The Michigan Lecturer Competition: Using A Multi Tiered Class Competition To Increase Student Collaboration And Comprehension

Student life outside the classroom now includes many different types of activities that symbolize a transition of a student’s time online and this is particularly the case with first year students who are leading increasingly digital lives. Social networking websites have rapidly become an important form of interaction and often replace other forms of communication such as email and even face-to-face contact. While there are many critiques of this phenomenon, it nonetheless represents a dramatic shift in the life of a student and offers new opportunities to increase active learning both inside and outside the classroom. This paper makes use of these types of social networking interactions by creating a multi-level class competition that increases student involvement and understanding of the course material.