written by Erica Watkins and Mel S. Sabella

Researchers have shown that the use of personal response systems (clickers) stimulate student-student and student-lecturer interaction.  Use of clickers and peer instruction techniques have been found to foster a more dynamic and active learning environment. In addition, students value the use of clickers and feel that these devices contribute to their understanding.

However, relatively few studies had been conducted prior to 2008 to assess the effectiveness of clickers in improving specific student outcomes and student knowledge construction.  This study compared student responses on exam questions to similar or identical clicker questions that were presented during lecture.  The analysis of the responses shows how individual student knowledge evolved during instruction. Although use of clickers produced improvement during lecture, many students were unable to respond correctly when questions of a highly similar nature were posed on the exam.

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Published October 20, 2008
Last Modified May 22, 2009

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