Teaching with Classroom Response Systems - Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Paperback by Derek Bruff Paperback

Book Synopsis

There is a need in the higher education arena for a book that responds to the need for using technology in a classroom of tech-savvy students. This book is filled with illustrative examples of questions and teaching activities that use classroom response systems from a variety of disciplines (with a discipline index). The book also incorporates results from research on the effectiveness of the technology for teaching. Written for instructional designers and re-designers as well as faculty across disciplines.

A must-read for anyone interested in interactive teaching and the use of clickers. This book draws on the experiences of countless instructors across a wide range of disciplines to provide both novice and experienced teachers with practical advice on how to make classes more fun and more effective."--Eric Mazur, Balkanski Professor of Physics and Applied Physics, Harvard University, and author, Peer Instruction: A User's Manual

"Those who come to this book needing practical advice on using 'clickers' in the classroom will be richly rewarded: with case studies, a refreshing historical perspective, and much pedagogical ingenuity. Those who seek a deep, thoughtful examination of strategies for active learning will find that here as well--in abundance. Dr. Bruff achieves a marvelous synthesis of the pragmatic and the philosophical that will be useful far beyond the life span of any single technology." --Gardner Campbell, Director, Academy for Teaching and Learning, and Associate Professor of Literature, Media, and Learning, Honors College, Baylor University

From the Back Cover

Teaching with Classroom Response SystemsThis innovative book offers faculty across disciplines a hands-on guide for incorporating classroom response systems into their classrooms. The use of classroom response systems, or "clickers," which enable instructors to rapidly collect and analyze student responses to questions during class, has proven to both engage students in course material and provide valuable feedback on student learning and perspectives for instructors. Derek Bruff--an expert on the use of classroom response systems--includes illustrative examples of the range of questions that can be used effectively with clickers, such as conceptual, procedural, critical thinking, opinion, and student experience questions. Based on the author's seven years of experience and interviews with fifty instructors from a variety of disciplines and institutions, the book explores key strategies, ideas, and suggestions for successfully incorporating a classroom response system in a class of any size.

Praise for Teaching with Classroom Response Systems

"No other available resource on teaching with clickers rivals Bruff's amazingly thorough treatment. Not only does he explain the many ways instructors can use them to enhance student engagement and learning, he also provides invaluable advice on writing productive multiple-choice questions (many samples provided), responding to different clicker results, and balancing clicker use with content coverage."
--LINDA B. NILSON, director, Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, Clemson University, and author, Teaching at Its Best and The Graphic Syllabus and the Outcomes Map

Review Quotes

"Good teachers constantly look for ways to improve instruction. Bruff, Assistant Director of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, surveys how classroom response systems, commonly known as "clicker technology," can improve teaching and learning.

Bruff supplements his points on engagement and assessment with a classified array of clicker questions for a variety of teaching contexts. He also provides helpful advice on teaching choices with response systems: when to grade clicker questions, how to use them for summative assessment, and how to address cheating and lack of participation. He provides additional helpful suggestions on dealing with logistical issues such as system choice and troubleshooting. Throughout, the reader benefits from the copious examples gleaned from teachers.

This book convincingly demonstrates that clicker technology allows teachers and students to adapt quickly to emerging learning needs....Bruff's work is an enthusiastic, accessible, and detailed introduction for all educators interested in this popular educational technology tool."

--NACADA Journal, Issue 30(1) (Spring 2010)

About the Author

The author Derek Bruff is an assistant director at the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching and a senior lecturer in the Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics. Formerly he was a faculty preceptor in the Harvard University Department of Mathematics, teaching several courses and coordinating multisection calculus courses.