Clickers in the Classroom

I returned from the CALI Conference on Law School Computing in 2007 enthusiastic after trying out the use of clickers in my presentation. Professor Park had been talking about clickers for some time, and so we collaborated on his experiment using them in his Evidence class the next year. Student response was overwhelmingly positive and Prof. Park has continued to refine his technique of teaching with clickers over the past five semesters. In the fall semester of 2010, five other Hastings faculty decided to try clickers.This page will be a place to collect tips, suggestions, comments, questions, etc. on the use of clickers in law teaching.  If you have anything to contribute, please send me an email: noblee@uchastings.edu.

Resources for Integrating Audience Response Devices (clickers) and Law School Teaching

1. Reflections on Teaching Evidence with an Audience Response System by Roger Park (PDF). Article published in the Brooklyn Law Review (75 Brooklyn L. Rev. 1315, Summer, 2010).
2. Using Clickers in the Law School Classroom by Eric Noble (PDF of presentation for faculty interested in learning how to use clickers, Fall 2011).
3. Feedback From Students in Prof. Mammen's Evidence Class (Summer 2010) by Prof. Chris Mammen (PDF). Showing student response to questions about the efficacy of clickers in their learning.
4. Tips on Using Clickers in Teaching Law by Professor Roger Park (PDF). Summer 2010 tips for law teachers.
5. Hand-Held Devices Find a Place in College Classes by Jacques Steinberg, New York Times (15 Nov 2010).
6. Move Over Socratic Method, ‘Clicker’ Offers Law Profs New Option to Monitor Student Progress by Martha Neil (ABA Journal, 17 Nov 2010)
7. Taking Back the Law School Classroom: Using Technology to Foster Active Student Learning by Paul L. Caron and Rafael Gely (Journal of Legal Education, Vol. 54, p. 551, 2004). [Link is to SSRN abstract and download.] Authors' note: We first lay out the pedagogical case for creating an active learning environment in the law school classroom and then examine the critics’ charge that technology impedes these goals. We offer a competing vision of how technology can be harnessed to increase active student learning and, in the process, empower students to resist their laptop’s siren song. In particular, we describe how we combine both old (substituting word processing text for PowerPoint slides) and new (using handheld wireless transmitters) technologies to infuse our classrooms with active learning vigor.
8. Using Clickers in the Criminal Law Classroom by Darlene Cardillo. (June 4, 2008) Provides synopsis of student comments on the use of clickers in their Criminal Law class.
9. Clickers: one of the most valuable teaching tools. By Douglas Whaley (Ohio State University Law School), March 17, 2010.
10. High-tech gadget transforming college teaching—and learning. By Trish Wilson. Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 13, 2010.
11. New Teaching Techniques in Legal Education: Clickers by Eric Noble (PDF). Presentation at the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) Electronic Services Conference, Las Vegas, NV, April 2010.

How to Create Powerpoint Slides For Clickers

Brief Steps to Proficiency (see details below)

1. Know how to use Powerpoint (if you need help, just ask).
2. Install Turning Point (TP) software – free download.
3. Follow instructions on "How to create a TP slide."
4. Learn how to change the TP settings in Powerpoint.
5. Look into getting training for TP.
6. Look at others’ slides in TP. (Roger Park, and now Chris Mammen, both have made their slides available).
7. Be aware of some important Turning Point features, commands and options.

Install Turning Point (TP) software

• Go to the Turning Technologies download site and follow the instructions.
• Once downloaded, install Turning Point (TP) on the computer you’ll be using to a) design slide shows and b) run the presentation.

How to Create a Turning Point (TP) Slide

• Click on the Turning Point menu inside Powerpoint.
• Click Insert Slide.
• Choose the format for how you want the answers to display (the usual choice is Vertical Slide)

How to Change the TP Settings in Powerpoint

• Click on the Turning Point menu inside Powerpoint
• Click Tools/Settings
• Change the settings (you should use the “presentation” level instead of changing settings for individual slides)
• For example: Auto Scale Charts setting

How to Get Training for Turning Point

• Go to the Turning Technologies website.
• Click Support/Product Training
• Choose Online Tutorials or Online Training
• They offer “live” training for basic, intermediate and advanced users.

Important TP Features, Commands and Options

• Repolling (F4) vs new slide to repoll
• Saving sessions and session reports
• Anonymous vs Participant Lists
• Wide range of slide types

References

• Becker, David M., Some Concerns About the Future of Legal Education, Journal of Legal Education, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Dec 2001), 469.
• Garvin, David A., Making the Case: Professional education for the world of practice, Harvard Magazine, Sep/Oct 2003. Available at: http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/09/making-the-case-html)
• Kane, Mary Kay, President’s Address: Technology and Faculty Responsibilities, AALS Newsletter, April 2001.
• Knowles, Malcolm S., E.F. Holton, and R.A. Swanson, The Adult Learner: the definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Butterworth-Heinnemann, 2005.
• Paraskevas, A. and E. Wickens, Andragogy and the Socratic Method: The Adult Learner Perspective, Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2003), 4-14.
• Park, Roger C., Reflections on Teaching Evidence with an Audience Response System (May 3, 2009). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1398484
• Schwartz, Michael Hunter, Teaching law by design: engaging students from the syllabus to the final exam, Durham, N.C. : Carolina Academic Press, 2009.
• Smith, M.K., W. B. Wood, W. K. Adams, C. Wieman, J. K. Knight, N. Guild & T.T. Su, Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions, Science (2 Jan 2009).
• Turning Technologies (manufacturer of the clickers we use): www.turningtechnologies.com