Are your students responding? How to click with students

Featured in the November 2009 NJEA Review

by Patricia Bruder, EIRC

Student response systems are (pick one):

1. A form of backtalk

2. Chat rooms

3. An effective interactive feedback system for active learning.

If all of my readers were answering this question in my classroom and had a “clicker” in their hands, an interactive response system would have allowed me to decide what the most popular vote was, and what percentage of my class got the question right. Of course, the third answer is correct. “Student--or audience--response systems use infrared rays to send responses from handheld clickers (about the size of a TV remote) to a receiver (you’ll find out how that is changing at the end of this article). Responses are analyzed via computer software and can be displayed on an overhead projector or inserted in PowerPoint presentations.

The value of using clickers in the classroom

The Value Of Student Response Systems in University and K-12 Classrooms suggests numerous ways you can use this interactive tool in your classroom:

1. Use student response system reporting features to analyze student responses, allowing instructors to better understand student comprehension of materials and provide more in-depth classroom discussion.

2. Gauge student comprehension of concepts and curriculum, and provide immediate feedback.

3. Allow quiet students a platform to learn and participate without fear of peer criticism.

4. Increase knowledge retention, which leads to better scores and improved performance.

5. Improve class attendance.

6. Challenge student perceptions to stimulate discussion.

7. Track student progress over time.

Anonymity allows students to answer questions, get immediate feedback on the correct answer, and self-correct. The game-like feel of the clickers creates a sense of competitiveness, which motivates student participation. Last June, Lisa Short, a teacher from Gaithersburg, MD, presented a video to a congressional hearing on the Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming Public Schools. She argued for the use of SMART Boards and other technology in the classroom and conducted a brief demonstration on using clickers as a tool that allows students to anonymously assess their prior knowledge.

Another good example of using technology in the classroom is the SlideShare Tomorrow’s Students, Today’s K-12 Digital Learners from Educause’s 2008 Annual Conference, which demonstrates the use of audience polled responses in a slideshow presentation. Audience Response Systems in Professional Presentations cites several references for effective presentation design, including slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations, Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery, and the Duarte blog.

Some college classes are including the purchase of clickers (about $25) as part of their course required hardware, along with textbooks. Classroom ‘Clickers’ Catching on as Instant Assessment Tool talks about how professors use the technology to check students’ knowledge and get a feel for what items might need more review. One teacher uses student response as an “instant assessment tool," posing “hypothetical questions on a future topic or review last week's concepts.” Another professor, teaching pharmacy, uses clickers to do case study analyses, where students go through steps in a patient case and compare their responses with their classmates.

“Student response technology: Empirically grounded or just a gimmick?” an article on the Teaching with Classroom Response Systems website, summarizes the findings of a study that used questions from National Survey of Student Engagement to find out students’ attitudes toward the use of clickers in the classroom. The authors found there were several indicators of student engagement. Students were:

• coming to class having completed readings and assignments
• receiving prompt feedback from instructors
• working harder than students thought they could to meet the instructors’ standards.

As reported in Just a Click Away: Boulder Valley School District Piloted Student-Response Systems and Proved the Tools Could Enhance Learning, teacher Craig Yager “discovered that two-thirds of his students were seldom or never heard from. After I brought the clickers into the classroom, participation reached 100 percent.”

In 2006, Robert Kaleta and Tanya Joosten conducted a study through “Clickers” in the Classroom, a project for the University of Wisconsin, with over 3,500 students and 28 faculty. They concluded that using student response systems presented pedagogical opportunities, engagement and participation, student learning and performance, student and teacher satisfaction. Both students and teachers recommended continued use of the clickers for instruction. One of the teacher participants was quoted as saying “The clickers provided us another means for active involvement that was different, unique, and involved each individual student to some minimal extent.” Teachers felt that they gained information about student learning (in this case, whether the student had mastered the material). For a copy of the PowerPoint presentation see "Clickers" in the Classroom: Analyses from the University of Wisconsin System Project.

Another resource is the Student Response Systems (SRS) website set up as a result of the Clickers in the Classroom project. It discusses how the program was funded, provides tips on supporting student use of clickers, and details the evaluation findings.

How to use clickers in the classroom

In Twelve Tips for Using a Computerised Interactive Audience Response System, Lorraine J. Robertson refers to the drop in attention that many students experience 20 or 30 minutes into a lecture. While this refers to medical school audiences, we can assume that for most K-12 students the attention drop off comes much sooner. Robertson posits that active learning is one solution that can be integrated into PowerPoint presentations through the use of an audience response system. She provides several tips learned through trial and error that can help you make the most effective use of the technology.

1. Keep questions short to optimize legibility.

2. Have no more than five answer options.

3. Do not make your questions overly complex.

4. Keep voting straightforward.

5. Allow time for discussion when designing your presentation.

6. Do not ask too many questions--use them sparingly to highlight the points you most want to emphasize.

7. Check out your proposed location in order to identify any potential technical problems.

8. Allow plenty of time to set up and try out the system before the session begins.

9. Rehearse your presentation to ensure that it will run smoothly.

10. Provide clear instruction to your audience.

11. Encourage active discussion with your audience.

12. Do not overuse the system.

The University of California provides campuswide support for what they call Personal Response Systems or (PRS). On its best practices webpage, you will find additional information and tips for the technical side of clickers in the classroom. There is a blog for best practices and a downloadable handbook from the University of Amherst that has chapters on: Reasons for Teaching with Clickers, Changing the Classroom Experience, Clickers Course Management, Mechanics of Using PRS, Integrating PRS with other Technology and Software, In-Class Troubleshooting, Writing Good PRS Questions and more. There are several screenshots that show the effective placement of PRS data in presentations.

Professional development is a valuable part of introducing any new technology. In the article referenced above (Just a Click Away) teachers took part in a pilot project to determine the best ways to use clickers in their classroom. Collaboration was key as teachers formed a team, pairing experienced teachers with those new to clickers. Teachers also took part in two-day training, but found they needed more follow-up because of time constraints in the classroom. The design team decided to create a website, including forums, wikis and announcement boards that included information about integrating instruction in the classroom, new ideas, tips and research. Francie Anhut, CEO of Impact on Education, a non-profit group encouraged by results of the pilot, awarded the school district an additional $113,000 to continue the project, stating “If clickers will help improve student learning, we’re excited.”

When deciding which system to purchase, it’s helpful to evaluate different products. The University of Wisconsin put together a document, Managing the Adoption of Clickers: Experiences of Several Universities. Helpful sections are Potential Criteria for Selection and Deciding Factors; there are also tips for Keys to Success.

The next new tool: virtual clicking

“Clickers” or “VirtualClickers”? talks about the pitfalls you might encounter when using clickers in your classroom. Aside from cost and a slight learning curve, there are some things you need to consider, such as the fact that clickers need to be registered for each user and in each classroom. Student Response Network(SRN) “is a ‘virtual clicker’ student response system designed for use in school computer labs or with wireless laptop groups. It does away with the need for personal handheld ‘clicker’ devices by providing a software-only solution for use with networked Windows desktops or laptops”. There’s a great explanation of how the SRN program is being piloted at SRN and Laptops4Learning.

EdTech in the Classroom features a podcast on Student Response Systems and how a science teacher and technology professional development coordinator have found ways to use SRS in the classroom. This session also discusses how it’s using social networking. Links are provided as well as possible sources for grant funding.

Other sources are TooFast, a free assessment survey tool, and some instructions for using Google Spreadsheets as a log. The ever popular Survey Monkey is another free tool that can be used, although responses don’t pop up on the screen instantaneously, taking away some of the “wow” factor. Moodle is another tool for online surveys and you can find directions at Web-based Student Response Systems (ala clicker?).

As the Apple iPhone slogan goes “yeah, there’s an app for that!” Poll Everywhere can be used via SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging on mobile phones, smartphones with data plans, or regular computers and wireless laptops via the Web. The product is free for classes with up to 32 students. Turning Technology has created a program that allows you to use polling software combined with a special keypad. Using this combination, students can participate in audience response from Apple iPhone, Blackberry smartphones, laptops, or desktops.

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