25 Year Perspective along a Path to a Many-to-Many Conversation

1. A 25-Year Perspective on Student
Learning and Clickers
“Fostering a Many-to-Many Conversation”
Ted Eschenbach, Ph.D., P.E.
Emeritus Professor of Engineering Management
University of Alaska Anchorage
October 26, 2012
Clickers 2012, Chicago
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 1

2. Warning
Ted really does believe:
1. Clickers = best thing since printing
press
2. Printing press  lecture ≠ copying text
Clickers  interactive for 15 to 500
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 2

3. When did you first use clickers?
A. 198x
B. 199x
C. 200x
D. 2011 or 2012
E. Never have
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 3

4. Level of familiarity with clickers
A. Used in multiple courses
B. Used in 1 course
C. Familiar w/ use by others
D. Know what clickers are
E. Completely new to me
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 4

5. Ted’s Clicker Use History
 1988 – 1990 U Missouri-Rolla
 IBM Adv. Tech. Classroom
 50 of 50 earned A/B/C
 College of Business: 6.5 academic years
 3 vendors, 29 classes, 12 – 70 students
 Undergrad, graduate mostly finance & operations mgmt
 Clickers in all but 1 stat class since started using
 Guest Lectures (also clicker demos)
 U. of Arkansas: two 30 student sections
 Texas Tech: two 150 – 200 student sections
 Workshops & Presentations
 5 national conferences of 4 societies Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 5

6. Clicker Value
UG Grad
Reason successful
10% 4%
in class
Helped learning 70% 79%
Neutral 15% 15%
Fewer = better 3% 2%
Waste of time 2% 0%
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 6

7. # Vendors Used?
 InterWrite/PRS, Turning Technology,
i>Clicker, & eInstruction
A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. ≥4
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 7

8. InterWrite/PRS, Turning Technology,
i>Clicker, & eInstruction
Do you have a favorite?
A. No
B. Yes
Is it i>Clicker?
A. No
B. Yes
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 8

9. Example technology choices
$30 - $40 new, ≈$1/wk used
Via web or app Multiple choice
Adds text & numeric
$ $$
$$$
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 9

10. Is Cost of the Technology an Issue
for You?
Student clickers?
A. No
B. Yes
Instructor’s kit?
A. No
B. Yes
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
10

11. Technology/Vendor Selection
Campus/school vs. instructor
 vendor
 Multiple choice vs. text/numeric
Lecture style
 *.ppt  pick any ?? or Turning
  i>Clicker or eInstruction
Cellphone in class?
 clicker app vs. distractions
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
11

12. Faculty Perspective
Best Reason to Use Clickers
A. Students are more engaged
B. What % can really do example?
C. How many for which mistakes?
D. Everyone responds
E. Don’t need to cover as much material
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
12

13. Student Perspective
Best Reason to Use Clickers
A. Previewed calculations for homework
B. I learned from my mistakes
C. It forced me to wake up & respond
D. Ted was quiet for a while
E. There weren’t any advantages
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
13

14. Student Perspective
Biggest Advantage
UG Grad
Previewed calculations for
homework 32% 10%
I learned from my mistakes 33% 52%
It forced me to wake up &
29% 24%
respond
Ted was quiet for a while 4% 10%
There weren’t any advantages 2% 4%
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
14

15. My Perception of How Clickers
Add Value In My Classes
 Feedback improves performance
 Class to faculty member
 To each student (students don’t know what they don’t know)
 Immediate & multiple times/lecture
 Students more engaged
 Students not asleep in seat
 Individual responses without guidance from smart, talkative
student
 Faculty knows % each answer immediately
 Let students see they are not alone
 More will then speak up
 Many students are quiet & some international students very much so
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
15

16. Clicker Question Types
 Recall questions (from lecture or text)
 Quantitative examples
 Concepts or relationships
 If this ____ which of these A/B/C/…
 Which action in a case
 Student knowledge & experience
 Opening example clickers
 Candid responses – ethics, bankruptcy
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
16

17. Clicker Question Types:
Bruff’s Taxonomy
Content questions
 Recall
 Conceptual understanding
 Application: procedural, predictive
Critical thinking questions
 One best answer: peer review
 Free response
Process questions
 Student perspective
 Confidence level
 Monitoring
Fostering a Many-to-
Classroom experiments
Many Conversation
17

18. Should I Present Examples of
These Question Types?
A. Yes
B. Yes, but very briefly
C. I don’t care
D. No
Note: this is a process question
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
18

19. Recall
PDCA cycle does not include:
A. DO
B. PLAN
C. CHECK
D. CONTROL
E. ACT
use a build slide for Q & Answer Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
19

20. Solve
$2550 balance on 18% APR credit card;
mo. pmts of $100
Pay-off months?
A. 21.8
B. 26.3
C. 32.4
D. None above
E. Don’t know Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
20

21. Conceptual Quantitative
Answers as variables or
equations rather than #s
Engr economy: EAC of truck =
Find EOQ: Q* =
A. 28K(A/P, 5%, 6) + 1.4K − 9K(A/F, 5%, 6)
B. ….
C. √ (2*1200*45/50)
D. ….
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
21

22. Concept
Which is NOT a project characteristic?
A. One time job, with
B. Defined start &
C. Defined end, which
D. Produces repetitive prods/srvcs,
E. For specified SOW, set budget, & ….
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
22

23. Conceptual Application
For the case on p. xxx in text
A. The firm should do x because of y
B. …
C. The court will find for the defendant
because ….
D. …
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
23

24. Conceptual Application
If _________; what happens with A & B
A. A↑ &B↑
B. A↑ &B↓
C. A↓ &B↑
D. A↓ &B↓
E. None of the above/I don’t know
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
24

25. Gauging Knowledge
Survey of Background in Excel
Do you use relative & absolute addresses?
A. What's that?
B. No
C. Sometimes
D. Regularly
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
25

26. Student Performance
% hmwrk correct?
A. 100%
B. 75%
C. 50%
D. 25%
E. 0%
F. Didn’t get to it
Text or numeric input can be used to increase
# of multiple choice options
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
26

27. Candid Response
Within last year have you…
A. Cheated on exam?
B. Lied to boss?
C. Stolen from employer?
D. More than one above?
E. None above?
i>Clicker allows anonymous polling a Many-to-
Fostering
Many Conversation
27

28. Students Don’t Know What They Don’t Know
Firm invests $75,000 to save $10,000/year in
energy costs for 15 years. r = 8%
What is payback period?
A. 7.5 years
B. About 10 years
C. About 12 years
D. 15 years
E. None of the above
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
28

29. Demographics:
advanced capability
Results categorized for comparison
 gender
 work experience
 course performance (grade)
 major
 detailed breakdown or by colleges
 majors & non-majors
ASEM 29

30. Text & numerics:
advanced capability
 Can round numeric answers by #
significant digits
 Challenges if off by orders of magnitude
 Histogram or bar chart
 Text to rank 5 choices ADCEB
 Can truncate/round to 1st, 2nd, … letter
 Text displayed as bar chart
ASEM 30

31. Evolution of Ted’s Clicker Use
 Question form & recording has not evolved
 Multiple choice & anonymous
 Ted likes revote after talking with your neighbor
 Lecture with quantitative examples (1988 – Sp 2009)
 Later years added more & more conceptual questions
 Fostering a Many-to-Many Conversation (F 2009 – 2012)
 No more lecture = Cliff Notes for the text
 Driven by my need to add value
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
31

32. Class Time as Many-to-Many
Conversation
 My courses
 Typically introduce material with a quantitative basis
 Students know little about subject
  classic choice is lecture to transmit my knowledge & understanding
 Clicker questions
 Similar to when I lectured
 But many more of them
 Class structure is very different
 Not: here is what you need to know
 What is the answer to __________?
 Examples presented as a series of steps
 They solve each step rather than watch me
 Models, figures, & tables presented
 Clickers guide the discussion
 Whenever appropriate I personalize the material
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 32

33. Overview of Other Uses
 Flipped classroom
 Class time doing examples/problems
 Out-of-class for online lectures
 Participation points
 Minimum fraction answered
 Minimum fraction answered correctly
 Frequent quizzes
 1 question = standard clicker
 Quiz sheet & enter all responses at end
 Take attendance
 Connect to course mgmt system (such as Blackboard) for
grading
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 33

34. Teaching Goals Should Drive
Choices
 Encourage discussion
 Feedback for flipped or lecture classroom
 to you: % right & each error
 to each student: did they get it right
 Learn about your students
 More efficient quizzes/attendance
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
34

35. If You Use Clickers, What is Your
Principal Type of Use?
A. Lecture + clickers for efficient attendance
& quizzes
B. Lecture + clickers for examples
C. Flipped classroom
D. Many-to-many conversation
E. Another type of use
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
35

36. Best Choice Probably
Combines
 Opening quiz on reading
  more read before class
 In class  more there on-time
 On line  they can read more & less class time
 Quantitative examples
 Prof learns % right & each error
 Students learn what they don’t/didn’t know
 Many-to-many
 Focuses on concepts
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
36

37. Emotional Why the Many-to-
Many Choice?
 ½ to ¾ business students don’t like math
 I teach required finance & statistics courses
 Sleeping & zoned out students
 = wasted time
  some level of failure on my part
 Repeating failed efforts (lectures)
 = definition of insanity
 Conversations are fun
 I’m learning too
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
37

38. Logical Why the Many-to-Many &
not Flipped or Lecture Choice?
 Increasing class sizes
 Lecture model archaic
 Clickers help but don’t solve problem
 I covered it ≠ they learned it
 50 – 70 students many more than I can
help in class
 Prefer on-line homework
 At collegiate level better than flipped
 Faster & more individualized feedback
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
38

39. Clickers are the How for a
Many-to-Many Conversation
 Conversation requires knowing what other
person said = feedback
 Informed conversation  read text before
class
 Force conversation with neighbor over paging
through text looking for an answer
 ≈ 50% print slides
 But few figure out answers before class
  boring waits for others to read & answer
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
39

40. How Much Communication in
Many-to-Many Class
 Less info presented than in a lecture
 Dialogue is slower than a monologue
 Common lecture pace fits somewhat below
average student
 Clickers are slower
 For me, since I want nearly all
 Minimize words since some slow readers
 Some want to get it right & may over-think
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
40

41. How Much communication
sometimes means # clickers/class
 More than 1 or 2 slides per week
 Too few  why buy clicker
 Examples & concepts
 Can be 2 – 10 slides per lecture
 × 2 for examples with answer slide
 Many-to-many
 Can be 90% of .ppt
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
41

42. Why Passionate about
Clickers?
 Higher ed must reduce cost growth
 Higher ed must increase student learning
 Too little value for too many of our students
 Competition from distance delivered
courses
 teams of specialists to effectively integrate
 multi-media “textbooks”
 self-directed/computer-guided learning
 world-class faculty expertise
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
42

43. Future/Current Needs Include
 “Clickers” for asynchronous learning
 Hardware/software
 Teaching knowledge on how effective
 Seamless integration of teaching tools
 Short faculty learning curve
 Easier switching between
texts/publishers
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
43

44. Did clicker use increase
what you got out of this talk?
A. Helped me stay awake
B. Forced me to intellectually commit
C. Interesting to see group’s responses
D. Ted was quiet at least occasionally
E. No, the clickers were a waste of time
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation 44

45. Questions & Contact Info
 Ted Eschenbach
 tede1@ak.net
 907-333-7817 (1 hour west of Pacific Time)
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
45

46. Biggest barrier to adoption
A. Cost
B. Lectures too full to add
C. Faculty resistance to change
D. Lack of student interest
E. Little educational value
Fostering a Many-to-
Many Conversation
46