PURPOSE
Audience response tool used for engaging students in a large classroom. |
DESCRIPTION
Clickers engage students by allowing them to directly participate in a call and response-type learning activity in a large classroom or lecture setting. |
UNDERLYING EDUCATIONAL THEORIES
active learning |
PEDAGOGICAL BENEFITS
- Clickers can help encourage students to pay attention in lecture because the need to respond to instructor questions holds students accountable for their learning.
- Clickers can make a large lecture feel playful by gamifying the material through Q&A.
- Consulting results from clicker activities can help students to identify gaps in their own learning, as well as reveal gaps to the instructor.
- Clickers can help the instructor gage students’ perception of new material.
|
STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION
- In developing a lesson plan, identify content that would be suitable for multiple choice or true/false-type questions.
- Plan the frequency of clicker questions/activities and use your material to devise questions or checkpoints. Make sure to allot time for discussing the results of each Clicker poll.
- Avoid ambiguous, open-ended, or highly complex questions, as these are better suited for a discussion setting.
- Consider ways to encourage students to bring and use their Clickers (e.g., extra credit points, mandatory participation, etc.).
|
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Caldwell, J. E. (2007). Clickers in the large classroom: Current research and best-practice tips. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6(1), 9-20.
Liu, C., Chen, S., Chi, C., Chien, K. P., Liu, Y., & Chou, T. L. (2017). The effects of clickers with different teaching strategies. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 55(5), 603-628
|