Supporting Preservice Teachers with Students Response Systems
Abstract: Preservice teachers need to develop a wide range of skills and knowledge including awareness of learners, understanding curriculum content and goals, subject matter skills, pedagogical knowledge, and how to interact in diverse, complex classroom environments (Cohen, Hoz & Kaplan; Darling-Hammond, 2006). Student-response systems (SRSs) allow teachers to receive immediate feedback from students at any time during a class. This study explored the potential of SRSs to provide effective feedback to preservice teachers on key areas of development during their practicum placements. Survey data were collected from 75 preservice teachers (53 females, 21 males) focusing on primary-junior (n=34) or intermediate-senior (n=41) grade levels. The results strongly suggested that SRSs provided effective feedback to guide teaching, increase student involvement (attention, motivation, engagement, participation), improve the quality of teaching, and conduct summative assessment. However, SRSs had a mixed impact on classroom management. Finally, SRSs may have had a positive impact on preservice teachers’ relationships with their mentors.