CHED 1565

Teachers have begun using student response systems in an effort to enhance the learning environment in higher education classrooms. Research providing detailed information about how interactive technologies affect students as they learn is crucial for professors who seek to improve the quality of their teaching, attendance rates and student learning. This study investigates the social, educational, and emotional effects of the use of student response systems – or clickers – at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Data gathering methods included participant observation, in-depth interviews, and survey responses from more than 2000 students enrolled in three semesters of General Chemistry courses. The data suggest clickers create a learning environment characterized by greater activity, cooperation, and conceptual application compared to traditional, lecture-based instruction. Interview data suggests clickers alter the social and educational environment experienced by students as they learn. Specifically, gender influences the way students interpret clicker questions and whether they choose to work with peers on clicker questions. Overall, clickers improve the learning environment for the majority of students, as well as provide professors with a means for discerning, during class, whether students understand course concepts.

Keywords: clicker, student attitudes, student response system, learning environment