Beyond grades: rethinking student motivation in the GenAI era

With lectures frequently recorded these days, getting students, especially those juggling other responsibilities along with their studies, to attend in person can be a challenge. Traditional methods of motivating students, such as reward-based incentives or negative marking, often fail to engage diverse cohorts and can even undermine inclusive teaching practices. So, what can we do differently? Drawing on our experience of teaching chemistry and biological sciences, we suggest novel, inclusive, engaging and sustainable pedagogical approaches to motivate students.

1. Active and visual learning

Active learning, often seen as the “gold standard” for ensuring students retain information and develop skills, can take many forms inside and outside scheduled teaching sessions. To this end, embedding an activity that requires students to engage with the lecture material in real time can be very effective. Anonymous polling tools such as Mentimeter and Kahoot are straightforward to use and enable students to answer questions anonymously and instantly. 

There is an option to make this activity more open-ended, too. For example, researcher and educator Fun Man Fung repurposes the well-known reCAPTCHA activity to get his students discussing and solving problems. Getting the right answer is not the aim here, it is the reasoning and discussion that are important. 

Outside lectures, we have used smart worksheets to improve students’ data processing skills and interactive lab simulations to prepare them for laboratory work; these interactive digital tools can be accessed when it is convenient for them.

Visual learning also plays a key role. Video demonstrations help students visualise active sites or reaction pathways from multiple perspectives. For example, they come in handy when teaching complex biological processes such as transcription and translation, where spatial and temporal dimensions are difficult to grasp through text alone. These visual approaches support neurodivergent learners and those learning in their second or third language.

2. Gamification and playful learning

Gamification is a popular way of motivating students to engage with their learning. However, engagement is not guaranteed and offering “rewards” such as badges and leaderboards does not always lead to better learning outcomes. Thoughtful development of the game is required to ensure that the scientific content is embedded and authentic, and that the students are active participants throughout the game. We have used gamification sessions at the end of a module to consolidate and prevent students compartmentalising their learning. Working in teams to solve a murder mystery has not only been fun but it has identified learning gaps, as well as improved communication and teamwork skills.

We have used playful learning effectively with our postgraduate taught master’s students who come from all over the world and arrive knowing no one. We use LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® as a team-building exercise at the start of their course to build community, friendships as well as developing team-working, problem-solving and communication skills that we can build on throughout the course. Students work in small groups with a member of staff and are tasked with building a city, with each group building a component (for example, an airport or shopping centre). 

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3. Culturally relevant teaching and real-world examples

Another powerful way to engage students is to use culturally relevant teaching by including examples that resonate with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. In our third-year biological chemistry module, we discuss polyketide (a class of natural products) biosynthesis through the lens of parrot feather pigmentation in South America and Australia. This case study is scientifically interesting because it is highly unusual for birds to make natural products; it is also an engaging, culturally meaningful and visually memorable context for understanding complex biochemical pathways.

We also ask students to write lay summaries of research for non-scientific audiences. This promotes science communication skills, empathy and broader awareness of how knowledge is shared across cultures. These tasks build the kind of real-world skills students will need in future careers. 

4. Linking to global challenges and the SDGs

Framing teaching around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be highly motivating. When students understand how chemistry and biology connect to food security, climate resilience, biodiversity or access to clean water, they begin to see the relevance and urgency of what they are learning. Case studies on zoonotic diseases, antibiotic resistance, synthetic biology or ecosystem services can similarly be linked to the SDGs, helping students understand the interconnected nature of science and society. 

5. Rethinking assessment: from high stakes to high impact 

Academic assessment is a key driver of student behaviour but high-stakes formats can reinforce fear of failure, especially for international students who might come from educational systems where risk-taking is penalised. For example, we have observed that negative marking has reduced participation and confidence.

To address this, we now favour more authentic assessment formats, such as: 

• Tasks based on unique data sets
• Reflective writing about laboratory work
• Scenario-based questions tied to real-world problems
• Skills portfolios that track progress over time. 

These strategies also align with the realities of the GenAI era. Since AI tools can generate standard responses, we now focus more on personalised and process-based tasks that assess how students think, not just what they produce. 

6. Student feedback and co-creation

Finally, one of the most motivating things we can do is to involve students in shaping their own learning. We work with students to co-design games, assessments and even elements of their curriculum. Their feedback consistently shows that when students feel heard and trusted, their motivation and engagement increase.

To truly motivate students, we must move beyond outdated models rooted in extrinsic pressure. By using playful, active and visual learning; embedding diverse cultural perspectives; designing assessments that reward reflection and real-world application and listening closely to student voices, we can create a more inclusive and responsive educational experience.

Alison Hill is associate professor and programme director for postgraduate students in biosciences at the University of Exeter. Yusra Siddiqui is lecturer in biology and deputy programme director for postgraduate students in biosciences at the University of Exeter.

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