Session 24

Title: Clicker: tools for engagement or tools of distraction?

Session Description:

Clickers, like any other classroom tool, have the potential to maximize student understanding of course content; however, they could just as easily become a distraction if presenters lack knowledge about how to craft questions that elicit responses which demonstrate student thinking and understanding. PowerPoint, the ubiquitous software for anyone with a message to share, is not only firmly entrenched in classrooms but PowerPoint software plug-ins or other stand-alone presentation media accompanied with response hardware allows for some level of interactivity between presenters and their audiences. While this newly introduced tool has been met with widespread acceptance it has also raised questions about the extent to which it is being utilized in a pedagogically responsible manner by the educators who make them a requirement for students. The proliferation of response systems—Student, Personal or Classroom Response Systems (SRS, PRS, CRS)—are marketed as having the potential to promote or create opportunities for increasing level of interactivity in the classroom; but educators wishing to utilize this tool must have more than cursory knowledge of the software and hardware if they are to achieve student engagement at each of the desired levels—engagement with the content, with student peers, and with the instructor. This workshop will examine the extent to which response devices or clickers can be effectively used to maximize increased student understanding and application of what is discussed/examined and understood in the classroom. The presenter will share information about various ways clickers can be used to gain, hold, and stimulate students’ interest via the types of questions posed—factual, conceptual, one best answer, opinion, discussion, etc—including summative and formative assessment activities. Information about clicker use in a pilot study presently underway will be shared and also issues and/or challenges that educators will have to address in their desire to integrate clickers into their practice.

Presenters: Dave Yearwood, Glenn Cockerline

Dave Yearwood, Ph.D., CSIT: Associate Professor and chair of the Technology Department, University of North Dakota. Dave’s dual work on technology is on the development of “smart systems” for electronic control and instructional technologies centered around the notion of “electronic pedagogy.” Yearwood is specifically interested in how faculty infuse various technologies into their practice to engage students, enhance their understanding of relevant content, and promote dialogue leading to a critical examination of topics under examination

 

Glenn Cockerline, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor of Teacher Education, Brandon University. Glenn’s interests center on areas related to the improvement of instruction. He draws on the wisdom acquired through two decades of diverse classroom teaching assignments in the public school system and a decade working with teachers-in-training. Cockerline’s research is particularly focused on how students acquire the information they are expected to assimilate in their various courses.