The Student Response System

							The Student Response System
Active Learning in Your Classroom

Hunter College
William Sweeney, Dept. of Chemistry
Pamela Mills, Dept. of Chemistry
Sandra Clarkson, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics
William Williams, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics
Gina Cherry, ICIT
Greg Crosbie, ICIT
Let‟s Join the Clicker Group
Who are we?
What best describes your position?
A. Instructor

B. Administrator

C. Instructional designer/educational
   technologist
D. IT specialist

E. Media Specialist

F. Other
Question 1
Which are currently the three most
populous countries?

     A. China, Russia, U.S.
     B. China, India, Indonesia
     C. China, U.S., Brazil
     D. China, India, U.S.
     E. China, U.S., Indonesia

Source
Question 2
Which country is projected to have the
largest population in 2050?
a. China
b. U.S.
c. India
d. Indonesia
e. Nigeria

Source
Clicker Pedagogy
   Assess student learning from lecture topic
   Assess student prior understanding before
    lecture
   Use clickers as a Socratic tool
   Ask students to predict an outcome,
    engage in group discussion, and revote
    (Predict/Observe/Explain)
   Use clickers to take an “e-test”
   Participating in experiments
   Simulations/modelling/games
   Collect data/take attendance
Experience with moderate size classes:
Spring „05, 60 2nd semester freshmen, General Chemistry II
Fall „05, 90 1st semester Freshmen, General Chemistry I




    Question  handouts
    Mix of lecture and clicker questions
Experience with moderate size classes:
                 Observations
Spring „05, 60 2nd semester freshmen, General Chemistry II
Fall „05, 90 1st semester Freshmen, General Chemistry I




    Attendance   better
    Class participation better

    Shock of knowing student understanding

    Differences in pedagogy in classes
                    Student Feedback


     Relative to regular lecture, I think using clickers is
                                             S05 F05
1.   Much better                             37%   27%
2.   Better                                  33%   36%
3.   No better than lecture                  23%   25%
4.   Worse than having regular lecture        5%   10%
5.   Much worse than regular lecture          2%    2%
Classroom Experience –
A large chemistry lecture


   276 students
   3 credit course, meets MW
   Chemistry 1 (General Chemistry for
    science majors)
   Clickers integrated into lecture and
    used during Monday lecture
Faculty Feedback


   Logistics – students collect and
    return clickers at beginning and end
    of class
   Students learn the clicker ritual
    quickly
Student Feedback
                           N is about 150
on 5-point scale:
Strongly Agree-5, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree-1

1.    I like using the clickers.                                    3.5   3.9
2.    When I‟m feeling confused, it helps me to see that I‟m not
     the only person who doesn‟t understand.                        4     4.6
3.    I find it helpful when the instructor discusses the wrong
     answers as well as the right answers to the clicker questions. 4.1
4.    When using the clickers, I felt pressured to answer questions
     I normally would not have answered.                            2.9
5.   Given two class sections that are the same in all other respects,
     I would take the one that uses clickers.                       3.3   4.2
6.   I would prefer that the instructor do more lecturing and
     use the clickers less.                                         3.4   2.7
Student Feedback
I like using the clickers because:
o Since the class is so large, we cannot all ask individual
  questions. With the clicker, you get to see and respond
  immediately to problems that affect a substantial percentage of the
  class, and that's beneficial to the class as a whole if not to every
  individual in every case. This also saves a lot of time repeating
  the same explanations, time better spent addressing other
  questions and problems.
o It helps me focus and try harder;

o It makes our large class feel a little less impersonal, less
  alienating;
o I feel less foolish when I see many others also do not get it
Student Feedback
I tend to question WHY is there this necessity to see if the class
understands what is being lectured... This is a collegiate level chemistry
course…The lecture time is not the time to address [student
misunderstanding].

You've heard most of it by now, but I concur that you shouldn't
underestimate the power of a good lecture…The clickers are great for
getting instantaneous feedback and knowing what is difficult to grasp
and what isn't. I also agree that it makes things a bit more fun and the
class smaller in some sense.

I think the clickers are okay, but not that great to devote a whole lecture
to clickers. I think it would be better if on Mondays we would have a
lecture from 5:30-6:30 and until 6:50 we can use the clickers to see if the
class as a whole understood the material taught that evening.
STATISTICS 113


Hunter College of CUNY
STAT 113

   Required for nursing, psychology,
    geography and other sciences
   175+ students
   Large Lecture with a Computer Lab
   No Textbook--we use a CD-ROM
Statistics Courses

   Statistics books have remained
    essentially unchanged for 85 years
   Students are taught to calculate
   The course is BORING…to both
    students and instructors
   We changed to ActivStats
ActivStats

   Lesson Book
   Video Clips
   Modeling „Tools‟
   DataDesk, a data analysis package
   Internet Links
Lecture Class Format
   Lecture and Computer
    Demonstrations
   Problems from the previous week
    are returned and discussed
   Small Groups work on problems
    from previous or current lecture.
    (These problems must be graded
    and recorded before returning
    them.)
Computer Lab Format

   Students work on assigned
    „homework‟ problems, using Data
    Desk
   Students work on data analysis
    projects
   Labs have an assigned instructor
    who works individually with
    students as needed.
Clicker Impact

   Attendance is better
   Instant feedback for Small Group
    problem sessions; learning occurs!
Clicker Plans

   Integrate the clickers into the
    Lecture
   Continue to use the clickers with
    groups, not individually
Change in Pedagogy
What percentage of the class are you willing to “lose” in
lecture?
How do you deal with wrong answers?
How do students perceive the clicker lecture?
How much time do you spend to change student responses?
Other ways that the course has changed to accommodate the
clickers?
Purchasing Models:
student-owned vs. college-owned

Factors to Consider
 Cost

 Standardization

 Classroom management

 Maintenance