By Cindee Mock, Curriki
Last night, I attended an Edu Tech Meetup in San Francisco’s SoMa district to hear a panel of six pre-kindergarten through post-grade 12 teachers talk about the challenges of using technology in schools. It was attended by a mix of teachers, technologists and entrepreneurs, and held at pariSoma , a spacious co-working loftspace.
We talked about a number of fascinating topics ranging from what motivates students and the use of gaming in the classroom, to differentiating instruction for a broad range of student skill sets to make sure that no one “falls through the cracks.”
SF Edu Tech Meet Up
However, I was intrigued by one story of a teacher who’s leveraging technology to gain real-time classroom feedback to motivate students and customize student learning.
Clickers in the Classroom
Taylor Garland teaches Algebra 1 at LPS (Leadership Public Schools)-Richmond, and uses clickers in his classroom to help him better tailor student learning. Clickers, if you’re not familiar with them, are like a TV remote device that students use to send their response to a computer system that displays the results in a graph that everyone can see. Students don’t have to worry about showing their ignorance, since their responses show up anonymously.
At the end of each day, Taylor poses a question about what was taught, and students use clickers to answer the question. It’s fun and engaging for the students and provides “instant gratification” by showing them where they fall among their peers.
Taylor Garland, LPS-Richmond
But students aren’t the only ones who benefit. Based on student responses, Taylor knows immediately if his students understand the concept being taught and whether he needs to go back and teach it again.
Tangible Results
When Taylor first arrived at LPS-Richmond, students averaged 25% advanced and proficient score for Algebra 1. Last year, his Algebra 1 students ranked 68% advanced and proficient, a big jump for LPS-Richmond, and nearly 60% higher than the surrounding school district.
“I would attribute the real-time feedback of the clickers to a lot of the success because it helped students monitor their learning and helped me intervene in a targeted way,” said Taylor Garland. “Of course, having high expectations of your students and good management is the most important baseline, so the clickers are not a magic bullet on their own. But they really helped me build a culture of success and high expectations.”
Real-time feedback lets Taylor easily see data on students’ understanding at the start and end of each class and respond accordingly. Plus, he is able to collect formative assessment data much more frequently than most teachers. On the flip side, students know they will be frequently assessed and stay on their toes, while also getting the immediate feedback and support they need to be successful.
I love the passion and new thinking that this group of teachers brings to the classroom and applaud them for making a difference!
Photo courtesy: Ohio State University
