Interactive Learning with Clickers
Professor Mike Dubson, an FTEP Faculty Associate from the Department of Physics, is available to consult with any faculty member who wishes to learn how to use infrared pointers and a histogram to record students’ answers in class.
Since spring 2002, the Physics and Astronomy Departments have been using an electronic audience feedback system in several large freshman classes. During lectures, students answer multiple-choice questions (“Concept Tests”) with personal electronic transmitters. Because the system records how each student votes, scores for individual students are maintained.
The particular system used at CU is manufactured by H-ITT (Hyper-Interactive Teaching Technology), based in Arkansas. The company’s website, http://www.h-itt.com/, produces a list of students and their clicker IDs in a format suitable for use with the H-ITT software. The lecture hall is wired with receivers arrayed around the room. For votes to be recorded quickly, one receiver is needed for every 25 students. Since each receiver costs $180, a 300-seat lecture hall requires 12 receivers, for a total cost of $2,160. All software is free and can be downloaded from the website at any time.
Are clickers a good thing? CU’s research shows that the use of clickers increases attendance. In Physics 2020, the first course in which clickers were used, average lecture attendance went from 65% before clickers to 92% after. Student sentiment is largely positive. In anonymous surveys, students complain about the cost of purchasing a clicker, but overwhelmingly approve of their use and want clicker points to count for a larger fraction of the course grade. More important, clickers have greatly improved the level of student engagement.
