Student Perceptions of the Use of a Personal Response Device in a Large Lecture Class

Eastburn, Darin M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/8685 Copy

Description

Title

Student Perceptions of the Use of a Personal Response Device in a Large Lecture Class

Author(s)

Eastburn, Darin M.

Contributor(s)

D'Arcy, Cleora J.

Issue Date

2006

Keyword(s)

• Lecture
• iclicker

Abstract

For over ten years we have been developing modules for a supplementary web site used by students in our undergraduate, general education plant pathology course. Survey data confirm that students enjoy using the site, but we lack direct evidence that it has improved their learning. The web materials have been introduced piecemeal over many years and the course is taught as a single section, thus there was no easy way to compare learning with and without the web. To address this issue, we devised a method to compare student mastery of material on pairs of similar plant diseases, one of which was covered in lecture only and the other of which was covered both in lecture and on the web. On the final exam students were asked a series of questions on these paired diseases. Results from the first semester were encouraging, indicating that students generally had better comprehension (i.e., higher question scores) for those diseases that they had studied on the web. However, inclusion of data from additional semesters showed that while use of the web site increased learning about specific diseases in some instances, the improvements were not as consistent or as dramatic as we had hoped. The evaluation method we devised did allow us to determine the impact of the web site on student learning and, as a result, we now believe that we need to change the way that we use the site, as well as to design new learning objectives associated with its use. This poster was presented at the 3rd Annual International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Washington, DC, 2006.

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/8685

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