About the Author
David Parkin is associate professor of Department of Chemistry.
Using Clickers to Create a Safer Learning Environment
David Parkin
parkin@adelphi.edu
To ask or not to ask: that is the question. Using the Audience Response System (Clickers) to Create a Safe Learning Environment for Both the Student and the Professor.
Carl Rogers, the renowned clinical psychologist, proposed that professors need to create “safe” learning environments just as psychologists need to create safe therapy environments. Just ask yourself this question: “Did Lance Armstrong growing up get punished every time he fell off his bike?”
My hypothesis is that meaningfully learning in chemistry is proportional to how safe students feel in making mistakes in front of their professor and peers. Both the faculty and students occupy the same learning environment, only their roles differ. Students bring into every learning environment a preconceived notion about almost every learning/teaching activity which more then likely differs from the professor’s perception. Take for example the teaching/learning activity of just “asking” a question in class.
An essential tool used in an active learning environment is the ability to ask questions and obtain answers from students. As cognitive psychologist David P. Ausuble states:
The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.
So in the fluidity of an active learning environment, arguably, the most effective way to ascertain a students’ level of understanding is to “ask a question and get an answer”.
The problem arises from the different perceptions of the rules of engagement. Questioning allows us to set the pace of the learning/teaching activities. However, students view this learning/teaching activity completely differently. We professors have violated an important peer rule which states “don’t get noticed and don’t ever consider giving a wrong answer in front of your peers or teacher.” In some cases, students don’t even want to give a correct answer because after leaving the classroom they will be accused of trying to impress someone.
I propose that the audience response “clicker system” should create a safer learning environment, independent of personalities. This technological advancement is a convenient way of asking tough questions, obtaining a higher level of response, and even more encompassing coverage of the whole class’s level of knowledge. Instead of asking one student, as a sampling of the whole class’s understanding, I can ask the whole class immediately a question at any level of difficulty. I can obtain responses from the whole class without singling out any particular student. Therefore, I have not violated any peer pressure rules. And when we don’t break the rules, a safer learning environment is created.
We will be using data from Student Assessment of Learning Goals (SALG), Chemistry Self-Concept Inventory (CSCI), and faculty
surveys to evaluate if the clickers help to create a safer chemistry learning environment. My hypothesis is that this small non-intrusive
technological device will allow both the students and chemistry professors to enjoy the freedom and safety of our learning environment.
◆ 35578 visits. ◆
