ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF STUDENT RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY IN AN OCEAN SCIENCE COURSE

Electronic Student Response Technology (ESRT) has been used for the last few decades in a variety of courses, but assessing the effectiveness of ESRT as a learning tool is a challenge. At Western Michigan University we have been using ERST in a number of geoscience courses for the last few years and have recently begun to assess how ESRT use affects student content knowledge, course performance and attitude.

To evaluate the efficacy of this technology we initiated an ongoing study of ESRT use in an introductory oceanography course. This general education course enrolls approximately 100 undergraduate students per semester from various majors. Our study uses an instructor-designed ocean science concept test to assess student knowledge at the beginning of the semester. The test is again administered at the end of the semester, with student content knowledge improvement assessed by analyzing posttest to pretest difference scores. Questions administered on the pretest and posttest also track changes in student attitude toward science, and student performance is tracked via course grades. By comparing test results from years prior to ESRT use with the results from years since ESRT was implemented, we can evaluate the effect the new technology has had on student comprehension, performance, and attitude.

The study involves a single instructor using a consistent teaching methodology and consistent course content from year to year, allowing an opportunity to assess the efficacy of ESRT use while minimizing the influence of other factors. Initial analysis of posttest to pretest scores show comparable improvement in student learning for the years before and since ESRT has been implemented; however, student responses indicate a positive attitude toward ESRT use as a learning tool. Using the results of this study as a benchmark we may also examine the effectiveness of various ESRT teaching techniques, such as real-time formative assessment, as well as links between ESRT use, instructor grading practices, and student engagement and learning.

Keywords: student response technology, oceanography education, assessment, content knowledge, attitude