Plickers

Context:

The use of the app Plickers is an engaging way for students to share what they know and how they feel about tasks privately. It is used for check-in points, to address misconceptions, alter instructions and benefit future planning. These have been effective ways to understand how students learn and think during an activity. Plickers is a rapid-response classroom-polling app that lets teachers use one mobile device to scan paper cards for student responses.

Annotation/Action:

Plickers has been effective ways to understand how students learn and think during an activity. I have found that lessons can be proceeded with well thought out questions and help students with recaps of previous content, warm ups, quick check ins and exit cards while collecting valuable data that provides me as the teacher to monitor students understanding and make comparable judgements from the data that students provide. When interpreting the data from Plickers, I am able to acknowledge the learning goals that students have succeeded or what learning goals for specific content, needs more focus during lesson time. Plickers has enabled a meaningful start and/or ending to class in a meaningful, engaging way as there can be reflective questions, or challenges as part of the unit. Further, it has been used for formative assessments to support student learning as well planning structured units that flow and sequence each other effectively, promoting students developments within subject areas. As a variety of resources are used within the classroom, it provides a chance for myself to acknowledge which resources the students really enjoy compared to the ones that may not have the same effective. Plickers can help plan for differentiation to meet the specific learning needs of students as I am provided with an insight on how these students are feeling, further allowing me to structure and modify lessons to increase their confidence and success in subject areas.

Result:

I have found this to be a good activity in my class as it also provides time for reflection for myself on how they are feeling with subject areas. It has allowed me to acknowledge the different ways students interpret new concepts including visual examples, verbal examples or kinesthetic examples. Therefore, my planning has become more accurate and the delivery of my lessons become effective and engaging for all students.

Evaluation:

Plickers has provided greater insight into how students are feeling, however it is a strategy that isn't used consistently in my own teaching. It is my aim to implement it more within my teaching as I do factor the benefits of it, however I also found using multiple strategies beneficial for formative assessments, check ins and reflections. My goal in the near future is to continually and consistently use Plickers as a source of evidence from students as well as understanding how they feel towards activities. I believe because it is a private task that other students can't see what other student's do, it promotes more accurate answers into how students are going during certain subjects and how they are personally feeling with how they are tracking in their own learning.

Standards:

1.2 Understand how students learn

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

3.1 Establish challenging learning goals

3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

3.3 Use teaching strategies

3.4 Select and use resources

3.5 Use effective classroom communication

3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs

4.1 Support student participation

4.2 Manage classroom activities

5.1 Assess student learning

5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements

5.4 Interpret student data

Data and Feedback