This article examines use of "clickers" in science survey courses. Large lecture classes are a fact of life at universities, especially in the introductory science courses. They are clearly cost effective. A single instructor can present material to hundreds of students at a time. Once lectures are prepared, only modest annual revisions are typically required. Multiple-choice exams (the normal testing procedure) are easy to concoct and readily available from textbook companies. But there are many well-documented disadvantages of large lecture classes, including problems with attendance, discipline, learning, and the general alienation of students. Student response systems and audience response keyboards, or "clickers," as they are often called, have been commercially available for more than two decades. They provide instant feedback to students and faculty regardless of the size of the class, and have a clear value in socialization, making impersonal classes more intimate. This article presents results of student surveys on the advantages and disadvantages of clicker response systems. Results indicate that student enthusiasm for clicker systems is high and student attendance was strikingly improved. Disadvantages include the time involvement for implementation, potential for student cheating, and curriculum standardization.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Journal of College Science Teaching, a publication of the NSTA (National Science Teaching Association.) It was published in 2006 and is no longer archived by NSTA. The URL was provided by the author.