NameSchoolDepartment

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT USING CLASSROOM RESPONSE SYSTEMS@ CSU PUEBLO FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

DR. JEFF LOATSDEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

THE TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE

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“The challenge is not simply to incorporate learning technologies into current institutional approaches, but rather to change our fundamental views about effective teaching and learning and to use technology to do so.” (Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition, Donald E. Hanna)

GUIDING PRINCIPLES3

Technology is not an educational panacea

Seek tools that offer new approaches

As always, let evidence guide our attention

OVERVIEW4

1. Motivation for change

2. Peer Instruction

3. Technology options

4. Question types

5. Practice writing questions

6. Evidence for effectiveness

7. Summaries

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In (roughly) what area do you teach?

A) Humanities

B) Natural sciences & mathematics

C) Professions & applied sciences

D)Social sciences

E) Teacher education

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Are you currently using clickers or another classroom response system in your courses?

A) I have never used them.

B) I have used them before, but don’t currently.

C) I use them currently in at least one class.

7PHYSICS EDUCATION REVOLUTIONEric Mazur, Physicist at Harvard:

8“ALL SIMILARLY (IN)EFFECTIVE…”

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University of Washington

University of Colorado

University of Illinois

at Urbana-Champaign

FEEDBACK THAT WORKS10

“Improvement of performance is actually a function of two perceptual processes. The individual’s perception of the standards of performance, and her/his perception of his/her own performance.” The Feedback Fallacy – Steve Falkenberg (via Linda Nilson)

TECHNOLOGIES VS. TECHNIQUES

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Clickers

Colored cards

Hands

Virtual response tools

Peer Instruction

Factual recall

Polling/survey

Poll-Teach-Poll

Thought Questions

Teach-Test-Retest

… adding metacognition

MAZUR’S PERSONAL REVOLUTION

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(added) Pre-class reading, enforced

(removed) Most sample problems

(removed) Derivations

(modified) Lecture broken up into small bites

(added) Depth over coverage

(added) Concept Tests with Peer Instruction

PEER INSTRUCTION13

Multiple choice questions–Conceptual–Hard

1. Students answer Individually

2. Discussion with peers

3. Students answer post-discussion

4. Class-wide discussion

Students have developed a robot dog and a robot cat, both of which can run at 8 mph and walk at 4 mph.

A the end of the term, there is a race!

The robot cat must run for half of its racing time, then walk.

The robot dog must run for half the racing distance, then walk.

Which one wins the race?

A) Robot cat B) Robot dog C) They tie

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15

MAZUR AFTER 1 YEAR

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ELSEWHERE?

WHY CLICKERS?17

Alternatives:–Hand raising–Numbered/colored cards

Anonymity + secrecy honesty

Inclusive

Fast

Credit for learning

STILL CLICKERS?18

Hardware clickers are (basically) obsolete

Good options:• PollEverywhere• Top Hat Monocle• Learning Catalytics

TECHNOLOGIES VS. TECHNIQUES

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Clickers

Colored cards

Hands

Virtual response tools

Peer Instruction

Factual recall

Polling/survey

Poll-Teach-Poll

Thought Questions

Teach-Test-Retest

… adding metacognition

FACTUAL RECALL20

Rated poorly by students

Usually requires high stakes

Good uses: Reading quiz or diagnostic?

What is the correct expression for the area of a circle?

A) e ∙ r

B) e ∙ r2

C) π ∙ d

D) π ∙ r2

E) π ∙ r

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POLLING/SURVEY22

Share without risk

Comparison statistics

Controversial topics are engaging

Do you feel you were treated fairly at all

levels of review when you had your most recent professional review (renewal, tenure, promotion, etc.)?

A)Yes

B)No

First: Women only Second: Men only

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How large of an effect does bias have in the social sciences? [Measurement was of faculty responsiveness to prospective student emails.]

A)Women/minorities do worse by ~11%)

B)Women/minorities do worse by ~3%

C)No difference across gender/ethnicities

D)Caucasian males do worse by ~3%

E)Caucasian males do worse by ~11%

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POLL-TEACH-POLL25

1. Poll but don’t show results

2. Teach

3. Poll again (explore shifts in attitude)

Peer sharing for added metacognition

Insightful results for instructor

Which best describes your feelings about female circumcision/female genital mutilation?

A)I am writing letters to the WHO to protest.

B)To each their own… we shouldn’t interfere with another culture.

C)What is the big deal… males around the world are circumcised.

D)I don’t know anything about it.

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THOUGHT QUESTIONS27

• Choose a relevant open-ended question.

• Small group discussion• Presentation & defense by a single

group• Class votes: Agree/Disagree/Don’t

know• If threshold isn’t met… next group

presents!

Repeat until majority agrees

Created by Teresa Foley & Pei-San Tai from the CU Integrative Physiology Department

Endocrinology:

What would you predict would happen to the ovulatory frequency if one ovary were removed?

Immunology:

Given that all blood cell types derive from the pluripotent hemopoietic stem cell, why are there so many different types of cells in the immune system?

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TEACH-TEST-RETEST29

Skill focused questions

Diagnostic and formative assessment

Repeated testing beats repeated studying!

ADDING METACOGNITION30

“… and I can explain why”“… but I don’t know why”

Good for two-choice questions

Adds to formative assessment value

GOOD QUESTIONS31

WRITE A QUESTION AND SHARE...

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Imagine an introductory course and a topic early in that course.

Write a question, then share

Peer Instruction

Factual recall (add metacognition?)

Polling/survey

Poll-Teach-Poll

Thought Questions

Teach-Test-Retest

THE EVIDENCE STANDARD33

Quick/easy attendance in large class sizes.

Provides anonymity (Banks, 2006).

Every student participates (Banks, 2006).

Encourages active learning (Martyn, 2007).

THE EVIDENCE STANDARD34

Improved concentration (Hinde & Hunt, 2006)

Improved learning and retention (Moreau, 2010).

Improved exam scores (Poirier & Feldman, 2007)

Efficient use of class time (Anderson, et al. 2011).

STUDENT FEEDBACK ON CLICKERS315 students in 7 classes over 4 terms (roughly ±6%)

Rated on 5 point scale (strongly disagree to agree)The use of iClickers, and activities that used them have…

Agreed or Strongly Agreed

…helped me to stay more engaged in class than I would otherwise be. 

93%

…helped me to learn the material better than I otherwise would

83%

…been worth the cost to buy them 78%

WHAT MIGHT STOP YOU?36

In terms of the technique:Time, coverage, not doing your part, pushback…

In terms of the technology:Learning curve, tech. failures, perfectionism…

In any reform of your teaching:Reinventing, no support, too much at once…

BEST PRACTICES37

Start small – 5 min of each hour of class

Sell it – Be explicit about why

Be consistent – Nearly every class

Engage students – Wait for explanation

Demonstrate value – Focus on wrong answers

Follow up – Assessments must change

Credit – 2%-15% for participation… mostly.

MY SUMMARY38

Classroom response systems can be integrated into most teaching styles and disciplines to good effect.

From an evidence-based perspective, classroom response systems addresses often-neglected areas.

As with all reforms, be prepared to find that students know less than we might hope.

YOUR SUMMARY39

For yourself… or to share?

What part of using a classroom response system is the fuzziest for you after this?

What is the biggest reason you thing trying a classroom response system might work well?

Contact Jeff: Jeff.Loats@gmail.comToday’s slides: www.slideshare.net/JeffLoats