STEPHANIE AFFUL JANUARY 30, 2013 Using Clickers in Fontbonne Classrooms

Outline Resources Available at Fontbonne Benefits of SRS A case for statistics Practice!

Fontbonne Resources We have 2 sets of Clickers that can be checked out by instructors. Each set has 25 student handheld devices and 1 instructor remote. You will need to download the i>clicker software onto your computer from:

Options! We have i>clicker2 which allow for numeric and alpha-numeric responses. You can register the clickers to each student if you want to give ‘credit’ for attendance, quizzes, polls, etc. and link to your CMS.  Moreso if you are using the entire semester You can also poll anonymously and collect data Questions are built into Powerpoint, can also create “questions on the fly” Data will be shown publically in numeric and graph form

Benefits of SRS in the Classroom Classroom Environment  Attention & Engagement  Stowell & Nelson (2007). Teaching of Psychology, 34, Learning  Retention  Poirier & Feldman (2007). Teaching of Psychology, 34, Assessment  Feedback  Kay & LeSage (2009) Computers & Education, 53,

A case for Statistics Does the use of SRS (e.g., clickers) alleviate statistical anxiety in an undergraduate statistics course? Does integrating clickers improve students knowledge of statistics?

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom? Method:  36 students in my statistics class (72% female, Mean age 23.26) actively participated with the use of clickers and completed pre-and post-tests of statistical anxiety (STARS).  The STARS (Cruise, Cash, & Bolton, 1985) is a 51 item questionnaire with 6 subscales: Worth of Statistics, Interpretation Anxiety, Test and Class Anxiety, Fear of Asking Questions, Fear of Statistics Teachers, and Computational Self-Concept.  Students also answered 7 items at the end of the term on the efficacy of the clickers.

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom? Method cont.  Embedded within each lecture, students answered questions with their i>clickers.  At the end of the chapter, we had learning checks. Students were asked about their confidence on specific statistical terms. We then reviewed additional problems and asked the confidence questions again.

Learning Check 1. I fully understand how to state null and alternative hypotheses in an independent sample t-test. 2. I fully understand how to conduct a t-test for 2 independent samples.  A= Strongly Agree  B= Agree  C= Neutral  D= Disagree  E= Strongly Disagree

Learning Check, round 2 1. I fully understand how to state null and alternative hypotheses in an independent sample t-test. 2. I fully understand how to conduct a t-test for 2 independent samples.  A= Strongly Agree  B= Agree  C= Neutral  D= Disagree  E= Strongly Disagree

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom? Results:  Statistical Anxiety did decrease over the semester: t(32) = 3.97, p <.001.  Learning check data revealed that students felt significantly more confident in the material after additional practices exercises for each chapter. t’s range from 3.02  7.80, p <.01.

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom?

Qualitative Comments:  “Being able to answer anonymously and compare to rest of class”  “Requires students to be in involved and engaged in the class”  “I enjoyed that we could answer honestly without persuasion of our classmates, allowed me to be less anxious”  “I liked the ability to digitally say that I need to go over something again”  “It helped me be more confident in asking for help”

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom? Grades:  When comparing exam grades and final grades to the previous section, there were marginal differences.  The “Clicker” class scored higher on Exam 1 t(55)= , p <.05 and marginally higher on final grades t(55) =-1.67, p =.10.

Can Clickers alleviate statistical anxiety in the classroom? Conclusion:  Weaker evidence supporting the improvement of knowledge from using clickers.  Strong evidence that clickers alleviated negative emotions in the classroom pertaining to statistics, specifically being able to ask and answer questions.  Future studies are need to determine causality.

SRS Suggestions Questions should not be regurgitated but rather application or driven from students’ concerns Before you reveal correct answer, ask students to defend their answers. Tell students why you are using clickers. Consider web based solutions (e.g., Socrative)

Your turn… The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet trace their origins back to: A. Paris B. Le Puy C. Bains D. Latour

How many sisters left France and came to the U.S.?

What did Mother St. John Fontbonne send to the sisters in America in 1838?

Questions on the fly… How many provinces are in the congregation? A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 1

References Davis, S. M. (2003). Observations in classrooms using a network of handheld devices. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 19, Kay, R. H., & LeSage, A. (2009). Examining the benefits and challenges of using audience response systems: A review of the literature. Computers & Education, 53, Martyn, M. (2007). Clickers in the classroom: An active learning approach. Educause Quarterly, 2, Poirier, C. R., & Feldman, R. S. (2007). Promoting active learning using individual response technology in large introductory psychology classes. Teaching of Psychology, 34, Stowell, J. R., & Nelson, J. M. (2007). Benefits of electronic audience response systems on student participation, learning and emotion. Teaching of Psychology, 24,

Web Resources There are several online tutorials and videos that assist in setting up a course Customer Support by phone was very helpful You can also direct questions to myself or Amy Peach.