large-scale adoption would require faculty development initiatives with a focus on simple puzzle design and facilitation techniques. Additionally, student-generated rebus puzzles may further promote engagement, encourage reflection on key concepts, and foster a sense of ownership of learning.
While the use of rebus puzzles does not address all challenges integral to large-group lectures, this pilot initiative can pose as a practical and adaptable strategy for enhancing student engagement and providing brief cognitive reactivation in diverse educational settings.
Conclusion
Rebus puzzles represent a simple, innovative, and low-cost strategy to enhance student engagement during large-group teaching. Their use as cognitive icebreakers and midlecture activities promoted attention, interaction, and learner enthusiasm while reducing perceived mental fatigue. Although limited to learner reaction outcomes, the positive student perceptions highlight their acceptability and feasibility. Future research should evaluate their impact on learning outcomes, knowledge retention, and long-term educational effectiveness across diverse teaching contexts.
Footnotes
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Naila and Dr. Nand Kishore, ESIC Dental College, Rohini, New Delhi 110089, India, for helping us with the study.
Author Contributions
Komal Maheshwari: Contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, acquisition and interpretation of data, critical review of the manuscript, and final approval of the version to be published.
Abhishek Kumar Gupta: Contributed to data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, and final approval of the version to be published.
Bhawana Tiwari: Contributed to data analysis and interpretation, critical review of the manuscript, and final approval of the version to be published.
All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
This statement aligns with the ICMJE authorship recommendations and is appropriate for submission to the journal.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethical Considerations
The activity described in this study was conducted as part of routine classroom teaching. Participation in the feedback survey was voluntary, and responses were collected anonymously. As no identifiable personal data were collected and the initiative represented a teaching innovation within normal educational practice, institutional ethics committee approval was not obtained. Informed consent was implied through voluntary completion of the questionnaire.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
