Boosting Attendance and Improving Student Comprehension With Interactive Quizzes

At East Carolina U, a kinesiology instructor sees a spike in attendance and increased comprehension after using Top Hat’s quiz function

Regular and lifelong movement is the foundation for a healthy, productive and fulfilling life—that’s the gospel according to Sue-L Cohen, a teaching instructor in the department of Kinesiology at East Carolina University. As research and studies show, many Americans fall short of meeting the minimum guidelines for physical activity, and the department of Kinesiology is there to empower and educate future healthcare leaders and providers on the importance of exercise. Cohen oversees all the activity courses at ECU as well as the graduate students and teaching assistants who run them. A native Floridian, Cohen earned her degrees (B.S. and M.A. of Ed.) in the state’s system, and then worked for the University of South Florida in student affairs. That’s where she got a real, concrete sense of university life and hands-on experience planning for students. What was one of her biggest takeaways? “As educators we need to be mindful of the way students use technology in every part of their lives,” she says. “We have to meet this generation where they’re at.”

At East Carolina, the state’s third largest university, every undergraduate is required to take Kine1000, a course that aims to equip students with the necessary tools to become an educated, repeat consumer of physical activity. That adds up to about 3,500 students every year taking this foundational requirement course, which covers the study of fitness, diet, weight control, degenerative diseases, physiological effects of exercise and the significance of motor skills development. The 16 graduate students charged with teaching the courses are asked by Cohen to conduct verbal, on-the-spot quizzes at the end of each lecture to review and hammer home key learnings. The trouble, says Cohen, is inconsistency. Are the instructors covering the right material? Are they even remembering or finding time to conduct the quizzes? And are students getting the same messages about what’s important?