I have used clickers in college classrooms before, primarily for attendance and recall questions. This article showed me different ways of using clickers in my classroom that are more inventive and engaging towards students.
I liked the examples of differnt kinds of questions that can be asked. There are many ways that clickers can be used to activate that higher level thinking and the article gave some good ideas of how to do that. The "Choose Your Own Adventure" activity would be a lot of fun for a class to do as well. I never realized how many different ways clickers could be used in the classroom.
I learned different ways clickers can be used -- more than just recalling facts. I haven't had much exposure to clickers; my opinion of them prior to reading this article was that their use was narrow in scope. I now see how they can be used for assessing students' higher order thinking skills. I think their effectiveness, though, has a lot to do with how the questions are written.
I hadn't been exposed to the possibilities of clickers before Thursday. The article and the practice in class have opened my eyes to many more possibilities for their use. Before reading this article I would have thought that they were just a different way to check knowledge and comprehension. Now I see that carefully planned questions can be used to spark discussion, do polls, give the teacher feedback on misconceptions, and many other applications which would apply to higher level thinking. The article emphasized the need to have a backup plan and the time and understanding the instructor would need to invest to be sure that the questions serve their intended purpose.
We got clickers in our school this past year and so far, I use them for formative assessment, and then mostly pre-made questions that I have found on the Internet. I did like how the article discussed a variety of ways to use clickers; especially data gathering, opinions, and peer instruction.
I really liked the idea of using the CRS for a bellringer or warm-up activity. This would help the students to find their seats more quickly, help them to wind down from their morning activities and chatter and begin to focus on their upcoming school day. The follow-up discussion would also be beneficial in terms of breaking the ice and starting up a conversation. I also like the concept of using contingent questions to assess students' understanding of the ongoing lesson. This would certainly help to keep students engaged and focused on the lesson as well as being a resourceful gauge for the teacher to adapt or modify her lesson to best meet his/her students' needs. Overall, the CRS appears to be a great classroom resource tool once you become aware of how to operate it and develop your questions.
One thing I learned is that if I did decide to start using clickers I would have to become more flexible with my lesson plans and learn to change my plans on the fly if I see misconceptions. I am not that great at doing that right now.
clickers would be difficult for me to use as an assessment because I like to have the students show work. However they would be good to review my classroom presentation in determining whether they comprehended my lesson. This will be something I will look into.
From CKL, Before Thursday, July 15, I had not had any experience using a classroom response system (“clickers”). I had heard about them and considered them just for games. I am amazed at how useful they can be for attendance, homework collection, discussion starters, assessments, etc. Also, I like that they maintain student’s attention during class discussions, promote active participation, and create a safe place for reluctant students to participate. The best part is that scores can instantaneously be recorded into a grade book and I, as the teacher, would have instant access to how well students are grasping the concepts, who needs a little extra help, or if i need to change my teaching strategy. Is there a downside? Maybe access. once i got the hang of it, i would want a set all to myself to use in my classroom all the time!!!
I have never used or even seen clickers before. After class, I realized how valuable they really can be. I am scheduled to get a set this fall for my high school math classroom. I am excited for these because they are fun to use not only for me, but also for the students. Instant feedback from the students is also a plus.
Clickers would be an excellent tool to have in addition to the Promethean boards we have at my school. The ActivInspire program has a clicker function, so it'd be pretty neat to have a set. I love how you can assess student understanding instantly and that it keeps every student in the class engaged in the day's lessons.
I was thrilled with clickers. I would love to be able to use them regularly. When we were first asked to participate I was a little anxious about my posting being available to all, but saw that I had no need to be. What a wonderful way to informally assess!
I have not used clickers in my classroom. I understand that they are frequently used at North High in the math and science classes. The one thing that surprised me about this article was clickers were seen as a problem because of the time they take up. Unless some problem occurs while using the clickers, I think the information gained from using the clickers far out weights the time spent.
I have never used clickers before, but I see many great advantages to using them. From this article I was able to gain a greater understanding of what clickers can be used for, and understand the different types of questions you can ask using them.
I wish clickers were around when I took P & A as a nursing student in the late 70's. I slept through those 7:30 a.m. classes. I feel that the instant feedback and the automatic grading would be the two greatest pluses in itself. I feel that the students would greatly benefit from clickers. But, on the negative side there are always malfunctions with technology so as a teacher we have to be always ready for any problem with technology!
Our school does not have a clicker system. However, we do have a new program for classroom management. I want to look into that more to see if there is a class response feature.
I appreciated the article talking about "change ups". I'm sure that article was included because the clicker system can be a change up. The article had many other ideas that I hadn't thought about for changing up after 20 minutes of one activity.
It was interesting to know that there is so much more you can do with clickers to not only keep students engaged or review material, but you can also assess their knowledge quickly so that you, as the teacher, are aware of what they are and are not getting. Also, when the student sees the instant results they are more involved in their learning and assessment.
It was educational to see the clickers in action. I can see the benefits of using a CRS in class with the following ideas from the article: 1. To help stimulate discussion with a possible warm up question sheet at the beginning of class. 2. Opens up dialog and opportunity for students to share their ideas and opinions. 3. Finds out what the students understand. 4. Gives a sense of urgency to get questions answered without spending too much time pondering especially with multiple choice questions. The disadvantages that would disrupt the effectiveness would be technical difficulties, writing up good multiple choice questions and using it consistently if available for classroom use. Overall, these are handy devices and it gave me more knowledge on putting this device into action. It will be interesting to see how smartphones or iPods can be used in the same way.
I have used clickers in my college class before. It is great for teachers to use during general discussions and for students to explain the reason for choosing a particular answer of the question.
It was interesting to read the part about using it for peer instruction. Seeing if discussing with their peers is an effective way to come up with the right answer.
I had never used a clicker before in a classroom, but the activity we did was pretty cool. If I can get my hands on some for Boys Town, I think the students will really go for them!
I did not realize that there were so many types of "clicker" questions. It is interesting to see them in action. I went to a seminar and loved how they were used in a math class. Instant results to see if the concept was comprehended or not. Personal, I love the idea of using them through out the curriculum.
Clickers can obviously be used for formative assessment, I love that they can also be for high level cognitive interaction; to assess opinions toward a topic, which can lead to an intellectual discussion amongst students. As a high school teacher restricted to 42 min, distribution and collection of the devices is a challenge, but I love the idea of a class discussion in which student are allowed to voice their opinions toward a topic.
I learned that multiple-choice clicker questions can actually be used in assessing students' higher-order thinking skills. Clickers could be used for a daily polling of students on current events issues or homework reading assignments.
I have used clickers in college classrooms before, primarily for attendance and recall questions. This article showed me different ways of using clickers in my classroom that are more inventive and engaging towards students.
ReplyDeleteI liked the examples of differnt kinds of questions that can be asked. There are many ways that clickers can be used to activate that higher level thinking and the article gave some good ideas of how to do that. The "Choose Your Own Adventure" activity would be a lot of fun for a class to do as well. I never realized how many different ways clickers could be used in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI learned different ways clickers can be used -- more than just recalling facts. I haven't had much exposure to clickers; my opinion of them prior to reading this article was that their use was narrow in scope. I now see how they can be used for assessing students' higher order thinking skills. I think their effectiveness, though, has a lot to do with how the questions are written.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't been exposed to the possibilities of clickers before Thursday. The article and the practice in class have opened my eyes to many more possibilities for their use. Before reading this article I would have thought that they were just a different way to check knowledge and comprehension. Now I see that carefully planned questions can be used to spark discussion, do polls, give the teacher feedback on misconceptions, and many other applications which would apply to higher level thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe article emphasized the need to have a backup plan and the time and understanding the instructor would need to invest to be sure that the questions serve their intended purpose.
We got clickers in our school this past year and so far, I use them for formative assessment, and then mostly pre-made questions that I have found on the Internet. I did like how the article discussed a variety of ways to use clickers; especially data gathering, opinions, and peer instruction.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the idea of using the CRS for a bellringer or warm-up activity. This would help the students to find their seats more quickly, help them to wind down from their morning activities and chatter and begin to focus on their upcoming school day. The follow-up discussion would also be beneficial in terms of breaking the ice and starting up a conversation. I also like the concept of using contingent questions to assess students' understanding of the ongoing lesson. This would certainly help to keep students engaged and focused on the lesson as well as being a resourceful gauge for the teacher to adapt or modify her lesson to best meet his/her students' needs. Overall, the CRS appears to be a great classroom resource tool once you become aware of how to operate it and develop your questions.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I learned is that if I did decide to start using clickers I would have to become more flexible with my lesson plans and learn to change my plans on the fly if I see misconceptions. I am not that great at doing that right now.
ReplyDeleteclickers would be difficult for me to use as an assessment because I like to have the students show work. However they would be good to review my classroom presentation in determining whether they comprehended my lesson. This will be something I will look into.
ReplyDeleteFrom CKL,
ReplyDeleteBefore Thursday, July 15, I had not had any experience using a classroom response system (“clickers”). I had heard about them and considered them just for games. I am amazed at how useful they can be for attendance, homework collection, discussion starters, assessments, etc. Also, I like that they maintain student’s attention during class discussions, promote active participation, and create a safe place for reluctant students to participate. The best part is that scores can instantaneously be recorded into a grade book and I, as the teacher, would have instant access to how well students are grasping the concepts, who needs a little extra help, or if i need to change my teaching strategy. Is there a downside? Maybe access. once i got the hang of it, i would want a set all to myself to use in my classroom all the time!!!
CKL
I think clikers would be a great way to get the students to interact with a lesson. It would almost seem like a game to a student.
ReplyDeleteI have never used or even seen clickers before. After class, I realized how valuable they really can be. I am scheduled to get a set this fall for my high school math classroom. I am excited for these because they are fun to use not only for me, but also for the students. Instant feedback from the students is also a plus.
ReplyDeleteClickers would be an excellent tool to have in addition to the Promethean boards we have at my school. The ActivInspire program has a clicker function, so it'd be pretty neat to have a set. I love how you can assess student understanding instantly and that it keeps every student in the class engaged in the day's lessons.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled with clickers. I would love to be able to use them regularly. When we were first asked to participate I was a little anxious about my posting being available to all, but saw that I had no need to be. What a wonderful way to informally assess!
ReplyDeleteI have not used clickers in my classroom. I understand that they are frequently used at North High in the math and science classes. The one thing that surprised me about this article was clickers were seen as a problem because of the time they take up. Unless some problem occurs while using the clickers, I think the information gained from using the clickers far out weights the time spent.
ReplyDeleteI have never used clickers before, but I see many great advantages to using them. From this article I was able to gain a greater understanding of what clickers can be used for, and understand the different types of questions you can ask using them.
ReplyDeleteI wish clickers were around when I took P & A as a nursing student in the late 70's. I slept through those 7:30 a.m. classes. I feel that the instant feedback and the automatic grading would be the two greatest pluses in itself. I feel that the students would greatly benefit from clickers. But, on the negative side there are always malfunctions with technology so as a teacher we have to be always ready for any problem with technology!
ReplyDeleteOur school does not have a clicker system. However, we do have a new program for classroom management. I want to look into that more to see if there is a class response feature.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the article talking about "change ups". I'm sure that article was included because the clicker system can be a change up. The article had many other ideas that I hadn't thought about for changing up after 20 minutes of one activity.
It was interesting to know that there is so much more you can do with clickers to not only keep students engaged or review material, but you can also assess their knowledge quickly so that you, as the teacher, are aware of what they are and are not getting. Also, when the student sees the instant results they are more involved in their learning and assessment.
ReplyDeleteIt was educational to see the clickers in action. I can see the benefits of using a CRS in class with the following ideas from the article: 1. To help stimulate discussion with a possible warm up question sheet at the beginning of class. 2. Opens up dialog and opportunity for students to share their ideas and opinions. 3. Finds out what the students understand. 4. Gives a sense of urgency to get questions answered without spending too much time pondering especially with multiple choice questions. The disadvantages that would disrupt the effectiveness would be technical difficulties, writing up good multiple choice questions and using it consistently if available for classroom use. Overall, these are handy devices and it gave me more knowledge on putting this device into action. It will be interesting to see how smartphones or iPods can be used in the same way.
ReplyDeleteI have used clickers in my college class before. It is great for teachers to use during general discussions and for students to explain the reason for choosing a particular answer of the question.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read the part about using it for peer instruction. Seeing if discussing with their peers is an effective way to come up with the right answer.
ReplyDeleteI had never used a clicker before in a classroom, but the activity we did was pretty cool. If I can get my hands on some for Boys Town, I think the students will really go for them!
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that there were so many types of "clicker" questions. It is interesting to see them in action. I went to a seminar and loved how they were used in a math class. Instant results to see if the concept was comprehended or not. Personal, I love the idea of using them through out the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteClickers can obviously be used for formative assessment, I love that they can also be for high level cognitive interaction; to assess opinions toward a topic, which can lead to an intellectual discussion amongst students. As a high school teacher restricted to 42 min, distribution and collection of the devices is a challenge, but I love the idea of a class discussion in which student are allowed to voice their opinions toward a topic.
ReplyDeleteI learned that multiple-choice clicker questions can actually be used in assessing students' higher-order thinking skills. Clickers could be used for a daily polling of students on current events issues or homework reading assignments.
ReplyDelete