Engagement in Cross-Cultural Large Lecture Classrooms: Using Top Hat Technology to Include Students in the Discussion

Abstract

A criticism of cross-cultural course requirements at the collegiate level is just how effective these courses are in promoting multiculturalism among students. Many of these courses are also taught in large lecture format, cultivating an environment in which students are passive receivers of information rather than active participants in open interactions with the instructor and their peers. Incorporating a student response system (SRS) into a cross-cultural large lecture course allows students to respond to questions anonymously while facilitating the active involvement and engagement that is necessary to facilitate student openness to adopting more pluralistic perspectives over the span of the course. This study addressed a gap in the literature by exploring (a) students’ perceptions of SRS’s anonymity, (b) whether SRS use impacts students’ feelings of engagement with their peers and course content, and (c) whether SRS use contributes to students’ achievement of course objectives. Results from a survey (n = 171) conducted in a large lecture diversity course that utilized an SRS provided initial support for the use of an SRS as a means of increasing engagement, eliciting honest responses on sensitive course content, and facilitating achievement of course objectives in large lecture diversity courses.