This website uses cookies to improve website functionality and performance, to analyze website traffic, and to provide you with a more personalized experience. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.
TLHE project 2025: Clara Vandeweerdt,
Department of Political Science and SODAS ABSTRACT The vast majority of
students’ (expected) time spent on learning is done outside the classroom. How
can we incentivize students to spend this time and spend it well? In this field
experiment, I test the effect on between-class preparation of a relatively
subtle intervention, which makes students’ preparation visible to peers. In an
MA elective course, I asked students to prepare discussion questions for two
out of the three readings assigned for each class meetings. In most but not all
class meetings, the students then used these questions in paired peer
discussions. Surprisingly, I find no decrease in students’ likelihood of
submitting questions for class meetings where the questions would not be used
in peer groups. However, I do find a large gap in students’ self-reported
engagement with the two texts for which they had to submit questions, and the
third text for which they did not.