Clickers in the secondary classroom

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of audience response systems on the secondary classroom. High school students (n=61) participated in one of three groups: (1) a control group, which heard traditional lectures with verbal questions only, (2) a clicker group, which had questions displayed and used clickers to answer, and (3) a questions only group, which had questions displayed but used slips of paper to answer the question. ANOVA was used to analyze various sources of data, including: test scores, post-test scores, and others, and it was found that there was no statistical difference between the control and two treatment groups. A focus group (n=4) was held to gather qualitative data. Students in the focus group indicated that they enjoyed using clickers for various reasons. Focus group participants indicated that clickers allowed for increased interaction between students and teacher and between students, the graphs allowed students to understand how they performed compared to the class, and gave opportunities for competition. More data needs to be collected on the use of clickers and how the discussion they foster might lead to increased learning.