Student Response Systems "Clickers"
Student Response Systems (SRS) or as they are referred to at RIT, "clickers" are wireless keypads that can be used to gauge the level of understanding from a large audience within seconds.
Pilot Overview
Student Response Systems (SRS) or as they are referred to at RIT, "clickers" are wireless keypads that can be used to gauge the level of understanding from a large audience within seconds.
View the Pilot Overview voice-annotated presentation or read the text version below.
In the Spring of 2005, RIT's Online Learning Department began an investigation into the use of "Clickers" in the classroom. Clickers are also referred to as Remote Student Response Systems, Classroom Response Systems, Group Response Systems, Audience Response Systems, and Student Response Systems. Herewith we will use the term Student Response Systems and its acronym, SRS.
The impetus for this investigation into SRS came from three faculty, one from Biology and two from Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology/Packaging Science, who were awarded RIT Provost Learning Innovations Grants. The investigation grew into an extensive pilot involving faculty from Chemistry, Biology, and Computer Software on the use of SRS over three quarters - during Fall 2005, Winter 2005-06 and Spring 2006 - that included over 25 courses, 60 sections, 13 faculty, and over 1400 students.
Research on systems used at other universities and a review of features, benefits and costs of current venders resulted in the pilot adoption of the Turning Technologies' radio frequency SRS. Radio frequency SRS do not require wires to be installed in the classroom because they utilize USB wireless receiver technology.
Pilot Faculty
Faculty selected for the pilot typically taught a two or three course sequence. The pilot faculty participated in training sessions, allowed the Online Learning Department to survey students during the middle and final week of class regarding clicker usage and satisfaction, attended mid-quarter and end-of-quarter pilot faculty meetings to discuss issues/concerns and review student participation surveys. In addition, faculty wrote a narrative that addressed why they adopted an SRS, how they planned to use it, what happened, and what they would do differently if they decided to use an SRS again.
Internal Support Team
The internal ten-person RIT pilot team was comprised of members from the Online Learning Department and members of RIT's Educational Technology Center. Team members supported both the faculty and students in the pilot.
Integration into Courseware Management System
A considerable amount of time was spent creating, adapting, and managing a participant registration system that integrated the SRS with RIT's myCourses (Desire2Learn) course management system. This SRS/myCourses integration allowed faculty to have their students register their clickers via a customized myCourses widget, giving faculty the ability to use the SRS for attendance, quizzing, and other forms of grading their students' responses. Each student's responses could be imported into the grade book in myCourses.
Survey Findings
Students were surveyed each of the three quarters on their perceptions of using clickers. The satisfaction ratings did not fluctuate much since the beginning of the pilot. The average satisfaction and dissatisfaction ratings across quarters are: Satisfied 56% and Dissatisfied 44%. Consistently in both their ratings and comments, students tend to find more value in the clicker when it is used more often during class. Two possible reasons for this is that both the instructor and students are provided with more opportunity to develop their comfort-level, expertise as users, and most importantly, trust in the device. Students have also commented that more usage of the clicker would justify its cost.
Survey findings from the pilot's first year suggest that students seemed most concerned with the clicker's reliability and cost-effectiveness. Less apparent from student feedback is the extent to which they feel clicker activities might have influenced the learning process. They see its value in its ability to reinforce what they have learned and verify their understanding of material, however use of the clicker during class does not yet seem to have had any significant influence over student perception of self as proactive learner. Students have indicated that they do not feel, just yet, that they are more likely to ask for clarification when using the clickers or be more likely to come prepared to class in preparation for a clicker activity. Furthermore, ratings have indicated that, in this first pilot year, they were not necessarily more likely to complete homework and reading assignments on time in preparation for clicker quizzes.
Lessons Learned from Pilot
Overall, a good number of suggestions for how to effectively incorporate SRS into the classroom were discovered and shared. Through both faculty and students providing their reflections on SRS usage, we have come up with the following recommendations. Additional information on these effective practices are provided in the Student Response System Survey Report, Fall-Spring 2005-2006 (Appendix I).
Determine if Clickers Are Right for Your Teaching Style
- Is your main reason for using clickers to enhance interactive teaching and learning?
- Are you willing to have an active classroom environment?
- Are you willing to shift discussion based on the students' responses to a question?
- Are you prepared to devote more class time than usual to questions using the clickers?
Courses that Benefit from Clickers
- Large lecture, sequence classes
- Team based courses and activities
Before Class: Prepare!
- Develop sound questions ahead of time that are relevant to the topic being presented.
- Take time to practice with the equipment you will use in class.
At Beginning of Quarter
- Explain the benefits and purpose of using the clickers, and inform students of your expectations.
- Advise students on care of clickers.
- Have a clear policy in your syllabus on what you consider cheating with clickers and identify the consequences.
Questioning Techniques and Tips
- Use a "Testing-the-system" question.
- Student Survey Top Three Question Types: Opinion Questions, Reading Review Questions, and Mid-lecture questions
- Incorporate peer instruction activities using the clickers.
- Base some of your clicker questions on the out of class activities.
- Incorporate 2-3 clicker questions in each class period.
- Keep the level of difficulty at an intermediate level.
- If using the timer on the slide, consider giving students 30 seconds or more to process and respond.
If Using Clicker Responses for Grades
- Use the clickers for a minimal part of the course grade.
- Do not grade responses during the first week of class.
- Provide timely feedback to the students regarding their grades.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Looking back, there has been an increase over the last year in the number of students who felt that using the clickers helped them to verify their understanding of the material. These feelings are generally stronger and more positive from students using clickers multiple times during class. From Winter to Spring, their has been a 50% decrease in the number of recording errors and battery replacements after a clicker defect was identified and fixed by Turning Technologies. Moving ahead, RIT Pilot Team will continue to look at student perceptions on reliability, effective use, and the integration of clicker activities in class through an End-of-Quarter survey for Fall 20061, Winter 20062, and Spring 20063. The price of a new clicker will also be reduced from $45 to $30. In this coming year, many of the student users will provide fresh eyes on the clicker experience. This will be beneficial since in this coming year the pilot includes faculty with more experience and an improved clicker. With a year's worth of experience, the RIT Pilot Team is also making improvements to the faculty training and will also begin to survey faculty users for their perceptions.