The Student Response Systems in the university classes: experiences of use and educational value

Abstract

Higher education systems are facing the challenge of renovating university teaching practices to improve the quality of learning. While traditional lecturing is still one of the most widespread approach, increased teacher- student interaction as well as constant feedback are seen as crucial strategies to innovate teaching and learning processes at academic level. This study investigates the potential of Game-based Student Response Systems (GSRS) for formative assessment through the analysis students’ perceptions on the gamified experience. A survey was carried out in the course of “New Media for Learning” at the University of Florence, involving about 400 students. Data analysis showed a high level of student satisfaction and of perceived efficacy in terms of learning of the different type of questions administered during the lesson. Involvement seems to be directly proportional to the level of competition of the gamified system, while the visualization and discussion on the answers given by the students through the system allows to implement innovative forms of formative assessment.