Daily Student Engagement with Text Messages in General Chemistry

Indianapolis, IN

Students often report using ineffective study techniques (Gurung, 2005; Gurung, Weidert, & Jeske, 2010). Using text messaging (Qualtrics), this project encouraged practice testing, distributed practice, and interleaved practice (Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan, & Willingham, 2013). All students enrolled in general chemistry (N = 82) at a small Midwestern private university participated in this project. Starting the second week of class, students started receiving a daily text message with four quiz questions (students received course points for answering the questions daily). After answering each question (practice testing), students received feedback explaining the correct answer. As each week progressed, a subset of the 20 weekly questions came from previously learned material (distributed practice); additionally, the ordering of the content mixed the four main content areas (naming, stoichiometry, dimensional analysis, and balancing equations) of the course material (interleaved practice). For exam one, participants' total score on practice questions and the total number of days they completed questions was a significant predictor of their exam score (F(1,81) = 17.90, p < .001, R2 = .18; F(1,81) = 12.60, p = .001, R2 = .13). This pattern was the same for exams two, three, four, and the final exam. For participants' final grade in the course, participants' total score on practice questions was a significant predictor of their final grade (F(1,75) = 46.34, p < .001, R2 = .39). This suggests that the use of practice testing, distributed practice, and interleaved practice using smartphones may increase exam scores