Technology for Engaging

Students – Audience

Response Systems (ARS)

Shivaun Gammie,

Medway School of Pharmacy

My experience of ARS

• Pilot project as part of PGCHE (2009) • In class responses to ARS questions

• In class feedback

• Short questionnaire feedback after lecture

• Use in most lectures

• Interactive Clinical Sessions to support

our final year students • University MCQ competency assessment

• Professional registration examination competency

assessment

Why ARS?

• Involves students in lectures “anonymously”

• Allows lecturer and student to

“communicate”

• Helps students to gauge their

understanding …. instant feedback

• Helps lecturer to gauge students’

understanding …. instant feedback /

change future sessions

• Students like it!

Examples

from my

teaching

Would you advise a patient with

hypertension to lose weight?

18%

20%

62%1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

Would you advise this

patient to lose weight?

12%

80%

7%1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

Would you advise

this patient to lose

weight?

22%

56%

22%1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

Question: Mr BP is estimated to have a 10 year

cardiovascular risk of 20%.

Taking drug A is expected to reduce his 10

year cardiovascular risk by 25%

What is his new 10 year risk of having a

cardiovascular event?

0

0

0

0

0

0 0 0 0 0

17.50%

15%

12.50%

10%

Don’t know

1. 17.5%

2. 15%

3. 12.5%

4. 10%

5. Don’t know

Evaluation

2009

Note:

Personal Response Systems (PRS)

= Audience Responses Systems (ARS)

Student understanding Student responses to 6 interactive questions

31

29

43

13

30

40

20

15

6

28

13

6

4

8

3

10

6

8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

3 - CV risk (n = 55) 4 - Reducing CV risk -

drug A (n = 52)

5 - Reducing CV risk

drug A and B (n = 52)

6 - Relative risk

reduction (n= 51)

7 - Absolute risk

reduction (n = 49)

8 - NNT (n = 54)

Correct

Incorrect

Don't know

!!

Student feedback AT1 (Cardiovascular Lecture) - Initial PRS Feedback

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

I found the PRS easy to use (n=54)

Using the PRS distracted me from the lecture (n=54)

Using PRS helped me to understand the material in the

lecture (n=56)

Using the PRS helped me to identify areas that I need to

work on in my MSCL (n=58)

I would like to use PRS in other lectures (n=56)

Strongly Agree Agree

Disagree Strongly Disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 1 I found PRS easy to use

89%

96%100%

9%

4%0%

2%0% 0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 54) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 2 Using the PRS distracted me from the lecture

15% 14%

0%

85%82%

100%

0%4%

0%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 54) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 3 Using PRS helped me to understand the material in the

lecture

86%

93% 93%

9% 7%4%

5%

0%4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 56) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 4 Using PRS helped me to identify areas that I need to work on

in my MSCL

86%89%

82%

12%

7% 7%

2%4%

7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 58) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 27)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 5 Since the lecture I have done some MSCL on the areas that I

identified in the lecture

32%29%

64%

57%

4%

14%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n/a) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Question

not asked

in lecture

Student feedback

Qu 6 I would like to use PRS again

93%

86%

96%

5%

11%

4%2%

4%0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 58) Workshop 1 (n = 28) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Strongly Agree /Agree

Strongly disagree /disagree

Not relevant

Student feedback

Qu 7 The number of PRS questions in the cv lecture was

4%0% 0%

38%

72%

82%

59%

28%

18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Lecture (n = 56) Workshop 1 (n = 25) Workshop 2 (n = 28)

Too many About right Too few

Student feedback continued

Open questions on written questionnaire

What did you like best about using PRS in the lecture?

• 47 positive comments

Interactive

Fun

Helped understanding

Stimulating

Anonymous

“Kept me awake”

“Quick easy way of identifying

learning needs and finding out

what you actually know! The poll

didn’t specifically identify anyone

who didn’t know the answer.

Excellent learning tool”

Student feedback continued

Open questions on written questionnaire

What didn’t you like about using PRS in the lecture?

• Time / distracting (7 comments)

“Wasting time being used to ask really basic questions. Needs to be

used for more complex / difficult questions.”

“Not enough time given to work out answers, was a bit rushed so de-

motivating.”

“It was very time consuming and distracted me from the lecture”

• Student participation (6 comments)

“Some people weren’t taking it seriously and were using it as a chance

to mess around which was distracting.”

• Technical (8 comments)

“The graphs displayed on the screen was upside down – disappointing”

• Nothing / NA / positive comment (15 comments)

Why ARS?

• Involves students in lectures “anonymously”

• Allows lecturer and student to

“communicate”

• Helps students to gauge their

understanding …. instant feedback

• Helps lecturer to gauge students’

understanding …. instant feedback /

change future sessions

• Students like it!

Why not ARS?

Need correct

version of

Turning Point

Technology for Engaging

Students – Audience

Response Systems (ARS)

Shivaun Gammie,

Medway School of Pharmacy