Writing Good Clicker Questions

Klaus WoelkAssociate Chair / Associate Professor

Chemistry Department

Klaus WoelkAssociate Chair / Associate Professor

Chemistry Department

Students who dislike clickers complain mostly about ...

50%

10%

20%

20% 1. Instructors not using them enough

2. Instructors not using them right

3. Technology problems

4. No particular reason

Writing Good Clicker Questions

--- Group Activity ---

Answer the following questions:

• What would you like to achieve with a clicker question during the lecture?

• Why do you need the feedback from your students for this purpose?

• Why are clickers the method of choice for this purpose?

Writing Good Clicker Questions

Important Considerations• What role should testing play in the learning

process? • How can tests create a real dialogue between

ourselves and our students about what students do and do not understand?

• How can we avoid using tests to simply punish or reward cramming?

http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/importantconsider.html

Writing Good Clicker Questions

Some suggestions• Use frequent, small quizzes and tests rather

than monolithic once-or-twice per-term exams.• Give students instant feedback on their

performance (for example, putting the correct answers up on an overhead after all the tests are turned in).

• Consider allowing students to take quizzes first as individuals and then the same quiz again in groups.

http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/importantconsider.html

Developing Good Clicker Questions

Note the Order of Tasks

• Determine the goal for your clicker question.

Goals of Clicker Questions

• check attendance• assess preparedness• create interest and motivation• evaluate learning progress• promote conceptual understanding• advance critical thinking

Taxonomy of Clicker Utilization

• 6 basic categories – 3 categories to test the current standing or

stipulation of students• Attendance• Preparedness• Interest

– 3 categories to probe into the learning progress• Learning• Understanding• Applying

J. Chem. Educ. 85 (2008) 1400 – 1405

Developing Good Clicker Questions

Note the Order of Tasks

• Determine the goal for your clicker question.• Find an appropriate task (icebreaker, numerical

calculation, discussion problem, new application, etc.) to fulfill the goal.

x ≥ 0 is valid for – 3 (x – 4 ) = x + 4

1. True

2. False

– 3x + 12 = x + 4 – 4x = – 8 x = 2 (t)

– 3x – 12 = x + 4 – 4x = 16 x = – 4 (f)– 3x + 4 = x + 4 – 4x = 0 x = 0 (t)– 3x – 4 = x + 4 – 4x = 8 x = – 2 (f)

Question should be:

x > 0 is valid for – 3 (x – 4 ) = x + 4

Developing Good Clicker Questions

Note the Order of Tasks

• Determine the goal for your clicker question.• Find an appropriate task (icebreaker, numerical

calculation, discussion problem, new application, etc.) to fulfill the goal.

• Check the correct answer.• If multiple choice, find qualified distracters?

Writing Good Clicker Questions

--- Group Activity ---

Develop a good clicker question!

Many of us know the historic town of Washington, MO. Which other name refers to a town in Missouri?

1. Pittsburg

2. Philadelphia

3. Nashville

4. Cleveland

5. Denver

6. Knoxville

7. Miami

8. Houston

All answers are correct! Goal: attendance, icebreaker, letting students know discussing issues in class is ok.

In twenty years, my car will be fueled by …

1. gasoline

2. electricity

3. hydrogen

4. diesel

5. biodiesel

6. ethanol

7. banana peels

8. saltwater

9. none of the above

Goal: discussion on potentially controversial issue

Are you really testing learning?

The true shape of the Earth is best described as a

1. … perfect sphere 2. … perfect ellipse3. … slightly oblate sphere4. … highly eccentric ellipse

Nothing is ever “perfect” or “highly eccentric”

A density of 2.25 g/mL results when 2.25 g of material occupy a volume of 1.00 mL. What mass of the same material will occupy a volume of 3.00 mL? Enter your result correctly rounded off to 3 significant digits.

66 6.7535 0.752 2.251 6.781 3.00

Is a concept understood?

At which location would an observer find the greatest force due to Earth's gravity?

Deferred multiple choice question:Students discuss or solve without seeing choices!

Is a concept understood?

At which location would an observer find the greatest force due to Earth's gravity?

20

1. The center of the earth

2. The middle of everywhere

3. The north pole

4. The tropic of Cancer (23.5 N)

5. The equator

How confident are you that your answer was correct?

1. Absolutely sure

2. Very confident

3. Confident

4. Not very confident

5. Not sure at all

Goal: surveying confidence level

To facilitate the conversion of H2S2O8 to yield S2H4,

you must add as a key reactant …

1. … a strong acid.2. … a weak acid.3. … a base.4. … an oxidizing reactant.5. … a reducing agent.6. … a polar solvent.7. … a non-polar solvent.8. … nothing (the reaction will occur by itself).

Goal: mastery of concepts, application, synthesis

Summary• Clickers are found in many highschool, college,

and university classrooms

• They provide more than just immediate feedback to instructor and students

• Six basic ways of utilizing the power of clickers

• Attendance • Preparedness • Initial interest and motivation

• On-the-spot assessment (formative assessment)• Active learning (peer discussion and instruction)• Problem-based, deep learning (mastery of concepts, applications

to real-world, or open-ended problems)