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Clickers in the Science Classroom: Students and Teachers Speak

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Why use clickers?

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Douglas Duncan: I think that clickers are

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the most valuable addition to my classroom

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that I've seen in over 30 years of teaching.

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Margaret Asirvatham: Clickers have absolutely changed the way we teach.

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I think it's now something we look forward to,

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it helps us to bring more innovations into our teaching.

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Steven Pollock: Lecture now becomes very dynamic, rather than static.

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I'm not just a robot presenting a pre-prepared lecture.

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Carrie Weidner: It evens the playing field a little bit.

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Everybody has a chance to think about things,

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and to answer them on their own pace.

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Christina Jones: I find that teachers that use clickers in the classroom

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are much more in tune to what their students are understanding

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and what they're not understanding.

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Duncan: They engage students in their own learning.

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The students move from passively listening to my wonderful lectures

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to actually having to figure out things and learn them themselves.

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Asirvatham: It's a relaxing atmosphere,

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the students feel like now they have a voice in the classroom.

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I think that is very important for students.

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What is a clicker?

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But just what is a clicker?

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Clickers are basically a real-time poll of your class,

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which helps them learn.

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Let's give you a brief snapshot of how it's run.

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Several times in each lecture, the instructor pauses

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and asks the class a challenging question on the material.

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Students chat with their neighbors for a few minutes,

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to help them figure out the answer.

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And then they click in with their choice.

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Instructors can get a record of every student's answer.

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A real-time histogram is created, showing the class response as a whole.

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The instructor discusses the question with the class,

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and moves on from there.

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(Classroom audio) "...what if they're spinning opposite ways..."

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Duncan: Clickers are good for many reasons,

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but one of the simplest is, there's accountability.

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(Title: Keeping on Task)

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Everyone knows that their discussion answers are going to be recorded.

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So they're all taking about the science.

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They're not talking about Saturday night.

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They're talking about astronomy.

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Ryan Freedle: The clickers seem to be a really nice way to

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keep me focused and attentive in class.

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They kind of get me out of that slumped position in my seat,

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and make me think about something.

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Pollock: Clickers allow students, well in fact, they encourage students

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to commit to an answer.

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(Title: Committing to an answer)

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And they can't go into this sort of natural human mode of,

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"Oh yeah, I knew that," because they voted,

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and they know what they voted just a minute earlier.

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(Title: What are your students thinking?)

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Duncan: The most immediate benefit from the clickers is you learn

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what your students are thinking.

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Oliver DeWolfe: Clickers help me understand the issues

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of the students who wouldn't speak as much otherwise.

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Jones: I also get to interact with the students next to me,

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which, I mean, when I explain a concept to them,

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it helps me understand it more myself.

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(Title: Learning by doing)

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Greany: I think the clicker really helps because

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it facilitates communication between each of the students.

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Marika Meertens: I have to learn by thinking or doing it myself,

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and that really only happens in classes with clicker questions.

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(Title: Anonymity in the classroom)

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Duncan: It's certainly valuable that answers to clicker questions are anonymous.

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Asirvatham: Even when you raise a card or you raise your hand

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you're still conscious of everybody around you.

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Bryan Kaufman: The anonymity really helps

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because you're not being put on the spot,

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there's no fear of being judged if you get a question wrong.

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Concerns?

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Pollock: One of the biggest concerns that I hear

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about using clicker questions in class is

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"Doesn't that chew up too much time?"

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"How can I give up that much class time?"

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DeWolfe: It only seems obvious that if you stop, and have a discussion about a point,

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that's not ever going to be a loss in and of itself.

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Pollock: And if that chews up 15 or 20 minutes out of a 50 minute lecture

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the students have walked away with the big idea from that lecture,

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which they almost certainly wouldn't have

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if I had just rapid-fire, stood at the blackboard.

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Duncan: If you don't believe that students need to

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reason and debate and articulate to learn,

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then don't do this! You know, if you believe that

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you can do the learning for the student,

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then don't even try peer discussion.

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Because if you really don't believe in it, it's not going to work for you.

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Pollock: If you made me go back to lecturing without clickers,

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it would be miserable.

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I would be so sad.

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Greany: It does make you want to come back to class.

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Burnett: Clickers make class fun.

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They help students learn better than just the traditional,

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professor at the blackboard, transcribing information.

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Freedle: The classes seem to go a lot faster,

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I enjoy them a lot more, when they have clickers.

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Clickers are an effective tool, but they are no magic bullet.

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For videos on how to best use clickers, research results on clicker effectiveness, and other resources, visit http://STEMclickers.colorado.edu.

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English subtitles: Stephanie Chasteen