Cleveland State University

BACKGROUND

With a reputation of “engaged learning,” Cleveland State University continually seeks ways to make classes more dynamic and reach its approximately 16,000 students. With eight colleges and 200 different undergraduate and graduate majors to choose from, the students of CSU have a variety of different paths they can follow. The major programs are designed to provide opportunities so that students feel connected and invested in their education regardless of course material or class size.

Dr. Conor M^cLennan joined Cleveland State University as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department just three years after receiving his Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo. He spent an additional three years at the University at Buffalo in a postdoctoral position in order to gain further research experience. His background in research allows him to teach such classes as Behavioral Science Statistics and Memory and Cognition.

THE CHALLENGE

While planning for his CSU teaching career, Dr. Conor M^cLennan considered that some students in his Behavioral Science Statistics course would be hesitant to participate due to the intimidating nature of statistics. Instead of lecturing to a classroom of blank stares, he wanted to engage his class and confirm their comprehension of the course material.

Based on the recommendation of a fellow professor, Dr. M^cLennan thought that a TurningPoint® student response system would be a welcome addition to his classes to increase participation and gauge understanding.

THE SOLUTION

Initially, Dr. M^cLennan used TurningPoint slides to review information and instantly assess class comprehension. Particularly in a class like statistics, he found that it was sometimes difficult to tell whether or not the students were able to grasp concepts and processes. Inserting a few interactive question slides allowed him to determine if everyone was on the same page or if he needed to review the material again. He gradually inserted slides throughout the presentation to encourage more active learning and allow students to evaluate their own understanding prior to tests.

Although CSU was conducting a pilot program of response technology at the time, Dr. M^cLennan didn’t wait for the university to complete its study, as Turning’s response keypads, ResponseCards®, were bundled with his textbooks. The use of TurningPoint provided students with the ability to participate without the need to raise their hands or address a group of 30 or 40 of their peers.

“Some students were apprehensive at first,” Dr. M^cLennan said. “They weren’t sure if the system was going to work or if they would be able to use it correctly. Within minutes, they discovered how easy it was to use and were excited to use the ResponseCards during class.”

At the end of the semester, Dr. M^cLennan issued an anonymous survey to determine how students felt about the student response system, how useful the ResponseCards were and if class was enhanced with the technology’s use. Although he anticipated positive results from what the students had conveyed to him throughout the course, he received extremely positive findings, eliminating any doubts about the benefits and value of a student response system in his classroom.

“What I felt might have been the most legitimate criticism of the system in advance was that students were going to rely only on responding through the ResponseCards. I was concerned I would get great participation with the ResponseCards but be unable to promote the conversation in the classroom. I found the complete opposite to be true,” said Dr. M^cLennan. “The more the students felt they could use the ResponseCards and participate—they had safety and confidentiality answering through the ResponseCards—they were more comfortable to speak up, have discussions and ask questions in other areas, too.”

When asked, “How would you rate the clicker in terms of overall ease of use?” 89% of students responded with “excellent” or “very good.” The same result was found when participants were asked “How would you rate the overall usefulness of the clicker as a resource for this class?” Again, “excellent or “very good” responses totaled 85% of the class. Even when asked “Overall, has the clicker made the class more or less enjoyable?”, 85% either answered “much more enjoyable” or “somewhat more enjoyable.”

CONCLUSION

In light of the survey results, Dr. M^cLennan decided that TurningPoint could benefit other psychology courses. In order to decrease the combined price of textbooks and ResponseCards, he applied for an instructional improvement grant from the University Center for Teaching and Learning to purchase three TurningPoint response systems and appropriate ResponseCards for three different classes, so students could use the ResponseCards free-of-charge for the duration of those classes and return them at the end of the semester.

After receiving the grant, TurningPoint was implemented in a psychology course taught by a different professor as well as another of Dr. M^cLennan’s courses, Memory and Cognition. He discovered during this class that not only did the system facilitate in-class participation and assessment, but grades also noticeably increased. During a spring 2007 session of his course Memory and Cognition, the mean final percentage grade was significantly higher than fall 2006 session without TurningPoint, 85% to 78% comparatively. Individual exam grades within the spring class also improved. Before the ResponseCards arrived, the mean percentage of exams was at 70%, while the exam grades increased to 80% with the use of the response system. With the combined results of the anonymous surveys and grade improvements, it was clear that the goals Dr. M^cLennan set out to accomplish were exceeded.

All of Dr. M^cLennan’s undergraduate classes use TurningPoint—every class. Results from his surveys remain positive, and students are often vocal about their appreciation of the system. According to him, “I couldn’t recommend it more for use across different classes, different size classes and different concentrations of students. Everyone, regardless of age, class or level of advancement has given very positive feedback. I highly recommend it to all professors.” TurningPoint is now the standard recommended clicker solution for CSU, thanks to an official standardization endorsement by the university.

For more information about purchasing Turning Technologies’ student response systems for your classroom or university, contact us at 866-746-3015.

To view results from Dr. M^cLennan’s anonymous class survey, click on the links below.

• Class Survey 2006
• Class Survey 2007