Using Clickers in the Classroom

1
Using Clickers in the Classroom
0

• Jerry Sarquis
• Miami University
• Oxford, Ohio

2
Outline

• How I got started
• Information available from polling
• Question strategies
• Assessment
• Slide design

3
Clickers, clickers, clickers
4
CHM 142 at Miami U
0
5
How I Got Into Polling Systems
0

• Wanted students to be actively involved
• Previous use of ABCD color-coded cards
• student use fell off as semester progressed
• no permanent record
• Publisher provided incentive by providing the
  hardware and software

6
Facilities
0

• Hardware
• Different systems in use at Miami

7
Current Status

• Chemistry
• 2 instructors
• 2 systems (InterWrite and eInstruction)
• 4 rooms wired with receivers (3 different
  systems)
• faculty interest has declined
• software difficulty
• logistics getting clickers into student hands
• student expense

8
Evolution

• RF instead of IR clickers/receivers
• faster response times
• student feedback that response has been received
• portable no permanent installation
• handle larger numbers conveniently
• RF up to 2000 clickers

9
Installation
0

• Hardware
• Easy enough for novice to install.
• Software
• Supplied with hardware
• InterWrite PRS with PowerPoint tool bar
• Learning curve steep
• Clicker Registration

10
Considerations
0

• I forgot my clicker
• time for recording responses
• software
• hardware
• clicker exchange

11
Adoption of a system?

• local support
• IT
• Colleagues
• expense
• students
• purchase
• license
• institution

12
Typical questionWhich electronic transition
emits light with the longest wavelength

• n1 to n2
• n3 to n2
• n4 to n3
• n5 to n6

13
Reports
0

• Attendance
• Question responses
• Session details
• Question report
• Individual student responses
• Session summary

14
PRS Attendance Report
0
student 1
student 2
student 3
student 4
student 5
student 6
student 7
student 8
student 9
student 10

student 11
15
Session detail by question
0
16
0
17
0
18
0
19
Response Distribution
20
Spreadsheet of data
21
How is data used?
0

• Attendance
• 15 days (picked at random out of 44 periods)
• 15 points (out of 500 total) applied to grade
• Phantom students?
• Clicking in and leaving
• Friends clicking in

22
Question Strategies

• Examples

23
Repetition of the same question - before and
after discussion with neighbor
Which Lewis structure is best for BeCl2?
24
(No Transcript)
25

• Which of the covalent bonds is the most polar?
• all are nonpolar
• N-N
• O-N
• O-C
• O-H

26
Assessment with SALG
0

• Student Assessment of Learning Gains
• FLAG http//www.flaguide.org (links to SALG)
• SALG http//www.wcer.wisc.edu/salgains/instructo
  r/
• 5-point Liekert scale
• strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree,
  strongly disagree
• Percentage of the sum of strongly agree, agree

27
SALG Polling Questions
28
SALG Polling Questions
0

• I recommend that you continue to use clickers
  in your next class.
• YES
• Fall 2004 83
• Spring 2005 94
• Fall 2004 83

29
What did your like best about the use of the
clicker in class?
0

• Engagement
• Anonymity
• Understanding
• Critical thinking

30
Engagement
0

• forced you to pay attention
• Help you see areas you are having problems with
  right away
• gave students a chance to take part in class,
  something that is not necessarily found in most
  large lecture classes. Instead of having just a
  lecture, we were able to take part in the lecture
  and see if our responses were actually headed in
  the right direction

31
Anonymity
0

• it makes me feel better when I see that other
  people dont know what they are doing/understand
  too. I dont feel as dumb.
• Honestly, your answers were (anonymous)? when
  you werent sure what the answer was. I liked
  that a lot.
• That I could respond and be active in the course
  without people knowing if I was wrong.

32
Understanding
0

• The clicker was a great way to see if you
  understood the class material. Every time I
  correctly answered a clicker question, I felt
  more confident in the material we were learning.
• I loved the fact that it made class more
  interesting, interactive and fun. They helped me
  gauge my understanding, and knowing the questions
  were coming up kept me more engaged in the
  lecture because I wanted to do well on the
  question.

33
Critical Thinking

• you are forced to critically think during a
  class period and not just told to do so after
  class.
• made me think trhough (sic) the problem and
  actuall (sic) solve the problem rather than me
  going through it with the professor step by step,
  therefore not really thinking for myself.

34
Slide Design
0

• Save room on slide so polling system graph and
  the question/responses can be viewed
  simultaneously.

35
0
Predict which of the following electronic
transitions will produce the longest wavelength
spectral line.

• n 4 to n 2
• n 5 to n 2
• n 5 to n 3
• n 6 to n 4

36
Predict which of the following electronic
transitions will produce the longest wavelength
spectral line.
0

• n 4 to n 2
• n 5 to n 2
• n 5 to n 3
• n 6 to n 4

37
As a result of todays presentation, I am more
likely to try a polling system in my classes.

• Agree
• Neither agree or disagree
• Disagree
• Not applicable because I already use clickers.

38
Summary
0

• What is the cost?
• Time to develop questions
• Less time to lecture
• Is it worth it?

Yes!
39
Acknowledgements
0

• CHM 137, 141 and 142 students
• Joel Detchon
• Miami University IT services