If only Socrates had had a Clicker

When I ask the class a question, there can be more unspoken than spoken answers: I’m too confused to even know what to ask, I know the answer but don’t want to look like a smart ass, I don’t really want to broadcast my thoughts on this subject... We face the twin enemies of time: only one person at a time, and space: everyone in the room gets to hear what you say. So instead, I think of a problem to project on a slide. Everyone in the room puzzles over it and sends in an answer with a Personal Response System (“Clicker”). All the answers are projected on the board and the students discuss them in small groups. They then answer a second time and get to see if there has been any change. Depending on the results, I can spend some extra time clarifying an idea, or move on to the next problem.

“Peer Instruction” was developed by Eric Mazur for physics classes which lend themselves ideally to this: there are plenty of problems that test your understanding of a concept with a simple multiple choice or numerical answer. Students read the book ahead of time and come ready to do intellectual work in the classroom. Discussion with peers leads to better understanding of difficult concepts and better correction of faulty mental models than listening to perfect explanations. The emphasis shifts from memorizing knowledge to finding and using information (1,2).

I’ve used this for scientific problems, for estimation problems, for opinion polls, for discussion questions etc... Although the method started with physics at Harvard, it has spread to many disciplines and many institutions. We replace the one-at-a-time model with a many-to-many communication model. Once the students have submitted an answer, they have more of a stake in the solution, and once they have discussed it with their peers, they are more likely to discuss it in class. Socrates would have approved.

Note: No clickers? No problem. With PollEverywhere.com or TopHat.com students can text their answers in with their cell phones.

1. The TOMORROW'S COLLEGE series, “Don’t Lecture Me” by Emily Hanford

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/

2. Eric Mazur, “Farewell, Lecture?” Science, 2 January 2009, DOI: 10.1126/science.1168927

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/323/5910/50.short