1.3 Introducing students to the use of clickers

On the first day, you should talk to your class about why and how you are using clickers and what the value is for their learning. This is most important in a setting when students have never used clickers before. You should discuss how clickers will improve your communication with them, the well-established value to learning when students actively engaged in thinking about the subject and figuring out answers to questions, and how clickers make this much easier to achieve in a lecture setting. You could mention that extensive surveys of students who have completed courses that used clickers in this way have shown that students enthusiastically support their use in lectures.

One approach to making these points is to start with a “Why do you think we use clickers” clicker question in class, as shown below. Possible answers are all components of “active learning” and hopefully you will see a spread of answers. The post question discussion can then allow you to bring out why these are all good reasons.

What do you think is the single most important reason that I am using clickers?

Possible answers:

1. promotes your ability to communicate your ideas.
2. strengthens your ability to debate and defend your answers, and to suggest improvements.
3. promotes peer discussion that is balanced, with ideas put forth evenly from both partners.
4. promotes a safe environment for you to answer what you honestly think, rather than answering
5. what you think the instructor wants.
6. gives you feedback on how well you understand a topic.
7. gives me as your instructor feedback on what needs to be taught better, or expanded upon.
8. encourages you to mentally engage with the concepts so that the lecture is not just passive
9. listening and note taking.
10. encourages attendance.