Spring 2021 Grant Recipient
Thank you for the Instructional Technology Mini Grant! During the Spring 2021 semester, the grant supported sociology students’ purchase of InQuizitive software associated with the Social Research Methods course (SOCI-300), as well as a Directed Research course (SOCI-492). These students used InQuizitive to practice new material from the course in an online format, which provided students (and the instructor!) with real-time information on their performance. As noted at the end of this document, I achieved two of the learning outcomes and partially achieved another two. I plan to implement InQuizitive again in Fall 2021, and I should now have enough familiarity with the program to commit more time to facilitating student metacognition (in addition to supporting completion and content mastery).
There were a few minor administrative barriers to get InQuizitive up and running for all students. After working with a Norton representative, I was able to configure the software through Moodle fairly quickly. As a result, students seemed to have a relatively easy time accessing each InQuizitive assignment. On average, students (formally and informally) reported that they liked the software because it provided good practice for concepts learned in class, and it also gave them opportunities to earn 100% for every assignment–even if they struggled to answer questions correctly initially.
After piloting InQuizitive this semester, I learned that similar software is available with many of Norton’s textbooks, including, for example, the textbook I typically use to teach Introduction to Sociology (SOCI-100). I imagine that this is the case outside of the sociology discipline, so other professors may find the software useful. I find it especially helpful that InQuizitive is graded entirely automatically (with the exception of writing tutorials that are unique to my textbook). The program also provides analytics by student and learning objective.
I was completely satisfied with the support that I received from SNC IT, as well as Norton IT. I originally sought this grant because the cost of the software ($25), on top of the textbook, was prohibitive for some of my students. Would it be possible to create a pool of student grant money to help address a challenge like this?
Achieved Learning Outcomes
- Students will complete the assigned InQuizitive assignments and writing tutorials. [Measurement: Student completion data collected via Moodle]
- The instructor will provide remedial instruction and/or supplemental resources that target areas for growth, as identified in the assignment-generated report. [Measurement: Lesson plans and Moodle resources will be updated to differentiate this semester’s instruction from previous semesters’.]
Partially-Achieved Learning Outcomes
- The instructor will facilitate metacognition by presenting and discussing (anonymized) class summary reports, which aggregate students’ performance on various learning objectives. [Measurement: Students will respond to questions on what the results mean via discussion.]
- Students will identify their strengths and weaknesses on learning targets in order to channel studying and revising toward areas of need. [Measurement A: Students will complete at least one required reflection. The reflection will prompt them to identify their strengths and weaknesses based on the assignment-generated report. Measurement B: Before major exams and papers, students will report in writing the areas that they’re targeting for improvement.]
