10 Best Practices for smart and effective use of Classroom Clickers!

Classroom Clicker needs no more introductions for the instructors and educators. It has proved to be one of the most effective companions in classrooms. Here, we have compiled a list of 10 best practices for classroom clickers to let instructors gauge students from start-to-end, comprehend learning behavior into meaningful statistics, and measure learning outcomes. 

1.  Start with stated goals and specific objectives. Figure out how you can use Classroom Clickers to achieve those goals.
2. Plan the use of classroom clickers based on the environment including class size, average comprehension level of the students, course, and instructional mode, etc.
3. Tell students why are you using classroom clickers and how do you see it as an effective tool for the purpose. Help them learn and get acquainted with the purpose of clickers.
4. Run a practice session with students before you actually start using it for their assessment.
5. Use classroom clickers on a regular basis, making it a solemn part of the instructions. Do not use classroom clickers as an auxiliary learning technology.
6. Be more particular when designing the quiz or assessment. Arrange a combination of simple and complex questions with a deliberate concentration on concepts that have significant importance and engross challenging ideas with more than one conceivable answer. That will expose student confusions and ambiguities and lead to spirited and interactive discussions afterwards.
7.  To encourage student participation in the course and learning, allocate partial credits on quizzes such as assign 1 point for attempting question and 2 or 2.5 for correct answer.
8. It is a good practice to let students converse and contest challenging conceptual questions with each other later after the quiz before you reveal the right answer.
9. Set incentives for participating in discussions after the quiz or assessment; emphasize collaborative learning with conceptual debates and conversations on topics of interests with peers to understand the essence of content.
10.  Let students discuss and provide reasoning for their answer. Then, tell them why the answer they gave is not right, if they are wrong. It will let you wash away misconceptions and ambiguities that lead to wrong answers.
11. The best questions to ask using a clicker are those that around 50-70% students can answer. You can compile a list of good clicker questions and get other faculty members’ feedback to know if the questions are right.
12. Initially, start with 1 or 2 quizzes per classroom. Increase the frequency of use as your students get accustomed and comfortable with classroom clickers
13. Elaborate what path should be followed if a student clicker is not working or what it will cost if a student forgets to bring his/her clicker to the classrooms.
14. Explain disciplinary rules for using student clickers in the class. Discuss the behavior that will lead to dismissal or cheating, etc.
15.  Encourage students to come up with ideas to make clickers more effective in the classroom. 

For more information about classroom clickers or to buy classroom clickers, visit us at http://www.electronicwhiteboardswarehouse.com/audience_response_systems.htm or contact us at sales@electronicwhiteboardswarehouse.com or 888.522.8975.