UMass Amherst: Personal Response System
It can be a challenge for even the most talented faculty to continuously engage
students in large lecture sections. It is not uncommon for student attention
to lag and attendance to drop during the term. Faculty frequently find it difficult
to assess whether the class is comprehending new concepts and it is a challenge
to accurately assess progress except with a quick show of hands.
At the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, the campus is increasingly turning
to a personal response system, InterWrite PRS from GTCO Calcomp, to increase
the interactivity in large lecture sections. The personal response system uses
wireless transmitters to provide quick student responses to questions posed
by faculty. Each student in a classroom supporting the personal response system
can enter a response to a faculty question projected at the front of the class
using the numeric keypad on a wireless PRS transmitter. Student responses are
automatically tabulated, giving the faculty member a much better sense of student
understanding.
One faculty member central to the adoption of the personal response system
is Richard Rogers, who teaches in the Department of Resource Economics. Professor
Rogers uses the PRS to drive his statistics lecture and engage students. During
each lecture, he asks questions to gather live data to use throughout his lecture,
to gauge student understanding, and to introduce new topics. For example, when
Rogers introduces students to probability, he has the students perform an experiment
with coin tosses. Students enter the number of heads produced in four coin tosses
using the numbers on their PRS transmitter. The InterWrite software graphs the
responses, allowing Rogers to compare the relative frequencies to the theoretical
probabilities. The quick results to in-class questions give immediate feedback
to students and the professor, indicating whether a brief review it is needed.
Each student’s transmitter has a unique number, which ties the responses
to an identifiable student. Thus, beyond responses to in-class queries and responses,
professors can take attendance electronically by registering who responds to
question asked throughout the class. Professors can also transfer the “grades”
from questions asked during class to an electronic grade book.
Rogers asks up to eight questions per class period. Students receive 50 percent
credit if they enter any answer, and the other 50 percent for the correct answer.
This method gives students credit for participating while providing incentives
for getting the question correct. Rogers found that his PRS scores closely resemble
the distribution of exam scores.
During the last seven years, use of the PRS has expanded to the point that
more than 8,500 students and 40 faculty members are using the system. The technology
has spread throughout UMass and is now used in courses across the curriculum,
including astronomy, art history, biology, chemistry, economics, finance, legal
studies, nursing, physics, political science, and psychology. To match the growth,
the campus has expanded the number of classrooms that support the system.
Students in classes that use PRS purchase a wireless transmitter from the campus
bookstore just as they would buy books and other class materials. Transmitters
cost $35 new or $27 used and there is a guaranteed buyback price of $17.
The response to the system from faculty and students has been positive. Professor
Rogers’s course evaluations reveal that 90 percent of the students consider
the PRS a success. Students cite the instant assessment they receive and report
that their enjoyment of the course is enhanced by the PRS. They like instantly
seeing their responses in the context of the other student responses and the
subsequent comments from the professors.
UMass faculty members report increased attendance and more engaged, active
learning in courses utilizing the system. Rogers, however, cautions that the
PRS is not a panacea. Professors must ask thought-provoking questions to gain
the benefits of the PRS. He further cautions that the PRS should not be considered
an attendance tracking tool but rather “a teaching tool that improves
attendance by making the lectures more effective.”
The use of the PRS is addressing the challenges of personalizing large lecture
sections to better engage students in an active learning environment.
