Effectiveness Of Clickers Research Articles

The Effect of Clickers in University Science Courses

In four studies on the use of student response systems, clickers, we sought to understand whether the use of clickers would impact students’ attitudes toward the use of technology for instruction and achievement on examinations. While the results varied some by study, overall, the results revealed no significant changes in the already positive student attitude toward the use of instructional technology. In all four studies, the majority of the students reported that they learned more when clickers were used in class. The use of clickers did not serve as useful predictor of student achievement in science classes. The findings of this study are similar to others which suggest that some classroom technologies (like clickers) may not necessarily have a direct connection with student achievement, despite positive student feedback regarding their experience using these technologies. Further studies are needed to better understand the true nature of the relationship between these technologies and classroom outcomes.

Effectiveness of clickers as a pedagogical tool in improving nursing student's examination performance

A small number of research studies exist regarding the effectiveness of clickers as a pedagogical tool, specifically in improving nursing students' examination performance in the classroom. A pretest and posttest design with a comparison group was used to determine whether there was a relationship between the use of clickers (independent variable) and nursing students' examination performance in an adult health course (dependent variable). Independent samples t tests revealed that the control group showed greater improvement in scores postintervention than did the experimental group. Therefore, the use of clickers was not effective in increasing nursing students' examination scores in an adult health course.

Assessing Clicker Examples Versus Board Examples in Calculus

The combination of classroom voting system (clicker) questions and peer instruction has been shown to increase student learning. While implementations in large lectures have been around for a while, mathematics has been increasingly using clickers in classes of a smaller size. In Fall 2008, I conducted an experiment to measure the effect of clickers on exam performance. The experiment was conducted with two sections of Calculus 1, using the same examples either on the board or with clickers. By comparing only the lower-performing students in the sections and alternating use of the clicker between sections, I was able to obtain modestly significant results showing improved exam performance for low-performing students, despite a small sample size.

Effect of clickers versus online homework on students' long-term retention of general chemistry course material

This study reports the effects of student response systems (clickers) versus online homework on students' long-term retention of General Chemistry I course material. Long-term content retention was measured by a comprehensive yearlong American Chemical Society (ACS) GC97 exam administered seven months after students had completed the General Chemistry I course. The analysis indicated that while students who used clickers or online homework systems earned a little over 2% higher than the non-clicker, non-online homework (lecture-only) group on ACS GC97 exam average scores, this difference was not statistically significant. Interestingly, the data also revealed that more students were retained both in clicker and online homework classes than lecture-only classes. This work suggests that treatments that enhance student's feedback may increase student retention in the course sequence with no loss in learning.

Using Clickers to Facilitate Development of Problem-Solving Skills

Classroom response systems, or clickers, have become pedagogical staples of the undergraduate science curriculum at many universities. In this study, the effectiveness of clickers in promoting problem-solving skills in a genetics class was investigated. Students were presented with problems requiring application of concepts covered in lecture and were polled for the correct answer. A histogram of class responses was displayed, and students were encouraged to discuss the problem, which enabled them to better understand the correct answer. Students were then presented with a similar problem and were again polled. My results indicate that those students who were initially unable to solve the problem were then able to figure out how to solve similar types of problems through a combination of trial and error and class discussion. This was reflected in student performance on exams, where there was a statistically significant positive correlation between grades and the percentage of clicker questions answered. Interestingly, there was no clear correlation between exam grades and the percentage of clicker questions answered correctly. These results suggest that students who attempt to solve problems in class are better equipped to solve problems on exams.

Is It the Clicker, or Is It the Question? Untangling the Effects of Student Response System Use

Previous research on the effectiveness of clickers has found their use to be positively associated with exam scores but not without methodological issues that hinder the conclusions that can be drawn. To address these limitations, the current studies isolated the effects of clickers from the effects of questions presented with clickers. Study 1 showed that students who did not use clickers to respond to questions but raised their hands performed better on exams than students who saw the same questions and responded with clickers. Study 2 found no relationship between clicker use and exam scores, which suggests that prior research claims about the effectiveness of clickers may have been premature given that clicker use was confounded with question use in those studies. Suggestions for future research are also provided.

“A Meeting of Minds”

Because lecture-based teaching limits student learning, many instructors are interested in pedagogical strategies that support critical thinking, student participation, and group discussion in large classrooms. Audience response systems, or “clickers,” are an emerging tool for addressing this problem, but predominant pedagogical models for clicker use developed in the natural sciences often do not encourage the “inquiry-guided learning” that is useful in sociology. This article introduces readers to clicker technology and outlines a new pedagogical model for clicker use designed to address sociological learning goals, including critical thinking, applications of concepts to real-life experiences, and critiques of sociological methods. The authors discuss the effects of clickers for classroom interaction and students’ experiences in three undergraduate sociology courses, using quantitative and qualitative data about students’ perceptions of the effects of this pedagogical model on learning. The results suggest that the model positively affects participation, critical thinking, and classroom interaction dynamics. The authors conclude with practical suggestions for instructors considering implementing clickers in sociology courses.

Vibrant student voices: exploring effects of the use of clickers in large college courses

Teachers have begun using student response systems (SRSs) in an effort to enhance the learning process in higher education courses. Research providing detailed information about how interactive technologies affect students as they learn is crucial for professors who seek to improve teaching quality, attendance rates and student learning. This study investigates social, educational and emotional effects of the use of SRSs – clickers – at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Methods include participant observation, survey data from over 2000 students enrolled in three semesters of General Chemistry, and in‐depth interviews exploring the nature of student experiences with clickers. Findings suggest clickers significantly alter the social environment experienced by students as they learn. Clickers create learning environments characterized by greater activity, cooperation and conceptual application compared to traditional, lecture‐based instruction. Gender also influences whether students choose to work with peers during clicker‐prompted interaction. The qualitative analysis presented here extends upon themes identified in existing research on the effects of clickers for learning.

Do clickers improve library instruction? Lock in your answers now

This study assesses the effect of clickers on retention of library instruction material. A comparison of quiz results of students who utilized clickers during instruction versus students who did not showed no gain in retention. Libraries are encouraged to consider pedagogical implications before applying novel technologies to instruction programs.

Gender Differences in the Use and Effectiveness of Personal Response Devices

The use of personal response devices (or “clickers”) in the classroom has increased in recent years. While few quantitative studies on the effectiveness of clickers have been published, it is generally reported that clickers have been well-received by the students who use them. Two separate populations (Winter 2006 and Spring 2006) of engineering students were given clickers to use during a general chemistry class. Clicker use was compared to student grades for each course. During both terms, a higher percentage of female students than male students “actively participated” in the lectures, where active participation was defined as answering more than 75% of the clicker questions over the course of the term. Active male students earned final grades about 10 points higher than non-active male students. Active female students, however, scored only about 5 points higher than non-active female students. Student learning was assessed by comparing performance on exam questions and clicker questions with similar content. Students who answered clicker questions correctly were 11–13% more likely to answer the corresponding exam questions correctly than were students who did not answer the clicker question. In this paper, we demonstrate the effectiveness of clicker use in the classroom and examine gender differences associated with this use.

Exploring the Pedagogical Effectiveness of Clickers

Clickers, electronic response systems, are widely popular in college classrooms and proponents have argued clickers can increase student engagement, active learning, and, perhaps most importantly, student comprehension. Determining whether the effectiveness of clickers justified their purchase seemed warranted. A campus-wide project was developed to address this question. Five university instructors adopted clickers in one of their introductory courses (psychology, speech, accounting, and education) while teaching a second, control course. Contrary to expectation, attrition was higher and grades were lower in the clicker courses, although these differences were not statistically significant.

Clickers or Flashcards: Is There Really a Difference?

A growing number of physics teachers are currently turning to instructional technologies such as wireless handheld response systems—colloquially called clickers. Two possible rationales may explain the growing interest in these devices. The first is the presumption that clickers are more effective instructional instruments. The second rationale is somewhat reminiscent of Martin Davis' declaration when purchasing the Oakland Athletics: “As men get older, the toys get more expensive.” Although personally motivated by both of these rationales, the effectiveness of clickers over inexpensive low-tech flashcards remains questionable. Thus, the first half of this paper presents findings of a classroom study comparing the differences in student learning between a Peer Instruction group using clickers and a Peer Instruction group using flashcards. Having assessed student learning differences, the second half of the paper describes differences in teaching effectiveness between clickers and flashcards.