David Biggins – @cel_bu
Bournemouth University
Lynne Truelove
Sheffield Hallam University

For many educators, how best to authentically and effectively engage students can be a major issue. Evidence showing the positive correlation between engagement and good performance is enticing and encourages a search for aids to engagement, frequently including technology-enhanced learning (TEL) solutions. The prevalence of social media options in the TEL armoury and its potential to facilitate engagement leads educators to seek ways to embed social media in teaching to enhance the student experience.

The growth in student digital literacy, extensive use of social media platforms, widely available internet connectivity and a better understanding of how aspects of gaming can be leveraged to draw in and maintain users’ interest have enabled and supported the creation of social, online tools that educators can deploy. Peerwise is one such tool; a free, online, multiple choice question (MCQ) and answer application that provides a platform where students create questions that are answered by other students.

MCQs have a long-standing and justified place in the pedagogic tool kit. Students benefit from creating questions and answering the questions of others.  MCQs test knowledge and thereby provide reassurance of or identify gaps in understanding. 

Students can rate and comment on questions, using functionality common from other social media tools.  Students can earn 24 individual trophies which stimulates engagement, using the principles of gamification.  League tables offer an element of competition in which students strive to outperform their peer group.  While standalone, the output from Peerwise is regularly shared by tutors on other social media platfoms to maximise its utility and to maintain interest in Peerwise.

Peerwise supports the andragogy perspective in which students develop individualised paths to knowledge. The tagging of questions allows students to focus on areas requiring more work and the avoidance of areas they already understand. Peerwise replaces the traditional tutor–student relationship which is viewed negatively by many students, by adding a peer-to-peer, social learning model that empowers to learner to take control of their studies. 

Bournemouth University (BU) has been embedding Peerwise in UG and PG units since 2014. Peerwise is being used to extend students’ social experience by bringing together on-campus and online courses, groups with different characteristics which would otherwise never interact. 

The results experienced at BU have been beneficial and correlate with similar studies at other HEIs. A current collaborative and co-creation initiative between BU and Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is extending both the knowledge and application of Peerwise across the HE sector.

The presentation will explain the processes followed by BU and SHU to scaffold the application for students and maximise the potential for social interaction, provide qualitative and quantitative data on its use, reflect on student feedback and make recommendations for future deployment.

The presentation will be of use to other institutions who might be considering MCQ applications as the attendees will gain an informed view of the merits of Peerwise and its suitability in their own teaching and learning environments.