By introducing student response systems, or clickers, to classrooms, teachers now have the ability to monitor progress, receive feedback, and at the same time, actively engage students. One major benefit of using student response systems is the quick feedback both teachers and students receive. Student response systems provide teachers with immediate assessment reports of quizzes, tests, or general classroom assignments. In addition to this, students also immediately receive their score after the assessment is finished. This makes grading much easier for the teacher.
The real beauty of using clickers, though, is two-fold. As teachers create the assessment, questions can be tagged by question type, the learning standard, or anything that teachers choose to identify. After assessments are complete, results are shown to students so that they can make individual goals to strengthen areas of weakness and recognize strengths.
This report generated through the clicker software shows that this student performs poorly in math functions, but is average in abilities with fractions and percentages. |
Example provided by SMART Tech. |
The differences in each student's answer provides for a learning experience through discussion. The teacher can instantly take the opportunity to ask students why they favored a chosen answer and, depending on the question, allows for students to recognize other viewpoints and ideas. This encourages higher order thinking and a deeper understanding of content.
It is important to remember that student response systems are most effectively used in conjunction with daily lessons rather than as a grading tool. By incorporating this technology along with teaching practices such as cooperative learning and higher order questioning, our students benefit from a well-planned, highly engaging learning experience.
Students in Jason Weaver's eMINTS room use student response systems to collect data regarding their understanding of various Grade Level Expectations. |