Hi Kristina,
We use clickers for iRATs, with TurningPoint software. The software makes it easy to create multiple versions of the iRAT, so that in each team, the individuals have 6 different question papers (same questions, but in a different order, and the answers to each stem are also in a random order). This discourages cheating, which is a temptation when the teams are sat together and in a large overall group (we usually do our RATs with the whole year group of approx. 200 students).
Last year we had the clickers set so that students used their student ID number when they started the test. This created a few problems in that sometimes students would mis-enter their number and then we couldn’t identify who had submitted the set of answers to allocate the iRAT marks appropriately.
This year we decided to go for giving our year 1 & 2 students their own clicker. If they forget it they score 0 for the iRAT, but can still spend the time looking at the questions, so they can help their team and participate fully in the tRAT (for which they do get the score). We use the IF_AT cards for tRATs, so that is not a problem.
Advantages:
We like being able to see the iRAT scores coming in as the students take the test - and they can’t see the answers with this system. So after the iRAT is finished and they’re doing the tRAT, staff can see the questions that were correct for, say, 60% of the students, vs the questions where 50% of the students got it wrong. This means during the tRAT, as well as roaming the room listening to students discussing the best answer, staff can spend some thinking time prioritising the questions where students mostly struggled for the corrective instruction at the end.
Students like the fact that their iRAT scores appear on our VLE (blackboard) pretty quickly after each TBL RAP session, so they know where they are in our entirely TBL course.
Disadvantages:
We can’t use some of the subtle scoring (such as Larry’s system where students ‘prioritise’ their answers based on how confident they are on their answer). TurningPoint, as far as I’m aware, isn’t able to do the scoring such that students can say “It’s A, I’m 100% confident” vs “I’m pretty sure it’s A, but B sounds plausible, I think I’ll go 75% for A and 25% for B”. Our students just have to pick one answer.
I’d have to say some colleagues have found the TurningPoint software a bit ‘buggy’ this year, but the ability to make multiple versions of the test, and to have difficulty/discrimination index marks for every RAP question etc., is very very useful.
Good luck with it!
Josie
Dr Josie A Fraser
Programme Leader for Pharmacy
Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology
Acting Head of Pharmacology
University of Bradford School of Pharmacy
Richmond Road
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD7 1DP
T: (+44) (0)1274 234663
E: [log in to unmask]
On 14 Jan 2014, at 14:20, Spaulding, Kristina N <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm wondering if anyone has used clickers in TBL classes and what creative ways you've used them. I used to use clickers and loved them (as did my students), but when I started TBL it was too much for me to juggle at once. Now that I'm more comfortable with TBL, I'm bringing clickers back. During each lecture, I put up sample test question at the beginning of the lecture and again at the end (same questions). I try to write them so most students can't answer them at the beginning, but can at the end. This will be the first year I'm doing this using clickers, and it will give me a good idea of where the students are at before and after each lecture. I also plan on using them to take anonymous polls now and then. However, this isn't really TBL specific. I'm hesitant to use them as a reporting method because then teams can see answers, but now which team is giving which answer. Any other ideas? Have people had success using them as part of the RATs?
>
> _________________________________________
> Kristina N. Spaulding
> Doctoral candidate
> Gallup lab
> Department of Psychology
> University at Albany
> HU B68-E
> 442-4786
> OH: Tue 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
> Fri 1:00 - 2:30
>
>
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