Small Classroom Success at the Click of a Button

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Small Classroom Success at the Click of a Button

• Robert Boatright Michael Krikonis

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Introduction
Robert Boatright, Ph.D. rboatright_at_clarku.edu Ass
istant Professor of Government Michael Krikonis
mkrikonis_at_clarku.edu Academic Technologist
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Why use SRS at Clark?
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Why use SRS at Clark?

• Support inquiry based learning
• Support Difficult Dialogue courses
• Support larger lecture classes
• Opportunity to experiment with an emerging
  technology

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What did we expect to achieve?

• Learn how the technology works
• Observe suggested practices
• Find useful / possible applications in coursework
• Understand how faculty would use the technology
• Identify establish practices relevant to our
  campus and faculty

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How did we use SRS?

• Initial uses primarily in small classes 15- 25
  students
• Foster discussions
• Content review
• Gather experimental data
• Assess teaching approach
• Student presentations
• Audience analysis

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Clickers
SRS Some Examples
Quiz and Comparative Evaluation
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SRS Some Examples
Clickers
Collect experimental data
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SRS Some Examples
Audience Analysis
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An example of use in an undergraduate Government
course
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Evaluation of SRS
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Evaluation Method

• Face to face interviews
• Student feedback to faculty
• Student survey
• 3 courses (61 respondents)

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Results

• The SRS helped me to better understand the course
  topics.

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Results

• The SRS allowed me to compare myself against the
  class as a whole.

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Results

• The feedback provided was relevant.

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Results

• The feedback helped me realize that I need to
  change how I learn or think.

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Results

• Instructor modified instruction based on the
  responses.

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Results

• SRS made the _ more interesting.

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User Feedback Faculty
Clickers

• They help create a safe environment to
  participate in difficult dialogues
• The students are engaged
• Students in the minority sometimes did not want
  to reveal themselves. They hid in anonymity and
  class was actively trying to determine who it
  was.
• I still dont know if students learn more or
  better
• I could see how radically peoples thinking
  changed when they saw the pattern.  I am going to
  use it again

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User Feedback Students
Clickers

• I liked that we were being involved in an
  active, yet "low-risk" way
• I really like how you have incorporated these
  clickers, they really seem to capture the
  attention of everyone in the group
• I enjoy hearing (or seeing in this case) the
  opinions of my peers, but in many classes only a
  handful of students actively participate on a
  regular basis.
• I was not able to participate because I lost my
  clicker
• Dont try so hard, the activities were
  complicated

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What did we expect to achieve?

• Learn how the technology works
• Understand how faculty would use the technology
• Find useful / possible applications in coursework
• Observe suggested practices
• Establish/identify practices relevant to our
  campus and faculty

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Lessons Learned

• Faculty and Students find the SRS is useful,
• facilitates engagement and is reliable
• Question about effectiveness as a learning
• tool still remains
• Faculty are generally interested in facilitating
  discussions, content review and gauging student
  understanding
• Support must be in place to make SRS accessible
  to a larger audience of faculty and students
• A clicker distribution model must agree with
  campus
• culture

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Whats in the Future?

• Broader campus applications
• Increase integration in both large and small
  classes
• Expand to language/visual/art related coursework
• Non-academic uses
• Increase understanding of how where to
  integrate
• Improve evaluation based on feedback

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Questions?