Teaching with Classroom Response Systems
Creating Active Learning Environments
1. Auflage März 2009
240 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
There is a need in the higher education arena for a book that
responds to the need for using technology in a classroom of
tech-savvy students. This book is filled with illustrative examples
of questions and teaching activities that use classroom response
systems from a variety of disciplines (with a discipline index).
The book also incorporates results from research on the
effectiveness of the technology for teaching. Written for
instructional designers and re-designers as well as faculty across
disciplines.
A must-read for anyone interested in interactive teaching and
the use of clickers. This book draws on the experiences of
countless instructors across a wide range of disciplines to
provide both novice and experienced teachers with practical
advice on how to make classes more fun and more
effective."--Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of
Physics and Applied Physics, Harvard University, and author,
Peer Instruction: A User's Manual
"Those who come to this book needing practical advice on
using 'clickers' in the classroom will be richly
rewarded: with case studies, a refreshing historical perspective,
and much pedagogical ingenuity. Those who seek a deep, thoughtful
examination of strategies for active learning will find that here
as well--in abundance. Dr. Bruff achieves a marvelous
synthesis of the pragmatic and the philosophical that will be
useful far beyond the life span of any single technology."
--Gardner Campbell, Director, Academy for Teaching
and Learning, and Associate Professor of Literature, Media, and
Learning, Honors College, Baylor University
The Author.
1. Engaging Students with Clickers.
Generating Classwide Discussions.
Generating Small-Group Discussions.
Creating Times for Telling.
Structuring Class Time.
Making Class More Fun.
2. Assessing Students with Clickers.
Uncovering Student Learning.
Evaluating Student Learning.
3. A Taxonomy of Clicker Questions.
Content Questions.
Process Questions.
4. Teaching Choices.
Use of Class Time.
Writing Questions.
Student Response, Participation, and Grading.
Classroom Choices.
Small Classes.
5. Technical and Logistical Choices.
Technical Challenges.
Vendor Selection and Adoption.
Supporting and Promoting the Use of Clickers.
Low-Tech Options.
High-Tech Options.
6. Why Use Clickers?
Increased Student Participation.
Increased Student Engagement.
Frequent Feedback on Student Learning.
Final Suggestions.
References.
Index.
instruction. Bruff, Assistant Director of the Vanderbilt University
Center for Teaching, surveys how classroom response systems,
commonly known as "clicker technology," can improve
teaching and learning.
Bruff supplements his points on engagement and assessment with a
classified array of clicker questions for a variety of teaching
contexts. He also provides helpful advice on teaching choices with
response systems: when to grade clicker questions, how to use them
for summative assessment, and how to address cheating and lack of
participation. He provides additional helpful suggestions on
dealing with logistical issues such as system choice and
troubleshooting. Throughout, the reader benefits from the copious
examples gleaned from teachers.
This book convincingly demonstrates that clicker technology
allows teachers and students to adapt quickly to emerging learning
needs....Bruff's work is an enthusiastic, accessible, and
detailed introduction for all educators interested in this popular
educational technology tool."
--NACADA Journal, Issue 30(1) (Spring 2010)
"Dr. Bruff's thoughtful description of effective
practices with clickers, based on numerous interviews with higher
education instructors, both reinforces and extends the knowledge
base on response system use in higher education. The emphasis on
pedagogical approaches will make this book useful and relevant for
years to come, even as the technologies themselves evolve. In fact,
as small wireless devices become ubiquitous, this book will only
grow in importance.
Dr. Bruff's prior work has been very influential in the
development of San Diego State's clicker program, and this
book will be an essential resource for our instructors and the
instructional support staff who work with them. Dr. Bruff
thoroughly describes the pedagogies associated with effective
clicker usage. I believe any interested instructor will find
actionable ideas to benefit student learning.
Dr. Bruff has been a strong advocate of active learning with
response systems in higher education. This book provides both
breadth and depth in its descriptive treatment of pedagogical
approaches to clicker use derived through dozens of interviews of
postsecondary instructors. This work will be highly beneficial to
faculty seeking to enhance learning, regardless of the technical
details of the response system they use.
At SDSU, instructors become interested in clicker use based
largely on the experiences and examples of their peers. Through
case studies across numerous disciplines, Dr. Bruff's book
takes a similar approach which should prove accessible and useful
for many faculty. Instructors already using response systems will
also find much here to further improve the classroom learning
environment."
--Jim Julius, Associate Director, Instructional
Technology Services, San Diego State University