Tolga Akçura
Tolga Akçura |
Professor Tolga Akçura is charting new territory in his undergraduate marketing class this semester with an electronic instruction system that transforms his lectures into an interactive learning experience and gives students real-time feedback on their performance.
Response pads that function essentially like remote controls make the system work, explains Akçura. Instead of raising their hands to answer discussion questions, for example, students simply press a button to choose one of several possible responses. "It can also be used to take attendance, create assessments, and grade quizzes instantaneously," he says.
The science behind "audience-paced feedback" has been around for 20 years, says Akçura, and research has shown that it's effective in enhancing students' learning experience. It also increases the overall pass rate, and narrows the gap between the most successful and least successful students, says Akçura.
Students in Prof. Tolga Akçura's undergraduate marketing class display the response pads they use to respond to discussion questions, take quizzes, and record their attendance. |
Wireless technology has made such systems even more effective, as well as more affordable. When McGraw-Hill bundled eInstruction's Classroom Performance System (CPS) with its existing course materials for his marketing class, Akçura says he "jumped at the opportunity." The only additional purchase for students was the $4 response pad, which the bookstore will buy back at the end of the semester. That helped create a favorable attitude among students from the start, says Akçura.
Students continued to embrace the system as they recognized its value in heightening their attention and focus, says Akçura. "It increases students' accountability," he explains. "They must listen closely to what I'm saying and internalize the discussion. It also gives them motivation to read the assigned material in advance."
Outside of class, both Akçura and his students can go to the CPS Web site to track grades and review lecture materials in more detail. Students can even check which questions they missed on quizzes. "This gives them a good study guide for the exams," says Akçura.
Lillian Ersoy, a junior in the School of Management, says e-instruction has improved her comprehension of the material and her performance on assessments. It has also made class more interactive and enjoyable, she says. "E-instruction reinforces what you have learned while also adding fun dynamics to the class," says Ersoy. "It helps build a social atmosphere in the class."
The system has also made Akçura more accountable as a teacher. Students answer most discussion questions correctly about 70 to 80 percent of the time, says Akçura. If the percentage of correct responses is substantially lower, however, Akçura knows he needs to provide further explanation. "I can check students' understanding in real-time and emphasize and clarify the misunderstood topics," he says.
Akçura is currently the only faculty member in Krannert using e-instruction, and one of only a handful at Purdue. But he believes the technology will continue to prove itself, and hopes its use in his marketing class will inspire other faculty to follow his lead. "It's an investment that will pay off," he says.