Activities: Clicker Workshops

University of Colorado Science

Challenges in PI
Education Initiative
http://colorado.edu/sei
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Activities: Challenges Courtesy of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado;
http://colorado.edu/sei
Overview Materials
This set of activities gives participants a chance to consider Handouts (below)
possible challenges in using Peer Instruction in the Butcher paper or whiteboard
classroom, and some possible solutions or best-practices in Markers
facilitation to avoid or overcome these challenges. Tell Students Why video at
http://STEMvideos.colorado.edu

Objectives
Time
The purpose of the Challenges activity is to make it clear to
participants that Peer Instruction has some inherent 30+ minutes
challenges, and to avoid giving an overly rosy picture of the
ease of the technique. Research has shown that instructors
often drop the use of Peer Instruction after a short trial
period, most likely because they are not equipped to deal
with some of the common pitfalls. Thus, these activities are
intended to let participants consider what difficulties they
might face, and give them some resources for avoiding or
dealing with those challenges when they arise. These
activities also, hopefully, have the additional benefit of
showing instructors that we are realistic about the
technique, allowing honest discussion rather than appearing
to be optimistic salespeople.

Activities
What could possibly go wrong?

In groups of 3-5, participants brainstorm some of the

challenges or outstanding questions they have about Peer
Instruction or the use of clickers. For each challenge, they
are asked to come up with possible solutions. The leader
writes four categories on butcher paper or a class
whiteboard: Clicker Questions, Peer Discussion, Whole-Class
Discussion, and Other. Participants come and write their
challenges and solutions under each category, as
appropriate. The leader then facilitates group discussion
about the challenges and best practices in each of these
phases of Peer Instruction. In the Peer Discussion portion,
consider showing the Tell Students Why video at
http://STEMvideos.colorado.edu, which discusses the
importance of student buy-in and gives an example of a
start-of-semester speech to explain how PI can benefit
students.

Activities: Challenges Courtesy of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado;
http://colorado.edu/sei
Activities: Challenges in PI
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Variation #1

If you have done the Pedagogical Philosophies activity, you

can ask participants how their core philosophies could help
them to come up with solutions to these challenges.

Variation #2
Rather than having participants categorize their challenges,
simply lead a share-out group-by-group. This is a little less
structured, but we find it sometimes makes it more
challenging to make some of the key points about facilitation
in this manner.

Variation #3
Have each group brainstorm a variety of challenges and
write them on butcher-paper. Then assign each group to
brainstorm possible solutions to the most common
challenges, and to then report-out to the whole group about
what they discussed. The leader may pre-prepare butcher
paper sheets labeled with common challenges for this phase
of the activity. Common challenges/concerns that we have
heard are: Lack of time (to write questions or lack of class
time for Peer Instruction), Coming up with questions, Getting
students to talk to each other, Getting students to share
reasoning with the whole class, Technical problems.

Variation #4
Show slides outlining each aspect of Peer Instruction (e.g.,
peer discussion) and facilitate a group brainstorm of
common challenges.

Variation #5
Do this question as a clicker question, What do you think is
the toughest thing about using Peer Instruction?
A) Writing good questions, B) Technical issues, C) Tough to
get students to discuss questions, D) It takes too much time,
E) Something else.
Typically D is the most popular answer.
Discuss and lead into best practices as with other

Activities: Challenges Courtesy of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado;
http://colorado.edu/sei
activities.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

To Do
In your small groups, brainstorm some of the challenges you foresee to using
Peer Instruction in your class, or any outstanding questions that you have.

What are some possible solutions to these challenges?

Then, write the challenge, and the solution, on the board in the appropriate
category (i.e., is it a challenge related to the clicker questions themselves, or
about peer discussion, or the whole-class wrap-up discussion, or something
else?)

Notes

Activities: Challenges Courtesy of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado;
http://colorado.edu/sei
Activities: Challenges Courtesy of the Science Education Initiative at the University of Colorado;
http://colorado.edu/sei
 Best-Practices in Clicker Facilitation
Clicker Questions (writing and asking them)

Challenges:

Difficult to write your own questions

What kinds of questions should I ask?

How do I write questions that meet the diverse

needs of students in my class?

Core Philosophies:

Questions are integral to lecture

Students can learn by considering a question

Solutions / Best Practices:

Find existing questions from other instructors or online question banks (some
available at http://STEMclickers.colorado.edu and http://www.peerinstruction.net)

Ask questions several times during lecture

Ask challenging, meaningful questions

Use a variety of pedagogical strategies in your questions (e.g., bringing out a

misconception, predicting an outcome, reminding students what they already know,
etc.)

Ask a variety of questions simpler ones to boost confidence and complex ones to
facilitate learning

Show questions to colleagues to get feedback before class

 Use plausible distractors. Sources of good distractors are homework and exams,
student questions in office hours, student responses to an open-ended version of the
question, or documented misconceptions.

Have a challenge question at the bottom for those who finish early

Peer Discussion

Challenges:

Students will be reluctant to talk to each other

Students wont know how to reason through the

questions

There are always students in the back who wont

participate

Getting students back together after a clicker question

Core Philosophies:

Students learn through discussion

Students need to know that you value their ideas

Students need to feel its safe to share their ideas (that they wont be put down)

Solutions / Best Practices:

Make it clear why youre using Peer Instruction (student buy-in). For example,
explain the benefits of Peer Instruction and what you expect from students several
times at beginning of semester.

Circulate class, asking questions and modeling good reasoning and Socratic
technique.
 Use questions they want to discuss (challenging, interesting questions)

Allow enough time for the solo vote, and for the peer discussion (2-5 mins)

Focus on reasoning in wrap-up (this indicates that their job during discussion is to
focus on reasoning so they can share it later)

Use an initial solo vote, so that students are committed to an answer and thus more
curious about the answer and more prepared to discuss with one another

Use the results of the class votes to guide your instruction (so that students see that
the results of the activity are being used)

Do not give points for correctness of response, or give minimal points for correctness.
Research has shown that if clicker questions are high-stakes that student discussion
becomes focused on correctness rather than reasoning.

Use a routine to get students back together, such as ringing a bell when time is up.

Whole-Class Wrap-Up Discussion

Challenges:

Students wont want to share their ideas in

front of the whole class

How do you deal with a student response that

is wrong in a positive way, but making clear
that it is wrong?

Core Philosophies:

The reasoning is more important than the answer.

Students need to know that you value their ideas & that its safe to share
Solutions / Best Practices:

Circulate class during peer discussion, so that you can gain insight into student
thinking and share what you heard if students are reluctant to share (or have a
Teaching Assistant do the same)

Establish a culture of respect, where you identify the merit in an idea or under what
circumstances it would be right. Make sure students dont feel foolish for having
erroneous thinking.

Consider whether to show the histogram immediately (it is often strategic to withhold
the histogram results until after discussion so that student discussion isnt shut-down.
If the vote is a split-vote, however, showing the results can motivate discussion).

Ask multiple students to defend their answers

Avoid the rapid reward, where you nod assent as soon as you hear the answer you
are looking for. Instead, withhold judgment on student reasoning until most common
ideas are out on the floor.

Discuss why the wrong answers are wrong and why the right answer is right

Reward students who speak up either verbally or, if you wish, with some sort of
treat. (We have used candy, NASA stickers, or physics formula books)

Use non-threatening wording to ask students to share their answers, e.g., Even if
you didnt answer C, why might someone have answered C? What makes C a
tempting choice?

Use flexible, agile teaching based on your sneak-preview of the student responses:

If 80-90% get the right answer, briefly explain why the right answer is right and
why the wrong answers are wrong, so that all know the correct reasoning. Note:
If 80-90% have the correct answer after the solo vote, peer discussion is not
necessary.
 If 70% or fewer get the correct response, then solicit reasoning as described
above.

Other

Challenges:

It takes too much time: Takes a lot of time to develop questions and integrate into
lecture, and questions take time out of lecture

Technical issues

Core Philosophies:

Questions are integral to lecture

Students can learn by considering a question

Solutions:

Limit the use of Peer Instruction to questions that align with your learning goals for
the class and focus on key concepts.

Dont spend too much time on a question (but not too little either); about 5 minutes.

Reduce your content coverage so the class focuses on key, important ideas. Better
for students to walk out with a firm grasp of the important ideas rather than a vague
understanding of a long list of topics

Move some content coverage outside of class e.g., students can do pre-reading,
watch video lectures, or do derivations or other long calculations at home instead of
watching in lecture time
 Dont recreate the wheel; use questions that others have written

For technical issues: Practice before using with students, and decide in advance how
you will deal with technical failures (on your end, or the students clicker)

A note on content coverage:

While we would like to teach for understanding, many teachers feel pressured to
teach for exposure the classic mile wide but an inch deep problem. Its worth
noting that in research studies, some teachers found that they could teach the
material more efficiently using question-driven instruction. They found that they had
a deeper understanding of students difficulties, allowing them to tune their
instruction more efficiently. Plus, in later units, students grasp of the underlying
material helps them progress through the units more quickly.
 Tips for Successful Clicker Use
Dr. Douglas Duncan, University of Colorado, 2008

Including recommendations from members of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative

More than 1,000,000 clickers are in use nationwide, and over 17,000 at CU. Data gathered during
the past few years makes it clear which uses of clickers lead to success, and which lead to
failure. Success means that both the faculty member and students report being satisfied with the
results of using clickers.
Clickers have many possible uses: Find out if students have done assigned reading before class;
measure what students know before you start to teach them and after you think youve taught
them; measure attitudes and opinions, with more honest answers if the topic is personal or
embarrassing; get students to confront common misconceptions; facilitate discussion and peer
teaching; increase students retention of what you teach; transform the way you do
demonstrations; increase class attendance; improve student attitudes. None of these are
magically achieved by the clicker itself. They are achieved or not achieved entirely by
what you do in implementation.

TECHNICAL POINTS:
Try and get your school to adopt one clicker brand. Students hate being forced to buy
more than one clicker!
RF (radio) clickers are easier and cheaper than infrared ones.
Simpler clickers (e.g. iClicker) have fewer implementation problems.
Test your registration system before students do. Deliberately make some mistakes and
see what happens. Check early in the semester that all responses are getting credited.

Practices that lead to Successful Clicker Use

1. Have clear, specific goals for your class, and plan how clicker use could contribute to
your goals. Do not attempt all the possible uses described above at one time!

2. You MUST MUST MUST explain to students why you are using clickers. If you dont,
they often assume your goal is to track them like Big Brother, and force them to come to
class. Students highly resent this.

3. Practice before using with students. Remember how irritated you get when A/V
equipment fails to work. Dont subject students to this.
4. Make clicker use a regular, serious part of your course. If you treat clicker use as
unimportant or auxiliary then your students will too.

5. Use a combination of simple and more complex questions. Many users make their
questions too simple. The best questions focus on concepts you feel are particularly
important and involve challenging ideas with multiple plausible answers that reveal student
confusion and generate spirited discussion. Show some prospective questions to a colleague
and ask if they meet this criteria.

6. If one of your goals is more student participation, give partial credit, such as 1 point for
any answer and 2 for the correct one, for some clicker questions. With some questions it is
appropriate to give full credit to all students, such as when multiple answers are valid or when
you are gathering student opinions.
 7. If your goal is to increase student learning, have students discuss and debate challenging
conceptual questions with each other. This technique, peer instruction, is a proven method of
increasing learning. Have students answer individually first; then discuss with those sitting
next to them; then answer again.

8. Stress that genuine learning is not easy and that conceptual questions and conversations
with peers can help students find out what they dont really understand and need to think
about further, as well as help you pace the class. Students tend to focus on correct answers,
not learning. Explain that it is the discussion itself that produces learning and if they click in
without participating they will probably get a lower grade on exams than the students who are
more active in discussion. My students came up with the phrase, No brain, no gain.

9. Use the time that students are discussing clicker questions to circulate and listen to their
reasoning. This is very valuable and often surprising. After students vote be sure to discuss
wrong answers and why they are wrong, not just why a right answer is correct.

10. Compile a sufficient number of good clicker questions and exchange them with other
faculty. The best questions for peer discussion are ones that around 30-70% of students can
answer correctly before discussion with peers. This maximizes good discussion and learning.
There is value in discussion even if a question is difficult and few know the answer initially.

11. If you are a first-time clicker user, start with just one or two questions per class. Increase
your use as you become more comfortable.

12. Explain what you will do when a students clicker doesnt work, or if a student forgets to
bring it to class. You can deal with that problem as well as personal problems that cause
students to miss class by dropping 5-10 of the lowest clicker scores for each student.

13. Talk directly about cheating. Emphasize that using a clicker for someone else is like taking
an exam for someone else and is cause for discipline. Explain what the discipline would be.

14. Watching one class or even part of a class taught by an experienced clicker user is a good
way to rapidly improve your clicker use.

Practices that lead to Failure

1. Fail to explain why you are using clickers.
2. Use them primarily for attendance.
3. Dont have students talk with each other.
4. Use only factual recall questions.
5. Dont make use of the student response information.
6. Fail to discuss what learning means or the depth of participation and learning you expect
in your class.
7. Think of clickers as a testing device, rather than a device to inform learning.

If you believe that the teacher, not the students, should be the focus of the classroom experience,
it is unlikely that clickers will work well for you.
Be prepared . . . Effective clicker use with peer discussions results in a livelier and more
interesting class, for you as well as the students! Expect good results immediately but better
results as you become more experienced with clickers. This is the usual experience nationwide.
Further information and references will be put in http://casa.colorado.edu/~dduncan/clickers . Id
like to hear about your experiences, good and bad, and perhaps include them in future editions of
my book on how to teach with clickers. [email protected].