Information and Technology

Clickers (Classroom Response Systems)

Posted June 08, 2007

Clickers, or classroom response systems, are devices that look like remote controls and allow all the students to respond to a question at the same time. Usually the questions are multiple-choice questions, but they also can be numeric answers. Graphical images can also be incorporated into questions.

Software quickly summarizes the responses and shows the number of students who selected each answer choice. This summary can be displayed as a bar chart to the entire class. The clickers may be set up to be anonymous to the faculty member or linked to a particular student, enabling the tracking of each student’s progress.

Faculty may use the clickers to:

• Poll the students on their understanding of concepts before deciding whether to move on to the next topic
• Obtain a range of student opinions to faciliate debates
• Seek anonymous feedback on a  reading
• Take attendance quickly

Bowdon Faculty who have used the clickers in their courses:

• Members of the Biology Department: Patsy Dickinson, Barry Logan, Hadley Horch, Lindsay Whitlow, Pam Bryer, Mike Palopoli, Anne McBride
• Members of the Physics Department: Thomas Baumgarte, Steve Naculich, Dale Syphers, & Karen Topp
• John Fitzgerald, Economics
• Peter Lea, Geology
• Scott Sehon, Philosophy

Learn more from Derek Bruff's Teaching with Classroom Response Systems book and blog.

Would you like to use Clickers for your Bowdoin course?

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