Writing Good
Clicker Questions
Klaus Woelk
Associate Chair / Associate Professor
Chemistry Department
Students who dislike clickers complain
mostly about ...
20%
20%
10%
50%
1.
2.
3.
4.
Instructors not using them enough
Instructors not using them right
Technology problems
No particular reason
Klaus Woelk
Associate Chair / Associate Professor
Chemistry Department
Writing Good Clicker Questions
--- Group Activity --Answer the following questions:
• What would you like to achieve with a clicker
question during the lecture?
• Why do you need the feedback from your
students for this purpose?
• Why are clickers the method of choice for this
purpose?
Writing Good Clicker Questions
Important Considerations
• What role should testing play in the learning
process?
• How can tests create a real dialogue between
ourselves and our students about what students
do and do not understand?
• How can we avoid using tests to simply punish
or reward cramming?
http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/importantconsider.html
Writing Good Clicker Questions
Some suggestions
• Use frequent, small quizzes and tests rather
than monolithic once-or-twice per-term exams.
• Give students instant feedback on their
performance (for example, putting the correct
answers up on an overhead after all the tests
are turned in).
• Consider allowing students to take quizzes first
as individuals and then the same quiz again in
groups.
http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/importantconsider.html
Developing Good Clicker Questions
Note the Order of Tasks
• Determine the goal for your clicker question.
Goals of Clicker Questions
•
•
•
•
•
•
check attendance
assess preparedness
create interest and motivation
evaluate learning progress
promote conceptual understanding
advance critical thinking
Taxonomy of Clicker Utilization
• 6 basic categories
– 3 categories to test the current standing or
stipulation of students
• Attendance
• Preparedness
• Interest
– 3 categories to probe into the learning progress
• Learning
• Understanding
• Applying
J. Chem. Educ. 85 (2008) 1400 – 1405
Developing Good Clicker Questions
Note the Order of Tasks
• Determine the goal for your clicker question.
• Find an appropriate task (icebreaker, numerical
calculation, discussion problem, new application,
etc.) to fulfill the goal.
x ≥ 0 is valid for – 3 (x – 4 ) = x + 4
1. True
2. False
– 3x + 12 = x + 4

– 4x = – 8

x=2
(t)
– 3x – 12 = x + 4
– 3x + 4 = x + 4
– 3x – 4 = x + 4



– 4x = 16
– 4x = 0
– 4x = 8



x=–4
x=0
x=–2
(f)
(t)
(f)
Question should be:
x > 0 is valid for – 3 (x – 4 ) = x + 4
Developing Good Clicker Questions
Note the Order of Tasks
• Determine the goal for your clicker question.
• Find an appropriate task (icebreaker, numerical
calculation, discussion problem, new application,
etc.) to fulfill the goal.
• Check the correct answer.
• If multiple choice, find qualified distracters?
Writing Good Clicker Questions
--- Group Activity ---
Develop a good clicker question!
Many of us know the historic town of Washington, MO.
Which other name refers to a town in Missouri?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Pittsburg
Philadelphia
Nashville
Cleveland
Denver
Knoxville
Miami
Houston
All answers are correct! Goal: attendance, icebreaker,
letting students know discussing issues in class is ok.
In twenty years, my car will be fueled by …
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
gasoline
electricity
hydrogen
diesel
biodiesel
ethanol
banana peels
saltwater
none of the above
Goal: discussion on potentially controversial issue
Are you really testing learning?
The true shape of the Earth is best
described as a
1.
2.
3.
4.
… perfect sphere
… perfect ellipse
… slightly oblate sphere
… highly eccentric ellipse
Nothing is ever “perfect” or “highly eccentric”
A density of 2.25 g/mL results when 2.25 g of
material occupy a volume of 1.00 mL. What mass of
the same material will occupy a volume of 3.00 mL?
Enter your result correctly rounded off to 3 significant digits.
66
35
2
1
1
6.75
0.75
2.25
6.78
3.00
Is a concept understood?
At which location would an observer find
the greatest force due to Earth's gravity?
Deferred multiple choice question:
Students discuss or solve without seeing choices!
Is a concept understood?
At which location would an observer find
the greatest force due to Earth's gravity?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The center of the earth
The middle of everywhere
The north pole
The tropic of Cancer (23.5 N)
The equator
20
How confident are you that your answer was
correct?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Absolutely sure
Very confident
Confident
Not very confident
Not sure at all
Goal: surveying confidence level
To facilitate the conversion of H2S2O8 to yield S2H4,
you must add as a key reactant …
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
… a strong acid.
… a weak acid.
… a base.
… an oxidizing reactant.
… a reducing agent.
… a polar solvent.
… a non-polar solvent.
… nothing (the reaction will occur by itself).
Goal: mastery of concepts, application, synthesis
Summary
• Clickers are found in many highschool, college,
and university classrooms
• They provide more than just immediate feedback to
instructor and students
• Six basic ways of utilizing the power of clickers
• Attendance
• Preparedness
• Initial interest and motivation
• On-the-spot assessment (formative assessment)
• Active learning (peer discussion and instruction)
• Problem-based, deep learning (mastery of concepts, applications
to real-world, or open-ended problems)