How can
technology facilitate the use of CATs
in the classroom?
Though the top
five CATs require low levels
of time and energy, other extremely
effective CATs require a mix of low,
medium, and high levels of time and
energy. Appropriate use of technology
can significantly reduce the amount
of time and energy spent implementing
all CATs. Devorah Lieberman coined
the term technoCAT to refer to CATS
that employ technology. When technology
is integrated appropriately, instructors
have more options: they can collect
data both inside and outside of class.
Making a
CAT into a technoCAT can be done in
a variety of ways. Because there are
multiple paths to becoming a technoCAT,
the way an instructor uses technology
to make a technoCAT is individual.
Some electronic tools that can expedite
an instructor’s collection of
data include e-mail, listservs, and
mailing lists; discussion boards and
chat rooms; on-line quiz and survey
tools; and handheld feedback devices.
For example, a One-Sentence
Summary can be done as a homework
assignment through e-mail. This gives
the students more time to look over
their notes and reflect. Application
Cards, The Muddiest
Point, and Directed
Paraphrasing can also be done as
homework through e-mail.
If
instructors wish to set up an
environment where the feedback
discussion is ongoing and detailed,
tools such as listservs, mailing
lists, discussion boards, and
chat rooms are beneficial.All
of these tools are available
through Blackboard.Blackboard
can also be configured to allow
anonymous postings.Numerous CentralMichiganUniversity faculty
use the Discussion Boards in
Blackboard; faculty members who
make the Discussion Boards essential
to student learning in their
courses include Richard
Cassle, Michael Kennedy,
and Lana Ivanitskaya.
If an instructor
wishes to collect this type of data
in class, she would find it advantageous
to use handheld feedback devices. The
handheld feedback devices available
to CMU instructors are a part of the Classroom
Performance System (CPS), an easy-to-use
response system that obtains immediate
feedback from students. Sixteen CMU
instructors have used CPS in their
classroom this year. The diversity
of CPS use is evident in their practices,
but the underlying rationale is unified:
to collect data about what students
are learning and how much they are
learning in order to make necessary
teaching adjustments promptly.
Irene
O’Boyle of Health Sciences
has used CPS to facilitate “review” quizzes
at the beginning of the class period.
The quiz scores counted as 5% of
the overall grade. Students viewed
it as a fun way to interact while
O’Boyle considered it an effective
method of facilitating discussions
on fuzzy points. Moreover, it eliminated
the need for an attendance sheet
to be passed around the classroom.
She plans on using it again during
the Spring 2005 semester.
Roschelle
Heuberger of Human Environmental
Studies uses CPS the class period
before she gives an exam. Heuberger
finds that an advantage of using
it in this way provides the students “with
perspective, as to how I write exam
questions,” as well as demonstrating
the importance of reading the required
readings. The disadvantage of using
CPS, in her estimation, is the initial
time-consuming preparation of typing
in rosters, writing questions, loading
the questions on the computer and
getting the students their remotes.
A six-member
cohort in the Department of Physical
Education and Sport is working together
as a team to provide a program, rather
than a course, that integrates not
only CPS, but also the Communications
section of Blackboard and PowerPoint.
The goal is to integrate these three
electronic tools in the Athletic Training
Education Program in ways that encourage
critical thinking and problem solving. Denise
Webster and Andrew Holt shared their
experiences about this endeavor at
Lilly North 2004.
Marco
Fornari is currently using CPS in
his Conceptual Physics class of approximately
120 students. Although there are a few
technical problems, the approach works
well to engage students and monitor the
learning process. He uses the CPS for
peer-teaching sessions at the end of
the class period as well as evaluation
and discussion of homework assignments.
The four to five questions used in the
peer-teaching sessions are modeled after Mazur’s
principles.
Through
the use of CPS and
technoCATs, you can easily determine
what students know at any given point
in the semester. For more assistance
on these and other classroom possibilities,
contact FaCIT.
