California Polytechnic State University

BACKGROUND

Roxy Peck is the Associate Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California. While the University as a whole is home to 18,000 students with a student/faculty ratio of 19 to 1, Roxy’s college teaches 3,000 students. Roxy, who has been with the university since 1979, teaches an introductory class in Statistics when she is not administering the many different departments in her college.

THE CHALLENGE

A perpetual problem facing instructors – how to actively engage students in the topic at hand and sustain their motivation – is one that any instructor strives to solve. One indicator of success is when student class attendance actually increases. Another problem is being able to pause at the moments when students are having difficulties grasping concepts and take the time to immediately address them. With some innovative technology she has introduced in her classroom, Roxy has found the solution to both problems.

THE SOLUTION

Roxy was first introduced to audience response systems when Eric Mazur, a Harvard Physics Professor, used a system during his keynote speech at a National Science Foundation conference several years ago. Roxy came across the technology again when one of her textbook publishers began offering ResponseCards® as an additional option to textbooks. While the publisher also offered TurningPoint slides to go along with the textbook, Roxy decided to create additional custom slides that would meet her particular classroom needs.

To gain more confidence in their use, Roxy found opportunities to use TurningPoint software and ResponseCards in different conferences and professional meetings where she presented. Each use of the technology confirmed that audiences of 50 to several hundred people could easily become more engaged.

The outgrowth of these successes was her decision to bring them into her classroom. Roxy intersperses five to six carefully placed questions throughout her lecture over a two-hour class period and uses the ResponseCards just about every class meeting. However, Roxy is cautious about over-using the technology. Her in-class queries are actually quizzes where students can earn points. Of the five to six questions Roxy asks, three are quiz questions where students can earn three points for a correct answer. Roxy does not let students know which questions will be graded, which motivates students to try to correctly answer all of the questions.

Metrics are a great way to quantify exactly how much the technology is impacting learning. Roxy surveyed the class and found some interesting statistics herself. Ninety percent of her 96 students indicated that they would be more likely to perform better on exams, read their textbook, attend class, and get a better grade because they had used ResponseCards in her class. Students made several cogent comments about their use of ResponseCards. They said,

• “I could tell if I was understanding the material or not.”
• “Although I would come [to class] otherwise, the clicker questions definitely gave me some more motivation.”
• “They made taking quizzes easier.”
• “I probably paid better attention.”
• “The immediate feedback is great.”
• “It was really easy to use and we could talk about the correct answers immediately.”

And ever the reflection of eco-consciousness and popular culture, these students also said, “It saves trees,” and, “They are fun to use and make you feel like you are on ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’.”

Roxy’s enthusiasm for the technology does not stop at classroom and conference use. She is also looking forward to her participation at a national statistics conference this summer where she will be sharing her TurningPoint experiences on a four-member panel that will be addressing the uses of technology in learning applications for the benefit of conference attendees.

CONCLUSION

Through its steady use, Roxy has learned that the TurningPoint solution allows her to check if students have learned concepts at the point when the concepts are being discussed. Roxy says, “I have seen differences in performance between classes where I used paper quizzes versus where I used the ResponseCards, and I’m committed to this new way of instruction.”

Roxy is also pleased with the ability to ask a question and get a response from every student. The time it would take to get such an answer from each of the 45 to 60 students prior to using TurningPoint would take an inordinate amount of time. Roxy adds, “Another big advantage is the flexibility TurningPoint software offers in my being able to add slides on the fly.” She says the learning curve for TurningPoint is quite minimal.

Roxy also comments, “Students like the technology. They are more engaged, and using the ResponseCards make them pay more attention. I have enjoyed the ability to confirm whether students have understood the concepts I am teaching. It is easier to fix understanding right away, rather than proceed on to other topics and find out later they didn’t get something.”

She adds, “Two students have even suggested that I use the ResponseCards on mid-term and final exams because of the immediate feedback they will receive. Having their input underscores their acceptance of the technology and shows me they are enjoying learning- something that I’m thrilled to see.”

For more information about purchasing Turning Technologies’ audience response systems for your organization, contact us at 866-746-3015.