Spring Break
Technology reaches classrooms
Maxwell E. Heiber
Issue date: 3/14/05 Section: News
Remote controls are being used as an aid to learning in UConn classrooms.
A professor teaching a large lecture displays a multiple-choice question and each student uses their remote to select their answer. Once students have been given enough time to respond, a histogram showing what percentage of students chose each answer is presented.
Dr. George Gibson first began using Personal Response Systems (PRS) in his Physics for Engineers and Physics of Music classes. Gibson said the system is useful for letting students know where they stand in relation to their peers and letting the professor know how well students understand the material before the first exam.
Gibson awards students one bonus point for answering a question and another bonus point for choosing the correct answer. He often has his students respond to a question, then discuss with their neighbors and respond a second time. Gibson said this "keeps students awake, engaged and talking.
"When you have a class of 50 or 100 people and you ask a question, the same five people answer," Gibson said. "This way everyone can participate."
According to Gibson, PRS is especially useful for physics classes. Students require practice to learn physics and "you can't learn tennis without a racquet."
One of the most striking results of using the system is a dramatic increase in class attendance. Gibson has seen the attendance of his Physics for Engineers class go from less than 50 percent by the end of each semester to about 95 percent.
It may take a professor an entire semester to fully integrate PRS into their classes. Formulating the right multiple-choice questions can be difficult. Questions that are too easy or too hard cannot provide useful information to the professor or students. It is also important for each question to not take up more than three minutes of class time.
"If I get the problem wrong, it will be good to know that there are other kids that are struggling with the same material," Paul Jacob, a 4th-semester Psychology major said.
A professor teaching a large lecture displays a multiple-choice question and each student uses their remote to select their answer. Once students have been given enough time to respond, a histogram showing what percentage of students chose each answer is presented.
Dr. George Gibson first began using Personal Response Systems (PRS) in his Physics for Engineers and Physics of Music classes. Gibson said the system is useful for letting students know where they stand in relation to their peers and letting the professor know how well students understand the material before the first exam.
Gibson awards students one bonus point for answering a question and another bonus point for choosing the correct answer. He often has his students respond to a question, then discuss with their neighbors and respond a second time. Gibson said this "keeps students awake, engaged and talking.
"When you have a class of 50 or 100 people and you ask a question, the same five people answer," Gibson said. "This way everyone can participate."
According to Gibson, PRS is especially useful for physics classes. Students require practice to learn physics and "you can't learn tennis without a racquet."
One of the most striking results of using the system is a dramatic increase in class attendance. Gibson has seen the attendance of his Physics for Engineers class go from less than 50 percent by the end of each semester to about 95 percent.
It may take a professor an entire semester to fully integrate PRS into their classes. Formulating the right multiple-choice questions can be difficult. Questions that are too easy or too hard cannot provide useful information to the professor or students. It is also important for each question to not take up more than three minutes of class time.
"If I get the problem wrong, it will be good to know that there are other kids that are struggling with the same material," Paul Jacob, a 4th-semester Psychology major said.