CLICKERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY CLASSROOM: A

VALUABLE ASSESSMENT TOOL?

Marc GilbertsonLamoille Union Middle School

mgilbertson@luhs18.orghttp://lumsextreme.pbworks.com/w/page/

32270181/Clickers#

When is Instant Response Good?

I. Marriage proposal?II. Grades on a test?III. Rock, Paper, Scissors?IV. Pregnancy test?V. Making Laws?VI. Intimate Moments?

Overview Essential Questions- What should teachers

know about clickers? Are they worth it?I. BasicsII. Trying ClickersIII. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response

SystemIV. Advantages and DisadvantagesV. Implementation- 3 levels-VI. Review of LiteratureVII. Successful Implementation of TechnologyVIII. Conclusion and Further Questions

I. Basics

What are Clickers and why should you care?

Clicker30%

Non-Clicker70%

Clicker Usage according to eInstruction

Old

New

I. Basics

Developed for large lecture halls to engage students and offer instant assessment.

Now used in classrooms from elementary through graduate school

I. Basics

Demands for Assessment-Accountability Movement and

N.C.L.B.Formative AssessmentData Collection

NECAP AIMSWEB

I. Basics

Popular MediaN.P.R. – “All Tech Considered” In Search of Answers, Teachers Turn to Clickers

The New York Times- Students Click, and a Quiz Becomes a Game- 1/28/08

New York 1 News-Teachers, Students Just a Click Away From Monitoring Progress-2/10/10

The Perfect Storm…..

1. Assessment and Data Collection2. Technology3. Price4. Seen in Use

The Test Drive….

1. Turn On2. Log On—Anonymously3. PIN? Hit “Send”4. “Login Accepted”5. On, Your Marks, Get Set……

1. Classroom Response Systems ......

A.) can include clickers or other ways to gauge student understanding.

B.) were first developed in the 1960's.C.) were first used in large lecture halls

especially in advanced math and science.D.) All of these

2. Which of the following is the correct technical terms for

"Clickers"?

A.) Classroom Response Systems

B.) Student Response Systems

C.) Audience Response Systems

D.) Personal Response Systems

3. How often do you use "Clickers"?

A.) Daily

B.) Once a week

C.) Once a month

D.) A few times ever

E.) Never

4. Clickers should be used in any good 21st century classroom?

A.) Yes

B.) No

C.) Don't know or No opinion

II. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response System

A. Maintain Student Attention- The Game Show

II. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response System

B. Improve Engagement- More Active

II. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response System Continued…

C. Encourage Participation and Discussion- Peer Instruction

D. Assess Comprehension and Adjust Instruction

II. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response System Continued

E. Collect and analyze data

II. Goals- Why Use a Classroom Response System Continued

F. Improve Student Performance and Understanding

Questions?

5. Can Clickers accomplish all they claim to?

A.) Sure- they sound great

B.) Probably

C.) Not sure, maybe

D.) Doubt It

E.) No way--raising hands is better

III. Teacher Perspective Advantages and Disadvantages

A. Advantages 1. Anonymity of response

2. Display results graphically

III. Advantages and Disadvantages

A. Advantages Continued…

3. Students are more engaged- they are “cool”

4. Allows students to evaluate their responses with other members of the class- Metacognition

III. Advantages and Disadvantages

B. Disadvantages 1. Technological Glitches and other

teacher issues 2. Distracting to some

students 3. Cost-

6. If you were in charge of your school's technology budget--would you invest in clickers?

A.) Yes

B.) No

C.) I would consider it.

7. What if grant money covered 50% of the cost?

A.) Yes, sign me up

B.) No, thanks

C.) I'll think about itD.) Could I spend the money on a new

iPad instead?

8. Is the finger grooming thing

A.) Very Cool

B.) Very Creepy

C.) I actully have one and use it regularlyD.) I hope Whitney gets me one for my

birthday

Deeper Understanding of Clicker Use

IV. Implementation- 3 levels-It’s never as easy as it looks…

A. Level 1/Shuffle- Instructor/Student Paced Instruction- Quizzes, class work, instant response and data collection.

B. Level 2/iPhone- Audience Paced Instruction- Used to assess comprehension and adjust lesson- Pretest, Flexible

IV. Implementation- 3 levels

C. Level 3/iPad- Peer Instruction- 1. Short Presentations

(Video Clip) 2. Conceptual or Opinion

Question 3. Students Formulate

Answers and Report

4. Discussion with Peers 5. Re submit Responses

with Possible Changes 6. Discussion of Results.

V. Review of Literature

A. Two kinds of studies- 1. quantitative- improved test

results or scores

2. qualitative- student surveys on effectiveness

V. Review of Literature

The big question---

Do clickers really work?

5. Does the literature show that clickers are effective

teaching tools?A.) Almost all the studies show clickers

are effectiveB.) Most studies show clickers are effective

C.) It's about 50/50D.) Most of the studies show clickers are

not effectiveE.) Almost all the studies show clickers are

not effective

Discuss your response or try to convince someone

you are right.

Respond Again

6. Does the literature show that clickers are effective

teaching tools?A.) Almost all the studies show clickers

are effectiveB.) Most studies show clickers are

effectiveC.) It's about 50/50

D.) Most of the studies show clickers are not effective

E.) Almost all the studies show clickers are not effective

V. Review of Literature Continued

Review of Literature (Rochelle, 2004) A. 26 Studies-none truly scientific 1. 16 Greater Student

Achievement 2. 11 Increased Understanding of

Subject 3. 6 Better Group Interaction B. CRS improves performance when

compared to straight lecture Results are the same when compared withother active learning techniques. (Martyn,

2010)

V. Review of Literature Continued…

C. One Four-Year Analysis at Georgia Southern showed;

“test scores to increase by over ½ letter grade over a four year period.” (Anderson and Noland, August 2010)

D. Patry (2008) found, “mixed results as to whether effective use of clickers can improve student learning”

7. Which of the following subjects uses clickers the least

according Penuel et al.?

A.) English

B.) Mathematics

C.) Social Studies

D.) Science

Discuss your response or try to convince someone

you are right.

Respond Again

8. Which of the following subjects uses clickers the least

according Penuel et al.?

A.) English

B.) Mathematics

C.) Social Studies

D.) Science

Penuel et al., 2006

Subject Middle School High School

English 59 (33.9%) 37 (18.4%)

Mathmatics 63 (36.2%) 47 (23.4%)

Social Studies 3 (1.7%) 30 (14.7 %)

Science 54 (31.0 %) 52 (25.9%)

VI. Clickers are not it….

1. Tablets

VI. Clickers are not it….

2. Smart boards

VI. Clickers are not it….

3. Net Books- One to One Technology

VI. Clickers are not it….

3. Online Text books and other resourcesA. Document Camera

B. Digital TextbookDigital History

VI. Successful Implementation of Technology in the Classroom- What I’ve learned from Clickers

A. Develop teacher technologists or collaborative apprenticeships

B. Give time and freedom to restructure lessons and support others

C. Plan for future costs of repair and maintenance.

D. Provide models for teachers through professional development and

conferences E. Clickers as the gateway to other

reforms

VII. Conclusion and Further Questions

Classroom Response Systems are not going to solve the problems facing schools today. Still, they may help teachers more effectively engage students and assess their comprehension. We will see more of this technology in the future and as with all technology, it is essential that schools use their resources to implement these tools in the most effective way.

Ted Talk—Johnny Lee

VII. Conclusion and Further Questions

There are still many questions which remain to be answered----

1. Is this technology evolving so that soon students will do much more on hand held devices including using them as a classroom response system?

2. Is metacognition increased when students can immediately and anonymously compare their responses to those of their peers?

VII. Conclusion and Further QuestionsContinued…

3. Why have many colleges and universities moved to use CRS’s to engage students in discussion and peer instruction while much of the K-12 literature refers to using CRS as a way to assess student performance?

4. How does the use of CRS change when used in small classes as opposed to large lecture halls?

5. Are CRS worth the cost?

Any Further Questions?

1. Comments/Discussion----- 2. Anything you are curious about? 3. Would you like to see….

How data is displayed and kinds of data? Making a question/test how easy is it? Other features?

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