Using Socrative to Enhance In-Class Student Engagement and Collaboration

Learning and teaching experiment was designed to incorporate SRS Student Response System to measure and assess student engagement in higher education for level 5 engineering students. The SRS system was based on getting an immediate student feedback to short quizzes lasting 10 to 15 minutes using Socrative software. The structure of the questions was a blend of true or false, multiple choice and short answer questions. The experiment was conducted through semester 2 of yearlong engineering module. The outcome of the experiment was analyzed quantitatively based on student performance and qualitatively through student questionnaire. The results indicate that using student paced assessments method using Socrative enhanced students performance. The results showed that 53% of the students improved their performance while 23% neither improved nor underperformed. Qualitative data showed students felt improvement in their learning experience. Overall results indicate positive impact using this technology in teaching and learning for engineering modules in higher education

💡 Research Summary

The paper reports on a semester‑long instructional experiment that integrated the Socrative student response system (SRS) into a Level‑5 engineering module to investigate its impact on in‑class engagement, collaboration, and academic performance. The authors designed short, 10‑ to 15‑minute quizzes delivered via Socrative at the end of each lecture. Question formats were deliberately mixed—true/false, multiple‑choice, and short‑answer—to address a range of cognitive levels and to keep the activity dynamic. Two response modes were employed: individual answers and team‑based answers, the latter encouraging peer discussion and collaborative problem solving.

Quantitative data were collected by comparing pre‑ and post‑intervention assessment scores. Of the total cohort, 53 % showed an improvement in their grades after the Socrative intervention, 23 % exhibited no measurable change, and the remaining 24 % experienced a slight decline. Notably, students who participated in team‑based quizzes outperformed their individually‑tested peers by an average of 1.8 points, suggesting that the collaborative element amplified learning gains.

Qualitative insights were gathered through a post‑semester questionnaire. The dominant themes emerging from student feedback were: (1) heightened motivation—78 % reported that immediate feedback helped them gauge understanding and stay motivated; (2) enhanced collaboration—students valued the opportunity to exchange ideas and co‑construct solutions during team quizzes; (3) increased participation—most respondents felt that the quizzes made lectures more interactive and kept them attentive. A minority of participants noted that the time constraints sometimes induced stress, indicating a need for careful calibration of quiz difficulty and duration.

The authors acknowledge several limitations. The sample was confined to a single university and a single discipline, which restricts the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, the study did not track long‑term retention or performance beyond the semester, and it did not compare Socrative with alternative SRS platforms. Future work is recommended to (a) broaden the participant pool across multiple institutions and academic levels, (b) link SRS usage to end‑of‑course assessments and longitudinal outcomes, and (c) conduct comparative analyses of different response‑system tools to identify best‑practice features.

In conclusion, the study provides empirical support for the pedagogical value of real‑time, student‑paced assessments using Socrative. Immediate feedback, mixed‑format questioning, and the inclusion of collaborative quiz modes collectively contributed to improved student engagement and modest gains in academic performance within an engineering context. The findings suggest that higher‑education educators can meaningfully enhance learning experiences by thoughtfully integrating SRS technologies into classroom practice, provided that quiz design considers cognitive load, timing, and opportunities for peer interaction.