Use of Online In-Class Quizzes to Motivate and Engage Students in Courses on Semiconductor Devices and Integrated Circuits

Assessed online in-class quizzes are adopted in courses on semiconductor devices and integrated circuits to motivate and engage students’ continual learning. Each quiz consists of no more than five questions and the questions simply require either typing few words or choosing from multiple choices to answer. Using common online learning management systems and with students’ smartphones to serve as a student response system, the quizzes are conducted quite easily in each class to assess students’ learning, checking whether students’ answers are correct or wrong in real time. Hence, it provides immediate feedback on students’ understanding of certain key concepts before moving on to next lecture topics. Five to 10 minutes in each lecture will be used up in conducting the quizzes. The time is worth spending as analytics data show better student engagement in attending classes. Assessment data also show that students’ performance in the online in-class quizzes generally agrees with that in the formal final exam. The approach is proven successful in four upper-division undergraduate courses in electrical and electronic engineering, including a semiconductor optoelectronics class delivered online earlier this year. It is useful for student engagement and assessment in engineering education, particularly in the pandemic-constrained teaching delivery.