Ph.D. Student Martin Reinke Makes Learning Fun with Slido

After having taught several classes in finance, Martin wanted to make learning more effective for students.

To achieve this, he wanted to involve everyone actively. But with more than 300 students in the room, it was a big challenge.

Usually, it is difficult to keep students engaged during class. Students normally don’t want to raise their hands and interact with me, shares Martin.

To empower students to participate, Martin wanted to create a safe space for students to speak up while making his classes fun.

That’s why he came to Slido. Get inspired by Martin’s story.

Running a quiz to recap the previous class

To grab his students’ attention from the start, Martin kicks off each class with a ten-minute quiz.

Students answer 3 to 4 questions, with about 30 seconds per question.

The results give Martin an idea of which topics need further clarification. Once the quiz is over, he reviews answers with the students and explains any unclear points.

After the students have answered questions, Martin displays the leaderboard, which shows who got the most answers correct in the shortest time. Displaying the leaderboard creates a fun environment for students, as they want to compete for the top places.

Students really enjoy the quizzes, says Martin, smiling. Turning it into a game makes learning about finance fun for them.

Collecting students’ feedback in real time

Once he has his students’ attention, Martin gets on with his tutorial. Since he started using Slido, Martin collects instant feedback during his classes via live polls.

He uses poll questions throughout the class to:

• get a quick opinion: e.g. Which old exam question should we review in class?
• check students’ understanding: e.g. Which topics should I summarize in the next class?
• collect class feedback: e.g. How would you rate this course?

Students’ responses help Martin to identify knowledge gaps and tailor his lectures accordingly.

Creating a safe space to ask questions

Martin also wants to hear questions from students, so he lets them ask anonymously on Slido.

I don’t have the capacity to review all incoming questions during classes, so I let students upvote the best ones or downvote what’s irrelevant. It helps me see which topics most students want to hear about.

Then, Martin addresses the three top-voted questions, either at the end or at the start of the next class.

It’s great that I can come back to the questions after class and even reply to questions directly in Slido.

The result: Interactive learning experience for students

Gamifying the class with quizzes helps him to recap the learnings from the previous class and add some fun, while polls and Q&A help him start a dialogue with students. As a result, Martin is able to engage his students with the subject and improve their learning experience.