STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE (BYOD) CLICKERS IN AN INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY COURSE

Özet

The use of clickers in the lecture classroom has increased in recent years. Clickers have been widely used to improve teaching effectiveness in various lecture classroom settings. Most introductory biology courses are taught using direct instruction. One of the ways that students may be engaged in the lecture classrooms is by using a clicker. Clickers have been linked to several positive outcomes for students. Although clickers have been used in several prior studies, few studies have explicitly focused on BYOD clickers (smartphones, tablets, laptops). This study examined students’ perceptions of using BYOD clickers to promote active learning in an introductory biology course at a Midwestern private college. The findings suggest that all students have positive perceptions about using BYOD clickers in the introductory biology lecture. The BYOD clickers can be used to foster best practices to improve classroom experiences and perceptions, and engage all students in biology and other STEM courses. Moreover, having a more equitable classroom environment that utilizes clickers might provide opportunities for these first-generation students to overcome challenges.