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Education research: feedback on clickers (Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2008)

During Spring semester 2008, Cuesta College students taking Physics 5A (college physics, algebra-based, mandatory adjunct laboratory) at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA used numerical keypad clickers (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) to enter homework and to engage in peer-interaction discussion questions during lecture.

During the last week of instruction, students were given the opportunity to evaluate the instructional components of the course, and the use of clickers in an online "Learning Resource Survey" hosted by SurveyMonkey.com. Questions from section II are adapted from the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) survey (developed by Elaine Seymour, Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison), and questions from section III (III.1, III.3, III.5, and III.7) were adapted from a "Clicker Attitude Survey" (N. W. Reay, Lei Bao, and Pengfei Li, Physics Education Research Group, Ohio State University).

These are the complete survey results, with some preliminary commentary. No statistical analysis was done (this was the first and only administration of this instrument), but will be forthcoming after more data has been compiled from future semesters. Values for the mean and standard deviations are given next to the modal response category for each question. Note that the order of questions within sections II and III were randomly scrambled for each student.
Learning Resource Survey
Cuesta College
Physics 5A Spring Semester 2008 sections 4987, 4988
(N = 28)

I. In order to receive credit for completing this survey,
first enter your four digit ID number below:
____


II. How much did each of the following aspects of the class help
your learning?

II.1 Lecture by instructor.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 5 : *****
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 16 : **************** [4.0 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 6 : ******

II.2 Doing assigned homework, to be entered using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 14 : ************** [4.0 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 9 : *********

II.3 Doing unassigned homework.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 11 : *********** [3.5 +/- 1.2]
5. Strongly agree 5 : *****

II.4 Using clickers to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 15 : *************** [4.0 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

II.5 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 5 : *****
3. Neutral 4 : **** [3.4 +/- 1.2]
4. Agree 13 : *************
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

II.6 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 21 : ********************* [4.0 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 5 : *****

II.7 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 7 : *******
4. Agree 16 : ********** [3.9 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 5 : *****

II.8 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 7 : *******
4. Agree 11 : *********** [3.9 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 7 : *******
Students rated the usefulness of learning by using clickers in class (II.4), more so than any other instructional mode except for demonstrations/videos in class (II.6). Students rated doing assigned homework that was entered using clickers third highest in terms of learning usefulness, more so than lecturing by the instructor (II.1), reading the textbook (II.5), doing unassigned (but suggested) homework (II.3), and interacting with students outside (II.8) and during (II.7) class.
III. Answer the following statements which may or may not describe 
your beliefs about the use of clickers in this class.

III.1 I like using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [3.7 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

III.2 Clickers helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 9 : *********
4. Agree 12 : ************ [3.5 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 3 : ***

III.3 I would recommend using clickers in future semesters of Physics 5A.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 17 : ***************** [3.8 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 6 : ******

III.4 I will avoid other classes using clickers in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 8 : ********
2. Disagree 14 : ************** [2.0 +/- 0.9]
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.5 Clickers were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 16 : **************** [3.8 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 16 : **************** [2.4 +/- 0.9]
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.7 Too many clicker questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 4 : ****
2. Disagree 16 : **************** [2.3 +/- 1.0]
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.8 Clickers should be used to collect assigned homework.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 5 : *****
4. Agree 12 : ************ [3.6 +/- 1.2]
5. Strongly agree 6 : ******

III.9 Using clickers was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 11 : ***********
2. Disagree 13 : ************* [1.8 +/- 0.9]
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 0 :
Overall, the responses in section III are positive towards the use of clickers. Although students collectively approved of the use of clickers to collect homework, a vocal minority expressed their comments below.
IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding 
the use of clickers in Physics 5A.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.

"the clikers were very useful and i really like how their was alot of participation clicker questions. it helped out understanding the material and becuase of the clikers i felt that i was involved in the class more than other classes."

"I think that the clickers helped me to stay on the same page as the lectures. The clicker question were a good way to keep the students paying attention to the lectures."

"at first, they seemed like a pain. But after a couple of weeks using them, i realized how nice they were. I sat in the back most of the time, and it saved a lot time not having to get up to turn stuff in. sometimes it was frustrating not being able to join in a session after it had started, but that is the only draw back i see with the product."

"I like how they require you to interact with the current discussions in class. However, there are sometimes when I feel we spent too much time with them... and would have been better off seeing another example worked out on the board."

"I feel like too much time was spent using the clickers. While they might have their place for entering homework, I think we could have done more example problems and gotten more material covered with better notes had the clickers not been used."

"it sucks that when we turn in homework we dont get any partial credit or we never find out where we went wrong."

"Have a great summer P-Dog, hope to run into you in the future. 'Enjoy using clickers in your future classes.' (<- To be relevent to clickers.)"

"i still think they cost more than they are worth..."

"Clickers worked well and kept the entire class concentrated on the lecture. Clickers are also a great way to earn some participation points;)"

"We just need to focus our time on the problems, and anwering questions more effieciently and doing problem after problem until we understand"

"The only thing I don't like about the Clickers is the fact that they souldn't be used to colletct homework. I did not like the fact of spending anywhere from a half an hour to an hour on the assigned homework and not getting the correct answer after entering it with the clickers. I believe homework should have been collected by hand for partial credit for showing work. On the contrary, I enjoyed using the clickers for participation credit."

"Thanks for a great class!"
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