Clickers promote active participation of students during lectures, especially in large classes. The system allows instructors to receive an immediate response from students on particular questions related to the learning material presented in class, usually using a multiple-choice format. Students are asked to “vote” for their answers by pressing the respective buttons on their handheld devices connected to the system. Therefore, teachers can use the system to assure understanding among students with regard to the teaching material.
Besides, teachers can collect responses from students on controversial issues, because the polling system is anonymous. Therefore, shy students are willing to speak up in class. Besides, the practice is time-saving as the polling is carried out and data analyzed electronically. The exercises can be coupled with follow-up classroom activities such as discussions or debates, which further increases the likelihood of student engagement
Implementation
Careful planning and practice can greatly enhance the motivation of students to participate in lectures with clickers. Caldwell (2007) provided some useful tips:
Make sure the questions used with clickers align with the goals and objectives of the course.
Plan in advance the rules for using the clicker transmitter and plan how to deal with broken clickers, for example, having students trade ID cards for clickers.
Observe another instructor who uses an ARS before teaching with this technology for the first time.
Set up the system before classes, and practice beforehand.
Get help from a teaching assistant, if possible, when administering the system.
Communicate clearly with students about the reasons for using clickers and how you expect them to benefit from this experience to help gain their support.
Spend some time in the first class training students on how to use the clickers.
Plan extra time for discussion after showing the results of the polling, which will allow students to consolidate what they have learnt or learn from the mistakes they have make.
Encourage class discussion of incorrect answers to clarify unclear concepts or ideas that are commonly shared by students.
Summarize the ideas of different groups after the follow-up discussion.
Limit the discussion group size to no more than four to six members to maximise the chances of participation of every student in the discussion.
Extended reading
Caldwell, J. E. (2007). Clickers in the large classroom: Current research and best-practice tips. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 6(1), 7−20. CUHK teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.lifescied.org/cgi/content/abstract/6/1/9
Ideas:
Faculty-level promotion and support. There is a pilot programme initiated by the Faculty of Science at CUHK that used clickers to enhance teaching and learning. Read more detail at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/sci/clicker
Engaging the whole class with clickers. Dr Tom Fleming at the University of Arizona discusses how clickers have successfully engaged the whole class on various topics or questions throughout the lecture. He also points out that he no longer uses the traditional way of lecturing like because it limits student learning and understanding. View his video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkQ_v2PB00Q
University experience. Clickers have been used in different disciplines at DePaul University. Lecturers from Psychology, Chemistry, Accounting and MIS describe the advantages of using clickers in lectures, such as how this technology increases the degree of interactivity in classes, and how it helps instructors to keep track of the responses of students and assess their understanding of the course material. Read their stories here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFWQWWn9cZY
Faculty-level promotion and support.