Carl Wieman, Univ. of Colorado
I) Why use clickers
II) Examples and best practices
Q1. I am a. Univ. faculty member, b. grad student, c.
undergrad, d. high school teacher, e. other
Q2. I am familiar with clicker technology
a. yes b. no
Q3. I have used clickers
a. in one course
b. in 2-3 terms
c. more than 3 terms.
Q4. a. I am planning to use clickers in upcoming course.
b. I am considering possibly using clickers.
c. I doubt I will ever use them, but I am curious about them.
Q5. What I most want to learn from this workshop is
a. if clickers would be useful to me, b. logistics of using in class,
c. best practices for use, d. how to create good questions,
e. other
Reason to not use clickers--“Gee, this is neat technology, I ought to find some way to
use it in my class.”
level 0 or 1 clicker use mentality
Instead-“Here is what I want my students to learn. How can I use
clickers to enhance my ability to support that learning?”
Just demonstrated one use-- probe back experience and interest
to better connect.
Clickers-- like any technology, not
automatically useful

Clickers provide:
• Anonymity
• Accountability
• Instant response from all students
How to use in educationally productive manner?
Why use clickers? What the data says
When used reasonably well (level 2 or 3)
1. Instructors love them-- makes teaching much more fun.
Actually communicating with students. They are engaged and
asking questions.
2. Students like them and find them valuable for learning. (see data)
Why use clickers and how to know if
they are doing any good
III: Student perceptions of clickers across
disciplines, instructors, and courses
Andrea Bair
Geological Sciences
CU Boulder
(with others from the Science Education Initiative)
Common student responses to implementation of clickers
across courses and instructors observed.
• Introductory non-major to upper level major courses;
large to small (25 to 450 students)
• Variety of instructor experience and implementation
• 5 disciplines with ongoing research and evaluation
–
–
–
–
–
–
CHEM: Laurie Langdon, Tom Pentacost
GEOL: Leilani Arthurs, Andrea Bair, Jennifer Stempien
IPHY: Franny Benay, Kate Semsar
MCDB: Jenny Knight, Jia Shi, Michelle Smith
Physics: Stephanie Chasteen, Steve Goldhaber
“SEI central”: Wendy Adams, Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman
Students overwhelmingly recommend clickers
“Would you recommend clickers be used in this course in the future?”
GEOL 1010
N=573; 5 sections
Yes
80%
IPHY 1
N=155
IPHY 2
N=178
Yes
91%
Yes
88%
cw data-- physics for nonscientists ~ 200
60
Usefulness of lecture to your learning?
50
clickers with discussion groups
40
colored cards
30
20
10
0
great deal fair amount
some
a little
none
line--1010 (fall ‘01): lots of demos, colored cards feedback, no
groups (text a bit lower than lect.)
column--1020 (spr ’03): used clickers, assigned seats and groups
Factors promoting NEGATIVE student responses
• Focus on attendance and participation
• Focus on correct answers and grade
• Insufficient follow-up on correct reasoning and
answers
• Questions mostly too easy or too hard
• Questions/problems not clearly related to other
assessments
Factors promoting a POSITIVE students response
•
•
•
•
•
Focus on student learning and understanding
Focus on “good” reasoning
Sufficient follow-up
Good balance and variety of question difficulty
Question concepts clearly linked to other course
assessments
Why use clickers? What the data says
When used reasonably well (level 2 or 3)
1. Instructors love them-- makes teaching much more fun.
Actually communicating with students. They are engaged and
asking questions.
2. Students like them. (see data)
3. Students find them useful for their learning even when they don’t
like them) (“Clickers are like broccoli, I don't like it but I know it is
good for me.”) Rate learning from lecture much higher.
4. Students learn ~twice as much of what counts
(conceptual learning)
Important elements of effective clicker use are:
•challenging questions
•minimal but nonzero grade impact
•student-student discussion (“peer instruction”) & responses
•follow up instructor discussion- timely specific feedback
Students learn purely from discussing,
Genetics course (Michelle Smith et al, submitted)
answer Q1, discuss, answer Q1 again, answer Q2 (isomorphic).
Then instructor shows responses & answer. (16 questions, N =2-300)
Q6. The most important factor in impact on classroom
environment of use of clickers is
a. feedback to instructor
b. feedback to students on how they are doing relative
to rest of class,
c. keeps students paying attention,
d. frequent testing motivates students
e. checks attendance and thereby improves.
Consult with group members, give consensus answer,
be ready to give reasons.
questions do not have to be simple or have an answer that is
clearly correctoften best learning comes from questions that are neither
example of use mpeg file-- discussion
what generally applicable features did you see?
Stage 1) Simple, primarily factual, questions.
Little discussion amongst students encouraged or needed,
Most (>80%) correct. Little follow up,
Stage 2) More challenging conceptual questions, and/or
critical points could be argued.
Substantial spread in student responses
Student-student discussion of the question is encouraged.
Significant follow up discussion by the instructor.
Occasional changes in the planned lecture to address issues or
questions revealed by the clicker question or follow up discussion.
Stage 3) Lecture based on set of hard clicker questions -embody the material to be learned.
Advance reading or other preparation before class- covers the
basic transfer of information.
3-4 person discussion groups include all students.
Student reasoning for answers elicited, guides subsequent
discussion.
Q6. The most important factor in impact on classroom
environment of use of clickers is
a. feedback to instructor
b. feedback to students on how they are doing relative
to rest of class,
c. keeps students paying attention,
d. frequent testing motivates students
e. checks attendance and thereby improves.
Consult with group members, give consensus answer,
be ready to give reasons.
Critical elements of learning that clicker
enhanced communication can support
•Connect with prior thinking
• Engagement (thinking with concentration)
challenging but attainable mental tasks
•Feedback on thinking (timely & specific) “formative
assessment”
•Reflection on thinking and learning
explaining and critically evaluating explanation
Clicker use-- details that make a difference.
1. Most non quiz problems graded only on attendance.
(couple of points/class) give a few free days of clicker credit
2. Gong really helps cutting off conversation in 200+ person
class.
3. Have clicker questions aligned with homework and exams.
4. Have organized 3 or 4 person groups, usually have group
discussion. Ensures greater participation.
Requiring consensus answer generates twice as loud
discussion!
6. Follow-up to make sure reasons for answer is understood,
even if very large fraction get correct.
types of questions:
1. Start of chapter-- 3 question quizzes on reading.
2. Quick surveys on backgrounds, course issues, …
3. Students predict results for all demonstrations.
4. Engage in key concepts and problem solving ideas
5. Check understanding of material covered.
6. Reveal prevailing misconception to confront/get attention
leading into coverage of material.
level III class largely built around clicker questions.
5-7 major questions in 1 hour class.
Questions with major substance, typically 2 minutes of
discussion in groups before answer. Several minutes of
discussion afterwards.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (abbreviated)
Clickers become useful when you have a clear idea as to what you want
to achieve with them, and the questions are designed to improve student
engagement and instructor-student interaction.
• Used properly, clickers can tell you when students are disengaged
and/or confused, why this has happened, and can help you to fix the
situation.
• The best questions focus on concepts you feel are particularly
important and involve challenging ideas with multiple plausible answers
that reveal student confusion and generate spirited student discussion.
• A common mistake is to use clicker questions that are too easy.
• For challenging questions, students should be given some time to think
about the clicker question on their own, and then discuss with their
peers.
• Good clicker questions and discussion result in deeper, more
numerous questions from a much wider range of students than in
traditional lecture.
• Listening to the student discussions will allow you to much better
understand and address student thinking.
end
Clicker use guide available under instructor guidance section
of CWSEI website
www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/instructor_guidance.htm