Running Head: EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT

PERFORMANCE

Effect of Student Response Systems on Assessment Performance:

Students with an Emotional and Behavioral Disorder
Elizabeth Mangan
University of Maryland University College

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the effect student response systems have on
students who are diagnosed with emotional and behavioral disorders and
their achievement and performance on assessments. Using this
technology based tool, teachers are introduced to a new classroom
method of assessing students that will allow students to engage in active
learning. Students become cognitively engaged with the information
present; they select, organize, and integrate new information into their
existing knowledge structures, rather than just passively listening to
some elses version of the way things are. (Bojinova & Oigara, 2011,
p.171) As a result of this active learning environment, students with an
emotional and behavioral disorder become more engaged and become
active participants in their learning that helps manage impulsive
emotions and behaviors of students. Although instructors are using
student response systems as a way to assess student understanding,
there is little evidence to suggest that using student response systems in
the classroom directly relates to an increase in student achievement and
performance on assessments. However, significant evidence supports
that the use of student response systems can have an impact on student
learning (Yourstone, Kraye, & Albaum, 2008, p.85) because the
technology allows for a shift from the use of assessment as just a
measurement tool (teach content and then test at a later date) to the use
of assessment as a learning tool (provide continuous immediate feedback

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

to students and teacher). (Rooks & Wilson, 2010, p.3) Research has

shown that emotional and behavioral students, who use student response
systems in the classroom, increase response rate to instructor questions,
and over all participation and engagement due to immediate feedback.

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD)

frequently exhibit acting out behaviors such as aggression, arguing,
impulsivity, and noncompliance, as well as off task and disruptive
behaviors in schools. (Blood, 2010, p.214) Due to these behaviors,
students with emotional and behavioral disorder also frequently exhibit
low levels of task engagement and work completion and are therefore,
not surprisingly, generally lacking in content knowledge and academic
skills. (Blood, 2010, p.214) Lack of engagement and increased
distractions in the classroom further impairs these students and can also
effect the learning and behavior of other students in the classroom
resulting in less academic instruction, decreased exposure to academic
materials, course content, and opportunities to learn. (Blood, 2010,
p.214) In order to help redirect these student behaviors in the direction
of achieving learning success, instructors need to improve the students
participation. If students do not feel involved in the learning process,

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE 4

they are less likely to work hard to make sense of the presented material
and, therefore, less likely to perform well on assessments measuring
their learning. (Bojinova & Oigara, 2011, p.170) It is important that
students with an emotional and behavioral disorder are exposed to new
methods of teaching and learning in the classroom that allow them to
take an active role in their learning in order to remain focused and
engaged during instruction.
In the traditional classroom, instructors use different methods to
assess student understanding during and after a lesson. Hand-raising
with verbal responses and paper/pencil assessments are two ways to
assess students. Although these methods are widely used in classrooms,
research has shown that they pose problems that may hinder student
performance and understanding. According to Stowell and Nelson (2007)
students who are prompted to raise their hands to respond to questions
in order to show understanding appear to be influenced by social
conformity when students would hesitate to raise their hands until a
sufficient number of other students do. Although hand-raising with verbal
response is a quick and easy way to assess student understanding, it also
appears to convey to the instructor the illusion that students are getting
it when they are not. (p.257) Paper and pencil assessments are able to
assess the students understanding of the content, but the results of the
assessment may not be returned to the students until a couple of days
later. According to Yourstone, Kraye and Albaum (2008) a question
posed today but with feedback given some days later tends to lose some

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

relevance in the students mind. (p.80) The reason being is that with

traditional time-delayed methods of feedback, the thoughts that the

student had at the time that the question was first posed may not be as
clear or even remembered when the students receives delayed feedback
on that same question (Yourstone, Kraye, & Albaum, 2008, p.80). In
order to improve upon these methods of whole class assessment, a new
classroom method must be put into place that remarkably transforms the
classroom, leading to better learning outcomes and enjoyment in a given
course through increased interaction and engagement of students with
their instructor and peers. (Bojinova & Oigara, 2011, p.170)
Todays students can be referred to as Digital Natives. (Rooks &
Wilson, 2010, p.1) These students are part of a generation where
technology has played a large role in their growth and development that
has affected their thinking and way of processing information. The issue
with this is that teaching and learning approaches have not kept pace
with the evolving technological culture and the reality of todays
student. (Rooks & Wilson, 2010, p.1) It has become a notable challenge
to keep todays students engaged in classroom lessons, especially those
students who have been diagnosed with an emotional and behavioral
disorder. In the traditional classroom, emotional and behavioral disorder
students are not getting the instant gratification they are accustomed to
which may influence more outbursts and off task behavior in the
classroom. With all the technologies that students engage with on a daily
basis, they are used to getting instant results whether the results let

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

them know they won the race by knowing and typing in their

multiplication facts the fastest or using a digital application to practice

spelling their words correctly before they take their weekly spelling test.
Knowing that they will receive immediate feedback at the end entices
students to remain focused and engaged in order to see if they achieved
their end goal. Steering away from the traditional classroom methods,
and instead exposing students to new teaching and learning methods
using technology that provides instant feedback to both the students and
the instructor will help support and enhance the achievement and
performance of students with an emotional and behavioral disorder in the
classroom.
Student Response Systems (SRSs) or clickers, are a classroom
technology tool that allows students to actively engage in their learning.
Students are given a hand-held, remote keypad (Gok, 2011, p.67) that
is used to respond to a projected question displayed by the instructor.
Students selected answers are then displayed on the screen indicating all
student responses in graph form. Using this immediate feedback, both
the instructor and the students receive a snapshot (Bojinova & Oigara,
2011, p.170) on how the correctness of their responses compares to their
peers responses in order to show class understanding on the concepts
being presented. Figure 1, demonstrates the typical pattern and process
of using SRSs in a classroom.

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

Figure 1: Schematic of the Student Response System (Gok, 2011, p.67)

Studies have shown that instructors and students, who incorporate

and use student response systems as part of the classroom routine,
improve various aspects of learning and teaching:

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

Increase classroom interactivity (learner-learner and learner-

instructor instruction) and engagement in class activities, to

improve student understanding and learning, to improve
achievement on exams, to increase attendance, to provide real-time
feedback to instructors about student misconceptions, and to
promote a more positive, active, and fun atmosphere in the
classroom. (Bojinova & Oigara, 2011, p.172)
Through past research, it has been identified that increasing rates of
opportunities to respond [in the classroom] often resulted in increased
academic outcomes, increased task engagement, and decreased
inappropriate and disruptive behavior (Blood, 2010, p.214) with
students who have an emotional and behavioral disorder. Incorporating
student response systems into classroom instruction, instructors are
better able to manage, captivate and hold the interests of those students
with an emotional and behavioral disorder. Using the clicker in
classrooms with these students increased the likelihood that they would
choose to participate in the classroom lessons. Having the clicker in
their hands gave students the opportunity to respond to every question
asked without waiting to be called on by the teacher. (Blood, 2010, p.23)
Using student response systems in the classrooms has proven to be an
effective method with positive results that allow students with an
emotional and behavioral disorder more opportunities to be involved and
engaged in their learning.

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE 9

While using student response systems in emotional and behavioral
disorder classrooms or inclusion classrooms, evidence has shown that
this technology tool more closely [reflects] how much [students] were
actually learning (Stowell & Nelson, 2007, p.256) due to the increased
levels of student participation as opposed to the traditional classroom
methods of assessing student understanding before, during and after the
lesson. Using student response systems, instructors can encourage
student engagement and participation throughout the duration of the
lessons in order to assess the students understanding rather than just
assessing students at the end of the lesson. Student response systems
allow the instructor to provide assessments FOR learning (Rooks &
Wilson, 2010, p.4) verses assessments OF learning (Rooks & Wilson,
2010, p.4). While assessments OF learning check if the learners have
met the required objectives (Rooks & Wilson, 2010, p.4), assessments
FOR learning check if the learner is making progress toward meeting
objectives during the learning process. (Rooks & Wilson, 2010, p.4) The
instructor is able to quickly adapt their teaching in order to meet the
needs of their students based on the immediate feedback from the
questions students responded to.
Although studies have indicated that there is little evidence to
suggest a distinct correlation between an increase in student
performance on formal assessments and using student response systems
in the classroom, through research, evidence has shown that immediate
feedback enhances students ability to learn, [allows] educators [to]

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

10
identify and address incorrect thinking, and [allows] students [to]
remember correct information. (Rooks & Wilson, 2010, p.4) Since
student responses are immediately measured and then projected back
onto the screen anonymously in graph format, students develop
confidence as they are able to relate their level of learning and
understanding to tat of their peers. In some research, students have
expressed relief when they realized that they were not the only ones
struggling to understand the material, thus increasing student
confidence level. (Bojinova & Oigara, 2011, p.182) Table 1 indicates the
benefits of using student response systems in the classroom.
The biggest challenge with students, who are diagnosed with an
emotional and behavioral disorder, is making sure these students are
able to continue to learn in the environment they are in. With continued
distractions and interruptions during lessons, it is important that the
instructor incorporates new teaching methods that allow all students to
engage and participate in lessons that motivate, entice and hold student
interest. Incorporating student response systems into the classroom
allows instructors to immediately know more about each of their
students knowledge and understanding about the content material
(Bojinova & Oigara, 2011, p.182) while also providing the students with a
comfortable and anonymous way to participate during instruction in
order to show understanding.
Further research should continue to investigate different methods
to use in the classroom that will benefit students with emotional and

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

11
behavioral disorders. Focusing research on methods where student
participation, engagement and motivation is at the center of the
instruction, will help further the success of these students in the
classroom while limiting off task and disruptive behavior.
Rooks and Wilson (2010) identify the importance of using
technology effectively in the classroom:
A classroom full of the latest digital products does not by itself
create great teaching or support student learning. Technology is
merely a tool to facilitate meaningful instruction between a teacher
and students as well as create interactive opportunities that were
impossible 10 years ago. Without good teaching, technology is
useless. The classroom application is as important as the tool itself.
To better prepare students to succeed, educators must embrace
new teaching strategies that connect effective technology with
pedagogies that support student achievement. (p.5)
Table 1: Summary of the Student Response Systems Benefits
Benefit
Student
Involvement
Attendance

Description
Student go to class more

Attention

Students are more focused in class

Anonymity

All students participate anonymously

Participation

Students participate with peers more in class to

solve problems

Engagement

Students are more engaged in class

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

12
Learning
Interaction
Students interact more with peers to discuss ideas
Discussion

Students actively discuss misconceptions to build

knowledge

Contingent
teaching

Instruction can be modified based on feedback

from students

Learning
performance

Learning performance increases as a results of

using the SRS

Quality of
learning

Qualitative difference when learning with SRS

(eg, better explanations, thinking about important
concepts, resolving misconceptions)

Assessment
Feedback
Formative
Compare

Students and teacher like getting regular

feedback on understanding and quality of
teaching
Assessment is done that improves student
understanding and quality of teaching
Students compare their the SRS responses to
class responses

Table 1: Summary of the Student Response Systems Benefits (Gok, 2011, p.68-69)

EFFECT OF STUDENT RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON ASSESSMENT PERFORMANCE

13

References
Blood, E. (2010). Effects of Student Response Systems on Participation
and Learning of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.
Behavioral Disorders 35(3), 214-228.
Bojinoa, E. D., Oigara, J. N. (2011). Teaching and Learning with Clickers:
Are Clickers Good for Students? Interdisciplinary Journal of ELearning nd Learning Objects, 7, 169-182.
Rooks, T., Wilson, J. (2010). Turning Technologies Student Response
Systems Transforming the K-12 Learning Experience. Retrieved
from www.TurningTechnologies.com
Gok, T. (2011). An Evaluation of Student Response Systems from the
Viewpoint of Instructors and Students. TOJET: Turkish Online
Journal of Educational Technology, 10(4), 67-80.
Shaffer, D. M., Collura, A. J. (2009). Evaluating the Effectiveness of a
Personal Response System in the Classroom. Teaching of
Psychology, 36(6), 273-277.
Stowell, J. R., Nelson, J. M.(2007). Benefits of Electronic Audience
Response Systems of Student Participation. Learnig and Emotion.
Teaching of Psychology, 34(4), 253-258.
Yourstone, S. A., Kraye, H. S., Albaum, G. (2008). Classroom Questioning
with Immediate Electronic Response: Do Clickers Improve
Learning? Decisions Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 6(1),
75-88.