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Computer Assisted Communication Within the Classroom--Interactive Learning
Purpose
Minds that drift away in class; post-exam revelations that many had not properly prepared for the test; unresolved questions and snowballing misunderstandings--the aim of this project was to eliminate these perennial obstacles to learning through a novel use of computers. The system, which enables students to respond to questions on individual keypads connected to the instructor's computer, was expected to allow students to follow step-by-step problem-solving procedures in an elementary astronomy course.
Innovative Features
The course is conducted in a classroom wired for student response/display pads which are connected to a central microcomputer operated by the instructor. Software includes the locally- written Response Acquisition Program, MicroSoft's Professional BAS IC Compiler, and a spreadsheet (SuperCalc) for maintaining scores.
If students want to ask questions on the day's assigned reading, they enter the numbers of the pages where the material they do not understand is located, and the instructor answers the questions. If the instructor wants to ask the class questions, he presents them on an overhead projector. Students key in their responses, which may be numerical (e.g., ) multiple choice, yes/no or true/false. The responses appear on the instructor's screen and are automatically judged by the criteria entered into the computer program by the instructor prior to the class. A preprogrammed reply based on the student's response then appears on his or her keypad screen. Variable credit points may also be assigned to these responses.
Evaluation
Participating students were interviewed both individually and as a class, and they submitted formal, year-end anonymous evaluations and mid-semester written critiques. A pre-test was administered on the first day of each course as a measure of student preparation. This was supplemented with demographic information from admissions records.
Every keypad response for every student during a given semester was retained in computer retrievable form, along with student answers to written test questions. Written tests were comparable to those given in previous years.
Project Impact
There is no doubt that the project enhanced the instructor's ability to communicate with each student during a given class. This not only improved attendance and attentiveness, but for the most part, thanks to the interactive system's ability to break up problems into small steps, most students were able to progress together through complex problems.
On the whole, students reacted positively to the step-by-step mode of instruction that the keypads make possible. This was true even for the best students, who were aware that the class could have covered more material if the instructor had simply delivered traditional lectures which they would have had little difficulty following. Although most students liked the interactive format, however, data analysis so far shows that their performance improved only marginally.
Lessons Learned
Programming such a multi-step problem sequence originally took an inordinate amount of time on the instructor's part. Each step had to be carefully devised to eliminate ambiguities and stimulate thought. Answer judgments and replies had to be formulat ed, overhead materials prepared, and the entire system tested for errors. The time spent on preparation, presentation, post-editing, record-keeping and minimal evaluation for a single class could amount to several days.
However, with the massive collection of questions already programmed, class preparation time to include some keypad questions is minimized. The extra work (before and after class) can now add as little as an hour per class, much of it in record mainten ance. For new questions, a computer program has been written to facilitate creation of the files that judge student responses. Enhanced student-teacher communication remains the primary benefit: the teacher knowing better the strengths and weaknesses of the class and the students knowing better what the teacher is expecting them to learn. Dealing with the emotional drawbacks that this knowledge can have for both teacher and students is an ongoing challenge.
Because of the broad range of abilities and preparation of students in introductory courses, some individuals are still unable to follow the process, no matter how thoroughly it is broken down. Thus, the pedagogical dilemma of how to challenge the best students while serving the needs of the less able ones becomes especially acute for the instructor in the interactive classroom. Thus far, students of poor background or ability are still not satisfactorily reached by the project.
Project Continuation
Demonstrations of the system, both on and off the Delaware campus, continue to be given. The optimum class size is about 30 students, since in larger classes the class time spent in awaiting student responses bores the better students while frustrating the slower ones.
The keypad system continues to be used regularly in Introductory Astronomy. Plans are underway to introduce the system into a large Physical Science course which is taught by group- learning methods. Each group will have a single keypad linked to the teacher's computer.
Available Information
Further information, including hardware and software requirements, is available from:
Richard B. Herr
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716-2570
302-831-2673
[Saint Anselm College] [Table of Contents] [Washington State University]
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