You sound so much nicer and hard working than pretty much all of my profs in university! Glad to hear the system isn't forcing you to penalize your students.
Something I've been doing lately with tests (not quizzes--too much work) is making the questions hard but giving students a chance to do corrections after. Those who do all their corrections (and they have to explain the corrections, not just write the correct answer) can receive up to x bonus marks. I usually give them class time to do it--it helps them get to know each other when they talk to their classmates to find out the right answer. Might be more of a high school thing though.
Also, I've also been getting my older, more capable students to do some of their own teaching (not presenting) and having them make their own quiz and test questions and create games and stuff. It ties in with their project work. We'll see how it goes!
no subject
Something I've been doing lately with tests (not quizzes--too much work) is making the questions hard but giving students a chance to do corrections after. Those who do all their corrections (and they have to explain the corrections, not just write the correct answer) can receive up to x bonus marks. I usually give them class time to do it--it helps them get to know each other when they talk to their classmates to find out the right answer. Might be more of a high school thing though.
Also, I've also been getting my older, more capable students to do some of their own teaching (not presenting) and having them make their own quiz and test questions and create games and stuff. It ties in with their project work. We'll see how it goes!