Variation in the effectiveness of clicker use based on cohort composition in a small upper division cell and molecular biology course.

Abstract

Student response systems (clickers) have been shown to be effective in large introductory biology courses and are typically positively reviewed by students. However, in upper level, smaller courses there are fewer published studies and the results are not always positive. This study monitored the use of clickers in an advanced Cell and Molecular biology over three semesters beginning in Fall 2014. Class size ranged from 18 to 24 students. Specifically, we sought to determine if clickers are an effective means of in class content review in preparation for exams. Effectiveness was assessed based on student success on exam questions directly related to content covered by clickers as compared to content where clickers were not used. For each cohort we ascertained the average percentage of possible points scored per question in each category (clicker vs. no clickers) on each of the four unit exams. When looking at the trends for each cohort we found very different results. The 2014 group showed no difference in their ability to answer exam questions related to clicker content versus those where clickers were not used. The 2015 group performed statistically better on content where clickers were used, whereas preliminary data from the 2016 cohort trends toward students performing better on content where clickers were not used. Consistent with the trends for each individual cohort we found that when students were reintroduced to the exact same clicker questions in an end of the semester review session the 2014 cohort performed worse than when they had first encountered the clicker questions in class; whereas the 2015 students performed remarkably better on the clicker questions in the review session than they had in class. We attempted to correlate the difference in clicker effectiveness between the 2014 and 2015 cohorts to their demographic composition by comparing gender, class standing, major, course final grade and exam grades. Both cohorts had a similar gender composition (1/3 male, 2/3 female) and overall course grades. While exam scores varied between the cohorts (more As in 2015, more Bs in 2014) there was no correlation between exam score and success on clicker related exam questions for individual students. However, there was a clear correlation between success in clicker related content on exams and student class standing. Seniors in both the 2014 cohort (50%) and the 2015 cohort (80%) clearly performed better on clicker related exam content. Whereas juniors (50% of 2014 cohort and 18% of 2015 cohort) on average preformed better on content where clickers had not been used. These trends appear to be holding in the 2016 cohort. As with previous studies all students had positive opinions of clicker use regardless of class standing. Our results suggest there are still benefits to the use of clickers even in the smaller upper division classroom; however the gains appear to be much more prominent in senior students. These outcomes are in contrast to the existing literature that shows a lack of improvement and reduced receptiveness to clickers in senior students.