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Why Professors Should Stop Using Clickers In Lectures

Ever have to buy that $70 chain link?

Rubbia Khan
Apr 10, 2017
The State University of New York at Stony Brook
23
Why Professors Should Stop Using Clickers In Lectures
Wokandapix

Hey, it's me again with another rant-style article. What is the subject of today you ask? Clickers. For any of you reading this who haven't had the pleasure of owning and using clickers in class, know that I envy you. Before I start I should just define what a clicker is. Straight from google definitions:

"A classroom response system (sometimes called a personal response system, student response system, or audience response system) is a set of hardware and software that facilitates teaching activities such as the following."

Basically, the purpose of a clicker is a way teachers can have the students engage in the discussion and see where the class is at and what they need work on. However, there are some huge flaws in this execution.

Some professors use clickers as a participation/attendance grade.In theory, the idea of using clickers to take attendance is actually not that far fetched. However, there are some classes in which the professor counts clicker points as quizzes. I think there is a huge difference between an attendance grade and quizzes. If they wanted the clickers as attendance than they shouldn't grade the clickers, only to see if you were there to give in an answer. We shouldn't get 0 points if we a question wrong. Honestly, it's stressful. I also don't think it's fair for professors to quiz us on information we just learned. One of my classes this semester grades the clickers on the information we learned 5 mins ago. They are math problems that we have to solve out and they expect us to just know it right then and there (I'm talking about you PHY122).

All I'm saying is that yes, maybe clickers make the students "pay attention," but I don't think a student should only come to class because of clickers. Maybe the classes the student is taking should be classes the student wants to take rather than some bs SBCs (or DEC for those OG Seawolves). Also, clickers should not be graded as quizzes or graded at all. It should be an all or nothing response. Aren't the clicker questions being asked to see if we understand the topic? Why are we being penalized for not understanding something that was JUST "taught"?

Well, you've reached the ending of just another rant from just another humanoid. Have a lovely day.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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