Active Learning Exercises are more Motivating than Quizzes for Underachieving College Students

Abstract

For two weeks of an introductory psychology course, covering two chapters of the text, students who were earning a grade of C or below were randomly divided into two groups. A quiz-only control group of 29 students continued to take weekly quizzes throughout the semester, and 27 students who carried out active learning exercises instead of taking the two quizzes. The latter reported that they worked longer than the controls, thought the material was easier, and liked chapters in the text better. When tested a month later they performed as well as the controls on a test of the chapter's material.