Using Clickers to Support Information Literacy Skills Development and Instruction in First-Year Business Students

Abstract

Executive SummaryCourse-integrated information literacy (IL) instruction can be enhanced via the use of student response devices, or 'clickers'. The first phase of this study focused on how first-year undergraduate students perceived the use of clickers as a mechanism to encourage active learning and engagement in order to establish a baseline of information seeking behaviour and to actively engage students in the learning process. Data collected within IL classes and subsequent surveys of student perceptions are examined with discussion on the implications for future practice and research. Our findings from this first phase of this study through the quantitative data collected with clickers indicate that first year business students have shortcomings in information literacy and can improve their information literacy skills in relation to research and assignment work in their formal assessment. Furthermore the use of clickers are positively viewed by undergraduate students and postgraduate students as a technology which can facilitate active learning and engagement if used appropriately with clearly aligned learning objectives.

Engagement Levels in a Graphic Design Clicker Class: Students’ Perceptions around Attention, Participation and Peer Learning

“…This comment depicts the problems students faced in class: Using clickers gave students the feeling of participation in the classroom, without being judged or ridiculed due to their lack of competency in the language of instruction, as Stagg and Lane (2010) report. In the clicker voting sessions, approximately three quarters of the students felt more active in a clicker class and appreciated the anonymity clickers offer (see Table 3).…”

“…They offer students an opportunity to participate in class without "fear of ridicule, should they volunteer an incorrect response" (Banks, 2006, p. vii). This is particularly important for second language learners, who often struggle to participate in class because of cultural factors inhibiting active participation, such as lack of competency in the language of instruction (Stagg & Lane, 2010).…”

“…Findings are mainly based on quantitative student surveys. These studies link student engagement to students' improved attention and focus through clickers, improved attendance, enjoyment, and fun experienced in clicker lectures (Addison, Wright, & Milner, 2009;Preszler et al, 2007;Stagg & Lane, 2010;Trees & Jackson, 2007). However, there is little focus on the reasons why students are more engaged in these lessons and whether their engagement leads to learning (Fies & Marshall, 2006;Kay & LeSage, 2009).…”

To Improve the Learning Experience of the First Trimester Undergraduate Students in an Australian University’s Offshore Campus: A Knowledge Management Methodology

“…• Large lectures reduces the depth of student thinking in lecture halls (Cuseo, 2007) and evidences show that there is a strong association between small lecture size and the development of higher-order cognitive processes (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Cuseo (2007), Stagg and Lane (2010) as well Walker, Cotner, Baepler, and Decker (2008) identified a number of challenges encountered on large-sized lecture environments which include low overall learning experience, low attendance, low student emotional engagement, low level of student achievement and academic performance, lack of student preparedness, lack of immediate feedback on student understanding, reduced depth of student thinking inside a lecture as well as reduced breadth and depth of course objectives, course assignments and course-related learning strategies used by students outside a lecture. Another well-recognized issue is the increase of social barriers when group sizes grow which can make students standing out of a lecture feel uncomfortable (Bry, Gehlen-Baum, & Pohl, 2011).…”

Technology Mediated Learning: Observations in Two Technologies

“…Students' perceptions of learning engagement Patterson et al, 2010;Stagg & Lane, 2010), satisfaction with clickers (Sprague & Dahl, 2009), perceptions of fun (Patterson et al, 2010) were among the variables of interest relevant to the current research.…”