ERIC Number: EJ1038834
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2156-7069
EISSN: N/A
Mobile Phone Voting for Participation and Engagement in a Large Compulsory Law Course
Habel, Chad; Stubbs, Matthew
Research in Learning Technology, v22 2014
This article reports on an action-research project designed to investigate the effect of a technological intervention on the complex interactions between student engagement, participation, attendance and preparation in a large lecture delivered as part of a compulsory first-year law course, a discipline which has not been the focus of any previous study. The technology used was VotApedia, a form of mobile phone voting, and it was implemented in tandem with constructivist pedagogies such as explicit pre-reading and a prior context of interactive lecturing. Data were collected through observation, via mobile phone voting in class and by an online survey designed to specifically explore the relationship between attendance at VotApedia lectures and factors such as self-reported engagement, attendance and preparation. The findings indicated that student response systems (SRSs) are just as applicable to more Humanities-style disciplines which require divergent questioning, and supported complex interactions between engagement, attendance and preparation. Preliminary findings indicated that, although more work needs to be done, especially on the types of students who prefer to use these systems, there is a clear potential to increase student engagement in large law lectures through the use of SRSs.
Descriptors: Telecommunications, Voting, Law Students, Law Schools, Action Research, Technology Uses in Education, Interaction, Student Participation, Learner Engagement, Attendance Patterns, Lecture Method, Required Courses, Constructivism (Learning), Teaching Methods, Observation, Online Surveys, Correlation, Audience Response Systems, Instructional Effectiveness, Student Attitudes, Foreign Countries
Co-Action Publishing. Ripvagen 7, SE-175 64 Jarfalla, Sweden. Tel: +46-18-4951138; e-mail: info@co-action.net; Web site: http://www.co-action.net/journals/Journals_index.php?
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A