Abstract:

Absenteeism in university classrooms represents a persistent challenge for educators, as irregular attendance can negatively impact both learning outcomes and student engagement. Traditional lecture-based approaches often fail to motivate students to attend regularly or to maintain consistent study habits throughout the semester. To address this issue, pedagogical strategies that actively promote participation and continuous learning are essential. This study describes the implementation of surprise quizzes as a pedagogical strategy to encourage regular attendance and sustained study habits in the Human Physiology course taught during the second semester of the first year of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics degree. The experience was carried out over two consecutive academic years (2023–24 and 2024–25). During the 2023–24 academic year, five unannounced quizzes were conducted throughout the semester. Each quiz lasted approximately 15–20 minutes and assessed key concepts from recent lectures. To reduce pressure and reward consistent participation, only the three highest scores contributed to the final grade. The aim of this strategy was to motivate students to attend class regularly and maintain continuous engagement with the course content. Participation patterns revealed that 32% of students completed all five quizzes, 42% completed four, and 18% completed the minimum three required. The remaining students attended only one or two quizzes, or none. Attendance across the five quizzes was 100%, 72%, 70%, 82%, and 74%, respectively, indicating a decline after the first session followed by a partial recovery later in the semester. Most of the highest scores were obtained in the first three quizzes, with success rates ranging between 74% and 96%. In contrast, fewer students achieved high marks in the fourth and fifth quizzes (44% and 56%, respectively). A limitation of the initial implementation became evident: providing students with their quiz grades immediately after each assessment appeared to reduce motivation for some students, who perceived that they had already secured enough marks to pass this assessment. Consequently, in the 2024–25 academic year the strategy was modified so that students received their quiz grades only at the end of the semester. Under this revised approach, participation increased: 42% of students completed all five quizzes, 27% completed four, and 21% completed the minimum three required. Attendance across the five quizzes was 96%, 77%, 75%, 92%, and 56%, showing a similar mid-semester pattern but with a sharper decline in the final session. The highest scores were mainly concentrated in the first, second, and fourth quizzes. Although overall grades remained moderate, a slight improvement was observed when feedback on quiz results was delayed until the end of the course. It should also be noted that students may also miss class due to exam scheduling conflicts with other courses within the degree program, an unavoidable constraint worth acknowledging. At the end of each academic year, students completed a short survey evaluating their satisfaction with the use of surprise quizzes. Based on these experiences, the pop-quiz strategy will continue to be implemented in future editions of the course, with grades released at the end of the semester. This approach aims to sustain student motivation, promote habitual study practices, and reinforce the importance of continuous learning in university education.

Keywords:

Learning approaches, student motivation, study habits, attendance, continuous learning, formative assessment, student engagement.