Quantitative measures of personal response device effectiveness

CHED 92

Daniel B. King, daniel.king@drexel.edu, Department of Chemistry, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
The use of personal response devices (or “clickers”) in the classroom is becoming more frequent. However, support for their continued use has been largely qualitative. Few studies have quantified the effectiveness of clicker use. In this presentation, quantitative results are used to assess clicker effectiveness in both general and physical chemistry. Changes in classroom engagement were investigated in the general chemistry class. In one term, the clicker use was optional, while in the other term, clicker use was tied to a participation grade. In general chemistry, clickers were used in one of three lecture sections, all of which took common exams. Exam grades for students who used clickers were higher than those for students who didn't. In physical chemistry, the same multiple choice questions were asked during class and on exams. In most cases, student performance improved on the exams relative to the in-class performance (recorded with clickers).
 

General Posters
7:30 PM-9:30 PM, Sunday, 10 September 2006 Moscone Center -- Hall D, Poster

Division of Chemical Education

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006