Discover how PeerWise, a collaborative learning platform, is transforming education through peer-created question banks and active learning strategies.
We've all been there: staring at a textbook, trying to memorize facts, wondering if there's a better way to learn. What if instead of studying alone, you could join forces with your entire class? What if you could create questions for each other, learn from each other's insights, and collectively build a deeper understanding of the material?
This isn't a hypothetical scenario. In medical schools and universities around the world, a digital platform called PeerWise is transforming how students prepare for exams—and educational research is showing impressive results. A comprehensive study reveals that when students actively participate in creating and answering each other's practice questions, their performance on actual exams significantly improves 1 .
Even more compelling? While students benefit from all aspects of the process—writing questions, answering them, and discussing with peers—the simple act of answering peer-authored questions shows a measurable positive impact on final exam results, even after accounting for differences in previous academic performance 1 .
PeerWise is an online repository built by students, for students. Imagine a Wikipedia of practice questions, but instead of professors creating them, you and your classmates do.
Create multiple-choice questions with explanations and distractors 3 .
Test knowledge by answering questions created by classmates.
Comment on questions, suggest improvements, and rate for quality 1 .
Think of it as academic social media—a collaborative space where learning happens through creating, sharing, and discussing content rather than just passively absorbing information.
| Activity | Description | Learning Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Question Authoring | Creating multiple-choice questions with explanations and distractors | Deepens conceptual understanding and identifies knowledge gaps |
| Question Answering | Attempting questions created by peers | Provides practice and identifies areas needing improvement |
| Peer Discussion | Commenting on questions and providing feedback | Enhances critical thinking and collaborative skills |
| Rating Questions | Evaluating the quality of peer-created questions | Develops analytical abilities and curates the best content |
Educational researchers conducted a mixed-methods analysis of PeerWise use across multiple years of medical education 1 . Why does this matter? Because they didn't just look at test scores—they also gathered student perceptions to understand both what works and why it works.
The study followed four cohorts of medical students (2015-2018) totaling 1,693 participants 1 . These students were studying clinical sciences and pharmacology—subjects requiring both factual knowledge and clinical application.
PeerWise was introduced as a non-compulsory learning opportunity, meaning students could choose whether and how much to engage with it. This created a natural experiment allowing researchers to compare the outcomes of students with different levels of participation.
How many questions each student answered, created, and discussed
Actual performance on high-stakes tests
Students' perceptions of their learning experiences
The results were striking. Analysis of the 2015 cohort (444 students) using hierarchical regression models revealed a significant positive predictive relationship between answering PeerWise questions and exam results 1 . This relationship held true even after controlling for students' previous academic performance—a crucial point because it suggests the benefit wasn't just because stronger students were more likely to use the system.
| Demographic Factor | Distribution | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Background | Majority with bachelor degrees only (87%) | Small percentage held master's or PhDs |
| Age Profile | Predominantly under 30 years (85%) | Smaller representation of older students |
| Gender Split | Fairly similar distribution | Slightly more males (58%) than females (42%) |
When researchers expanded their analysis to include all four years of data (2015-2018), the conclusion was further confirmed: answering peer-authored questions consistently predicted better exam performance 1 .
The quantitative data tells only part of the story. Through qualitative analysis, researchers discovered that students perceived benefits across all aspects of PeerWise:
One student noted that answering questions helped them "identify gaps in knowledge" and "test their learning" in a low-stakes environment 1 .
Unlike high-pressure exams, where mistakes carry serious consequences, PeerWise allows students to discover what they don't know when it still matters—while there's time to learn it.
Creating effective multiple-choice questions requires a deeper level of understanding than simply answering them. As one student explained, authoring questions forced them to think like an instructor, considering not just the right answer but all the ways a classmate might misunderstand the concept 1 .
The comment features in PeerWise created spaces for collaborative knowledge building. Students could ask for clarification, suggest alternative viewpoints, or challenge questionable content. This social dimension transformed learning from a solitary activity into a communal effort 1 .
The effectiveness of PeerWise isn't accidental—it aligns with several well-established educational theories:
PeerWise embodies constructivist learning theory, which posits that learners actively construct knowledge rather than passively receive it 4 . When students create questions, explain answers, and discuss concepts, they're building their own understanding through active engagement.
Educational psychologists have long documented the testing effect—the phenomenon that retrieving information from memory (as happens when answering questions) strengthens learning more effectively than repeated studying alone 1 . PeerWise leverages this by providing endless opportunities for practice retrieval.
Using PeerWise enhances metacognition—the ability to think about one's own thinking. As students evaluate peer-created questions, they develop the crucial skill of assessing what they know and what they need to work on 4 .
The success of PeerWise points toward a broader shift in education—from competitive to collaborative models of learning. Traditional education often pits students against each other in competition for grades. PeerWise flips this script, creating an environment where students succeed by helping each other learn 3 .
This approach doesn't just teach facts—it develops essential skills for future professionals. As one study on peer feedback noted, learning to provide constructive feedback is particularly important in medical education because "as medical trainees progress through their training, they will have supervisory responsibilities over more junior learners and they will be expected to provide constructive feedback to these junior colleagues" 4 .
While the research on PeerWise has been particularly prominent in medical education, the platform has been successfully implemented across diverse fields including computer science, engineering, and humanities 5 . The underlying principles—active engagement, collaborative learning, and frequent low-stakes assessment—are universal.
The platform is freely available to educators worldwide, lowering barriers to implementation. As educational institutions increasingly recognize the value of collaborative learning technologies, approaches like PeerWise may become standard features of the educational landscape.
The story of PeerWise represents more than just another educational tool—it's a testament to the power of collaborative learning. When students become active participants in their education, when they create knowledge together rather than consuming it separately, something remarkable happens: they learn more deeply, perform better, and develop skills that extend far beyond the classroom.
As one researcher noted, students engaged with PeerWise not only improved their exam performance but also "perceived benefits from answering, authoring, and peer discussion" 1 . In an educational world often focused narrowly on test scores, this holistic enhancement of the learning experience may be the most promising result of all.
The next time you're facing that daunting textbook the night before an exam, imagine a different approach—one where you and your classmates join forces, challenge each other, and collectively build understanding. The research suggests you'll not only do better on the test—you might actually enjoy the process too.