LEVEL UP: Increasing Student Participation to Achieve Better Academic Results

A no cost "game" to incentivize (1) Reading the text ahead of time (come to class prepared); (2) Building meaningful relationship with the instructor based on course material; and (3) Interacting with course material outside of scheduled class time.

A pilot of this teaching technique was implemented in the Spring semester of 2021, reflected and improved on in Fall semester of 2021, and replicated in the Spring semester of 2022 with 1st and 2nd year students in a STEM course. The students demonstrated measurable improvement in course engagement and academic course mastery. Moreover, students reported applying techniques of this learning method to other courses and overall satisfaction at achieving immediate rewards of their hard work. A framework of such incentives will be discussed and specific procedures to carry out this approach will be shared. Documented results point to students academic excellence achievement in course content mastery and creation of student support system (instructor, peers, course material). We will share results of a student survey and grade achievements.

Student's feedback: I was not able to participate in the Level Up game at the beginning of the semester, simply because of time restraints that prevented it. I was not able to start participating until right before the third test. Which ended up helping me to improve my grade from a C to a B on it the test, due to the particle credit test correction. If I had been able to start the game earlier in the semester, I feel like my overall class grade would be even more improved than it is at the present. Even with starting the game late, I have been able to accumulate enough points that it will make a significant difference on my final exam. I would recommend future students to try and a head start on it and try their best to actively participate.