20090306

Education research: preliminary feedback on clickers (Chemistry 210FL, Cuesta College, Spring Semester 2009)

Cuesta College students taking Chemistry 210FL (introductory chemistry) at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA use clickers (Classroom Performance System, einstruction.com) during lecture.

Through the fifth and sixth weeks 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
Chemistry 210FL Spring Semester 2009 sections 30729, 30730, 30731
(N = 39)

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 1 : *
3. Neutral 5 : *****
4. Agree 17 : ***************** [4.2 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 15 : ***************

II.2 Working in groups on FAL (Facilitated Assisted Learning) activities.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 7 : *******
5. Strongly agree 22 : ********************** [4.2 +/- 1.2]

II.3 Using clickers to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 9 : *********
4. Agree 17 : ***************** [3.7 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

II.4 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 25 : ************************* [3.7 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

II.5 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 16 : **************** [3.7 +/- 0.8]
4. Agree 15 : ***************
5. Strongly agree 7 : *******

II.6 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 11 : ***********
4. Agree 12 : ************
5. Strongly agree 15 : *************** [4.1 +/- 0.9]

II.7 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 10 : **********
4. Agree 14 : ************** [3.9 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 13 : *************

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 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 14 : ************** [3.5 +/- 1.1]
4. Agree 13 : *************
5. Strongly agree 7 : *******

III.2 Clickers helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 6 : ******
3. Neutral 18 : ****************** [3.1 +/- 1.1]
4. Agree 8 : ********
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

III.3 I would recommend using clickers in future semesters of this class.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 13 : *************
4. Agree 16 : **************** [3.5 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 5 : *****

III.4 I will avoid other classes using clickers in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 12 : ************
2. Disagree 14 : ************** [2.2 +/- 2.2]
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.5 Clickers were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 14 : **************
4. Agree 15 : *************** [3.5 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree 5 : *****

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 7 : *******
2. Disagree 22 : ********************** [2.2 +/- 1.4]
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.7 Too many clicker questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 9 : *********
2. Disagree 20 : ******************** [2.2 +/- 1.7]
3. Neutral 7 : *******
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 2 : **

III.8 Using clickers was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 16 : ****************
2. Disagree 17 : ***************** [1.7 +/- 2.6]
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 0 :
5. Strongly agree 0 :

IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of clickers in Chemistry 210FL.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"I feel that the interactive learning among other students has been the most helpful. The lectures in class have been very clear and helpful in learning the concepts."

"I like using them, it is a quick way to get feedback on how I am doing on that particular subject. I think they are helpful to me in this class."

"I like that we get immediate results with the clickers.

"they are a neat idea, but scantrons are more cost effective. The cost of the clicker and registering it probably could have bought all the scantrons needed for the two years at Cuesta, and then some."

"Clickers are too expensive, we don't get nearly enough use out of them, not resell-worthy! I do believe: Clickers should be used as an alternative to paper and/or other supplies but in our class I have noticed that there is still a high rate of paper waste -- we used the printed answer sheet with A,B,C,D to answer in class questions, Also our most recent test had an unnecessary cover sheet, and the teacher uses paper instead of the projector to write pages and pages of notes every class. On top of all that, we had to buy over $200.00 worth of other supplies for this class. If the entire school promoted the use of clickers, i think they would be a great alternative learning method and the school would save money. If we are going to use clickers then we should be dedicated to using them, and incorporating them into as many things possible."

"Clickers are pretty helpful and I like that we get to work together with classmates. It really helps me fully comprehend how to do problems."

"The clickers were a very good way of quizzing to see what we know, but without the tense feeling of taking a test. I think there should be more clicker questions asked throughout the lecture, if time permits."

"Would be much more simple to just pay your membership fee when you buy your clicker, with your books. Not everyone has a credit card to pay for it online. Plus, it feels like your getting nickle and dimed. Money for ICH, money for labs, money for text, money for clicker, then money to pay for a membership."

"I think that the FAL actually needs to be longer because so far there has been a lot of info to cover and you have to do the homework anyway."

"I don't feel that the clickers really add much to the class except that they're fun buttons to push every now and again. In terms of extra learning experience, it doesn't help."

"I appreciate using clickers. My instructor (Kahane) was very helpful in explaining how to use the clickers."

"The only bad thing about the clickers is how expensive they end up being, especially if they will not be used in future classes."

"I think that they are not necessary, and VERY expensive for a college student. I beleive the concept is good and could be very helpful but it just doesnt seem necessary. We could do the same thing with peices of paper or raising our hand."

"Expensive to buy and register with no sell back option or any use in the future. Other schools use similar thing but is already in the classroom at every seat on a cord."

"I think that the clickers are fun! execpt when i forget mine... then i feel left out."

"i understand the clickers help the teachers to recieve immediate feedback and how they are beneficial to the class, i just don't like the fact that i had to buy something additional for the class and then pay again to register it. i felt like i was being nickled and dimed in a class that was already very expensive."

"I think the usage of clickers is positive and beneficial, but I do think they are a little expensive, and would be better if we could sell them back or reuse them for other classes."

"I think that the use of clickers is a good way to make sure students are keeping up on regular reading and assignments. I think how we can get the grades immediately and not waste paper. Talking about the clicker question also helps build relationships with other students in the class."

"clickers help the teacher and the student interact and know what each other was thinking. Trying to take a survey about any thing is a click away and we all can see the results fast. Some studnts wont ask a teacher a question even if they are confused. the clicker seems to side step this problem because clicker cause you to talk to your neighbor and get feed back.
I like using the clickers in class because I felt like they were kind of mini-tests, I felt like they were exercising what I had just learned of what a should have been learning. It keeps me on my toes."

"I really like the clickers, not only because it's a faster way of answering multiply choice questions, but also because we are given a chance to discuss the answers with people around us."

"It is a huge waste of money for us students to use that when we simply could just go over our papers out loud as a class. We have to pay for a lot of other stuff during school and the clicker is very unnecessary."

"I think clickers are a good tool to make sure students are doing homework and keeping up with class, however I don't feel they should be used in every class period. To me they should be used about once a week. In the end I don't mind them, I just feel that if I accidently miss class than I am going to miss points and I really am trying hard not to miss any points."

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