20090116

Education research: end-of-semester feedback on clickers (Cuesta College, Physics 205A, Fall Semester 2008)

Cuesta College students taking Physics 205A (college physics, algebra-based, mandatory adjunct laboratory) at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA used clickers (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) to engage in peer-interaction ("think-(pair)-share") 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. Analysis 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 205A Spring Semester 2008 sections 4987, 4988
(N = 32)

I. In order to receive credit for completing this survey,
first enter your first and last name 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 3 : ***
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [3.9 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 7 : *******

II.2 Doing assigned homework, to be entered using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 10 : ********** [4.1 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 14 : **************

II.3 Doing unassigned homework.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 5 : *****
4. Agree 11 : *********** [4.2 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 14 : **************

II.4 Using clickers to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [3.9 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

II.5 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 4 : ****
3. Neutral 7 : ******* [3.4 +/- 1.2]
4. Agree 14 : **************
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

II.6 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 10 : **********
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [3.8 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

II.7 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 12 : ************
4. Agree 9 : ********* [3.7 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

II.8 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 4 : ****
3. Neutral 9 : *********
4. Agree 6 : ****** [3.6 +/- 1.3]
5. Strongly agree 11 : ***********

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 6 : ******
4. Agree 15 : *************** [3.8 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 7 : *******

III.2 Clickers helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 5 : *****
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 12 : ************ [3.7 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

III.3 I would recommend using clickers in future semesters of Physics 205A.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 5 : *****
4. Agree 14 : ************** [3.9 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 10 : **********

III.4 I will avoid other classes using clickers in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 12 : ************
2. Disagree 14 : ************** [1.9 +/- 2.2]
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.5 Clickers were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 5 : *****
4. Agree 16 : **************** [3.9 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 8 : ***
2. Disagree 11 : *********** [2.4 +/- 1.7]
3. Neutral 7 : *******
4. Agree 5 : *****
5. Strongly agree 1 : *

III.7 Too many clicker questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 8 : ********
2. Disagree 15 : *************** [2.1 +/- 1.6]
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 3 : ***
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.8 Clickers should be used to collect assigned homework.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 14 : ************** [3.7 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 6 : ******

III.9 Using clickers was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 20 : ******************** [1.4 +/- 3.5]
2. Disagree 12 : ************
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of clickers in Physics 205A.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"I just don't feel I get enough interaction between the instructor or other students with the use of clickers, most of the time it just allowed students to essentially cheat off each other by colluding on answers. As time went on that is all that occured and my honesty of not doing so resulted in lower grades than some as a result. I struggled with the problems in this class, it would have been easier to cheat and get by like some other students."

"Still not a big fan of 'convince your neighbor' because chances are my neighbor doesn't know either! But this is a great way to collect homework, make the class more interactive, and encourage attendence. I strongly feel that I would not have completed the recomended problem sets with any regularity were it not for the clicker system. I was not a big fan at first, but now see many benefits. Would still encourage more time lecturing and example problems worked-out on the board however."

"The teaching should not be revolved around the clickers. Although it is easy for the teacher to see instant results, it has helped me none whatsoever in learning. Not effective at all in helping me learn and it is very frustrating and difficult to have to teach yourself. Worst teaching method i've ever seen."

"It felt like we couldn't really ask any questions about the homework before we entered the questions in using the clickers. I just think giving a minute or two to ask about the homework before entering it in would have been helpful."

"I liked the ease with which I could submit my homework, and the instant feedback I received from the lecture clicker questions."

"I believe that they reduce the instructional protion of the course."

"It really helped when we answered the Questions on our own and then discussed with our neighbors."

"The use of clickers helped me stay involved in what was going on in the class and prevented distraction."

"Clickers are bad for homework, but good for conceptual questions."

"Using clickers often did not allow you to see which questions where missed which was the only downfall, if the answer was not addressed you had no idea how you did. Also the instructor often did not explain the right answer, so if enough people got the answer right he moved on not addressing those people who go it wrong."
Previous post:
Education research: preliminary feedback on clickers (Cuesta College, Physics 205A, Fall Semester 2008)
Discussion of preliminary Physics 205A student opinions from this semester.

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