exploring effects of the use of clickers in large college courses
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1. This article was downloaded by CDL Journals Account On 14 January 2010 Access details Access Details subscription number 912375045 Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number 1072954 Registered office Mortimer House 37 41 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JH UK Learning Media and Technology Publication details including instructions for authors and subscription information http www informaworld com smpp title content t7 13606301 Vibrant student voices exploring effects of the use of clickers in large college courses Angel Hoekstra Department of Sociology University of Colorado Boulder USA To cite this Article Hoekstra Angel 2008 Vibrant student voices exploring effects of the use of clickers in large college courses Learning Media and Technology 33 4 329 341 To link to this Article DOI 10 1080 17439880802497081 URL http dx doi org 10 1080 17439880802497081 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use http www informaworld com terms and conditions of access pdf This article may be used for research teaching and private study purposes Any substantial or systematic reproduction re distribution re selling loan or sub licensing systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that2. slackers however because in CHEM 1111 working alone is permitted Over many months of observation I never once saw a professor chastise stare at or in any other way sanction a student for working alone Conclusions When using any new teaching technology faculty and students will be skeptical at first Clickers challenge student expectations of their role as passive recipients of information Duncan 2005 and some dislike that clickers establish accountability for coming to class prepared Yet for students in general chemistry clickers create an active learning environ ment that affords greater opportunity to practice new concepts When asked whether click ers are beneficial to learning 95 of students in CHEM 1111 agreed CTs are at least minimally useful 40 felt clickers are quite or extremely useful to learning Trees and Jackson 2007 27 argue The success of clickers depends less on the instructor and more on student s because clickers require a change not simply in the mode of communication between instructors and students 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 340 A Hoekstra but in the very culture of the classroom environment The success of clickers is in many ways dependent on social not technological factors The data presented here support their claim Clickers enable efficient problem based learn ing in large courses in an anonymous manner that is less
3. and noisy and if I want to concentrate I need quiet and I can t rush myself this is personal that is just how I am I need my own pace and my own time to think about it Nadine suggested professors who use clickers establish something akin to a 10 second reading time for CTs so students can read the question in relative quiet before others begin talking about it The noise that bothers some however may benefit others Ann mentioned earlier felt clickers could be really beneficial for students with Attention Deficit Hyperac tivity Disorder Because clicker questions provide a change of pace a new activity every 10 12 minutes they should alleviate some of the difficulty associated with sitting still and keeping focused for students with ADD ADHD Emotion in interactive classrooms General chemistry is challenging but many students said clicker prompted peer interaction helps to minimize anxiety associated with learning new concepts in this course Students said they sometimes laugh and joke around with their peers during CTs and while using clickers can be fun interaction benefits students because it helps them take a laid back atti tude toward using clickers They are doing problems everyday in class and in interviews students emphasized the importance of not getting too stressed out while answering CTs Josey explains If you want to hear some of the complaints I ve heard about clickers I can tell you wh
4. the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date The accuracy of any instructions formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources The publisher shall not be liable for any loss actions claims proceedings demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology Routledge Vol 33 No 4 December 2008 329 341 Taylor amp Francis Group Vibrant student voices exploring effects of the use of clickers in large college courses Angel Hoekstra Department of Sociology University of Colorado Boulder USA Received 7 February 2008 final version received 9 September 2008 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 interview
5. the rest of the class but people are open to discussing how they got their answers It s weird because I m not the most outgoing person but it just doesn t seem to be anything significant to turn to whoever s next to me and ask Did you get the same answer as me or Why do you think it s this Whether working with the same peers or with different people each day talking with others helps alleviate anxiety by allowing students to relate with others during the learning process Survey responses confirm 70 80 feel somewhat or very comfortable working with others during CTs see Table 3 Table 3 also indicates 5 15 feel somewhat or very uncomfortable working with others during CT discussions Why might students choose to work alone Interview data suggest three reasons Why students work alone First students experience anxiety when they do not come to class prepared having done the assigned reading Over two semesters across four sections of general chemistry N 987 30 45 of students admit anonymously using the SRS to not very often never doing the assigned reading before class When students are unfamiliar with the concepts being applied in CTs they have good reason to avoid talking with others because they risk being exposed for lack of preparation Liz s statement reflects this Um I think if I m not prepared there s definitely a little anxiety that comes with it like
6. Information Literacy Education 6 1 10 Smith K A 2000 Going deeper Formal small group learning in large classes New Directions for Teaching and Learning 81 25 46 Stowell J R and J M Nelson 2007 Benefits of electronic audience response systems on student participation learning and emotion Teaching of Psychology 34 253 58 Trees A and M Jackson 2007 The learning environment in clicker classrooms Student processes of learning and involvement in large university level courses using student response systems Learning Media and Technology 32 21 40
7. Oh gosh these people are going to be asking me what I think and I don t even know how to do it I don t even know what this is over Table 3 Response percentages Q When clickers are used how comfortable do you feel when exchanging ideas with another student s Fall 2004 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Section Section 100 200 300 100 200 300 N 234 N 145 N 275 N 262 N 150 N 116 N 228 Very comfortable 41 48 44 46 47 47 46 Somewhat 29 32 30 29 24 41 34 Neutral 18 12 17 16 13 7 12 Somewhat very 12 8 9 10 16 5 8 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 339 During her interview Liz admitted to not often doing her reading before class on the days she is not prepared she said she is more likely to work alone on CTs Next while observation notes suggest most do work with peers a minority prefers to do CTs on their own These students said they prefer to wait for CT explanations from the professor which they know will be correct rather than listening to potentially incorrect reasoning from a peer For some it is better to work alone than to lead someone astray Liz explains It s frustrating because if you think you understand it correctly and you don t then you re lead ing other people to understand it incorrectly and their answers get affected It s reassuring that you still get a point regardless of what you choose but it s a litt
8. ak and I think that s great During interviews many young men explained that they wanted to engage in their own reasoning before hearing about how others approached the question Viewing CTs as symbolic opportunities to self test their knowledge these students deliberately tried to answer the CT questions on their own and turned to others only when they felt very unsure of their answer This trend suggests that gendered expectations shape student behavior when using click ers Chemistry is traditionally considered one of the hard sciences scientific concepts such as objectivity and autonomy have long been associated with masculinity and for many the title scientist draws to mind a lone male the independent and capable researcher Combine pressure to succeed in a traditionally male dominated field such as chemistry with the cultural belief that men are more adept at working with new technology than women and one unearths a strong explanation for why male students may prefer to work alone Observation notes confirm women tend to cooperate with each other more often than men when someone was working alone it was most often a male Students were asked about this in interviews If you happened to be sitting alone one day and had a ques tion about a CT who would you feel most comfortable turning to for help a guy on your left or a girl on your right The majority of the interviewees said that they would most likely
9. anxiety provoking than other methods e g holding up a response card that peers can see The explaining and debating that go on during clicker prompted peer discussions also make the learning community more visible to students they see in histograms how others are doing and this narrows the distance between them e g I am not the only one confused This project explores one example of a locally constituted material structural change Naples 2003 in the university environment Contemporary citizens live in increasingly service oriented economies Whether educators like it or not engaging students in the learn ing process is coming to be viewed as a component of the service teachers provide Gather ing information from students about how clickers affect the learning process is crucial future research should address in greater detail how clickers affect students emotionally as they struggle to learn new concepts A gendered analysis comparing clicker use in diverse disciplines would also be helpful This research adds to scholarly dialogue regarding the ways clickers can be used to alleviate passivity in large courses Yet will clickers become nothing more than a pay attention device Will widespread use of clickers in higher educa tion signal a transition from academic teaching to Edutainment Because clickers help students focus upon presented course material as opposed to distracting them from it increasing use
10. ask a girl first For most students using clickers has the effect of making the learning environment feel more cooperative in general chemistry Through peer discussions students help each other by evaluating each other s reasoning and catching each other s mistakes Clicker prompted discussions allow them to switch roles and play the role of teacher Using clickers students discover how much they know by talking it out Mike explains A question will be put up and if I don t have my clicker on me I ll grab it Then I will read the question and go about reasoning it I ll talk to my partners and either convince them of my answer or hear their answer I ll hear their logic and then Pll put in my logic if I don t agree If I do agree if I do think they re right P11 have them explain to me why they re right We generally go back and forth about what we think it is occasionally we ll get help from another surrounding neighbor and then we ll click in For students like Mike who choose to work in a regular peer group discussing CTs solidi fies the group s commitment to helping each member understand the material Over the course of the semester working with the same people time and again affirms the coopera tive nature of the group Mike continues 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 337 I mean if you don t get som
11. at was around Some people feel far too pressured I heard someone say Oh no I told everybody the wrong thing and really it was a devastation I ve advised people wrong but it doesn t devastate me there were some students that took it really hard and really it s just a clicker I think it s worthwhile to have many clicker tests and to be able to lose 50 points or something because then it s not that big of a pressure and yet I m working toward something worthwhile As with learning any new technology the level of anxiety experienced is a function of how maturely the individual deals with the learning curve Haley describes her experience 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 338 A Hoekstra Yeah it can be fun Especially because now I am more relaxed about it I think before I was too stressed about it and I took it too seriously I think I just adapted to it It was something I had never done before I thought it was going to be one of those things where you couldn t talk and you had to do it on your own but I like that we can collaborate Haley s comment reflects the experience of many who use clickers for the first time unsure of what to expect they feel some anxiety Over time they become more comfortable with clickers and cooperative interaction Madison offers her experience Most people we ll just talk about the answer it doesn t mean we chat for
12. current project investigates how students interpret their experiences with using clickers in large college classes By soliciting the views and experiences of students directly the current analysis offers valuable information for educators in a variety of disciplines The problem large lecture classes and disengaged students The use of a lecture format where the educator does most of the talking and students sit quietly taking notes is widely perceived to be common in universities today Effective Email Angel Hoekstra colorado edu ISSN 1743 9884 print ISSN 1743 9892 online 2008 Taylor amp Francis DOI 10 1080 17439880802497081 http www informaworld com 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 330 A Hoekstra teaching demands a great deal of time commitment and preparation given their other commitments educators may feel they have little choice but to rely upon a lecture format or may even take for granted the ways in which institutional constraints structure the learning environment in large courses Structural features of large university courses the number of students little time spent in class and auditorium style seating combine to produce a learning environment that feels passive and impersonal for many undergraduates University classes in the USA regu larly enroll a hundred or more students Any individual who has taken or taught a course in a large lecture hall knows
13. data help students see when they do not fully understand enabling them to more effectively determine which concepts to review in greater detail before exams A more cooperative learning environment Students experience the use of clickers and CTs differently depending upon how they posi tion themselves relative to their peers Some form discussion groups of 3 5 early in the semester and work with these peers regularly others find a seat where they can working with whomever happens to be sitting around them when they feel comfortable doing so Clickers increase the activity level in the large lecture hall but not all students choose to collaborate with others data indicate 15 20 do not feel comfortable working coopera tively during CTs When a CT is posted students decide whether to work with peers according to 1 the difficulty level of the CT question and 2 the student s affinity for working with others Ann describes working cooperatively in her regular peer group The first thing we do is read the question We ll go through and flat out eliminate some of the answers Um we can usually narrow it down to one or two and that s when we pick whichever one we feel is the most right and we ll click it in Then we ll try to reason through why we chose it We usually come to a consensus before the time has run out Like many others Ann works with the same people everyday but her peer group functions differently dependin
14. engagement Whether in a large lecture hall or smaller classroom when educators do not provide opportunities for active engagement with course concepts during class they effectively train students to act as passive recipients of knowledge Using clickers to facilitate problem based learning Theoretical perspectives in education address this issue One approach constructivist peda gogy claims students learn more effectively when they are encouraged to construct their own understandings of course concepts actively Anderson 1987 Following this perspec tive educators should work to establish learning environments where students can regularly practice applying evaluating and critiquing course concepts during class Student response systems clickers represent a form of teaching technology particularly suited to facilitating problem based learning in large courses Problem based learning techniques stimulate active student involvement during the learning process by placing students into small groups where they work together to apply course concepts Research suggests problem based learning is conducive to cognitive elaboration as students work cooperatively to develop into communities of learners who discuss debate and summarize academic content Cooper and Robinson 2000 10 Comparing the effectiveness of lecture and small group discussion Garside 1996 suggests small group discussions offer greater opportunity to develop higher l
15. ething it s in your best interest to ask for help and in the clicker situation the best reference is your neighbor in your vicinity And I think as the year goes on it gets more lax First couple days you may be a little timid as it goes on you become more comfortable I sit with my friends and I m a freshman so when I didn t know people I think that s probably how I got to know them it kind of confirmed Using clickers kind of solidified something that was informal before Working cooperatively also allows students to get to know their peers in an on task format Tiffany termed this a structured talking environment Because when you re just going lecture lecture sometimes you get bored If you re tired you doze off If you re anxious you talk to someone else But with clickers it s just like Oh good we can actually talk about chemistry I mean you re able to talk but it s structured so you talk about what you re supposed to be talking about rather than the party you went to during the weekend Tiffany s comment suggests the noisy cooperative atmosphere fostered by clickers may help to alleviate the occasional boredom that accompanies learning in a large course yet this is not the case for all In another interview Nadine said she found the level of noise unnerv ing at times For me when a clicker question goes up there s like a rush to get the answer and it s loud
16. evel critical thinking skills Cooperative peer group discussions supporting problem based learning can be facili tated in a variety of ways A recent paper by Stowell and Nelson 2007 compared four methods for increasing student engagement with course concepts measured in terms of participation rates and positive emotion Compared with standard lecture hand raising and 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 331 response cards use of clickers was most effective at facilitating student engagement in class formal participation rates significantly increased in the group using clickers compared with the other three methods If increased verbal participation can be reliably assumed to indicate increased student engagement with or greater processing of course concepts then this study provides preliminary support for the particular strength of clickers as a facilitator of problem based learning Moreover while in this study clicker use produced just a small positive effect on student enjoyment of lectures the authors suggest it might not be the experience of enjoyment that mediates the benefits of clickers as much as the enhanced cognitive processing incited by their use Stowell and Nelson 2007 256 emphasis added By exploring the effects of clickers for student engagement learning and emotion qual itatively the current study offers greater opportunity to discern
17. g upon the difficulty of the concept being applied Ann continues I think I ve gotten most of my clicker questions right A lot of times I ll come up with my own answer first and PI click it in before I ll talk with them and then we ll reason it out There 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 336 A Hoekstra are some questions though probably about 50 of the questions where PI talk with them directly before I ll choose an answer and that really does help Two brains are always better than one and sometimes it forces you to doubt your answer Talking with people around you can be reinforcing and you can learn from your mistakes a little bit better Interview data suggest that if a clicker question is easy enough students will most often choose an answer on their own before turning to peers to check their answer Interestingly as CTs become more challenging a gendered pattern emerges Male inter viewees seemed much more likely than female participants to state they intentionally tried to answer the questions on their own Hal the non traditional student referred to earlier termed this a self test of his knowledge The clicker forces you to pause after you ve kind of absorbed something it allows you to pause reflect on it check yourself Do I understand what s happening versus sitting there for 50 minutes and absorbing all this material without a bre
18. how daunting it is to raise one s hand and participate in such an environment Often just thinking about speaking or asking a question starts the heart pounding Large university courses also usually meet for a short period of time the need for efficiency encourages reliance on a lecture format Lecturing leaves the flow and content of the class in the hands of the instructor who maintains control by monopolizing speaking time A necessary feature of large courses auditorium seating combines with lecturing to produce feelings of distance Sitting among rows and rows of unknown others many students feel disconnected from the lecturer the material and their peers Gleason 1986 Regardless of the good intentions of the instructor lecturing provides few opportunities for students to evaluate critically discuss or apply what they are learning during class While the vast majority of teachers probably prefer their students be engaged with what is going on established educational research suggests lecturing engenders passive dependent learners Boud 1981 McKeachie 2002 67 believes lecturing encourages students to assume a passive non thinking information receiving role Trees and Jackson 2007 argue the role of student as note taker and silent observer decreases motivation to engage with course content Cooper and Robinson 2000 6 claim The large class lecture centered approach seems to be inviting increasing degrees of student dis
19. ion There s more going on and there s more commotion around people like in other lecture halls it could be dead silent because the profes sor is talking but here there s peaks in the noise level because people are talking and discussing Clickers afford opportunities to regularly discuss the material help students stay focused and generate noise that alleviates the boredom or passivity commonly felt in the large lecture hall When used intermittently then clickers offer a perceptual break from the passive note taker role so often required of college students When students work together to discuss Table 2 Response percentages Q How do you feel about answering ConcepTests using clickers in this class Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Section Section 100 200 300 Spring 2005 100 200 300 N 224 N 143 N 267 N 285 N 147 N 111 N 228 Love it like it 40 49 56 54 53 58 52 Neutral 34 34 23 27 34 32 33 Dislike it 25 16 21 17 12 11 15 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 335 concepts they become active processors of information rather than passive note takers Many interviewees said they looked forward to the times when they were able to talk with their peers during CTs They believed clickers were a great addition to large courses precisely because they generate noise that makes learning feel more active Lisa explains It using clickers to an
20. kers in prior courses were asked to compare these experiences with the use of click ers in general chemistry The chemistry department at CU Boulder funded the project students were paid 20 for participating in interviews Interview questions were designed to guide relaxed conversation with the goal of help ing the interviewee feel as comfortable as possible sharing their experiences with using clickers In December 2004 initial review of the interview data suggested the majority of the participants approved of using clickers in general chemistry To understand the experi ences of students less favorable to clickers better in the spring of 2005 students were solic ited who disliked or had concerns about the use of clickers in general chemistry Eight more interviews were completed for a total sample of 16 young women 10 young men and 2 non traditional students one of each gender Nineteen interviewees self identified as white 68 5 as Asian American 18 and 15 54 had used clickers in at least one prior course Interviewees were asked to choose an interview pseudonym the names used in the report conceal individual identities but will be familiar to the participants should they read the report Qualitative data for this study interview transcripts and participant observation notes are coded with an eye for locating and preserving the depth of meaning that students attach to their experiences with clickers Data analysis is conduc
21. le bit nerve racking to feel like you may make someone lose their points if you encourage them to choose a different answer than it really is Faced with the possibility one might better remember the incorrect reasoning of a peer over the correct explanation offered by the professor some choose to sit out peer discussions Lastly because CHEM 1111 is a large course students can work alone if they want to Interviewees emphasized the professor can and does encourage students to work together but in the end it is up to the individual to take the initiative to turn to others Josey explains I think anyone who is looking for a cooperative environment could have found one but they had to try If they re sitting in the back and not participating then the clicker doesn t do much good and it s a whole different thing if you re talking than if you pull away You explain the concept and you have it down in a different way than if you just heard it in lecture When I asked Tina if she works with others she replied Generally I ll just come up with my answer and look around and see what other people are pushing in I usually sit on the end and if someone sits next to me then they do and if they don t they don t Probably two thirds of the time I just do it on my own I figure either way the professor is going to go over the problem One must take care not to assume that students who work alone are
22. n should be useful for educators seeking greater understanding for what to expect when incorporating a SRS into the large course The paper also explores the effects of gender and emotion concluding with a discussion of implica tions of SRSs for higher education Using clickers In general chemistry the professor most commonly lectures for 10 12 minutes before post ing a clicker question called a ConcepTest CT Mazur 1997 for students to solve Observation notes confirm posting a CT transforms the relatively calm passive learning environment produced by lecturing into a surprisingly noisy engaging learning experience Professors encouraged peer discussion through instructions such as Feel free to work with your neighbors and Remember two heads are better than one and students turn to their neighbors to discuss the questions challenging one another to explain the reasoning behind their answers Students are given just one attempt at discussion after 2 3 minutes of peer interaction they are notified they have a small amount of time left to click in When the time expires a histogram of student response frequencies is displayed The histogram allows both students and the lecturer to confirm visually how well the students have grasped the concepts being learned The lecturer then explains the correct interpretation of the concept and or clarifies the ways in which students may be having trouble with it In CHEM 1111 the p
23. of SRSs does not necessarily signal a negative transition in higher education SRSs help students to develop conceptual knowledge work with discipline specific termi nology practice critical thinking and cultivate peer relationships beneficial to the learning process Acknowledgements Many thanks to all those who supported me in this work my husband family faculty members who helped with design and editing and reviewers Peace be with you The author also wishes to thank the University of Colorado Chemistry Department notably V Bierbaum and M Asirvatham for supporting this research Notes on contributor Angel Hoekstra is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Colorado in Boulder Her current research interests include social psychology teaching technologies and sociological theory References Anderson C W 1987 Strategic teaching in science In Strategic teaching and learning Cognitive instruction in the content areas ed B F Jones 73 91 Alexandria VA Association for Super vision and Curriculum Development Boud D 1981 Developing autonomy in student learning London Kogan Page Brooke C P 1999 Feelings from the back row Negotiating sensitive issues in large classes New Directions for Teaching and Learning 77 23 33 Coffey A and P Atkinson 1996 Making sense of qualitative data Newbury Park CA Sage Cooper J L and P Robinson 2000 The argument for making large classes seem small In New di
24. rections for teaching and learning Energizing the large classroom ed J L Cooper and P Robinson 5 16 San Francisco CA Jossey Bass Duncan D 2005 Clickers in the classroom How to enhance science teaching using classroom response systems San Francisco CA Pearson Education At 19 49 14 January 2010 CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 341 Garside C 1996 Look who s talking A comparison of lecture and group discussion teaching strategies in developing critical thinking skills Communication Education 45 212 27 Gleason M 1986 Better communication in large courses College Teaching 34 20 4 Mazur E 1997 Peer instruction A user s manual Upper Saddle River NJ Prentice Hall McKeachie W J 2002 McKeachie s teaching tips Strategies research and theory for college and university teachers Boston MA Houghton Mifflin Naples N A 2003 Feminism and method Ethnography discourse analysis and activist research New York Routledge Penuel W R L Abrahamson and J Roschelle 2007 A sociocultural interpretation of the effects of audience response systems in higher education In Audience response systems in higher education Applications and cases ed D A Banks 187 208 Hershey PA Information Science Rice R E and U Bunz 2006 Evaluating a wireless course feedback system The role of demographics expertise fluency competency and usage Studies in Media amp
25. rofessors regularly alternate between lecturing and providing opportunities for concep tual application in the form of clicker questions Survey data indicate the majority of CHEM 1111 students feel the course is challenging A five credit course general chemistry students are graded on a curve and this makes many anxious Responses indicate 80 90 of these students are concerned about whether or not they will pass the course and 55 65 report feeling anxious often in general chemistry Similarly less than 10 of these students indicate they would feel comfortable enough to respond to a professor s question by raising their hand in the large lecture hall Thus it should be kept in mind that even when clickers are used to increase engagement with course material it is difficult to remove the sense of distance and impersonality felt in large courses entirely Hal a non traditional student said it is easy to feel distant from the professor when sitting in the back of the lecture hall He intentionally arrives early to secure a seat up front I think when you sit in the front of the class you can be more actively involved if you are up front and you re making eye contact with the person who is speaking to you or they re making eye contact with you it just engages the whole idea of Am I understanding this Hal s statement expresses a desire to be actively engaged with what is going on during class as well as s
26. s 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 Keywords clicker student response system student attitudes Introduction In recent years student response systems SRSs have become increasingly common around the world e g Australia Canada UK USA Scotland Existing research on SRSs or clickers relies primarily on quantitative methods designed to assess the effects of clickers for learning retention and engagement e g Rice and Bunz 2006 While this data is certainly useful qualitative research programs designed to provide greater explanatory depth into the trends being observed in this literature are just beginning to emerge Recently Penuel Abrahamson and Roschelle 2007 2 called for greater attention to the communi cative and interpretive behaviors of students as they use clickers so educators might better understand how teaching and learning unfolds in these networked classrooms Following this call the
27. sets of observation notes recorded in fall 2004 spring 2005 and fall 2005 semesters Observing chemistry classes helped the researcher to become familiar with the interactive teaching and learning aspects of the course Survey questions were designed to gather information on student attitudes toward the course and the use of clickers The questions were always preceded by an instruction overview designed to 1 communicate the purpose of the survey 2 encourage students to respond in an honest and sincere manner and 3 provide students with contact information should they have a ques tion about the research Survey responses were collected using the clickers and students received a small amount of extra credit for participating Interviews were designed to explore variation in student perceptions of clickers as observed in the survey data In the fall of 2004 20 interviews were conducted using a semi structured interview guide Participants were recruited through in class announcements and a flyer Interviews took place in a faculty office on campus informed consent was secured from all participants Interviews were audio recorded for later transcription students were advised that the recording device could be stopped at any time but none requested this be done Interviews ranged in length from 35 91 minutes mean 56 minutes Variation in interview length occurred as a result of differing student experience participants who had used clic
28. swer CTs gives you an incentive to pay attention more It breaks up the lecture being able to discuss with other people and kind of take a break from sitting and absorbing someone talk for a whole 50 minutes I think it engages your learning better The functional nature of clickers as noise discussion activity generator is also observable on a more macro scale As histograms are displayed and CT answers revealed student voices can often be heard in communal expressions such as YES Ughhh and Ohhh Next interviewees explained that the lecture feels more active because they are using the knowledge they are learning each day instead of waiting for the exam to do so Clickers are beneficial to learning because they prompt students to apply concepts during class Course material becomes more meaningful to them because they are consistently seeing how it might appear in actual problems Similarly clicker histograms help students to regularly discern whether they understand the concepts One interviewee Robert said It definitely picks up class a little bit It s kind of like a pit stop because you know the CT question is going to be the juncture between this idea and the next idea It helps me to sum up the ideas and it helps me understand why we learned this and what we re going to use it toward A few interviewees went as far as to suggest that CTs were most helpful when they got the question wrong Histogram
29. ted through in vivo coding Coffey and Atkinson 1996 a form of open coding designed to allow conceptual categories to emerge from the data Coding and analysis are done by hand not with a computer program a process which produces an informed principal investigator who gains extensive knowl edge into the complexity of the subject under examination Survey data are used to supple ment observation and interview data and student responses are presented in percentage form Results This research is designed to illuminate the interpretations assigned by students to the expe rience of using clickers in general chemistry The paper first offers student descriptions of 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By Learning Media and Technology 333 what it is like to use clickers in CHEM 1111 Observation notes and interview data suggest that the majority of the time clickers facilitate effective problem based learning they engage students by fostering a learning environment that ooks and feels more active than traditional lecture based instruction Next the report examines the extent to which clickers encourage cooperative behavior For many students the data strongly indicate that the use of clickers helps to make the large course feel less passive and impersonal Then the paper explores some of the reasons interviewees gave for why students may choose to work alone during clicker questions This informatio
30. the particular nature of clickers as a problem based learning facilitator The research questions include e If integrating clickers into large classrooms creates a more active learning environ ment as suggested by existing research how do students experience this change e Does the integration of clickers into large classrooms create a more cooperative learning environment e How do students experience clicker prompted peer interaction What reasons do they give for working together versus choosing to work alone e What is the role of gender and emotion in interactive classrooms Methods Research setting and SRS used This research examines clicker use in several sections of one course general chemistry CHEM 1111 over a period of three years General chemistry is taught in three sections in the fall three sessions per week and one section in the spring of each academic year The course enrolls approximately 800 students in the fall and 300 students in the spring While 90 of students take the course to fulfill a degree requirement a mere 5 10 are chemistry majors Two female professors each teach one half of the semester The course enrolls approximately equal numbers of men and women most 80 90 are in their first or second year of college non traditional students comprise about 5 of the population The SRS implemented in CHEM 1111 Hyper Interactive Teaching Technology H ITT uses infrared signals to collect st
31. udent responses to clicker questions Like other constructivist pedagogies H ITT www h itt com is used to facilitate problem based learn ing through application and discussion of chemistry concepts during class CHEM 1111 uses a format similar to the bookends procedure for small group work described by Smith 2000 periods of lecture 10 12 minutes are alternated with peer discussions of clicker questions 2 3 minutes CHEM 1111 lectures include an average of 3 5 conceptual appli cation opportunities clicker questions per 50 minute period Students are awarded one point for any answer and three points for a correct response The total number of clicker points earned comprises 5 of the student s grade A small number of these points are dropped to lessen anxiety when problems with clickers occur e g left at home Data collection and analysis An ethnographic study this research focuses upon the meanings students assign to their expe riences with using clickers to learn new concepts The research design achieves triangulation 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 332 A Hoekstra through participant observation survey questions and qualitative interviews Conducted over a three year period the study examines a population of over 2000 students who used clickers in a general chemistry course from 2003 05 The dataset includes 28 interviews 3 semesters of survey data and 27
32. upports existing research suggesting that students prefer professors to make eye contact while teaching Brooke 1999 For many general chemistry represents one of the most challenging courses a student will take in their early years of college see Table 1 19 49 14 January 2010 At CDL Journals Account Downloaded By 334 A Hoekstra Table 1 Response percentages Q I am afraid of receiving a poor grade in this class Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Section Section 100 200 300 Spring 2005 100 200 300 N 240 N 134 N 256 N 266 N 151 N 112 N 233 SA agree 87 82 86 83 88 87 90 Neutral 6 7 6 0 7 5 3 Disagree SD 7 11 8 17 gt 8 7 Note This option was omitted to assess how students might respond in the absence of a neutral response category Despite the challenge presented by the course most students felt positively about the use of clickers in general chemistry see Table 2 A more active learning environment Clickers make the learning environment feel more active because students see and hear more activity than they would during a traditional lecture Observation notes and interview data confirm clickers create a more engaging learning environment than would be the case with lecture alone In interviews participants repeated time and again that students are simply more likely to pay attention during lecture when they know a CT is coming Abigail explains The clicker actively makes us have to pay attent
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