Introduction Engaging preclinical medical students in the curriculum is challenging. To address this challenge, the investigators developed and implemented self-paced polling with recorded lectures, in which students answered audience response questions at their own pace. Methods In 2021, we retrospectively assigned second-year medical students (N = 165) as active or inactive, based on their answered polling questions. We subdivided the active group into two groups, a Live group that predominantly responded to polling in live classes, and a Self-polling group that predominantly used polling with recorded lectures. Outcomes were academic performance on customized National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examinations and engagement. Results Compared to the Inactive group, the Self-paced group performed better on the customized NBME examination following extensive self-paced polling. Students answered a significantly larger proportion of questions correctly in self-paced polling compared to live polling. Students who used self-paced polling reported a positive experience and indicated they had emotional, behavioral, or cognitive engagement with the curriculum. Conclusions This study introduces self-paced polling with recorded lectures, which medical educators can potentially use to enhance student engagement and academic performance.