Active Learning with Clickers Shiao-Chuan Kung, Ed.D. Educational Technologist, ICIT (212)

Clickers are…

Clickers are AKA…  audience response systems  wireless keypad response systems  classroom communication systems  electronic response systems  classroom response systems

What topic do you know the LEAST about? 1.Pedagogical problems that clickers can address. 2.What research says about clickers as educational tools. 3.Effective strategies/activities using clickers. 4.Challenges of using clickers.

Pedagogical problems clickers can address…  inability to assess prior knowledge before class  inability to assess comprehension during class  inability to get responses to sensitive questions  lack of active participation in large classes  poor attendance

Clickers can be used for…  Pre-Assessments: At the beginning of a semester or before a new topic What do students already know? What are students' misconceptions?  Mid-Topic Assessments: In the middle of lectures or before another concept Do they understand this principle? Can they connect this principle/idea to the previous one? Can they apply this concept? How is their thinking changing?  Post-Assessments: At the end of a semester, topic, or class session What is their overall conceptual framework? Can they synthesize the concepts to solve problems? How has their understanding changed?

Research suggests…  greater engagement  increased understanding of complex subject matter  increased interest and enjoyment  heightened discussion & interactivity  increased awareness of own understanding  increased teacher insight into student difficulties Fies & Marshall, 2006

Student achievement is due to… Active learning techniques

Effective questions… 1.Knowledge - Remembering facts, terms, concepts, definitions, principles 2.Comprehension - Explaining/interpreting the meaning of material 3.Application - Using a concept or principle to solve a problem 4.Analysis - Breaking material down into its component parts to see interrelationships/hierarchy of ideas 5.Synthesis - Producing something new or original from component parts 6.Evaluation - Making a judgment based on a pre- established set of criteria

Challenges using clickers…  creating good questions  more time-consuming—less content can be covered  good timing and pacing of class  classroom management—distribution & return of clickers, elevated noise level  give credit for participation?  clickers for taking attendance?  clickers for quizzes or exams?

To find out more…  7 Things You Should Know About Clickers  Clickers in the Classroom: An Active Learning Approach  Designing Questions for Clickers  Classroom response systems bibliography  Student Response Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee  EDUCAUSE Pocket Edition #4: Clickers (14:44 audio)