Teaching Philosophy

Volume 32, Issue 3, September 2009

John Immerwahr
Pages 233-245

Engaging the “Thumb Generation” with Clickers

This article is an introduction to classroom response systems (“clickers”) for philosophy lecture courses. The article reviews how clickers can help re-engage students after their attention fades during a lecture, can provide student contributions that are completely honest and free of peer pressure, and can give faculty members a rapid understanding of student understanding of material. Several specific applications are illustrated including using clicker questions to give students an emotional investment in a topic, to stimulate discussion, to display change of attitudes, and to allow for the use of the peer instruction technique, which combines lectures and small groups.