Why use clickers?

Instructors at Ohio University use clickers to:

Create an interactive, dynamic in-class experience: Large classes can inhibit student-teacher interaction. Students may shy away from answering an instructor’s question, fearing the embarrassment of answering incorrectly. Even in smaller classes, which can be highly interactive, this "intimidation factor" can limit student-teacher interaction for a select few. The Student Response System can compensate for these challenges by offering all students--not just a vocal minority--the opportunity to answer the instructor’s questions.

An interactive classroom, particularly one where students can participate anonymously, affords students a higher level of engagement that is otherwise difficult to achieve within a large class. Instructors can use student responses to generate dialogue, respond to misconceptions, address ambiguities, open new avenues of discussion, and otherwise engage the class. Clickers merely lay the groundwork for this interactivity. Instructor questions must be challenging, thought provoking, and stimulating. Read more about questions in "What makes a good question?"

Assess student understanding: Instructors can use clickers to measure student preparation, understanding, and satisfaction. When an instructor asks a question in a clickers class, student responses register in real-time and give the instructor immediate, feedback. This allows instructors to address to focus on points that need explanation.

Students also benefit from immediate feedback about their current levels of understanding. Students see how well they understand the material and what they need to review more. Students also see how they are measuring up to the rest of the class instead of having to wait until after a midterm exam. Some instructors administer pre- and post- tests to help students in this preparation.

Improve student attention and preparation: Students pay closer attention when instructors ask quiz and survey questions during the period. Clickers encourage students to use the textbook and to prepare for class daily. Also, real-time questions and answers engage students with the lecture material. When interest is stimulated, students retain more. When students engage in active learning, they learn more. Interactive questions and answers also draw students into the lecture content, motivate discussion, and encourage students to ask questions.

Encourage collaboration and teamwork: Well planned clicker exercises can create opportunities for efficacious group assignments and collaboration. Some instructors require students to discuss and build consensus or create quiz questions that foster healthy competition encourage collaboration and teamwork. A student working alone on a problem may not know where to begin, may be lost, or may simply give up. However, working on a team, each student shares and contributes knowledge, and the group collectively attempts to formulate an answer.