Abstract:

Enhancing student learning through assessment remains a central challenge for universities, particularly in contexts characterised by large cohorts and diverse student needs. Evidence suggests that assessment does not merely measure learning but actively shapes it, influencing what and how students study. However, traditional approaches, often dominated by high-stakes summative tasks, limit opportunities for timely feedback and continuous improvement. In response, formative assessment has gained prominence as a pedagogical approach that supports learning by identifying the gap between current and desired performance and enabling both students and educators to adjust strategies accordingly.

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), especially when supported by digital tools, have been shown to improve alignment between learning objectives and outcomes while enhancing engagement. More recently, gamified formative assessment tools such as Kahoot and Poll Everywhere have been used to further strengthen participation and motivation by incorporating elements such as immediate feedback, rewards and leaderboards. Research indicates that low-stakes quizzes combined with rapid feedback can improve learning outcomes, while game-based environments promote active and contextualised learning. Nevertheless, challenges remain, including the risk of overemphasising competition and issues related to time, inclusivity and accessibility.

This paper presents a case study of the Sustainable City Economies module, a large core undergraduate module with over 340 students at the Westminster Business School. It examines how weekly Poll Everywhere Competitions are used as gamified CATs to support formative assessment. These activities enable students to revisit key concepts, receive immediate feedback and apply knowledge to real-world sustainability challenges, directly preparing them for summative assessments, including a poster and an analytical report. The findings show that gamified formative assessment enhances student engagement, strengthens conceptual understanding and supports progression in large cohorts. Furthermore, sustained participation in these activities is positively associated with higher academic attainment, with engaged students more likely to achieve upper-tier performance levels.

The paper concludes by offering practical recommendations for embedding gamified formative assessment in higher education including, the level of question complexity should be carefully scaffolded, progressing from lower-order to higher-order cognitive skills to support knowledge consolidation and critical thinking; it can be carried out at the beginning of the class to asses priori knowledge or at the end to assess a posteriori knowledge; questions should incorporate diverse formats, including text- and image-based prompts, to enhance accessibility; implementing a weekly leaderboard can recognise high-performing students in each session, while a cumulative leaderboard that aggregates points across weeks can reward consistency, persistence and sustained effort over time. This dual approach helps shift the focus from one-off performance to continuous learning.

Keywords:

Gamified formative assessment, Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), Feedback for learning, Formative assessment, Student engagement, Poll Everywhere, Active learning.