How to use clickers effectively?
Vincent Laberge, research officer at the ETS (Educational Testing Service (ETS) the world’s largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization) and Eric Francoeur, a teacher at the ETS, conducted a study on the use of clickers.
Essentially, the use of clickers allows questions to be asked in various situations. The nature of the questions and their timing have different effects on student learning. Teachers who ask a lot of questions will have great ease in adapting their courses to the use of these devices. The important thing is to use the right type of question according to the objectives:
Initiation questions: question the students before they see the material to destabilize them. The responses must be recurring errors that are known.
Feedback questions: question after giving the subject to confirm that the students understand what has been taught. Asking the same question at several points in the year makes it possible to observe the evolution of the class.
Debate questions: ask an open-ended question with answer that are all philosophically defensible.