Engaging Engagement: A Multi-Disciplinary Study of App-Based Student Response Technology

Authors

  • Laura Cruz Penn State Author
  • Daniel J. Mallinson Penn State Harrisburg Author
  • James P. Emery DHL Supply Chain Author
  • William Illingworth Collibra Author
  • Clare Cruz Carnegie Mellon University Author

Keywords:

engagement, clickers, student response systems, faculty adoption of technology, engagement theory

Abstract

This article engages with the unsettled question of whether student response systems increase engagement in the classroom. The reported study used a multi-classroom, multi-disciplinary pilot deployment of the app-based student engagement platform Nearpod to test whether greater use of the technology yields greater student engagement. The study results were decidedly mixed, though they prompt a discussion of the construct validity of student engagement measures, particularly in a classroom with app-based platforms that reduce traditional signs of engagement (for example, raising hands). The results also have broader implications for engagement theory and call for problematizing the resulting questions being asked.

Published

2024-04-23