Engineering Essential Attributes of Cooperative Learning and Quality Discourse in a Large Enrollment Course by Leveraging Clicker Devices

This article describes how clickers (student response systems) may be used to assess and support the development of productive process skills and discourse patterns within student teams during class periods. Clicker questions may poll the class about specific features of the internal workings of teams, such as role rotation, helpful or distracting behaviors, and the richness or evenness of discourse. Display of polling results to the class sets up a teachable moment regarding development of effective team communication. One question per class session provides several dozen opportunities over a course to raise student awareness concerning effective team communication and potentially to improve those skills. This innovation may be particularly advantageous for large classes where student team activity cannot be efficiently monitored by a single instructor. This is the first report of use of clickers for the purpose of assessing and supporting learning of team process skills.