There’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem in class. Students don’t want us talking for too long (fair enough). But at the same time, many don’t read the announcements. The result? The same questions and confusion regarding assessment tasks get asked, even when the answers are already available.
Planting an Easter egg
With Easter coming up, it felt like the right time to lean into the idea of an Easter egg. So I decided to test it.
In a class of 300+ students, I embedded a small Easter egg in one of the announcements. If students came to class and showed me (or a tutor) an image of a pink cat, they’d get access to an extra robot component: a DC motor.
What happened next was unexpected, but also very telling. Students didn’t just show the image openly. They were secretive. Some whispered to tutors. Others quietly flashed their screens like they were passing confidential information. It felt less like a class activity and more like a covert operation.
And, as expected, a large number of teams missed out entirely.
The outcome
- Many students said it was fun and that they appreciate the idea (when will there be more?!)
- It created a bit of buzz in the class
- Teams quickly realised they needed at least one person consistently checking announcements
A minor behavioural shift, driven by a low-effort intervention. It didn’t solve everything, but it nudged things in the right direction.
A small Easter egg hunt win!