History of LectureTools
Science literacy and student engagement are issues that we have been struggling with in our larger geoscience courses over the past few years. To attack these issues we have created a “testbed” of three large (150-180 per class per semester) classes with the goal of exploring the use of web-based responder systems as a means of creating resource and peer networks, delivering conceptual and technical tools and expanding discourse.
All our “testbed” classes have been taught by the same faculty for over a decade and have been taught in a relatively traditional lecture-centric manner. By many standards these courses have been successful as student evaluations have been very good and enrollments have steadily grown or remained steady. Nonetheless, the faculty involved felt a need to retool the class away from being dominated by lecture to promote more student inquiry and reflection.
Our awareness of student response systems began in the fall, 2003, when we instituted the use of “clickers” in the introductory Global Change course. That system (Synthesis2000) uses a numerical pad for responses to topical questions. Proprietary software and equipment are required for the connectivity and processing of responses. Rather than knowledge testing, we used the clickers to focus on students’ perspectives relative to global change issues, using their answers as a platform for discussion. While the goal was to stimulate discussion and/or to draw attention to key concepts, it also provided incentive for students to attend lectures as participation through response was noted and credited. Because of a scoring rubric used that rewards participation, class attendance increased significantly from previous years. Feedback from students showed that the clicker system was easy to use and, for the most part, that they believed it helped stimulate discourse in the class.
“Clickers” are wireless systems that are used most typically to permit students to vote on multiple-choice questions during lectures. These devices, the most common of electronic “student response systems” (SRS) offer instantaneous and anonymous voting summaries that give both students and instructors assessments of class progress (with option to track/grade replies). Many students enjoy using clickers, because they are elevated from passive listeners to active participants. While issues remain about how to best design effective questions (concept tests) the perceived value of clicker systems has lead to an increasing demand for their availability. Moreover, others have documented positive experiences with the use of audience response systems to improve discourse in class and student learning (Banks, 2006; Crouch & Mazur, 2001).
Alas, while clickers are growing in popularity, they have limitations and they do require significant capital investment and maintenance. Moreover, given changes that are occurring in technology and the marketplace it is not unreasonable to examine if other options exist that could provide and enhance the pedagogical advantages, but leverage technologies that are either already available or likely to soon be available to students.
Our interest has been to explore how to build upon the advantages of student response systems through use of a non-proprietary web-based responder system. It is our expectation that over the next several years many if not most students will have access to Internet enabled technologies in class, as laptops, PDA’s and/or cell phones. The availability of these technologies presents an opportunity to expand from the clicker to a richer system capable of far more than clicker systems.