Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 13, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-29)

This study examined the relative impact of two different question types (multiple choice and short answer) on individual student behavior when using response cards and the potential role of teacher preference as it pertained to question type. Using an alternating treatments design across participants, the study focused on identifying the type of question that was more effective in reducing disruptive behavior and increasing academic engagement and correct response when using response cards and investigated whether implementation of teacher preferred question type enhanced student behavioral outcomes. The results indicated that response cards effectively decreased disruptive behavior and increased academic engagement and correct responses in all four participating students. However, changes in the students’ behavior and performance did not differ between question types. The results also indicated that implementation of the teacher preferred question type further decreased disruptive behavior across students.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining the effect of teaching freshman mathematics with the Spitz Student Response System upon a student's anxiety level, attitude and achievement.

The technological improvements and a generation with increased interest in using technology to aid in their learning. Cause a need for a change in the educational approaches or already established methodologies. The modern educational approach hints a move from the traditional passive learning approach, where the students are passive listeners, into an active learning approach, where the students access the information beforehand. Therefore, classroom time is used to elaborate on complex subjects through an active discussion during the lectures. Student Response Systems (SRS) aims to integrate technological tools with the educational environment, thereby improving the students' participation and engagement. The purpose of this thesis is to study the factors influencing the students' engagement when using SRS in a flipped classroom environment. Furthermore, to what extend can the SRS facilitate the students' active participation in the discussion within an educational context. The research is performed at Linnaeus University in a course at a Master level course. A pre-study was conducted, consisting of observing the course later to form the interview question from the acquired knowledge. Afterward, interviews were conducted with 7 of the participating students. The results of the study might provide additional knowledge for the teachers to decide upon an approach to implement the use of SRS with the flipped classroom approach.

Secondary students with specific learning disabilities often have challenges with academic engagement and performance within the general education setting. Opportunity to respond strategies, such as student response systems, have shown promise in supporting academic engagement for students without disabilities. However, there are few studies examining the relationship between student response systems and academic engagement for older students with specific learning disabilities. The purpose of this study was to pilot the use of Google classroom as a student response system on academic participation and disruptive behavior for high school students with specific learning disability. While the study began as a multiple baseline across participants single-subject research design, the design was changed due to school closures as a result of COVID-19. A high-school student with specific learning disability participated in a study using an AB non-experimental design. The student response system resulted in an abrupt change in academic participation for the participant. The student and teacher perceived the intervention to be effective and appropriate for increasing participation and decreasing disruptive behavior. This study contributes to a limited body of research on student response systems for secondary students with specific learning disabilities.

Technology is enjoying an increasingly important role in many collegiate pedagogical designs. Contemporary research has become more focused on the ways that technology can contribute to learning outcomes. These studies provide a critical foundation for educational researchers who seek to incorporate and reap the benefits of new technologies in classroom environments. The aim of the present study is to empirically assess how combining an active, collaborative learning environment with a classroom response system (colloquially called “clickers”) in a postsecondary setting can influence and improve learning outcomes. To this end, the study proposes an instructional design utilizing two feedback response-formats (clickers and flashcards) and two response methods for answering in-class questions (collaborative peer instruction and individual). The theoretical bases that provide the academic structure for the five instructional conditions (control, clicker-response individual, clicker-response peer instruction, flashcard-response individual, and flashcard-response peer instruction) are the generative learning theory and social constructivism. Participants were 171 undergraduate students from an Educational Psychology subject pool from a large Southwest university. The researcher used a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with two treatments (response format and collaboration level) as the between-subjects factors; students’ posttest scores as the dependent variable; and pretest scores as the covariate. Results showed no significant main effects; however, the study produced statistically significant findings that there was an interaction effect between the use of clickers and a peer instruction design. To follow up the interaction, the researcher conducted tests of the simple effects of response format within each collaboration condition, with the pretest as the covariate. Results showed that for students who collaborated, clickers were better than flashcards, whereas when students worked individually, there was no difference. This study builds upon existing studies by using a stronger empirical approach with more robust controls to evaluate the effects of a variety of instructional interventions, clicker and flashcard response systems and peer instruction on learning outcomes. It shows that clicker technology might be most effective when combined with collaborative methods. The discussion includes implications, limitations, and directions for future research. / text

While studies have shown that teacher and peer feedback are beneficial to students, research has also found that teachers can appropriate students' texts in their feedback, taking away authorship in the process (Brannon & Knoblauch, 1982; Goldstein, 2004). The present study addressed the type of written feedback that I gave my ESL composition students and the type of feedback they gave each other during the writing process, and it examined their responses to the feedback they received. As the response stance taken when providing feedback is a determiner of the level of control the feedback conveys (Straub & Lunsford, 1995), I investigated the stances that both I and my students took while providing feedback. Since my goal had been to avoid text appropriation, I wanted to learn if I was successful in taking a less controlling stance in the feedback that I gave to my students. In addition, I wanted to discover whether the stance my students took while giving feedback would change over the course of the semester. Further, I used a consciousness-raising pedagogical tool — the Cover Sheet — to examine the responses of the students to the feedback to determine if they thought critically about the feedback they had received. At the end of the study, I discovered that my intention to only provide feedback that was not considered controlling was too idealistic and that at least for ESL students, it is easier to understand feedback if it is more direct. Additionally, I found that those students who had an easier time understanding the feedback I gave them and used it to revise their papers ended up getting a higher grade in the course.

There is a need in classrooms to engage students and maintain their interest in course content. A recent type of interactive technology, known as a "clicker," has shown potential to increase student engagement, performance, and participation in the classroom when used effectively. Peer instruction, a type of student to student interaction in which pairs or small groups of students discuss their answers to questions before responding, is often used in conjunction with clickers, and may account for the perceived effectiveness of these tools. The purpose of this study is to determine the clicker's effectiveness in increasing learning and increasing student engagement in secondary classrooms, while controlling for their use during peer instruction. Two classrooms were examined (n ~ 15 for each classroom) in which 1 classroom used clickers integrated with peer instruction activities, while the other classroom only did the peer instruction activities. The findings of this study showed no significant difference in student learning, a small increase in student engagement, and a positive student reaction to the clicker's potential and use in the classroom.

This study investigated how formative assessment implemented in a fifth grade mathematics classroom with a student response system and a student self-evaluative tool affected student self-assessment. Data were collected through individual student and focus group interviews, self-assessment sheets, and teacher reflections. Formative assessment is a low stakes classroom assessment that is an assessment for learning. This study used a student response system to convey feedback from the formative assessment to both students and teacher during instruction. The student self-assessment sheet was implemented to provide a more dynamic level of feedback for students than what could be provided through the student response system alone

The impact that a teacher can have on their students is monumental. Teachers often are the only consistent figure of authority that a student sees. Therefore, a vulnerable and conformable environment is crucial for students, so they can share their needs and in return have them met. With this in mind, teachers must consider forming their classroom environment, because of how it is received by the students. This study examined the impact that a teacher’s disposition can have on the response of a student through a six-question interview by analyzing the number of words spoken by the students depending on the disposition of the teacher used to ask the question. This study aimed to identify the possible impacts of teacher disposition on student responses using a sample of 17 elementary aged students attending a summer reading clinic at a Florida university. After a face-to-face, six-question interview was administered to the students, results showed some students made a overall shift towards more words spoken when the question was asked in an interested or neutral disposition. These results demonstrate the potential impact of teacher disposition on student response in the classroom. The results of this study complement past research, which has shown that classrooms in a welcoming and comfortable environment are more likely for students to share their needs, leading to success for both students and teacher.