This article deals with interactive engagement using classroom response systems. The author is a professor at Christopher Newport University (Virginia) using the system in his introductory science for non-majors course. As a science instructor that frequently teaches such as a course, I was very interested in reading this article.
Introductory science courses for non-majors are often among the larger courses taught at most colleges. Their very size and nature often pose a challenge for properly assessing student learning and engagement with the material. The instructor is aiming to integrate technology into the curriculum to generate discussion among students and to engender a sense of shared inquiry.
After posing a question on the screen, the instructor asks students to engage in peer instruction in which they turn to their neighbor and try to convince them to change their answer to theirs. This period usually lasts 60-90 seconds. The instructor then polls the class again using the same question. Depending on the outcome of this poll, the instructor may chose to revisit the topic, clarify a point, or simply proceed with the lesson. A 50-minute lecture broken into 3 segments of 10 minute direct instruction followed by one or two "clicker" questions keeps students engaged and provides the instructor with useful formative assessment data. Overall, the instructor found the clickers to be excellent tools for teaching and learning because of their data generation capabilities. It was very interesting to read another science instructor’s perspective and lessons learned with such a system.
http://www.academiccommons.org/ctfl/vignette/Chaudhury-interactive-engagement
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2 comments:
I like this idea. We know that teachers sometimes don't get the point or knowledge across to all the students the way we hope to. This process gives the studnets a chance to here why or why not answer should or shouldn't be picked. I would have never of thought about running the class this way, but it sounds excellent.
Being able to break up even a 50 minute class is such an important thing. Lecture - especially when you're on a roll - can be really intense. By using the clickers it seems like the short break is time well spent instead of using it to tell a brief story or drifting off topic. Those are things I tend to do in fits of occasional add-ness. Having the focus questions would also serve not just to focus the student, but the instructor as well.
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