Russell Smith's BLOGical

Electronic Response Systems

Electronic response devices are one of the types of devices that have been discussed for use during the hardware unit.  They are devices that allow the user to press one of four buttons to correspond with a particular choice determined by the instructor.  Each button is assigned as a different answer to a certain question.  When the instructor asks for the student's input, the student aims the electronic response device towards the monitor and presses one of the four buttons.  The computer analyzes the input from the different students and displays which students selected each of the four choices, based on the number of each respondent. 

There are several purposes for using this type of tool in the classroom.  The instructor can use these devices to determine which students are available to select the correct choice for a particular answer.  The instructor can measure how much each student comprehends the lecture by measuring the success rate of each student?s answers; this, in turn, allows him or her to refocus on certain key points if necessary. The instructor can also adjust the rate of their lecture if the results show that he or she is instructing too fast. The devices can also be used to stimulate student participation. Many instructors who use these devices feel that they provide a sense of privacy of student input.  Students who are shy by nature might feel more comfortable by participating through these devices rather than speaking aloud.  Lastly, these devices can be used as a simple data-gathering tool, especially in a large class where it would take a long time to count the raised hands of each voter.

According to the article written by Eugene Judson and Daiyo Sawada, research conducted on electronic response devices during the 1960's and 1970's by W.C. Bessler did not support the claim that student achievement increases due to the use of these devices.  He felt that students learn equally as well by using other instructional methods as they do by using the electronic response devices.  However, he did not denounce their use despite the similar results.  In a separate study, Bessler and his research partner J.J. Nisbet found that the use of the electronic response devices were just as effective as conventional teaching methods.

As a result of several studies conducted between 1971 and 1975, students overwhelmingly endorsed the use of electronic response devices in the classroom.  These students indicated that the use of these devices instilled a positive attitude towards the class, a feeling of the system's usefulness, acceptance of the devices, and a feeling of increased understanding of the course's material. 

A modern version of electronic response devices, called ClassTalk,  is similar to the tools used in the past.  Before using their consoles to select their answer, students are encouraged to discuss the issue with their classmates in small groups.  Once the students vote, a histogram is displayed that shows all of the students' answers on a chart, and the class furthers their discussion based on the results.  Students at times are encouraged to defend their answers or listen to another person's argument. 

In recent studies, it has been found that students in classrooms that use these types of devices on a regular basis enjoy the systems more and feel they are more beneficial than those who only use them once a week.  Classrooms that had high usage of the devices had higher attendance rates than those that used them occasionally.  It is still debatable whether the use of these devices in classrooms result in higher achievement levels compared with classrooms that do not; many instructors feel they are important simply because they encourage student participation, rather than achievement.  Instructors such as Mazur use these devices for the purpose of "Peer Instruction", where students interact with each other to help each other comprehend the different ideas and concepts of his physics course at Harvard.

Personally, if I were to have access to one of these systems in a classroom, they could serve as a great way to stimulate participation and group discussion on a regular basis.  In a social studies unit, when deciding how to create a form of class government, you could assign four types of government structures and have students defend which type of government would be the most beneficial and fair.  The other students could then vote on how persuasive the reasoning was.  In test preparation, you could use the units in a multiple choice format and have students vote on the best answer; after seeing the results, the class could discuss why one answer was the correct one and the others were incorrect.  In a math activity concerning probability, you could have students flip a coin and send in a vote every time the coin landed on heads or tails; the results would indicate whether the probability was roughly even on a class basis or not.  Of course, there could be fraudulent use in these devices if a student votes erroneously or sends in a fake answer, but the benefits of the interactivity of these units would outweigh the negative factors. 

Posted at 11:23AM Oct 04, 2006 by rjsmith3 in General  |  Comments[0]