Table of Contents
The Jossey-Bass
Higher and Adult Education Series
To my wife, Amy, and daughters, Sophie and Lucy
PREFACE
I first learned about classroom response systems during a talk by Harvard University physics professor Eric Mazur at Vanderbilt University. I had taught several mathematics courses and had experimented with a variety of teaching methods designed to promote active learning among my students. When Mazur described his use of classroom response systems to facilitate what he called peer instructionposing a question to his students and having them discuss it in pairs and submit their answers using handheld devices called clickersI knew I wanted to try this technique in my teaching. It fit well with my teaching philosophy, and it seemed to have great potential for engaging students during class and providing me information about their learning that I could use to teach more effectively.
I had the chance to use clickers while teaching in the Harvard University mathematics department. That first semester I was fortunate to have a set of calculus questions developed by Maria Terrells GoodQuestions project at Cornell University. The following semester, I started writing my own linear algebra questions. The technology was difficult to use then. Before every class session, I picked up a very old computer on a large computer cart from the basement and wheeled it onto the elevator and up to my classroom. The system my colleagues and I used relied on infrared frequencies, which meant that the clickers the students used needed to have line of sight with the receiver. As a result, our receiver was mounted on a six-foot-tall wood plank nailed to the side of the computer cart. At the start of each class session, my students picked up clickers from a box and returned them to the box at the end of the class. In spite of the challenges, I was hooked. The classroom response system and the peer instruction teaching method delivered on the promise I had seen in Mazurs presentation.
Since those first semesters teaching with clickers, I have made classroom response systems a regular part of my mathematics teaching. Through my work at the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, I consult regularly with instructors at Vanderbilt and elsewhere about their use of clickers. Hearing from instructors in other disciplines about their experiences teaching with clickers has shown me that this instructional technology can be used in a variety of ways to transform classroom dynamics. A couple of years ago, I saw the need for a practical guide to teaching with clickers that instructors could use to learn about ways they might use clickers in their teaching, and I decided to write one. I have enjoyed sharing examples of clicker questions and activities in various consultation, workshop, and conference settings during the past few years, and I hope that readers will find this book to be full of great ideas and inspiration for using clickers effectively in their own classrooms.
INTRODUCTION TO THIS BOOK
This book is intended to be a practical guide for instructors interested in teaching with classroom response systems. The book features descriptions and examples of activities that make good use of these systemsactivities that engage students in course material and provide feedback on student learning useful to both students and instructors. The book also features descriptions and examples of types of multiple-choice questions instructors frequently use with classroom response systems, as well as discussions of many of the common instructional, technical, and logistical challenges that can arise in teaching with this technology.
The focus throughout the book is more on teaching than on technology. The technology used in classroom response systems is constantly changing, so any discussion of using clickers that relies on features of current technologies is likely to be out of date soon. Another reason is that research indicates that the effectiveness of classroom response systems depends largely on the ways in which instructors use these systemsthe kinds of questions they ask and the ways they use clickers to structure classroom activities. Thus, this book assumes very little about the specific technologies of classroom response systems other than the following relatively abstract description. Instructors pose questions, usually multiple-choice questions, to their students; students submit answers using handheld response devices; and the system generates a bar chart showing the distribution of student responses. Technology may changestudents might in the future respond using cell phones with wireless Internet connections instead of todays clicker devices, for instancebut the fundamental uses of these systems for engaging and assessing students are not likely to change. One consequence of this focus on teaching is that the teaching methods described here should apply to any instructor using a classroom response system, regardless of the brand of system used. Another is that no currently available systems are mentioned by name.
The books goal is not to tell instructors how they should or should not use classroom response systems. Each instructors choices regarding how to use these systems depend on his or her teaching goals and context. A type of question or a structure for a classroom activity that uses clickers might work well for one instructor, but not as well for another instructor teaching a different kind of course in a different discipline to different students. Thus, the discussion of classroom response systems in this book focuses on the many choices instructors have when using these systems, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of each choice. For example, if an instructor decides to include clicker questions as part of students course grades, should full credit be given to all student responses or only to correct ones? Either choice poses trade-offs, ones that are explored in Chapter Four. The choice any individual instructor makes depends on many factors: the learning goals the instructor has for the students, the ways in which the instructors students are motivated to engage in course material, the nature of learning in the instructors discipline, and so on. The discussion of teaching choices in this book is meant to help instructors make informed and intentional decisions about their use of clickers in the light of those factors.
In order to explore the many ways instructors use classroom response systems, almost fifty instructors in different disciplines at different types of institutions were interviewed in the process of researching this book. I asked about the kinds of questions they use with clickers, the ways they use clickers to structure classroom activities and discussion, the challenges they have faced when using this technology, and the responses their students have had to learning in this way. Each instructors teaching context is different, and the stories and sample questions drawn from these interviews show the many different choices instructors make given their disciplines, their courses, and their students. These instructors experiences and perspectives help make more concrete the ideas and strategies for teaching with clickers discussed here. Many instructors appreciate hearing how their peers and colleagues implement teaching methods and strategies. The examples drawn from these interviews should provide readers with inspiration for their own classrooms.
