Promoting student-centered active learning in lectures with a personal response system

2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally A. Gauci ◽  
Arianne M. Dantas ◽  
David A. Williams ◽  
Robert E. Kemm
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Immediate Feedback ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Response System ◽  
Personal Response System ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Undergraduate Science

We investigated whether an active learning approach, facilitated by a personal response system, would lead to improved student engagement and learning outcomes in large-group physiology lectures for undergraduate science students. We focused on encouraging students' active learning in lectures, whereas previous studies have made more use of audience response technology during lectures for formative or summative assessment. Students voluntarily answered questions posed during lectures with their personal response system (clickers), with individual answers automatically collated for immediate histogram display. This feedback then dictated the focus of followup discussions in the lecture. Student and instructor attitudes were surveyed through voluntary interviews with student responses correlated with their degree of clicker participation and individual exam results. Active lectures were found to increase both student motivation and engagement. Students who participated in answering questions achieved better results than students who chose not to. Students with the lowest scores in a prerequisite course (previous semester physiology exam marks of < 60%) showed significantly better outcomes from the use of clickers than both middle-achieving (60-75%) and high-achieving (>75%) entry students. Significant improvement was evident in both mid- and end-semester exam results compared with student cohorts from preceding years, although this could also be influenced by many other factors. Increased student engagement and the immediate feedback obtained during lectures were advantages commonly noted by lecturing staff.

A Faculty Approach to Implementing Advanced, E-Learning Dependent, Formative and Summative Assessment Practices

2009 ◽  
pp. 76-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul White ◽  
Greg Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Summative Assessment ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Audience Response System ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Response System ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
E Learning

This chapter describes innovative approaches to E-Learning and related assessment, driven by a Faculty Teaching and Learning Technologies Committee within the Faculty of Pharmacy, Monash University, Australia. Using this group as a driver, we have caused institutional change in a Faculty that was previously quite traditional in its approach to teaching and assessment. The authors implemented a strategy for the pilot testing and broad adoption of innovative technologies, using a purpose-driven approach. They have used a range of technologies to increase the level of formative assessment that occurs during lectures to large student cohorts. They have used an audience response system to allow students to test and improve a range of cognitive skills in an “active” lecture environment; they will present an evaluation of this tool. The authors found that student perceptions of the level of feedback rose with the use of the audience response system, as did their perceived use of critical thinking skills. They further discuss the benefits and limitations of the use of audience response systems within the chapter and discuss our use of E-Learning technologies for summative assessment purposes.

Promoting Active Learning using a web-based Audience Response System

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoforos V. Karachristos ◽  
Elias C. Stavropoulos ◽  
Vassilios S. Verykios ◽  
Fotis Lazarinis ◽  
Evangelos Sakkopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Audience Response System ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Response System

Undergraduate Biology Instructors Still Use Mostly Teacher-Centered Discourse Even When Teaching with Active Learning Strategies

BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 901-913
Author(s):  
Petra Kranzfelder ◽  
Jennifer L Bankers-Fulbright ◽  
Marcos E García-Ojeda ◽  
Marin Melloy ◽  
Sagal Mohammed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Dialogic Discourse ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science

Abstract Reform efforts in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction often emphasize student-centered teaching approaches, but relatively little attention is paid to the way STEM teachers use discourse when interacting with their students. In the present study, we examined the instructional and discourse behaviors of biology faculty members (N = 20) teaching in undergraduate biology classes. Although we found that the biology teachers spent most of their time guiding student learning in active learning activities and less time presenting, an analysis of their classroom communicative approaches showed that the participants mostly used authoritative and not dialogic discourse to teach biology content. Similarly, we found a strong positive correlation between biology teachers guiding student learning and authoritative, interactive approaches, suggesting that these teachers mostly asked the students to recall facts or basic concepts rather than asking them to collaboratively build knowledge. We describe the implications of these findings and our results for undergraduate biology instruction.

scholarly journals An Overview of the Pingo Audience Response System in Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics Teaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Kristian Paul Evans
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Audience Response System ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Undergraduate Mathematics ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Response System ◽  
Web Based System ◽  
Mathematics Department

Obtaining interaction and engagement in large group teaching can be challenging, in particular in STEM subjects where it is essential to be able to efficiently present symbols, equations and formulae. Pingo is a free, web-based system that provides an excellent way of introducing interaction in large group teaching, as there are no restrictions on the number of participants. It is particularly useful in Mathematics-based subjects as it is TeX compatible. Such interaction also provides feedback to students and lecturers and it is a straightforward, but creative way to enhance student engagement. The author has tried and tested Pingo weekly in Mathematics and Statistics modules. This article provides all the information and resources required to start using Pingo along with some reflections on its use in the Mathematics Department at Swansea University.

scholarly journals America's Funniest Home Videos and the Lottery Come to Plant Propagation: Using Technology to Promote Learning

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1133D-1133
Author(s):  
Albert (Bud) H. Markhart
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Audience Response System ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Immediate Feedback ◽  
Plant Propagation ◽  
Faculty Assessment ◽  
Home Videos ◽  
Response System ◽  
Multiple Choice Exam ◽  
Lack Of Commitment

Large lectures continue to challenge teaching and learning. Our plant propagation course attracts a large number of non-majors seeking to fulfill their science requirement. Although the laboratory is quite successful in maintaining interest, the lecture is plagued by poor attendance and lack of commitment. To deal with these issues, I have incorporated an audience response system (as used in America's Funniest Home Videos) and a multiple-choice exam that uses a scratch-off answer system similar to the instant-win lottery tickets. The audience response system facilitates attendance, and both systems provide immediate feedback to questions. Student and faculty assessment will be presented. Technological and pedagogical challenges will be discussed.

scholarly journals ‘Debating’ the Merits of Clickers in an Academic Library

2008 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Rosalind Tedford ◽  
Bobbie Collins
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Audience Response Systems ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Classroom Response Systems ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Response Systems

Technological innovations offer an opportunity for librarians to investigate and evaluate the most promising educational tools that will support and “enhance teaching methods and meet the demand for student-centered, active learning classroom strategies.”¹ Librarians are constantly searching for new pedagogical approaches to incorporate into their classroom presentations. With the push to make library instruction more interactive and to include active learning activities that motivate the student audience, librarians are developing creative programs to teach information literacy skills.² As part of this process, librarians are also identifying new tech devices such as audience response systems which may have pedagogic potential for learning and teaching. Audience response systems, or clickers, are gaining popularity on many college campuses as a tool to gauge students’ understanding of the material being presented during a lecture-type session. In an article describing new high-tech products, Gary Roberts predicted that screencasting software and classroom response systems “will eventually become essential tools for dynamic educators.”³

scholarly journals INCREASING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN CLASS USING AN OPEN-ENDED STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEM

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Kietzig ◽  
M. C. Orjuela-Laverde
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Student Response ◽  
Peer Instruction ◽  
Student Response System ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Response System ◽  
Engineering Statistics

A student response system (SRS) is an adaptation of audience response system technology for the educational environment, designed specifically to enhance interaction and active participation in class. During the fall 2013 term, an open-ended student response system was used in an undergraduate engineering statistics course. Twenty-eight students (57%) completed an online survey at the end of term. Results suggest that the use of questions with an open response system had a positive impact on student engagement and motivation. The results also provide insights for the implementation of student response systems as a way to prompt student/instructor interaction, students’ active participation, peer instruction and group work during class time.

scholarly journals Using audience response systems to enhance student engagement and learning in information literacy teaching

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Funnell
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Audience Response Systems ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Response Systems

One of the key challenges in Information Literacy (IL) teaching in higher education is ensuring student engagement. As such, active learning approaches are encouraged in order to maximise student participation and interaction with the teaching. The use of audience response systems (ARSs) is one active learning approach which is being used increasingly in IL teaching. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of ARSs in terms of increased engagement and student learning. Previous research has explored the use of ARSs as an active learning approach in comparison to traditional lectures, but this study aims to specifically examine the effectiveness of these tools as part of an active learning pedagogy. Most existing studies have looked at a single ARS, usually clickers. With an increase in availability and functionality of online tools, and discussions at a university level about moving to a single system which makes use of students’ own devices, this study also aims to compare the effectiveness of clickers and online ARSs. A controlled study was carried out on two cohorts of medical students at Queen Mary University of London comparing the use of clickers, online response tools, or a mixture of the two, to teaching without ARSs. Class observation and student evaluation were used to measure student engagement, and quizzes and student confidence levels to measure student learning. Results of the study showed that ARSs, when used as part of an active learning pedagogy, are an effective tool in terms of increasing student engagement, and have a generally positive impact on student learning, with online tools being slightly more effective than clickers. The study provides evidence which can be used by IL practitioners to help integrate ARSs into their teaching as well as inform institutional decisions on the use of these tools.

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