Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Plan Takes Shape

Jan Schiff Elementary’s PTA is purchasing a class set of the classroom response system, or “CPS” from eInstuction for each grade level. Schools have purchased such technology-based tools in the past with mixed results. The tools, while portable, have been utilized enthusiastically at first, but gradually gather dust on a shelf in a storage closet. The product has undergone an upgrade and has been introduced to a new staff. It is hoped that consistent implementation of CPS use will result in improved student learning. This leads to the action research question:
What percentage of the faculty consistently utilizes the classroom performance system and do the students using it have higher standardized test scores?
The student response pads, or “clickers” are “small, handheld devices that allow students to respond to questions asked verbally, on paper or on screen” and enable teachers to instantly assess comprehension. eInstruction makes the claim that the product is the most widely used student response system in education, and can be found in over 100,000 classrooms from K-12 and higher education classes. Other than anecdotal summaries, there does not seem to be hard data regarding the impact of the product on standardized test scores.

No comments:

Post a Comment