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- Clicker resource guide
- Introduction
It can take some time to tap the full potential of clickers in the classroom. We have commonly seen instructors follow the following progression as they learn to use clickers effectively:
Stage 1: asking simple, primarily factual, questions as a starting point.
These questions are often simple quizzes on material just covered in lecture, or questions derived from the textbook or textbook instructor’s guide. Little discussion amongst students about the questions is encouraged or needed, and the great majority (>80%) of the students get the question correct. There is little follow up discussion to the question by the instructor. This type of question often appears to be driven by instructor’s concern that asking more difficult questions would make students feel uncomfortable at missing the answer. The primary impact of the clickers on lecture is improving attendance (assuming students get points if they answer the questions). On our surveys, students indicate they see much less value to this type of use than clickers being used as in Stages 2 or 3 below.
We have seen some faculty members who are new to clickers suddenly switch from the simple usage of clickers in Stage 1 to the more effective approach in Stages 2 or 3 after the following experience. Stimulated by unexpectedly poor performance on an exam question or just by accident, the instructor will create a question that is more challenging. This question creates a large split in responses that is followed by a burst of discussion among the students as to which answer is correct and why. Seeing such a response is often an “aha” moment for the instructor. They realize how they might use clicker questions in a new way to better promote student thinking and learning. They then move to the next stage of clicker question use.
Stage 2: asking more challenging conceptual questions, or questions where the answer is not obvious and critical points could be argued.
There is a substantial spread in student responses and significant student-student discussion of the question is encouraged, with follow up discussion by the instructor. There are occasional changes in the planned lecture to address student difficulties that are revealed by the clicker question or in response to student questions generated in discussion.
Stage 3: lecture is structured around a set of challenging clicker questions that largely embody the material students are to learn.
Students are required to prepare for class by reading or carrying out assignments ahead of time, and little class time is spent in providing information to students that is accessible in the textbook or online notes. Students are organized into 3-4 person discussion groups so that all students must discuss the questions, and student reasoning for their answer choices are elicited and analyzed following the question. A significant portion of the class time is devoted to discussion of students’ thinking and questions that are revealed and raised during this process. Under the best of circumstances, clicker questions are designed so that student questions actually introduce the next intended topic (and may even constitute the next clicker question posed to the class). Students recognize that they must come to class prepared and must keep up with material throughout the semester, as they must analyze and respond to questions on a daily basis.
Source:
OpenStax, Clicker resource guide. OpenStax CNX. Apr 11, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10724/1.2
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