This post was originally published on the Prezi Blog on 11 May 2020.

Formative and summative assessments are important tools that teachers use to determine the level of a student’s learning and where there might be deficits  Today, with the increase of technology in the classroom, traditional paper and pencil assessments are being replaced by online methods.  

For formative assessments, teachers are using websites like Kahoot, Quizlet, Quizizz and game show formats. The American Psychological Association’s journal Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology published a study titled “Game shows as review activities: The impact on course evaluations and student perceptions.” The researchers discovered that students found content review in a game show format fun, and enjoyed the learning experience in the classroom.

So how might you use a game show in your classroom for assessment?  We have a few ideas.

1. Use an existing Prezi presentation that covers the content you’re teaching. Take that lesson and turn it into a Prezi Video using the Game Show template.  Or, better yet, let your students create a game show that they can give to their classmates.

2. Another option is to take a Prezi presentation, such as Grammar Game Show, and click “Make a copy,” which then lets you add your own content. We encourage you, however, to let your students create the questions, perhaps in teams, and then have those teams compete against each other. This gets your students actively engaged in the materials as well as participating in formal assessment. 

3. Game play definitely contributes to learning, but not just in the retention of content. It also establishes a fun, engaged community which is foundational to learning. In short, it puts students’ minds in a place that supports brain function so learning can happen. 

See Paul’s video on the benefits of game play, how to adapt a Prezi for game play, and how to engage your students as creators of the game.

Prezi Video trainings and tutorials

We have free live training sessions and on-demand training videos — learn more here. Here’s a short tutorial to help you get started with Prezi Video: