title: The benefits of using clickers in small-enrollment seminar-style biology courses.
abstract: Although the use of clickers and peer discussion is becoming common in large-lecture undergraduate biology courses, their use is limited in small-enrollment seminar-style courses. To investigate whether facilitating peer discussion with clickers would add value to a small-enrollment seminar-style course, we evaluated their usefulness in an 11-student Embryology course at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Student performance data, observations of peer discussion, and interviews with students revealed that adding clickers to a small-enrollment course 1) increases the chance students will do the required reading before class, 2) helps the instructor engage all students in the class, and 3) gives students a focused opportunity to share thinking and to learn from their peers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Science Education Initiative, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. micsmith@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Michelle K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Caleb
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trujillo
authors.forename: Tin Tin
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D004626:Embryology / Q000193:education; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D013334:Students; D013663:Teaching