4_2 : Powell Using Clickers Flashcards
What are the key concepts in what we read?
- problems in mass class settingProblem with Mass Class setting
- Intimidated by classmates
- no personal relationships with professors
- too much intake of information, passive intake no discussion
- lack of engagement
- lack of meta-cognitive awareness to self-identify deficits in content knowledge
- Instructors have difficulty gauging students understanding (until the exam)
- Students might feel intimidated when it comes to asking and answering questions
What questions did the author set out to answer?
1: To what extent does clicker use to increase student academic achievement (learning)?
- It was measured by:
- Final grade
- 5 point scale strongly disagree ↔ strongly agree
2 - Do students think that clickers increase their understanding
- It was measured by: 5 point scale strongly disagree ↔ strongly agree
- “Using a clicker increased my understanding of the topic
3 - Do students think clickers help them identify what they still need to study?
- It was measured by: 5 point scale strongly disagree ↔ strongly agree
- “Using clicker helped me find out what I still needed to study
4- Do students think using clickers is fun?
- It was measured by: 5 point scale strongly disagree ↔ strongly agree
- “using a clickers to respond to clickers was fun”
5- Are students willing to purchase a clicker to help them learn
- It was measured by: 5 point scale strongly disagree ↔ strongly agree
- “I would be willing to purchase a clicker for $30-$40”
How did the authors go about studying their research questions
Method
- N = 145 intro Psych Ss
- 2 class sections taught by the same instructor (M,W) & (T, TH)
- Control: no clickers
- group: clickers
Procedure
- lecture content on PowerPoint
- in clicker class
- questions delivered throughout
- bar graphs are shown immediately
- if > 10% incorrect, he would reteach
- Questionnaire collected at end of course
What did they find?
overall, clickers increased student academic achievement, increased their perceived understanding, helped them identify areas of study, and students thought it was fun, BUT they wouldn’t be willing to purchase one.
Results RQ1: increase student academic achievement (learning)?
- Ss in clicker class scored higher on average than the students in class without a clicker
- clicker class mean = 83.43 (a low B)
- without clicker = 76.3 (a high C)
Results RQ2: Ss perceived understanding:
- 1-5 scale, 3 not reported
- Disagree (response 1-2) = 9% Ss
- Agree ( response 4-5) = 91% Ss
Results RQ3: identify areas of study
- disagree = 6% Ss
- agree = 81% Ss
Results RQ4: was it fun
- Disagree =0%
- Agree = 100%
Results RQ5: willing to purchase
- Disagree = 35% of Ss
- Agree = 32% of Ss
Why should we care?
- We have a large classroom where people want to learn
- ^same as research questions
- Want students to learn
-increase their understanding
-identify what they need to study
-think using clickers is fun
- Want students to learn
What were the limitations in the study?
- sample wasn’t randomly selected
- bc there was 2 dif days for class, there could be dif type of ppl in that class
- participants weren’t randomly assigned to course selection
- researcher bias?
- comparability of instructor
- if 10% got the clicker wrong, the instructor would reteach, so these students got more information than the other group did
Powell et al. (2011) examined the effect of clickers on students academic achievement and perceptions. They found that
Clickers use led to higher levels of performance, perhaps bc students were able to determine what they still needed to study
What are the 2 problems with large lecture classes that prompted the study?
1: Lack of engagement in the lesson
2: lack of cognitive awareness or ability to self-identify deficits in subject area awareness
