Prediction of Students’ Use and Acceptance of Clickers by Learning Approaches: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Abstract

Abstract:The student response system (a.k.a clickers) had been widely used in classrooms for various pedagogical purposes these years. However, few of the studies examine students learning approaches toward both technology and engagement. The present study adopted a cross-sectional study method to investigate the relationship between students' user acceptance of clickers, learning approaches, and general engagement in the clicker classes. A group of 3371 university students were investigated by an online questionnaire that contained with Unified Theory of Use and Acceptance of Technology, Study Process Questionnaire, and National Survey of Student Engagement across a two-semester span in 2015 and 2016. A regression analysis had been adopted to examine the relationship between those variables. Results indicated that a deep learning approach significantly predicted all user acceptance domains towards using clickers and significantly predicted several engagement domains such as collaborative learning and reflective and integrative learning. We concluded that deep learners tend to share a constructive attitude toward using clickers, especially when their peers are also using the clickers. While deep learners prefer integration of knowledge and skills from various sources and experiences, we hypothesize that their willingness to integrate clicker activities in their learning process stems from seeing clickers as a medium for consolidation in the learning process. Future research is, therefore, necessary to provide more detailed evidence of the characteristic of deep learners on the qualitative arm or in a way of mixed research method.Keywords: unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT); learning approaches; clickers; students' response system (SRS); blended learning; higher education BackgroundA paradigm shift towards an individualized [1] and constructivist approach [2] to learning have driven flourishing implementation and research [3][4][5] on the use of students' response systems in classroom settings. This simple technology replaces the traditional ways to collect student feedback and makes the classroom become a more interactive and engaging learning environment [6]. To promote student engagement, there is increased use of this effective tool in the classroom. Due to the reforming higher education system in Hong Kong, it is not difficult to discover the increasing large classes in various Hong Kong higher education institutions. The use of students' response system (SRS, a.k.a, clickers) in large classrooms has been established as an effective approach for facilitating students' engagement in active learning [7,8]. However, students have diverse motivations and different learning approaches-such as surface versus deep learning motives-that influence their learning attitudes and behaviors [9,10] in terms of need for cognition further learning exploration and enjoyment of learning in attitude towards literacy [11]. Those diverse learning motivations from students may result as a difference on thei...

Interactivity, active collaborative learning, and learning performance: The moderating role of perceived fun by using personal response systems

“…Thirdly, in line with previous studies to collect data from Hong Kong students (Cheng & Wang, 2018;Wan, Cheung, & Chan, 2017), results supported the use of PRSs would increase students' learning performance. The research further validated the impact of interactivity, active collaborative learning and learning performance in the context of Hong Kong.…”

Yüksek Öğrenim Kurumlarında Aktif Öğrenmenin Öğrencilerin Performansına Etkisi

“…Games have the advantage of offering immediate feedback (Yüksel, 2013). However, Wan, Cheung, and Chan (2017) assert that there is a need for adequate preparation for classroom games so that the aim and objectives of the session are met.…”