CASE STUDYUniversity of Georgia

How the University of Georgia Sparked Curiosity and Raised Teaching Evaluations in 300-Student Lectures

John Knox, Weather and Geology Professor at the University of Georgia, teaches large lecture-based courses like Introduction to Weather & Climate and Physical Geography to 300 students each fall. For years, John sought a way to foster genuine curiosity and peer-to-peer interaction in an environment where engagement is notoriously difficult to achieve at scale

Key Takeaways

80% of students reported discovering new, applied concepts

76% of students reported engaging more with course material

88% of students approved of John’s teaching practices due to Packback

91% of students were satisfied with Packback’s quality and performance

Situation

Despite trying various instructional methods, John struggled to maintain meaningful student interaction and motivation in his large lectures.
  • His weather journal assignment saw declining participation and increasingly disengaged responses over time.
  • Switching to in-class weather discussions failed to spark deep thinking as students relied on quick Google searches.
  • John needed a scalable way to create real dialogue, encourage curiosity, and reduce grading time.
Professor giving presentation in lecture hall at university. Participants listening to lecture and making notes.

Action

John introduced Packback Questions into his lectures, seeing it as a tool that could foster both engagement and independent thinking.
  • Each week, students posted one question and responded to at least two others based on current class topics.
  • The discussion board’s interactive format allowed students to scroll, comment, and “spark” others’ posts, encouraging natural, self-directed exploration.
  • John highlighted top questions during Thursday class sessions, using them to fuel in-class discussions that broke from the traditional lecture model.
In the Classroom Multi Ethnic Students Listening to a Lecturer and Writing in Notebooks. Smart Young People Study at the College.

Result

Packback helped transform John’s large lecture courses into dynamic, curiosity-driven communities.
  • Students actively participated in meaningful discussions and began thinking beyond course requirements.
  • Teaching evaluations improved significantly, with students praising Packback as a key part of their learning experience.
  • Students described the platform as intellectually stimulating and collaborative, often recommending it to others.
  • What once felt like busy work now inspired students to engage with real-world applications of course content.

Real Impact,

Real Voices

Packback helped me create the kind of learning environment I always wanted in a lecture hall. Students were engaged, curious, and invested—and that made all the difference, both for them and for me

Professor John Knox University of Georgia
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