Summary

This case study showcases a method developed with international foundation year students to support the transition to university study, where co-creation and participation are emphasised. The programme is for international students who have completed high school but do not yet meet entry requirements for a UK undergraduate degree. The approach encouraged students to embrace active learning as a legitimate, effective process of learning whilst simultaneously building learners confidence through co-creation. This activity is readily transferable across disciplines and educational phases.

What did we do?

The activity began as a quiz-based intervention whereby teachers designed a quiz, recapping student learning from the lecture, implemented at the beginning of the following seminar. We used a gamified quiz platform to deliver the quiz, which included leader boards and a timer to increase engagement. The quiz was accessible on any internet enabled device. The platform allowed students to remain anonymous or to input their names as they wished. Although effective for retrieval practice, we felt there was more that could be done to engage students and enhance learning, and so we introduced a co-created element where students designed the questions for each other to play.

The activity followed a series of steps:

1. Students participated in a knowledge input activity before the seminar: in this case a lecture, although it could equally be reading an article, watching a demonstration, etc.
2. During the seminar, students were given a piece of paper and instructed to write a question and answers based on pre-learning. Students did not write their name on the papers, which were then collected by the teacher. Students were encouraged to write different styles of questions (multiple-choice, true/false, or application).
3. After the seminar, the teacher uploaded the questions and potential answers to the quiz platform, choosing the answer time. Minor changes were made to the wording so that the questions were coherent, and questions were only removed where there was repetition. It was important that students were able to identify their own questions.
4. During subsequent seminars, students accessed the quiz platform via their devices, deciding if they wished to remain anonymous (and therefore choose a pseudonym) or input their own name. Once all were logged on, the quiz began. On the main screen, students were shown the question and possible answers, and they selected the correct answer on their device.
5. At the end of the allotted time, the correct answer is revealed on screen along with the leaderboard positions. At intervals the teacher interjected with further explanation if needed before proceeding to the next question. At the end of the quiz, the top 5 students were revealed.

Why did we do this?

Gamified learning experiences have been shown to enhance motivation and engagement in students’ learning (Caponetto et al., 2014), while also fostering stronger relationships between teachers and students, and between peers. This approach creates a collaborative and interactive environment supporting both academic and social development.

The gamified platform provided students the option of anonymity, which is important in creating a space for ‘safe failure’ (LaVaque-Manty, 2014) and increasing positive engagement. Actively participating in learning, such as developing a quiz, empowered students to take ownership of their education, fostering deeper understanding and enhancing their overall learning experience (Draper, 2009). The co-created quiz encouraged students to participate in the class in different, more active, ways – both as producers of the lesson but also as participants, increasing engagement with the material. Students also needed a higher level of understanding and critical thinking to be able to write successful quiz questions, with viable potential answers.

Research highlights that transitioning to higher education requires students to develop greater self-direction in learning (Jeffery, 2012). Shifting from teacher-led instruction to a co-created classroom environment is a gradual process relying on educators to foster supportive and enabling conditions. Encouraging students to design a quiz is a small but meaningful step in this journey, helping them build confidence, a sense of belonging, and shifting mindsets from passively answering questions to actively formulating them. This approach aligns with Healey et al.’s (2014) emphasis on engaging students as partners in learning and teaching, which enhances motivation and ownership. It also provides students with an opportunity to reflect on previous learning, or catch up on missed content, making seminar sessions more productive by reducing the need for extensive recaps of lecture material.

How did students and staff respond?

Following ethical approval by University of Warwick Research Governance and Ethics Committee HSSREC 39/21-22, evaluation of this intervention was conducted across one iteration of two modules in 2021/22 via a student questionnaire (43% response rate), a focus group of 14 students, and interviews with two members of staff. Several key themes emerged:

Student engagement – teachers noted most students chose to take part in the quiz: in a seminar group of 15, typically all students were logged in as indicated on the home screen of the platform and 90%+ of students submitted questions for the quiz. This could suggest that by writing the quiz in ‘student speak’, students understood what the question was asking and so did not have the ‘academic speak’ as a barrier to participating.

Students in the questionnaire described the quizzes as fun and engaging, viewing them as a game. For example, one commented, ‘I’m not a gamer, but this motivates me,’ while another said, ‘I don’t want to lose,’ highlighting the competitive aspect. The use of leaderboards proved incentivising – ‘I want to see my name’ – emphasising how gamification enhanced the feeling of motivation.

Enhanced learning for students and staff – students in the focus group reported that their retention of information improved through developing their own questions, as it made them recall and revise their notes, alongside being able to self-assess their learning through seeing what they got right or wrong. Teachers reported that they were able to identify areas of misunderstanding, either through the initial questions being submitted or in the quiz responses. This enabled teachers to intervene, re-explain concepts, and shape future teaching and learning.

Skill development – at interview, teachers noted that students initially wrote simple questions, such as true/false or knowledge-based questions, but over time the questions became more complex, involving application of concepts or multiple choice where the answers were less obvious. They observed that students were often helping each other write the questions, promoting communication skills and teamwork.

Feeling valued – most surprising was the impact of the quiz on the students’ sense of belonging. Students in the focus group claimed that having the opportunity to develop the quizzes, and for those questions to be largely unchanged when they appeared on screen, boosted their self-confidence as well as feelings of enjoyment. One student shared that ‘in the past, writing class material was for the teacher, and now the power is being shared with us.’ Students also felt that the gamification activity ‘makes me feel part of the lesson.’ Participating in the quizzes led to friendly competition, with students guessing who the author of the question was and laughing together when someone admitted to getting their own question wrong.

How is this a form of active learning?

The co-created quiz is a simple method of introducing students to active learning in a non-threatening way. It is an effective method as it encourages students to reflect on their own learning and understanding of the subject materials. The potential anonymity of the quiz platform means that it is non-threatening – the questions are not attributable to a particular person, and neither are the answers. It turns a passive activity into a more active experience of being involved with designing and contributing to the learning, reflecting and recalling what students know and using this knowledge to co-create the lesson.

Furthermore, students are engaged cognitively with the materials and produce evidence of their own learning through both the development of the quiz questions, and through playing the quiz.  This method engages them in a sense-making activity, as to write suitable suggested answers, students need to have internalised the information to construct credible responses. Over time the quiz questions invoke higher order thinking skills through application questions or asking others to select appropriate points of evaluation. Students are introduced to being more active agents by becoming co-creators of their learning.

How did we ensure our approach is inclusive?

We endeavoured to make this approach inclusive by:

• Enabling students to remain anonymous if they wish. This reduced the power imbalances that can be experienced in a classroom. Since neither the teacher nor the students knew who set the questions or gave the answers, all were able to participate and feel a part of the lesson.
• Making only minor changes to question wording. This meant questions were accessible as they were in the students’ own words. This also validated the students’ contribution by enabling students to recognise their own question.

How did we ensure that it was sustainable?

The quizzes were administered weekly, raising an initial concern that students might experience ‘game fatigue’ due to the frequency and format. However, students responded positively in the focus group to the routine, commenting, ‘I’m excited – I like the routine of doing the quiz.’ Having said this, the teacher can choose how frequently the activity is undertaken. While previous studies have identified the potential for diminished novelty in repeated gamified activities (Wang, 2015), in this context, the consistency appeared to support engagement rather than reduce it.

Students viewed mistakes positively, seeing incorrect answers as valuable learning opportunities. The questionnaire responses included, ‘I learn from making mistakes,’ and ‘it reminds me what I need to improve.’ For some, the quiz extended beyond knowledge recall, with one student noting, ‘we are creating, not just learning.’ This emphasis on co-creation not only enriched their immediate learning experience but also fostered skills of collaboration and critical thinking that they could carry forward into their undergraduate studies.

The sustainability of this initiative lies in its adaptability; the interactive and co-creative nature of the quizzes can be seamlessly integrated into future teaching practices, ensuring long-term benefits for students and educators.

How can others adapt this approach to their own context?  

The co-creation of quizzes is a highly adaptable strategy that can be tailored to various contexts, including diverse subject areas, classroom types (e.g. online or hybrid), and asynchronous learning environments. Its flexibility makes it suitable for a wide range of disciplines, enabling educators to integrate it into their teaching practices to foster active learning and student engagement. The approach supports flipped classroom methods by allowing students to engage with pre-class materials, such as demonstrations, articles, case studies, videos, or podcasts.

The method is versatile and not limited to standard, in-person, live delivery during term time. For instance, in online or hybrid settings, students can submit questions via email or digital tools like MS Forms. For asynchronous learning or revision, students could contribute questions by a set deadline, with the quiz completed at their convenience. Discussions could then take place in forums to encourage further engagement and reflection.

To implement this gamified active learning approach, educators can use platforms like Kahoot!, Quizlet, or similar tools that support interactive quizzes. In contexts where online access is limited, the activity can be adapted to a traditional paper-based format, maintaining the core element of student-created questions.

Clear guidance from teachers on designing effective questions and fostering collaboration is essential for the success of this approach. Encouraging students to take ownership of the quiz creation process not only enhances their learning experience but also promotes deeper understanding and active participation.

Key takeaways

The integration of gamification and co-creation into transition pedagogy offers significant benefits for both students and teachers including:

• Enhanced student engagement and learning: Gamification and co-creation actively engage students, fostering confidence, a sense of belonging and increased learning.
• Teacher benefits: Teachers gain formative feedback on student learning through quizzes, enabling targeted teaching
• Enhanced classroom dynamics: Co-creation shifts classroom dynamics positively, encouraging participation and building stronger teacher-student relationships.

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References

Caponetto, I., Earp, J., & Ott, M. (2014). Gamification and education: A literature review. European Conference on Games Based Learning, 1, 50-57. Academic Conferences International Limited.

Draper, S. W. (2009). Catalytic assessment: understanding how MCQs and EVS can foster deep learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(2), 285-293. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8535.2008.00920.x

Jeffery, L., (2012). A review of the literature examining pedagogical differences between A level and university. Cambridge Assessment. https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/images/116018-cambridge-assessment-he-research-literature-review-executive-summary.pdf

Healey, M., Flint, A., & Harrington, K. (2014). Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education Academy.

LaVaque-Manty, (2014, August 29). Quoted in SAGE Connection. How do you (successfully) gamify a course? Social Science Space. https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2014/08/how-do-you-successfully-gamify-a-course/

Wang, A.I. (2015). The wear out effect of a game-based student response system. Computers & Education, 82, 217-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.11.004

About the authors

Amy Stickels is a Teaching and Learning Consultant at Warwick Business School, having previously taught International Foundation students at Warwick. Anna Tranter is Associate Professor at Warwick, combining research and teaching to embed practices that support international students’ engagement and transition to undergraduate study.

Corresponding Author: Amy Stickels, a.stickels@warwick.ac.uk