CLICKERS IN THE CLASSROOM – REWARDS AND REGRETS OF USING STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS IN A LARGE ENROLLMENT GEOLOGY COURSE

During the winter semester of 2006 a wireless student response system was utilized in a general education environmental geology course with an enrollment of 140 students. The roughly $40 cost of the clickers was paid by the university and students checked them out and returned them at the end of the semester. Surveys were given to students prior to distribution of the “clickers” and at the end of the semester in order to quantify student perceptions of the technology.

Prior to deployment, roughly 60% of students surveyed felt large lecture classes should be more interactive. About 97% responded “true” to the statement “Having a way to answer questions during lecture and find out if I got them right or wrong immediately would help me to learn.” Over 95% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I think having a way to provide real time feedback in a large class would help create a better learning environment.”

The post-semester survey revealed that: 1) 72% of the students felt that the clicker increased their understanding of the material; 2) 96% agreed or strongly agreed that “The clickers made me feel more comfortable responding to questions asked in class”; and 3) Only 35% of the students felt motivated to come to class because of the clickers.

The system chosen had several advantages; 1) the system was wireless and used radio frequencies so students did not need to point the clickers; 2) The clicker software was tightly integrated with PowerPoint making conversion of content less time consuming; 3) Participation and attendance could be compiled from student responses. Implementation of the clickers in the classroom was made more challenging by two limitations of the student clickers: 1) responses were limited to multiple choices; and 2) the students were not able to review their responses. In general, the level of participation in class was far better than in previous semesters of teaching the same course.