20090527

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 2009 sections 30880, 30881
(N = 41)

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 2 : **
4. Agree 21 : ********************* [4.3 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 17 : *****************

II.2 Doing assigned homework, to be entered using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 9 : *********
4. Agree 15 : ***************
5. Strongly agree 17 : ***************** [4.2 +/- 0.8]

II.3 Doing practice homework.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 3 : ***
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [3.8 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 10 : **********

II.4 Using clickers to participate in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 21 : ********************* [4.3 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 16 : ****************

II.5 Reading the textbook.
1. Strongly disagree 4 : ****
2. Disagree 8 : ********
3. Neutral 13 : ************* [3.1 +/- 1.3]
4. Agree 11 : ***********
5. Strongly agree 4 : ****

II.6 Demonstrations/videos in class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 2 : **
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 25 : ************************* [4.0 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 8 : ********

II.7 Interacting with other students during class.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 16 : **************** [4.2 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 16 : ****************

II.8 Interacting with other students outside of class.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 13 : *************
4. Agree 17 : ***************** [3.6 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 6 : ******

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 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 6 : ******
4. Agree 18 : ****************** [4.2 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 16 : ****************

III.2 Clickers helped me understand lectures better.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 10 : **********
4. Agree 21 : ********************* [4.0 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 10 : **********

III.3 I would recommend using clickers in future semesters of Physics 205A.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 0 :
3. Neutral 3 : ***
4. Agree 21 : ********************* [4.3 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 17 : *****************

III.4 I will avoid other classes using clickers in future semesters.
1. Strongly disagree 21 : ********************* [1.6 +/- 3.3]
2. Disagree 17 : *****************
3. Neutral 2 : **
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.5 Clickers were a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 1 : *
4. Agree 24 : ******************* [4.3 +/- 0.6]
5. Strongly agree 15 : ***************

III.6 Too much time in class was spent using clickers.
1. Strongly disagree 8 : ********
2. Disagree 22 : ********************** [2.1 +/- 1.4]
3. Neutral 9 : *********
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.7 Too many clicker questions were asked.
1. Strongly disagree 15 : ***************
2. Disagree 17 : ***************** [1.9 +/- 2.4]
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 1 : *
5. Strongly agree 0 :

III.8 Clickers should be used to collect assigned homework.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 20 : ******************** [4.0 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 11 : ***********

III.9 Using clickers was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 22 : ********************** [1.6 +/- 3.4]
2. Disagree 17 : *****************
3. Neutral 0 :
4. Agree 2 : **
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.
"Overall clickers were a positive experience."

"Interaction with clickers, especially 'think (pair) share,' helped tremendously when I didn't understand a certain idea."

"i love using the clickers, they make beeing in class that much more fun."

"Clickers were good."

"Not about the clickers. I just wanted to say it's been a pleasure having you as a teacher and I hope you have a great summer."

"I think you should keep using them, they really helped me understand the material"

"The use of the clickers helped a lot in the lecture because I could get instant feedback on the questions, and then it would be explained right away. Also, I think that a large portion of why the clicker use is successful is the wording of the clicker questions. It seems as though they were well thought out to address the common mistakes that people will make, and I think that throwing a few 'trick' questions in there to illustrate what not to do is just as valuable as the regular questions."
Previous post:
Education research: preliminary feedback on clickers (Cuesta College, Physics 205A, Spring Semester 2009)
Discussion of preliminary Physics 205A student opinions from this semester.

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