Does Clicker Technology Improve Student Learning?

Source: Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 20(2), 113-126. 2012.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of in-class review methods on student learning outcomes in a course preparing pre-service teachers for the Texas Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities teacher certification exam.

Students were tested on midterm and end-of-term exams comprised of questions similar to those on the certification exam.
One third of the exam questions were reviewed in class during the semester using Audience Response System technology (e.g., clickers), one third of the questions were reviewed without the use of clickers, and one third of the questions were not reviewed in class.

Students stated that they preferred review with clickers as compared to the traditional review method, and they were more engaged when clickers were used for review.

Quantitative findings further suggest that in-class review of complex questions produced improved learning outcomes.
However, the use of clickers for in-class review did not provide greater benefit than review following a traditional format.

While the use of clickers in pre-service teacher education programs may contribute to in-class student engagement, the benefit from the use of clickers does not extend to better student learning gains when compared to a traditional review method.