*1- Interactivity, Engagement, and Student Accountability….Right at your Fingertips with eInstruction Response Systems
Around the beginning of the Spring semester, as part of the classroom technology facet of the Proposition U District modernization plans, District teachers will start to have on-campus opportunities for training on and access to check out eInstruction “student response system” kits for use with their students. (For details on your campus’ specific protocols for training and access, please check in with your site Technology Coordinator starting at the end of January.) These highly effective 21st Century technology tools integrate directly with any PC or Mac software program (including PowerPoint, any web browser, and Examview) to provide teachers with a powerful tool for ensuring comprehensive interactivity and accountability for learning to every student in the classroom.
What Are “Student Response Systems?”:
A student response system is a kit which includes “clickers” for each student, a USB receiver to plug into the teacher’s computer, and the software that manages the system. In multiple ways (all together, individually, self-paced, etc.), teachers can prompt students to respond to questions and surveys, and the students can respond through T/F, multiple choice, numeric, and even short-answer textual responses. A receiver on the teacher’s computer wirelessly receives, tabulates, and logs each answer immediately for teacher use – and the software allows many choices for how the teacher shares (anonymously) or acts on the class-wide response data. Every iota of data is permanently available for teacher use in designing instruction, follow up, and even student ‘participation’ grading.
For an in-depth video describing the uses of student response systems (though highlighting a slightly different model), click here: http://edtech.guhsd.net/dtabnk/Clickers_Overview.wmv (best to “right-click” this link to save the video to your Desktop, then play)
Key Benefits to Student Learning:
- Enhances formative assessment capabilities:
- *Inform instruction real-time (e.g., if a large portion of class does not ‘get it,’ clarify and review as needed)
- *Make immediate course corrections for individual student or whole class understanding (build better pedagogical scaffolding, enable interventions early enough to have impact)
- Ensures individual student accountability during class (no hiding in the back of class, being too timid to take chances, or faking it – everyone must mentally ‘check in’ when clickers are used)
- *Logs every answer by each student and provides Standards-based analysis
- Increases student engagement and interactivity during lessons (students and responses can become interwoven into the instructional fabric; can easily be used for learning & review games)
- *Stimulates more in-context critical thinking (immediately recognizing errors and learning why and how to correct them makes learning more relevant)
- Fosters cooperative group interactions (engenders more group discussion either by grouping students with each clicker for collaborative thinking before final response and/or by allowing groups to discuss the ‘anonymous’ response charts shown, both for ‘opinion’ questions and for factual answers.
Metaresearch Findings on Student Response Systems:
While many research studies have been performed on the efficacy of student response systems, the following metaresearch studies provide a good summation of many of the individual studies:
What the Research Says: Using eInstruction’s CPS to Support Effective Instruction, — A Summary of Independent Research Prepared by Interactive Educational Systems Design, Inc. (April 2010)
In particular, student response systems offer effective support for research-based teacher questioning strategies. Such systems can also make classroom lessons more interactive, thereby raising student interest and engagement. As part of a system for frequent formative assessment, student response systems facilitate focused, timely feedback; provide tools for teachers to identify and correct their students’ preconceptions and misconceptions; and help guide adjustments to teaching—all practices that have been found to positively impact student learning.
Classroom Response Systems: A Teaching with Technology White Paper – Dr. Ashley Deal, Office of Educational Studies Carnegie Mellon University; (November 2007).
“The findings borne out from the meta-research strongly indicates that classroom response systems can facilitate the process of drawing out prior knowledge, maintaining student attention, and creating opportunities for meaningful engagement. They can also assist instructors in assessing student comprehension and developing classroom activities that allow for the application of key concepts to practical problems.”
More information about eInstruction Response Systems: http://www.einstruction.com/products/student-response-systems/cps-pulse