Effects of different student response modes on science learning

ABSTRACT

Student response systems (SRSs) are wireless answering devices that enable students to provide simple real-time feedback to instructors. This study aims to evaluate the effects of different SRS interaction modes on elementary school students’ science learning. Three interaction modes which include SRS Individual, SRS Collaborative, and Classroom were examined. A pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design was used to compare the effects of the three interaction modes on science posttest scores for higher order thinking (HOT) questions as well as lower order thinking questions. The results show that SRS Collaborative mode has significant positive effects on science posttest scores of HOT questions. This study points to the potential benefits of using SRS, particularly for collaborative tasks, to solve problems that require HOT skills.

KEYWORDS:

• Student response systems
• science learning
• collaboration
• higher order thinking skills
• elementary school

Notes on contributors

Lee Sze Kho is an elementary school science teacher and has recently earned her M.Sc. in Learning Sciences from the Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Her research interests mainly focus on the use of student response systems for creating active and engaging classroom teaching.

Chwen Jen Chen is currently an associate professor of learning technology at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. She has involved in various research and development work related to the effective integration of ICT in learning and teaching.