Using a Classroom Response System (CRS)

in a High School Science Class

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Table of Contents
What is a CRS?.................................................................................................................................3

Why Use a CRS?..............................................................................................................................4

How Can Clickers Be Used?.....................................................................................................7

Increase the amount of active learning during lecture...........................................8

Review for tests or quizzes..................................................................................................10

Play Review Games................................................................................................................12

Test for previous knowledge..............................................................................................13

Contingent Teaching..............................................................................................................13

Classroom Management Techniques...............................................................................15

Structuring class time............................................................................................................15

Organizing seating in class.................................................................................................17

Participation................................................................................................................................20

Vandalism....................................................................................................................................21

What Hardware and Software is Required?...................................................................23

References........................................................................................................................................25

Books Worth Reading............................................................................................................25

Websites Worth Visiting........................................................................................................25

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What is a CRS?
CRS stands for Classroom Response System. However, there are a

variety of names used for it including: clickers, audience response system,

student response system, and electronic voting system. Whatever the

name, they all consist of the same basic equipment, and carry out the same

basic function.

The modern response system works by having students respond to

multiple choice questions using “clickers.” The signals are received by a

computer, the student responses are tallied, and the class results can be

immediately shown on a graph, usually projected by an LCD on to a screen.

Figure 1: Example of a Histogram produced using student

responses to a "clicker question."
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Why Use a CRS?

It is common knowledge among teaching professionals that students

learn and retain more when they are engaged in class as an active learner.

I define an active learner as a student who questions their own

understanding of a concept and who actively seeks to apply that concept to

related problems, or real world issues. While many teachers want students

to engage, they don’t provide a classroom setting that is conducive to it.

Fortunately, however, technology is providing tools, such as the CRS, which

can help teachers increase the level of student engagement in their

classrooms.

The issue many teachers face is that they have a large amount of

material to teach in a short amount of time. Many strategies, such as

problem based learning, have proven themselves effective in teaching

critical thinking skills by empowering students to use active learning.

However, these strategies are so time consuming that many teachers don’t

feel they are practical. Instead, many teachers rely on the time efficient, yet

completely passive, lecture format.

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Unfortunately, while the teacher may say a lot during a lecture, the

students often fade in and out, missing much, and mastering little, of what

was said during the class period (Duncan, 2005). In a science class, which

is based heavily on vocabulary and which builds quickly from one idea to

the next, fading out during one moment can spell disaster for

comprehending the rest of the topic. Even if the students don’t completely

zone out, studies have shown that students learning via lecture tend to hang

on to previously held misconceptions, and/or find it difficult to apply the

material to similar situations (Duncan, 2008). In addition, many students

come in to science classes with misconceptions strongly rooted in their

childhood, which can be incredibly difficult to break. A famous example of

this can be seen in A Private Universe, a documentary film produced to

examine why so many people don’t understand basic science concepts. In

the film Harvard graduates still incorrectly attribute seasons to the distance

from the sun, rather than to the tilt of the Earth on its axis, as they had been

taught in their science classes (Sahiner, 1987).

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There are many strategies used to make lectures more active, but most

produce only limited success. For instance discussion questions are

frequently included, but are frequently met by blank stares, rather than a sea

of hands. To encourage participation many teachers try calling at random,

voting as a class, and small group discussion. However, with each of these

methods teachers frequently find themselves struggling to get students to

talk and share their thoughts. Even in small groups, one voice frequently

dominates while the others happily follow along without thinking through

the problem themselves. Some of this may be due to a lack of motivation,

but many students express the fact that they are scared to get the questions

wrong, so they simply don’t try.

Recognizing that lecturing lacks interaction with students, some colleges

have been employing the use of some sort of classroom response system

for several decades (Bruff, 2009). Extensive research has been conducted

in college physics courses and it has shown that a classroom response

system coupled with peer discussion significantly raises test scores

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(Duncan, 2008). However, that is not the only use. The University of

Glasgow (Draper & Brown, 2004) found that each department at its

university was able to successfully employ the CRS in a variety of settings;

from a freshmen philosophy course, to a senior level statistics course. In

addition, other researchers (Duncan, 2008) have collected data showing

that the CRS can be successfully used to:

 Encourage participation in classroom discussion.

 Generate small group discussions.

 Identify student misconceptions.

 Assess student learning through formative and summative

assessments. (In order to use the clickers to grade, each student

must be registered to a specific clicker.)

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How Can Clickers Be Used?

Clickers can be implemented in to the classroom in a variety of ways,

and there is research documenting the effectiveness of most of the ways

listed below. A good place to find research, as well as a variety of other

information, is the Classroom Response System page on the Vanderbilt

Center for Teaching website. The URL for this website is:

[Link]

In this section I will go over a few of the ways that I implemented clickers

successfully in to my science classroom.

Increase the amount of active learning during lecture

I frequently tried to ask questions throughout my lectures, but

inevitably, only a handful of students ever answered. While thumbs up and

thumbs down encouraged more participation, it did not encourage much

higher level thinking. However, that all changed when I incorporated the

clickers in to my lectures. Where I used to have a room full of blank stares, I

now had a room full of students discussing their viewpoints.

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I increased the amount of active learning in my room by using the

clickers to facilitate peer instruction. To do this I first had to move my

students in to groups to encourage more discussion. Next, I developed

conceptual, challenging, multiple choice questions to give before and/or

after each major section of notes. Questions that worked exceptionally well

were those that “trap students around common misconceptions and ideas

that are intuitive, but not accurate” (Bruff, p. 31).

Students immediately became more active when I asked them to

answer the question on their own using the clicker; because it was

anonymous students were much more willing to participate. Additionally,

because I could see the number of students who had responded, I did not

move on until everyone in the class had answered.

Once all students had answered the question I displayed the results

for the students. If more than 70% of the students chose the correct answer,

I asked for a volunteer to explain why the answer was correct. However, if

graph showed that 70% or less answered correctly, I asked students to

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discuss the answer first with their group, and then with the groups around

them. Students were required to state WHY they felt their choice was

correct. When the students had discussed the question thoroughly, I had the

students re-vote. We then discussed why students might have chosen the

answers they did and which answer was correct. If the class did not get

over 70% on the second vote I reevaluated how I had taught the students

and re-taught the material another way.

Figure 2: Graph showing class results for a question before discussing question with peers.
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Figure 3: Graph showing class answers after discussion. The correct answer to the question was A.

Review for tests or quizzes

Clickers quickly allow students to see whether they’ve mastered the

content. This can be especially powerful at the end of the unit, or before a

quiz. The method used to give the questions is the same as previously

discussed, but the questions may be quite different.

When I reviewed for a test or quiz, besides just giving conceptual

questions, I also included some basic recall questions. I think this was

important, as it let the students know if they had mastered the basic

material. As diagrams are an important part of my class, I also incorporated

them in to my reviews. Below is an example of a review I used to determine

if my oceanography students understood the differences between the

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marine zones, and the vocabulary involved. I put the chart up, described a

location or gave a vocabulary term, and the students chose which zone they

felt matched best.

Figure 4 Diagram used to review with students

Play Review Games

My software came with several different templates for games, but as

they were not compatible with my version of windows, I never tried them.

However, I did use the clickers in conjunction with the templates I made at

[Link] . Typically I would have just gone around the room

with each group picking a question to answer. However, the clickers gave

me the ability to have groups “ring in” if a group was unable to answer their

question. While this increased my anxiety level, as I was the one to decide

who clicked in first, it greatly increased the excitement of the game. More
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importantly, as students felt they always had a chance to get the question

right, it ensured that each group looked up the answer to every question.

Figure 5a Screenshot of [Link] Figure 5b Screenshot of a Jeopardy game

Test for previous knowledge

Many of the units I teach depend on what students retain from

previous science classes. While in previous years I could try and

“guesstimate” how much each class remembered, with clickers I was able

to accurately measure exactly what they knew and did not know.

I have found that frequently I do not know my students as well as I

thought I did! There have been times most did not know something I

thought was common knowledge, and there have been other times where
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so much information from popular sources, such as the Discovery Channel

or the local news, had reinforced what they learned in a previous class, that

they did not need me to do much re-teaching at all.

Contingent Teaching
Contingent teaching really builds on everything I’ve discussed before.

Draper and Brown (2004) describe contingent teaching as a changing one’s

teaching on the spot in order to respond to what the students need.

Clickers are perfect for this, as they give the teacher the required data.

In the past I used to frequently ask if anyone had any questions, and

typically no one raised their hand. While it was nice to think that everyone

understood the material, I knew it wasn’t true. Unfortunately, I also found it

difficult to assess what they needed help on until after an assignment had

been collected. Now, with several clicker questions, I was able to quickly

assess whether or not the students understood the basic vocabulary, were

being tripped up by a common misconception, or if they could use what

they had learned and apply it to a new situation. Based on the data I

received I was able to decide where to take my lesson. While this meant
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lessons were longer or shorter than I planned, it also meant that students

were getting what they needed from me.

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Classroom Management Techniques

There is a lot to consider when incorporating clickers in to a

classroom. Each teacher has his or her own teaching style, and will

therefore have unique “issues” when incorporating clickers in to the

classroom. However, four I worked hard on were structuring class time,

organizing students in to groups, ensuring every student participated, and

dealing with vandalism to the clickers.

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Structuring class time

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If the goal is to increase time students spend active learning, then

some other in class activity is going to need to decrease. As I did not want

to reduce the time students spent working on assignments, I reduced how

much time I spent lecturing instead. I did this by giving my students guided

notes, rather than have them copy the information down by hand. (Guided

notes provide the basic layout of the notes, and have most of the words

written in for the students. However, key words and definitions are left blank

for the students to fill in while the teacher lectures.) If you aren’t familiar with

guided notes, the technique is described in detail at the following website:

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[Link]/[Link]

Figure 6 Screenshot of website discussing Study Guides

As some students do learn by writing the material down, I had my

students turn the guided notes in to Cornell Notes as homework. Cornell

Notes require that students to place key terms to the left, and a summary of
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the notes on the bottom. The idea is that it requires students to think more

thoughtfully and critically about the information presented in class. More

information about Cornell notes can be found at:

[Link] .

Another element of my classes that I changed was the warm-up. I

used to require students to do a warm-up almost every day on a sheet of

paper. However, with the addition of clicker questions I felt that I would not

have the time, and that the clicker questions addressed my formative

assessment needs more effectively. Instead of warm-up questions, I either

had clicker questions ready to be discussed with their group, or I made sure

that I began working with them as soon as the bell rang.

Organizing seating in class

While the clickers themselves don’t necessarily require a

teacher to use a specific style of seating, there are some issues worth

considering. These include ensuring access to the receiver, allowing for

group discussions, and avoiding distractions and cheating.

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In order to incorporate infrared clickers it is necessary to ensure that

each student has a direct line of site to the sensor. I had originally hoped I

could attach the receiver to a large piece of wood on my desk.

Unfortunately, I found that I had to position the sensor quite high on the

ceiling in order to get good results from all parts of the classroom. If one

has a larger than average classroom, it may be necessary to purchase two

receivers. The receivers can then be linked together, allowing for better

coverage of the room. If budget is not a problem, radio wave based clickers

can be purchased, in which it won’t be necessary to worry about

maintaining a line of site with the receivers.

As students can turn in their seats, the actual organization of the

desks doesn’t affect their ability to click in, but it does impact how the

clickers will be used. Research indicates that clickers are most effective in

improving test scores when they are coupled with peer discussion. In order

to facilitate this, I chose to arrange my desks into groups. While I was

nervous about this at first, I found it to be an incredibly rewarding

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experience. When the students are in rows they only talk with their friends

around them. However, when they are arranged in groups they have very

few issues discussing topics with people who they might not traditionally

work with.

There are definitely a few downsides to being in groups. The most

obvious is that it can increase the likelihood of cheating on tests or quizzes.

Fortunately, this is solved quite easily. During tests I asked that students

push their desks apart and I monitored the classroom closely. During tests, I

had the students arrange the classroom in to rows. While we occasionally

had interesting arrangements when we put the desks back in to groups, I

found that students get quite good at quickly reorganizing the room, and

they never once complained.

The downside that is a little harder to overcome is the increased

likelihood that students will get distracted during lecture. I attempted to

confront this in several different ways:

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 I rewarded good behavior in groups by allowing students to

pick their own group every other unit. This had the added

advantage of exposing students to as many different

viewpoints and personalities as possible.

 I tried to arrange the desks so that no student had their back to

the screen.

 I encouraged students to move their desk during lecture so that

they could comfortably see the screen.

 I roamed the room during lecture so that I could maintain a

strong presence in the classroom.

 I did not talk over students; I stopped lecturing if students

began to talk out of turn. As I typically used all of my class time,

students realized that any extra time I used waiting for them to

stop talking resulted in extra homework – I’ve found this to be

an incredibly effective incentive!

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Participation
Handing a student a clicker does not necessarily mean that he or she

will participate. I found that in every class I had a few students who would

try to avoid participating. Fortunately, the software that came with my

clickers gave me several options to deal with this issue:

 The software counts the number of responses, so it is pretty easy to

determine if everyone has logged.

 The clicker responses can be displayed with the serial number on the

clicker, allowing students to see who has logged in, and who hasn’t.

(In order to use this feature, I had to put the serial number on the front

of the clicker, where it could be easily read by students.)

 It is possible to record who responds to each question, and give

participation points. (I did not use this, as it eliminates some of the

anonymity, and requires some extra organization on the teacher’s part

to assign a specific clicker to each student.)

I did not always use the serial numbers, so it did occasionally become

necessary for me to have the students respond a group at a time. I found

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that when I did that, any “problems” with the clickers mysteriously

disappeared, and every student was able to log in.

Vandalism
Unfortunately, some of my clickers were intentionally vandalized. The

most destructive habit was pushing in the infrared lights, but they also

picked off the plastic cover on the signal light, and pulled off the serial

numbers I had put on the front. Fortunately the clickers are reparable, and

can work without the plastic cover, but I did have to spend some time

opening the clickers up to put the lights back in.

When I found that clickers were being damaged in a class, I would

inspect each clicker before handing out to each student. In addition, I

would visually inspect them when the students turned them in. This was a

very effective process. My only problem was that I tended to get caught up

during class, and frequently forgot to collect the clickers. So far I’ve been

lucky, and I haven’t had any clickers seriously damaged or stolen.

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What Hardware and Software is Required?

All classroom response systems require 3 basic components;

remotes for the students, a receiver, and a computer to analyze the data. As

much of the power in these systems comes from sharing results with the

students, an LCD and a screen are HIGHLY recommended. Obviously, there

are many options for each of these components; what a teacher decides to

incorporate into his or her classroom will depend on budget and preference.

One of the most affordable classroom response systems comes from

H-ITT. For approximately $800 I was able to purchase the equipment shown

in figure 7. This is a very basic, infrared

based system. If a teacher has a larger

budget, then a radio wave based system

Figure 7: H-ITT remotes and receiver

can be purchased. The advantage of the

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radio wave technology is that students do not need to maintain a perfect

line of site with the receiver.

Each company that produces a CRS also offers their own suite of

software, and H-ITT is no different. H-ITT offers two different types of

software. One is made to be inserted in to PowerPoint presentations, while

the other allows the teacher to collect results whenever he or she chooses;

it simply floats on top of any window that is open, and can be minimized at

anytime. H-ITT’s software is incredibly powerful and can be used to store

individual scores, and can even be used to give a test. However, I

maintained my students’ anonymity, and never became familiar with the

grading aspect of the software.

Before purchasing any equipment, I strongly recommend that a

teacher determined how he or she will be using the equipment. Then the

next step would be to determine the budget. Once that had been

determined, it will be up to the individual teacher to explore the options

available. Technology is advancing so quickly, I can only imagine what

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might be available to teachers in a few years; I know some schools are

already using cell phone technology to perform most of the same tasks as a

CRS!

References
Duncan, Douglas (2005). Clickers in the Classroom. San Francisco, Ca: Pearson Education, Inc.

Bruff, Derek (2009). Teaching with Classroom Response Systems. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey_Bass.

Draper, S. W., & Brown, M. I. (2004). Increasing interactivity in lectures using an electronic

voting system. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 20, 81-94.

Sahiner, Ara (Producer), & Osborne, Tricia (Editor). (1987). A Private

Universe [Documentary picture]. United States: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for

Astrophysics.

Books Worth Reading

Duncan, Douglas (2005). Clickers in the Classroom. San Francisco, Ca: Pearson Education, Inc.

Bruff, Derek (2009). Teaching with Classroom Response Systems. San Francisco, Ca: Jossey_Bass.

Websites Worth Visiting

[Link] -
An up to date website dedicated to classroom response systems, and research into best
practices for their use.
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[Link] – A free on-line application that allows teachers to create, and

save, jeopardy games.

[Link]/[Link] - Describes study strategies, including how to set

up guided notes.

[Link] - Describes the Cornell Note

format.

[Link] - Company who manufactures an

affordable CRS and creates free downloadable software.