11/2/12
CFE’s Faculty
Showcase
Let’s Hear from the
Entire Class
David Smith
Physics and Astronomy
Rita Balaban
Economics
Adam Persky
Eshelman School of Pharmacy
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2
Clicker Question 1
 Which of the following best describes your
experience with classroom response systems
(clickers)?
 A: I use clickers extensively in my courses.
 B: I use clickers sparingly in my courses.
 C: I am familiar with clickers but have not yet used
them in my courses.
 D: I’m completely new to clickers and their use in the
classroom.
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Introduction
My experience with clickers
Effective use of clickers in the classroom
Administrative overheads
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Experience
First experience in graduate school (Ireland ~
2008) but no personal experience.
Extensive use during my postdoc at the
University of Washington
Use was motivated by recent physics
education research, in addition to personal
preference.
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Physics Education
Research
“Interactive-engagement versus traditional
methods: A six-thousand student survey of
mechanics test data for introductory physics
courses,” R.R. Hake, Am. J. Phys. 66, 64-74
(1998).
Significant findings included that courses that
used interactive-engagement methods had
much larger gains that courses using
traditional methods
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Physics Education
Research
Understanding How Physics Faculty Use Peer
Instruction, C. Turpen and N. Finkelstein, PERC
2007 Proceedings, 204-207.
 Peer Instruction: A User's Manual, E. Mazur;
Publisher: Prentice Hall - Book
Designing effective questions for classroom
response system teaching, I. Beatty, W.
Gerace, W. Leonard, and R. Dufresne, Am. J.
Phys., 74 (1), 31-39 (2006).
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Clicker Question Example
 Two gliders, A and B, collide on a level, frictionless track, as shown
below. The mass of glider A is less than that of glider B (i.e.,
mA < mB). The final speed of glider A is greater than that of
glider B (i.e., vAf > vBf).
Before collision
After collision
vAi
vBi = 0
vAf
vBf
A
B
A
B
 Is the magnitude of the final momentum of glider A, |pAf|,
greater than, less than, or equal to that of glider B, |pBf|?
 A: Greater than
B: Less than
C: Equal to
D: Not sure
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Clicker Question 3
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Clicker Question 3
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Effective Use
Clicker questions should ideally foster
discussion, and challenge student ideas.
Effective questions often address conceptual
difficulties.
Other questions can be useful in judging the
effectiveness of the lecture, by gauging the
level at which students understand the
material.
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Administrative
Considerations
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Should I award course credit for clicker
responses? If yes, how much?
Should I award credit for correct responses?
Shared responsibility between instructor and
student.
11/2/12
Let’s Hear from the Entire
Class!
Rita A Balaban
Senior Lecturer
Department of Economics
Audience Response System
Turning Point, Turning Technologies
History of VTC at UNC
• Elizabeth City State
University (circa 2005)
– Historically underserved
part of the state
• Asheville (circa 2011)
• Class size upon
admission
– 10 to 15 students (ECSU)
– 142 students (CH)
– 25-30 students
(Asheville)
Primary Uses
• Knowledge checks (Beginning, Middle, End)
• Conversation starters
• Attention Maintainers
More Common
• Team-Based Learning
• Student presentations
• Grade Quizzes
Less Common
Conditional Branching
How do you want to
treat the patient?
Do Nothing
Stop Meds
Hemodialysis
Meds are
stopped, now
what?
Pt is
hypotensive,
now what?
Get BP up
Hemodialysis
Pt BP is normal
but refuses
dialysis, now
what?
Patient Dies
Patient Dies
Do
Nothing
Class response system support
CFE’s Poll Everywhere accounts
cfe.unc.edu/100plus/crs.html
Developing activities for class response systems
Center for Faculty Excellence
Contact: Bob Henshaw