1. Clickers: A New Teaching Tool of Exceptional Promise
Dr. Douglas Duncan
University of Colorado, Boulder
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

2. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
How many of you:
Have never used clickers
Have used clickers once
Have used clickers more than once
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

3. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
I primarily:
Teach college-level science, math, or engineering
Teach college-level humanities or social sciences
Teach another college-level subject
Am a Dean or Administrator
Am from the K-12 world
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

4. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Why Use Clickers?
Rapid, accurate feedback to both you and your students.
Students learn less in lectures than we usually assume. Clickers can assist you in changing classes to make students more active and accountable for their own learning.
Some subjects are “touchy” and students hesitate to give opinions orally or by raising hands. Clicker responses are anonymous to students neighbors and produce more honest responses.
An amazing increase in student enthusiasm (if you use clickers well).
Other reasons (only if time…)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

5. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Many potential uses….
Measure what students know before you start to teach them
Measure student attitudes
Find out if they’ve done assigned reading
Get students to confront common misconceptions
Test student understanding
Increase student’s learning and retention of what you teach
Facilitate discussion
Transform the way you do any demonstrations
Increase class attendance
Improve student attitudes (!)
Begin with the ends in mind. (John Dewey, ~1920)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

6. It’s NOT about the clicker. It’s about what you have your students do.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

7. We’ve been teaching the same way for a long time…
2000 years ago
Today
How effective are we?
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

8. How well do students learn in lecture? A cautionary tale….
about a violin….
From Carl Weiman’s*
“Physics of Everyday Life” class.
*Nobel prize winner AND good teacher
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

9. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

10. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
(b) Only 10% of students gave the correct answer.
Fifteen minutes later in the same lecture!
That was an anecdote…
Now for data
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

11. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Over the last 20 years, the following methodology has been developed to study teaching and learning…
Hundreds of interviews with students
Determine right and common wrong answers (misconceptions) to important questions
Construct a multiple-choice test where the wrong answers are commonly believed misconceptions
Give the test to thousands of students
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

12. Force Concept Inventory
In a traditional lecture class, students learn about 25% of the concepts (that they don’t already know).
traditional lecture
<g> = post-pre pre
R. Hake, ”…A six-thousand-student survey…” AJP 66, (‘98).
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

13. Traditional Model of Education
Instruction via
transmission
Individual
Content
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

14. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
PowerPoint doesn’t fix this
Fancy videos, applets shown in class, demonstrations don’t fix this
Lecturing as well as Carl Sagan or Jay Leno doesn’t fix this
The problem is not the lecturer. The problem is…
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

15. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Teaching by telling
is surprisingly ineffective
- if you want students to
master concepts.
Students minds must be active to learn.
What can you do?!
“Peer discussion” of conceptual questions forces students to talk and reason during class. Like this:
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

16. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Consider a tiny acorn, and a giant oak tree.
A log from that
tree weighs 10,000x
as much as the acorn.
Where does MOST of
the mass come from?
Sunlight
Water
Dirt
Minerals in the soil
The air
Then peer discuss
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

17. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Photosynthesis
6 CO H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2 + 6 H2O
Carbon dioxide water glucose (sugar) oxygen water
The correct answer is “The Air.”
Carbon dioxide from the air!
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

18. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Notice the excitement!
You discover something new to you,
…and benefit from peer discussion.
This is a very important use of clickers.
Sort of like at a professional meeting – during coffee or cocktails. Students never see us in that setting!
1. Students never see uncertain scientists! 2. What’s more interesting, the known or the unknown?
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

19. What difference does interactive engagement make?
Physics learning at the University of Colorado leads the US!
What difference does interactive engagement make?
Colored
cards
Traditional lecture (popular professor)
Clickers
Clickers + tutorials
red = traditional, blue = interactive engagement
<g> = post-pre pre
Mazur – 10 years
F05
F03
F04
F01
F99
S05
F07
S04
Two things to note…
ANY INTERACTIVE engagement is better than none
There is incredible variety in the way it is done…
FA 98: first attempt at reform -- colored cards / peer instruction
FA 03/sp04: more recent efforts- with Tutorials and student response systems
© Copyright Steven Pollock 2007
The graph shows the fraction of everything taught students learn thoroughly during the semester.
Red and blue histogram bars are for 52 classes throughout the US.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

20. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Peer instruction reveals your students’ assumptions and arguments, which often are not what you expect.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

21. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Fish is Fish…
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

22. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

23. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

24. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
An entirely different reason to use clickers… to get honest answers to touchy questions
Questions that involve race, sex,
or politics are good for clickers.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

25. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Clicker use means more work for students than just taking notes. It means they have to talk to the person next to them. Who they may think is an idiot. Without explanation students protest. Real student quote: “I expected you to teach me, I didn’t expect to have to learn!” Teachers must explain why they are using clickers, or students will not be happy! and they should discuss what it means to learn
*or a slacker. Or in any case less intelligent than I am! Remember to emphasize the value of group work in the real world.
BVSD
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

26. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Keys to clicker success [the next 3 slides are on a printed handout ]
You must must must explain why you are using them!
Practice before using with students.
Have your own goals clearly in mind.
Discuss grading. Award credit for clicker use. If student participation is a goal, give partial credit for wrong answers. (e.g. 1 pt, 2 pt) Clickers = 10% of class grade is a good number.
*or a slacker. Or in any case less intelligent than I am! Remember to emphasize the value group work in the real world.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

27. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Keys to clicker success (continued)
Start with a few clicker questions per class and increase when comfortable
Questions must relate to the heart of your course. Vary the complexity (“Bloom level”)
Clicker questions must relate to exam questions.
Questions should encourage discussion. 30% - 70% correct before peer discussion is ideal.
*or a slacker. Or in any case less intelligent than I am! Remember to emphasize the value group work in the real world.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

28. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Keys to clicker failure
Fail to explain why you are using them.
Use them for attendance.
Don’t have students talk with each other.
Use only factual recall questions.
Don’t make use of the student response information.
Fail to discuss what learning means or the depth of learning you expect.
Think of clickers as a testing device, rather than a device to inform learning.
If you don’t really believe the data I’ve presented about the need for student-centered learning… Don’t Use Clickers.
*or a slacker. Or in any case less intelligent than I am! Remember to emphasize the value group work in the real world.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

29. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
As clicker users become more experienced, they incorporate better practices:
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

30. More experienced clicker users engage more with students
2 New users (yellow) vs. 2 Experienced Instructors
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

31. More experienced users spend more time discussing incorrect responses
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

32. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

33. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
How do students feel about clicker use?
It depends on how you use them, and how well you explain your intent.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

34. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Students in classes that promote discussion rate clickers as more useful
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

35. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

36. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
These are quotes recorded by Angel Hoekstra, who is writing a sociology Ph. D. thesis on student clicker use.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

37. Astronomy student comments…
“I like clicker questions because it helps me understand key concepts and it makes me read the chapters in the book. I think clickers are critical to learning more information about the topic being taught.” (astronomy)
“It’s not that I like [clickers], as a matter of fact, I hate them; but I think that they’re really useful.” Student did not specify why. (astronomy)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

38. Journalism student comments
“In this class, no, they do not help us learn class material. It feels like she uses them just for attendance purposes and then doesn’t really fully go over them. It’s mostly just a waste of time… My physics professor used them very well… let us discuss them with our classmates, and then went over the right answer, thoroughly explained [the clicker question], and then told us why the other options were wrong, that really helped.” (journalism student)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

39. From Journalism students…
“A lot of people hate [clickers] because they say it is the only reason that they go [to class,] but that is bullshit. They just want to skip [class] without losing ‘points.’ I like the interaction [clickers incite], it helps me know what I need to study more. Most kids that don’t like them, I feel, don’t have too many ‘solid’ reasons [for] why.”
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

40. Comparison of classes in which clicker use varied – typical student comments
Journalism I-
Professor was relatively new to clickers when I observed last semester, uses them primarily to take attendance
Discussion was not used or encouraged: students answered all clicker questions on their own
On average, 1-3 clicker questions were used per class, often none.
Professor invites a number of guest speakers who currently work “in the field” to come and speak to the class: clickers were not used on these days.
Students were least favorable to the use of clickers in this class
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

41. Stars and Planets (Astronomy)-
Lecture focuses on concepts from assigned reading, Professor emphasizes students take responsibility for their own learning, as developing scientific thinkers.
Clicker questions punctuate every lecture
Professor uses various types of clicker questions to facilitate student discussion and critical thinking about course concepts
Peer discussion is encouraged and common: more likely to occur when the clicker question is challenging or prompts a student to evaluate prior ideas (conceptual change model)
Students were highly favorable to the use of clickers in this class
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

42. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Explain why you are using clickers every week for the first few weeks.
Continually explain that it's in student’s own best interest to come up with an answer first before talking to their neighbors.
Change classroom seating a few weeks into the semester because by then students have learned who the 'smart ones' are and often turn to them.
No brain – No gain!
Even advanced students fool themselves….
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

43. Are we sure that peer instruction produces genuine learning. M. K
Are we sure that peer instruction produces genuine learning? M. K. Smith et al. (U of Colorado, 2008)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

44. Other useful references & student comments
We find that most students problem solving strategies and abilities can be improved by working in short term collaborative groups without any other intervention. – Cooper et. al, Clemson Chemistry Dept.
Facility in solving quantitative problems is not an adequate criterion for functional understanding. Questions that require qualitative reasoning and verbal explanation are essential.
A coherent conceptual framework is not typically an outcome of traditional instruction. Students need to participate in the process of constructing qualitative models that can help them understand relationships and differences among concepts.
Growth in reasoning ability does not usually result from traditional instruction. Scientific reasoning skills must be expressly cultivated.
American Journal of Physics, Vol. 61, #4, copyright 1993, Lillian C. McDermott, University of Washington
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

45. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
You can help your students become more metacognitive. Why not use some clicker questions to do so?
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

46. If you ask me or your Teaching Assistant a question, should we:
Tell you the answer 45
Give you hints so that you can figure out the answer 54
Asked using clickers; % response in red (non major class of 150 students)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

47. Which do you think results in more long-lasting learning?
When my TA tells me the answer 21
When she give me hints so that I can figure out the answer myself 78
Tell my laptop story…
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

48. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Do you expect one day to have a job that requires you to figure things out on your own?
Yes 93
No 7
Tell my laptop story…
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

49. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
This kind of teaching means that you will be more engaged! It makes teaching more interesting, especially if you have taught for many years.
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

50. We’ve discussed some potential uses; there are more….
Measure what students know before you start to teach them
Measure student attitudes
Find out if they’ve done assigned reading
Get students to confront common misconceptions
Test student understanding
Increase student’s learning and retention of what you teach
Facilitate discussion
Transform the way you do any demonstrations
Increase class attendance
Improve student attitudes (!)
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado

51. Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado
Addison Wesley -
New edition is coming
Dr. Douglas Duncan, Univ. of Colorado