PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEM USE FOR CONCEPTEST EVALUATION IN LARGE-LECTURE INTRODUCTORY GEOLOGY CLASSES

Analysis of preliminary data suggest that peer instruction and just-in-time teaching facilitated by use of an audience response system (ARS) improved the percentage of correct answers prior to exams in a large-lecture introductory physical geology course. Concept themes evaluated through this method include volcanoes, plate tectonics, hydrologic cycle, surface water, ground water, rocks, minerals, geologic time and earthquakes. These conceptest questions are stored on the website:

http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/conceptests/index.html

During Spring 2009 semester, a plate-tectonics conceptest question concerning the number of tectonic plates in map view was initially shown to 71 students; 30.5% answered correctly via ARS. After peer discussion, the same plate tectonics conceptest question was presented again; 54% answered correctly. Immediately after viewing a histogram of student responses for the second question, a third, similar conceptest question was posed. Individuals responded with 91.5% accuracy for the third question.

Administration of 3 earthquake conceptest questions generated the same trend; student accuracy percentages increased from 39% to 86%.

The average grades on the second of three exams during the first semester of ARS implementation showed 4% average improvement instead of an historical 4% drop in the average grade. Other exam grades were not significantly different.