Clicker technologies as a tool to increase student engagement and motivation

Clicker Technologies as a Tool to Increase Student Engagement and Motivation Jennifer Diers Iowa State University February 9 th , 2008

What is a “clicker”?

Personal Response System (PRS)

Audience Response System (ARS)

Classroom Performance System (PRS)

Small, handheld gadget that allows audiences and students to participate in presentations or lectures by submitting responses to interactive questions & viewing the responses as a graph www.turningtechnologies.com

Let’s try them…

Press Go

Press 14

Press Go

Watch for the green light!

My primary emotional state right now is:

Energized

Tired

Somewhere between energized & tired

What time listed below is the closest to the time you went to sleep last night?

9:00 p.m.

10:00 p.m.

11:00 p.m.

12:00 a.m.

Way later than that!

I feel pretty competent with using clickers in my teaching.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

I decided to attend this session because:

I wanted to find out what clickers are & how they are used

I know what clickers are but wanted to learn more about using them in teaching

I am not really interested in clickers, but had nothing better to do tonight

I am in the wrong place!

Other

Features of the Turning Point clickers

Low cost to students

Seamless integration with PowerPoint & WebCT

Ease of use for instructor and student

Adaptability/sustainability across courses

Textbook/publisher collaboration

Website support

Reports

What could be the advantages of using clickers in teaching?

Would the advantages/uses change if you were teaching a large class (>100 students) or a small class (<30 students)?

What are the advantages of using clickers in the classroom?

Reduces anonymity in the classroom

Assists with grading & reporting

Provides immediate feedback to the instructor allowing for:

Modification/revision of teaching

Generation of classroom discussion

Formative assessment

Evaluation for teaching/research purposes

What students say…

attendance & motivation

more fun and engaging

a voice & viewing of others opinions

gauge their learning

wish more of their instructors would use clickers

What faculty say…

Makes teaching more fun.

It has changed the way I prepare to teach and teach.

It involves a time commitment and learning curve

I want to learn more about how others are using them (specific examples)

How can we use clickers in teaching?

Attendance

Other reports

Graphical

By student

By question

 Natalie Nathaniels 6 USB[ISU999]  Solomon Saul 5 USB[ISU999] Jeffrey Baldwin 4 USB[ISU999]  Hannah Montanna 3 USB[ISU999]  Kelsey Houston 2 USB[ISU999]  Alexandria Alexander 1 USB[ISU999] Attended First Name Last Name Device # Location Created: 1/26/2008 9:50 AM Session Name: New Session 4-6-2007 12-20 PM.tpz Turning Attendance Report

Content questions

Pre-post testing

After Kim gives birth to her son, the nurse places the naked infant directly against Kim’s chest. This placing of the infant directly on the mother’s skin is known as:

Apgar technique

Rooming in

Brazelton technique

Kangaroo Care

Brian has brown hair and brown eyes and is six feet, five inches tall. These traits are expressions known as _____________.

phenotypes

genotypes

Mitosis

Meiosis

Audience Opinions

The anger style that best describes me is:

Pursuer

Distancer

Overfunctioner

Underfunctioner

Blamer

Do you think you will have your infant’s cord blood saved?

Yes

No

Abstain

To set up/follow up a video or demonstration

Did you bring a friend to class today to view the birthing video?

Yes

No

Which do you feel was Donny’s lie?

Answer One

Answer Two

Answer Three

Controversial Topics

Generating Discussion

Homosexual couples should have the right to be legally married.

Yes

No

Abstain

Have you ever been physically abused by a romantic partner?

Yes

No

Abstain

Review of teaching

The presentation today was beneficial to my understanding of how to use clickers in teaching.

True

False

Abstain

Case Studies

Team Learning

Peer Debate/Critical Thinking

Etc.

How might you use clickers to foster student engagement and motivation within your specific discipline ?

What potential issues might need to be considered before and during the implementation of clickers?

What might you need to include in your syllabus with regard to clickers?

I have enjoyed my time at the Lilly Conference.

Yes

No

Abstain

Questions or comments?

Jennifer Diers, M.Ed.; Ph.D. candidate

Iowa State University

3015 Morrill Hall

Ames, IA 50011

[email_address]

THANK YOU!

References

Duncan, D. (2005). Clickers in the classroom. San Francisco CA: Pearson Education

Judson, E. & Sawada, D. (2002). Learning from past and present: Electronic response systems in college lecture halls. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching , 21 (2), 167-181.

Kaleta, R. & Joosten, T. (2007). Student response systems: A University of Wisconsin study of clickers. EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, Research Bulletin, 10, 2-12.

References (continued)

Rogers, R., “Using personal response systems to engage students and enhance learning,” in Making statistics more effective in schools and business conference, Georgetown University, http://www.umaass.edu/cft/prs , (2003).

Trees, A. & Jackson, M., (2007). “The learning environment in clicker classrooms: Student processes of learning and involvement in large courses using student response systems”. Learning & Media Technology. 32 (1) pp. 21-40.