Karin Blackwood

Publication Date

7-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Education (MEd)

MA Concentration

Innovative Learning, Educational Technology

Advisors

Pamela A. Redmond, Jim O'Connor

Abstract

Having a tool to better assess students throughout a given unit would assist educators in knowing what their students have really learned. Having a tool that was non-judgmental and one that students felt comfortable using would ensure buy-in from the students. Having a tool that would produce real time data could guide the instruction and then improve further instruction by providing immediate feedback. The use of clickers in the classroom could allow a teacher to do all of this and thus better meet the needs of their students. Utilizing clickers to review before assessments could also better prepare students for assessments. Most research to date has been done at the college level. This study addressed this gap in existing research as it focused on gathering data at the high school level to see if the same outcomes would hold true for a different age group. This action research study took place at a large northern California high school in two College Preparatory Biology classes. Fifty-eight students, in grades nine through twelve, participated in clicker review sessions administered before unit assessments. This research study was based on the hypothesis that clicker usage would help students review for unit assessments and would therefore increase their unit assessment scores. Analysis of the data revealed that clickers did in fact give students an advantage over traditional review sessions. The data showed that clicker review sessions improved students mean assessment scores by 6% and increased their overall semester GPAs by 7.12%. In addition, the student survey found that students felt the clickers motivated them and made the reviews more engaging.

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