Printer-friendly version
Send to friendUsing 'classroom clickers' to interact with a large first year biology class
Typical enrolment numbers are approximately 550 students from 36 different degree programs. This topic is currently only offered for internal students.
providing feedback; student motivation; exam question style familiarisation
Five hundred students, with a wide range of interests and experience in biology, are enrolled in first year biology at Flinders University. The course was reviewed and restructured in 2006 with the aim of addressing the following issues: lack in student engagement; decrease in student retention within the School of Biological Sciences; need to better prepare students for the rigours of higher year level studies. To determine whether clickers can address our needs, we developed a research plan where 50% of our first year students were issued with electronic clickers for the semester which allowed them to respond to questions asked during lectures and 50% of students in a different time slot would answer the same questions by raising of hands, rather than using clickers. The aim of this initiative was to quantitatively measure the impact of this new technology on student performance, attendance, engagement and lecturer behaviour in this large, first year course.
Note: classroom clickers are a small, handheld electronic device similar to a calculator both in size and the arrangement of the number pad. In its simplest form, MCQ style questions can be asked by a lecturer and students can then answer via their 'clicker', by pressing the number corresponding to their answer. A receiver connected to the lecturers PowerPoint presentation collects these responses and immediately displays the results in graphical form.
The key evidence for the success of the introduction of clickers to a large first year class include:
1) significant increase in student satisfaction as determined by Student Evaluation of Teaching questionnaires
2) demonstrated increase in student performance in the topic overall, with a reduced rate of failure.
3) dramatic increase in student engagement in lectures as determined by video evidence
4) significant reduction in student withdrawals from the topic
5) a far more reliable measure for teaching staff to determine the level of understanding during lecture and consequently adjust their lecture content
The evidence gathered during this research project strongly supports the conclusion that clickers in large first year classes are beneficial to students who use them and that the costs involved in lecturer training and purchasing of the technology is well worth while. The School of Biological Sciences at Flinders University has decided to incorporate clickers in all first year lectures in the coming year.
