Implementation of a Group Quiz Format in an Introductory Meat Science Course

Collaborative learning methods are increasing in popularity as a way of improving student performance and involvement in undergraduate courses. For this study, a group quiz format was used in an to attempt to improve course grades and engagement in an introductory meat science course. Six group quizzes and six individual quizzes were taken by 70 students during two semesters of the course. For group quizzes, students were randomly assigned to groups of three to four students and given ten minutes to complete the quiz individually followed by three minutes to discuss the quiz and change answers. At the end of the semester, students completed a Likert item questionnaire concerning their opinions on the quiz format. The average scores were not different between the two quiz types in both semesters. Group quizzes also did not improve exam scores or overall course grades for the students. Even though average performance was not improved, students highly preferred the group quizzes to the individual quizzes and valued the exercise.