Why is formative assessment important?

Formative assessment fosters active student participation and provides immediate insights into their understanding. Mastering formative assessment strategies will help your students showcase their knowledge of and reflect on the material taught while providing the teacher with insight into their understanding. When teachers ask students to demonstrate their understanding through formative assessment during a lesson regularly, students become active in the learning experience and are able to cement or apply their knowledge. Through this instant feedback, teachers can tailor their instruction on the spot to immediately meet the needs of their students based on these insights.

How to use technology for formative assessments

We know the instructional value of consistent formative assessment in the classroom, but it has become a demanding practice to implement regularly for teachers with competing priorities. That is… until smart devices came into the picture. In fact, Ian Beatty at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst was one of the first to illustrate how personal smart devices in the hands of teachers and students could dramatically transform the ability to deliver and analyze the results of formative assessment. The integration of technology in the classroom provides teachers with real-time feedback that can be used to inform instructional decisions. Teachers can create personalized learning experiences, get immediate feedback on student learning, and conduct data-driven instruction, which can result in an improvement in student outcomes and engagement. Nearpod provides real-time insights into student understanding through interactive lessons, interactive videos, gamification, and activities — all in a single platform.

The research and benefits of formative assessment in Nearpod

The original platform design of Nearpod was inspired by a growing body of research around the positive impacts of consistent formative assessment and best practices for implementing them (Engle & Conant, 2002). In the beginning, teachers could facilitate Nearpod lessons from their devices that synchronized informational slides and a few options for formative assessments (open-ended questions, multiple choice quizzes, or polls) on student devices. As the educational landscape evolves, Nearpod has consistently enriched its suite of formative assessment tools with evidence-based solutions, supporting educators in adapting to the changing classroom environment.

Nearpod allows teachers to monitor real-time formative assessment data and share individual responses with the rest of the class, making students more eager to demonstrate their understanding. Also, teachers can access formative assessment data after any session in their post-session reports or on their teacher dashboard during instruction to monitor student progress. Now, Nearpod offers nine types of formative assessments to check for understanding in any lesson!

New to Nearpod? Teachers can sign up for free below to access these resources, interactive activities, and engaging lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

5 Evidence-based formative assessment strategies using tech tools

1. Provide diverse assessment options to keep students interested

No matter how beneficial a formative assessment may be, doing the same thing over and over can get repetitive and have a negative impact on classroom engagement. Truly effective formative assessments should deploy a variety of tasks to measure student understanding (Ames, 1992). Diverse delivery of assessment is associated with strong cognitive and emotional gains in students (McLaughlin & Yan, 2017). This research inspired the Nearpod team to build out a more comprehensive suite of interactive assessments that could be added to a Nearpod lesson. Nearpod added Fill-in-the-blanks and Matching Pairs to better scaffold student work and responses for identifying and define-level assessments. 

2. Provide opportunities for collaboration and creation

The introduction of the Collaborate Board allowed students to see and interact with peer-written responses, recreating the concept of a digital instructional “parking lot” and updating responses in real time on teacher dashboards. One study from 2010 showed that opportunities to “doodle” during a learning experience increased the likelihood of information retention (Andrade, 2010). The Draw It tool was created as a way to empower students who prefer expressing their understanding creatively. Students can submit drawings on a blank canvas or a background image uploaded by the teacher. The feature quickly became a teacher and student favorite!

3. Use reference media to support and scaffold student learning

For each interactive assessment, we try our best to remove any potential impediments from answering a question. One study found greater access to requisite background knowledge enhances online assessment outcomes (Fuchs et al., 2000). Accordingly, Nearpod developed the ability for teachers to add reference media, such as an image, a video, a website, or even an audio recording of a teacher’s voice, as an attachment to interactive assessments to give more background information.

4. Promote inclusivity and reduce biases during instruction

Not every student is willing to raise their hand publicly, and this popular method of questioning means many are left behind during formative assessments. Student-response systems increase participation and draw out reluctant participants. (Graham et al., 2007) Nearpod developed the optional feature to make student responses anonymous in order to promote increased participation and reduce feelings of vulnerability (Caldwell, 2007). In Nearpod lessons, the barriers to entry for participating are reduced compared to raising your hand in class.

One study found that teachers can maximize learning outcomes and promote inclusivity by allowing students to submit audio recordings in lieu of written responses (Dalton, Herbert, & Daysher, 2003). Nearpod has a feature whereby students can submit audio responses to an open-ended question. Cheryl Staats argues that every educator enters the classroom with some degree of implicit bias, manifesting itself in who gets called on, who is believed in, and general classroom attitudes (2016). It can be a hard thing to spot in oneself, let alone curb entirely, but technology can play a pivotal role in democratizing classroom participation and formative assessment strategies.

5. Incorporate educational games

Educational games create engaging, fun, and valuable learning experiences for students. These types of formative assessment tech tools help build 21st-century social skills and problem-solving skills and build community, all while learning and boosting student achievement. Games are most effective when well-planned and integrated into learning objectives. With Time to Climb, you can include an existing Nearpod lesson or use it as a quick stand-alone activity. Students compete to get to the top of a mountain by answering a series of questions correctly and quickly to become one of the top three winners of the game. Teachers can choose a setting, and students select a character. It’s a teacher and student favorite!

Start using Nearpod’s formative assessments

Formative assessment, especially with tools like Nearpod, has transformed traditional teaching methods. Teachers have attested to the fact that more students participate and participate consistently in Nearpod lessons compared to traditional lessons. Nearpod’s evolution showcases its commitment to supporting teachers with effective tools. Embracing technology-driven formative assessment not only enriches learning but also fosters an inclusive and adaptable educational environment where each student can thrive.

Foster a love of learning in every student with Nearpod. Teachers can sign up for free below to access and create interactive lessons. Administrators can schedule a call with an expert to unlock the full power of Nearpod for schools and districts.

Works Cited in Research Base

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: principles, policy & practice, 5(1), 7-74.

Engle, R. A., & Conant, F. R. (2002). Guiding principles for fostering productive disciplinary engagement: Explaining an emergent argument in a community of learners classroom. Cognition and instruction, 20(4), 399-483.

Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of educational psychology, 84(3), 261.

McLaughlin, T., & Yan, Z. (2017). Diverse delivery methods and strong psychological benefits: A review of online formative assessment. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33(6), 562-574.

Andrade, J. (2010). What does doodling do?. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 24(1), 100-106.

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Karns, K., Hamlett, C. L., Dutka, S., & Katzaroff, M. (2000). The importance of providing background information on the structure and scoring of performance assessments. Applied Measurement in Education, 13(1), 1-34.

Graham, C. R., Tripp, T. R., Seawright, L., & Joeckel, G. (2007). Empowering or compelling reluctant participators using audience response systems. Active Learning in Higher Education, 8(3), 233-258.

Caldwell, J. E. (2007). Clickers in the large classroom: Current research and best-practice tips. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6(1), 9-20.

Dalton, B. D., Herbert, M., & Deysher, S. (2003, December). Scaffolding students’ response to digital literature with embedded strategy supports: The role of audio-recording vs. writing student response options. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.

Adam Franklin

Adam is a Learning Experience Designer at Nearpod. He previously taught High School History teacher in Houston, Texas where he also served as the Social Studies Department Chair. Adam is currently in charge of the quality control of Nearpod’s learning experiences. He is also the manager of the Digital Citizenship and Literacy program.

The post 5 Evidence-based formative assessment strategies using tech tools appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

What is ChatGPT?

In November 2022, OpenAI developed and made available an advanced chatbot, which is a natural language processing tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide human-like conversations and high-quality content. However, this chatbot was unlike its predecessors. The “GPT” stands for generative pre-trained transformer. ChatGPT uses both supervised learning as well as reinforcement learning.

While generative AI focuses on generating output based on data gathered from a wide array of information available on the internet, it is the RLHF, or Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback, that adds the human-like component since human AI trainers modeled conversations of both the user and the AI assistants. Based on OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 language models, you can question ChatGPT to provide an answer, or complete a task like generating specific content, say an essay or code. ChatGPT is free to the public since OpenAI is still in the phase of collecting research and feedback on this tool, and there is a paid subscription model currently available, ChatGPT Plus.

Why are people worried?

With any new technology, people tend to worry. It’s often a fear of the unknown. In the early 1900s, actress Mary Pickford stated, “Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo.” In 1984, Columbia University Teachers College Research questioned the role of computers in education, insinuating that computers were “bad.” Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that it can be hard to know what is the latest and greatest.

Richard Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns theorizes that the rate of change is exponential—instead of 100 years of progress in the 21st century, we probably will experience 20,000 years of progress. With ChatGPT being able to create content, the old fear of humans being replaced by robots has resurfaced. Some fear that their jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence education. Others fear human intelligence may suffer since users can “cheat” to have answers provided or essays written for them. Plus, since ChatGPT does not provide sources, there’s the threat of spreading misinformation. ChatGPT does not ask clarifying questions, so the AI can provide content whose words may be in the right order and therefore be “plausible-sounding” but actually lack meaning, resulting in nonsensical or inaccurate text.

“My responses are not intended to be taken as fact, and I always encourage people to verify any information they receive from me or any other source.”

ChatGPT (ZDNET)

Additionally, ChatGPT relies on internet-based information up to 2021, so it’s not the most up-to-date in today’s real-time data world. And since Chat GPT is one of the fastest-growing apps of all time, hitting 100 million in two months (for comparison, TikTik took nine months to accomplish the same feat), many, young and old,  are concerned over the lack of oversight or protocol. As with all technology, will it be used as the creators intended?

What are examples of artificial intelligence in education?

As with tech in general, there is so much potential with new tools. ChatGPT helps generate solutions to problems, answers to questions, and suggestions to inquiries. In our always-on world, there’s instant gratification in having information at your fingertips in real time, which optimizes efficiency, whether professionally or personally. Since Chat GPT culls the vast internet, it provides different perspectives, various points of view, and original ways to digest information, factual or subjective.

What does AI technology, such as ChatGPT, mean for teachers and schools?

Quite simply? It’s to be determined! Many schools and universities have proactively banned ChatGPT, while others cry that it’s too reactive of a move. While cheating is always a concern in education, ChatGPT will continue to force us educators to think about our means of assessment. If AI can answer a question, is that the right question we should ask our students? Think back to the initial concerns over calculators in children’s hands—seems almost laughable now, right?

If you haven’t already, do listen to Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk on changing education paradigms.

ChatGPT examples teachers can use in the classroom

1. Combine AI ChatGPT with pedagogy

Similar to when the internet became more widely used in schools, teachers shifted away from students memorizing information—since they could Google to find factual answers—and instead focus more on the application of such learned knowledge. Teachers’ roles shifted from being importers (or, some say, gatekeepers) of information to facilitators or guides. ChatGPT will encourage educators to continue focusing on those higher-order thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Instead of the A, B, Cs, and 1, 2, 3s, P21’s Frameworks for 21st Century Learning touts that today’s classrooms must focus on skill sets based on the 4 Cs: creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

And although not research-based, the Learning Pyramid illustrates the levels of knowledge retention, with “teaching others” as the most active and most effective method. So instead of having students write a persuasive essay on a topic, how might they use ChatGPT to craft? And then, how might they use their critical-thinking skills to analyze the construct of the AI ChatGPT-generated argument and craft feedback as a teacher would?

 2. Administrative work and instructional planning

ChatGPT has a practicability that’s hard to dispute. For example:

• In terms of efficiency, it aids teachers in many administrative tasks such as writing emails, developing instruction, generating examples of solutions, crafting a poster, or providing word problems. 
• It can streamline instructional planning, whether outlining a unit, crafting formative assessment questions, curating slides on a topic, forming rubrics, or generating discussion questions. Teachers can still put their artist’s mark on these materials and their methodologies, but they won’t have to “recreate the wheel” as often.
• Students can create flashcards with questions and answers, generate practice quizzes, ask for summaries, and even debate with the chatbot to understand various points of view. Companies like Quizlet and Duolingo have already integrated the chatbot into their apps.

3. Ask the right questions

Part and parcel of critical thinking is being able to ask well-formulated and carefully constructed questions. As Albert Einstein said, “It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” Such an art goes beyond the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, and why). Good questioning is a practice for organizing thinking about what one doesn’t know. Questioning speaks to curiosity, a hallmark of a lifelong learner. With technology like ChatGPT, today’s students will learn how to craft the right questions to spark their own quest for exploration and discovery. Questioning also requires empathy, and in asking questions, we improve our emotional intelligence, which then begs more questioning.

Before the assignment, give students an introduction to Chat GPT with these lessons and activities:

• ChatGPT & the Rise of AI-Generated Content (Grades 6-12): In this Current Events lesson, students learn about recently released AI tools such as ChatGPT. They learn about AI and discuss the possible impacts of these tools on schools and society.
• Artificial Intelligence (Grades 6-12): In this 6-12 technology activity, students demonstrate their understanding of artificial intelligence concepts using Nearpod’s interactive game quiz, Time to Climb.

• The Future of Artificial Intelligence (Grades 9 – Higher Ed): In this Interactive Video from Crash Course, students learn about the future of artificial intelligence.
• AI in Schools (Grades 6- 12): In this Current Events lesson, students learn about the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education. They explain how some schools have embraced generative AI and assess ethical concerns around the use of AI in classrooms.
• How Will AI Change the World? (Grades 6-Higher Ed): In this video, students are introduced to data types and variables in programming.

4. Personalized learning

Probably one of the most intriguing aspects of ChatGPT examples to explore will be how it can help personalize learning for individual students. ChatGPT can create content with constraints or specifics in mind, whether it’s differences in learning styles, abilities, or even language. Imagine asking for a summary of the March on Washington in only images, a breakdown of the laws of gravity for a first grader, varied explanations for the causes of World War I, or the steps to solving an algebra problem in Korean. The ease of differentiation of content comes from asking a question. For both the teacher who needs to personalize lesson plans and the student who needs to personalize studying strategies, ChatGPT could be a game changer.

Start exploring artificial intelligence in education

Change is hard. There will be bumps in the road, as with any learning process. While in its infancy (and ergo nascent on accuracy), OpenAI and others have already released text detectors to identify what content was written by a human versus an AI-written source. Such transparency will be helpful in understanding potential risks and pitfalls in using said content. With such advancements, we must keep ethics, integrity, access, and equity top of mind. As educators, consider how you may need to rethink the learning goals for your students and redesign your instructional strategies. Consider how to make your students co-pilots in learning about this new technology to advance learning and be clear on your expectations with them. And keep asking questions!

If you’re interested in exploring an edtech tool that can support you in creating interactive lessons, keeping students engaged, and tracking real-time insights into student learning, sign up for Nearpod below for free.

Darri Stephens

Darri Stephens is a dedicated LX (learning experience) designer, passionate about creating quality content and programs for kids, families, and educators. With MAs in Education from both Harvard and Stanford, and work experience at best-in-class ed tech organizations including Wonder Workshop, Nickelodeon, and Common Sense Education, she is steeped in the design thinking process and committed to agile and iterative project management, which has resulted in multi-award-winning programs and products.

The post ChatGPT examples to use artificial intelligence in education appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

Embed assessments into lectures with Nearpod

In this pursuit, technology offers us a valuable ally, and Nearpod is a prime example. With Nearpod’s interactive features, you can transform your traditional PowerPoint presentations into engaging, participatory learning experiences. Through its interactive activities and slides, you can seamlessly integrate open-ended questions, polls, quizzes, and collaborative activities, enabling students to actively engage with the content and with each other. This enables students to actively participate in the content and with peers while providing instructors with immediate, real-time insights into student comprehension. Collecting students’ performance data through these tools will support educators in their data driven approaches by making adjustments in the moment and using those insights to guide future instruction.

New to Nearpod? Book a demo with one of our experts and learn how you can empower educators with unlimited access to everything they need to engage learners.

A better way to gather data insights in higher education

Throughout the history of higher education, evaluating our teaching methods has often been an exercise in trial and error. Whether the instructional method we choose is self-created or derived from a research-based best practice, we tend to use qualitative observational data to assess the success of each lesson. Unfortunately, this self-assessment doesn’t typically properly provide feedback on whether or not we’ve achieved our ultimate goal as instructors – positively influencing improved student performance outcomes. Feeling that students were engaged or liked a lesson doesn’t necessarily indicate that they learned and retained the information presented, just as students complaining about a learning activity doesn’t mean that they did not learn the material.

Only by evaluating student performance through exam data, normally toward the end of the term or semester when it may be too late to course correct, can we identify which teaching methods best influence improved student performance through data driven instruction. Additionally, data driven decision making in higher education has become increasingly important as institutions leverage data to enhance instruction and improve student outcomes.

Collect student performance data through active lectures

Let’s quickly address a couple of elephants in the room. First, if you have teaching experience, you likely have PowerPoint experience. It’s how many of us were taught and how many of us learned how to teach – no shame in that. Secondly, the easiest and most time-efficient way to get a lot of information to a large group of people in a live setting is a good old-fashioned lecture. As someone who promotes and teaches active learning instructional methods, that last one was pretty tough for me to admit publicly.

It’s okay to lecture (it really is!) but let’s follow the student performance data and engage our learners with course content by turning these typically passive learning sessions into active lectures. Active lectures are teaching sessions that still allow faculty and students to operate in their most familiar classroom setting, while also requiring students to think critically about course content, receive feedback on their performance, and provide students the opportunity to self-assess their performance in comparison with their peers. How have faculty in our program accomplished this, you ask? Here are three data driven approaches (that are easy to implement) that will help you achieve that ultimate teaching goal – influencing improved student outcomes.

3 Data driven approaches to improve student performance

1. Engage all students with interactive questions for improved learning and participation

Pausing and asking students questions while lecturing is fairly common, but what information do we really gather as faculty using this technique? And how do we ensure that we are hearing from every student, and not just the few brave souls that raise their hands to speak?  Let me elaborate with a personal example. When I was a student teacher, I was fortunate enough to have a GREAT cooperating teacher – Chuck Harlow, at Northmont High School. During some of my teaching sessions, Chuck would sit in the back of the room and make tallies on the seating chart each time I called on a student. I’ll never forget the first time Chuck asked me how I thought I did after a long day of teaching. I very proudly thought I did well and that the students learned what I was teaching. When asked to share how I knew the students learned, I said that students were following along, nodding, and answering the questions I asked during class. And that’s when Chuck hit me with a lesson that has clearly stuck with me for the last 15+ years. He showed me the tallies. For each class of 30ish students, I had called on maybe 5-6 per period. So, I knew what about 20% (at best) of my students knew about the content I was teaching that day. When pressed about what the other 80% of students learned that day, I had nothing. Extrapolating those numbers to large lecture classrooms we’re typically hearing from an incredibly small percentage of our students. So, it’s time to fix that.

Asking written open-ended questions engages all students with course content while holding them accountable for providing an answer. So, while you may only be able to call on a select number of students during class, all students can now engage with the course content and provide their thoughts. Professors can always see each students’ performance data on their screen. However, if you’d like to share responses with the class for peer collaboration, you can make students’ responses anonymous during these interactive slides to encourage even the most tentative students to submit answers.

The more reps students get critically applying content learned will encourage more long-term retention of course content while also providing opportunities for students to self-assess their knowledge of course content. If an open-ended question doesn’t make sense for your lesson, you also have other similar options in Nearpod to support this data driven approach, such as Polls, Quizzes, or Draw It’s that may serve the same purpose.

2. Gain insights through student collaboration and peer communication

Engagement is more than just students engaging with the content, they should also engage with their instructors and peers. Why? Well, first and foremost, formative assessments serve as a two-way communication tool. This is your opportunity as the teacher to create assessments that emphasize the key terms and concepts while students are communicating back to you their level of mastery of the course content. They learn from you which is the most important information to study/practice, while you can use their performance data to focus remediation efforts and upcoming lessons on where students are struggling the most.

When students exchange ideas with their peers, it broadens and deepens the class discussions. Students have the opportunity to play the role of instructor by offering new concepts or explanations to their classmates – and we all know that we learn best by teaching. Not to mention, peer collaboration allows students to self-assess their personal progress against their classmates. If they can’t contribute to or keep up with the conversation, they know they need to improve in that area. Students don’t always innately self-assess, so don’t forget to remind students that they should be self-assessing their progress! Reflection will help them better focus their study time outside of class.

Educators can accomplish this through Nearpod’s Collaborate Board! Collaborate Board is a virtual board of “post-it notes” that allows students to quickly share ideas and comments through text and multimedia with their classmates. All responses are visible to the class, and students can interact with each other’s responses by “hearting” or adding comments to them. For faculty, this engagement tool couldn’t be easier to create – add the board to your presentation, pose a question or thinking prompt, add a reference image if you like, and share the lesson with students to have them post their answers. These answers will quickly and organically drive your lesson forward through the student answers provided while also giving you the opportunity to reinforce positive performance and correct any learning concerns right there in the moment.

If you’re really looking to gain insights into your students’ ability to think critically about and apply concepts learned through a data driven approach, use Collaborate Board to ask students to provide what they would need to learn next to further their knowledge on the topic. Having students provide their personal learning objectives provides a unique window into how students are thinking about course content, giving you the information needed to either continue with your current unit plan or readjust to help students get back on track. These engagements are a BIG part of the year-over-year improved student performance we’ve seen in our program!

3. Provide targeted self-paced practice opportunities

After assessing students’ knowledge in class, providing them feedback, and encouraging them to self-assess their performance, it’s time to create self-paced practice materials that help them target where they need to improve. The best way to quantifiably identify where students are struggling the most is to use Quiz questions in your Nearpod presentations. The percent correct is provided for each question, so the information is easy to access and digest.

Pro-tip: Make a note of the general content area each Quiz or individual Quiz question addresses. After your presentation, review the student performance on these content areas as a whole. This will allow you to target the areas of greatest concern with self-paced modules.

These real-time remediation modules can help students focus their study time where they need it the most instead of spending their time practicing on areas of your course where they’re already proficient. The more opportunities students have to practice applying concepts, the more likely they are to turn these lessons learned into long-term retention of course content.

Self-paced practice isn’t just for struggling students! These modules are also great in helping students apply content in more practical scenarios. Throughout higher education, one of the more common concerns faculty voice is that students struggle with critical thinking and applying concepts to problem solve. These self-paced practice modules can be created with a focus on giving students more repetitions sharpening these skills. The more reps, the more likely students are to develop these critical thinking skills.

Previously, creating these types of targeted materials wasn’t possible because it took too much time, but with the advent of artificial intelligence, we can have these materials created for us. If you’d like to learn more about that, check out this webinar: Work Smarter, Not Harder: Streamlining and Enhancing Educational Content Creation with AI & Nearpod!

Following students’ completion of the modules, educators should bridge the gap between this stage and the receipt of exam results. During this critical timeframe, professors can conduct additional class assessments, specifically tailored to address the areas of concern identified through data analysis. By conducting targeted assessments and making data-driven decisions, instructors can create self-paced remediation modules, if needed, that help students pinpoint their weaknesses, thus optimizing their study time and overall learning experience.

The impactful results of active lectures through data driven approaches

Using Nearpod’s engaging formative assessment features, we’ve witnessed meaningful improvement in student performance on our summative exams (and we have the data to prove it!). By implementing these easy-to-create and powerful methods, you can see the same improvement with your students! And at the end of the day, that’s the most impactful thing we can do as teachers – positive influence improved student outcomes.

This table illustrates the year-over-year change in student exam performance after one faculty member switch from teaching solely with PowerPoint to using Nearpod for all of their lessons.

Bring Nearpod to your department or institution to implement these approaches

If you are still using PowerPoint and traditional lectures in your higher education courses, that’s okay. However, I challenge you to break the status quo and open up to data driven instruction, to take the leap and transform passive lectures into active ones. With these 3 data driven approaches using Open Ended Questions to hear every student’s voice, sparking inclusive discussion in Collaborate Board, and encouraging critical thinking and real-world application through self-paced practice, you will have a great starting point to improving overall student performance like the students from my institution. 

Join hundreds of faculty and institutions elevating instruction worldwide. Engage 100% of your students with interactive activities delivered live or asynchronously on any device with Nearpod.

New to Nearpod? Book a demo with one of our experts and learn how you can empower educators with unlimited access to everything they need to engage learners.

Dan Thompson

Currently the Assistant Director of Faculty Development and Instructional Design at Oklahoma State University (OSU) College of Veterinary Medicine, Dan transitioned from teaching high school to focusing on curriculum and educational technology in higher education. Throughout his career he has assisted faculty in course design and development, while also introducing new methods of utilizing educational technology in the curriculum to create a learner-centered environment. His background includes leading faculty development efforts at OSU Center for Health Sciences and Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. He holds a Master of Science in Technology Enhanced Learning and a Bachelor of Science in Adolescent/Young Adult Education from the University of Dayton.

The post Higher education data driven approaches to boost student learning appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

About the study

Filipino students from Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) in Valenzuela City participated in a study highlighting Nearpod’s effectiveness. The study interviewed 224 students who had used Nearpod consistently for over four months. Their positive feedback emphasized how Nearpod significantly improved their learning journey across social motivation, creative expression, and personalization. This research aligns with David Havens’ framework, advocating for technology tools that encompass these crucial aspects in the classroom.

Empowering Filipino higher ed students: Nearpod’s role in transformative learning, motivation, and creativity

Several factors contribute to the effectiveness of a technological tool in education. First, it should facilitate a shift from traditional teaching methods to more progressive ones, fostering innovation and engagement in the learning process. Second, it should sustain student motivation, whether in the context of distance learning or face-to-face instruction, ensuring that learners remain eager and committed to their studies. Additionally, it should influence the development of 21st-century skills in students, preparing them for the demands of the modern world. Last, the use of technological tools, such as Nearpod, often reveals unforeseen benefits that enhance the overall educational experience, making it a valuable asset in contemporary classrooms.

New to Nearpod? Book a demo with one of our experts and learn how you can empower educators with unlimited access to everything they need to engage learners.

Key research questions

This research study aimed to explore the perspectives and experiences of college students who have incorporated Nearpod into their classroom activities. The exploration is guided by three key research questions:

• How do college students who used Nearpod in their classes feel about Nearpod in terms of social motivation, creativity, and personalization? This question aimed to uncover the students’ perceptions regarding Nearpod’s impact on aspects such as social interaction, creative engagement, and personalized learning experiences.
• How do students describe their experience with Nearpod? Here, the focus is on gathering in-depth descriptions of students’ personal encounters with Nearpod, providing valuable insights into their overall experiences and interactions with the platform.
• What are the students’ favorite things about working with Nearpod? This question aimed to pinpoint specific aspects or features of Nearpod that resonate most with students, shedding light on the elements that contribute to their positive perceptions and preferences within the platform.

Key findings

Boosted students’ social motivation

Social motivation is basically any motive that is acquired by interaction with others. Peer interaction is a big part of the learning journey, which is why most traditional and non-traditional learning cultures emphasize the importance of teamwork and group activity.

The study asked students if, during Nearpod activities like Collaborate Board, Quizzes, and responses shared on Time of Climb, students interacted with their peers in a way that helped them learn. An impressive 96% said that they often or sometimes did. When asked about their preferred aspect of using Nearpod, the three leading responses comprised engaging activities, chances for creativity and self-expression, and the user-friendly interface it offers.

When asked about their preferred aspect of using Nearpod, the three leading responses comprised engaging activities, chances for creativity and self-expression, and the user-friendly interface it offers.

• 99.5% of the students felt that their teacher knew how they were doing with the material or lesson some or most of the time while using Nearpod.
• 95% of the students said that someone (teacher/peers) would see the work they did during Nearpod activities.

Nearpod enables proactive tracking of teacher-student interaction, while also fostering social motivation through peer engagement. This social motivation, arising from interactions with others, is substantially important to the learning process, as evidenced by both traditional and non-traditional educational approaches that prioritize teamwork and group activities as integral components of the learning journey.

The teacher remains an integral part of the student journey, easing the fear that education technology could make teachers redundant. Most of the time, or sometimes, the teacher knew how the students were doing with their lesson.

Ignited student creativity

Creative forms of learning enable the lessons to stick far longer. Nearpod offers students various avenues to stretch their creative muscles and learn while at it. By incorporating interactive activities, multimedia presentations, and collaborative projects, Nearpod empowers students to engage with educational content in innovative ways, enhancing their retention and comprehension. This approach not only makes learning enjoyable but also cultivates a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

• 97% of the students said they can express themselves creatively using Nearpod. 
• 67% of the students claimed that Nearpod provided them avenues to express themselves creatively more than other classroom activities.

Supported personalization and embracing student individuality

Recognizing the individuality of each student and acknowledging the diversity in learning speeds and abilities, Nearpod’s educational tools stand out in their commitment to personalized learning. While tailoring lessons to cater to every inquisitive mind might present challenges within a traditional classroom setup, Nearpod’s tools have demonstrated remarkable success in this endeavor. In fact, a significant 88% of surveyed students attested that the difficulty level of Nearpod’s activities was perfectly suited to their learning needs.

More than 60% of students experienced a sense of connection with the content and a personal interest in the topics they were learning through the use of Nearpod.

Key results

Faculty members of Our Lady of Fatima University reinforce that Nearpod not only enriches the learning experience but also empowers both students and teachers. It has helped foster a sense of community and collaboration while embracing the unique strengths and needs of each learner. These findings affirm the value of Nearpod in modern education and its potential to shape a more engaging, creative, and personalized learning landscape.

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Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

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The post How Nearpod empowers Filipino HigherEd students: OLFU Research Study appeared first on Nearpod Blog.

It is no surprise that technology has evolved tremendously over the last few decades. Each year, higher education instructors are met with new ways to enhance their classroom experience with technology. Dr. James Gentry, a professor and director of instructional development and course design at Tarleton State University (TSU), remembers when he was excited for his classroom chalkboard to be upgraded to a dry-erase board. In the 1990’s, it was a big deal for a school to have its own computer lab or for a classroom to have its own dedicated computer. 

Another major advancement in educational technology was the introduction of student response systems, such as clickers. Clickers are also an additional cost that most college students are expected to foot the bill for. In the early 2000’s, clickers started to gain popularity across the United States. Clickers were introduced to the higher education classroom as a way to track student attendance, increase engagement, and assess students’ knowledge of the content they are studying. This was especially appealing to instructors who were lecturing to large groups of students. Clickers made it easy for these instructors to track who was showing up for class and gauge student understanding. 

“Now that students have their own devices, your classroom is the new computer lab.”

Nowadays, students enter classrooms with their own technological devices ranging from cell phones to tablets to laptops. Today, it is estimated that over five billion people own a mobile device compared to the 97 million people who owned one in 2000. By selecting products that work with the devices students already own, both schools and students are able to save money. Dr. Gentry helps reduce students’ cost of course materials by using Nearpod because it is free for students to use. While there are many benefits to using the Nearpod platform in the higher education classroom, one of the Nearpod features he and his colleagues at TSU first found to be appealing was Nearpod’s ability to replace the traditional classroom response systems, such as clickers. Just like clickers, Nearpod can instantly capture student responses in real-time. Nearpod also allows instructors to pose questions in a variety of formats, from multiple choice to polls to open-ended responses.

Dr. Gentry noted that Nearpod does everything a clicker does and so much more. As many colleges and universities adopt new approaches to instruction, such as HyFlex learning, where students have the option of attending classes in-person or online, Nearpod makes it easy to take attendance, track student engagement, and assess student understanding no matter where learning takes place. In addition to using Nearpod for formative assessment and to increase classroom engagement, Dr. Gentry is able to create his own content relevant to the course curriculum. Being able to get real-time feedback from students also helps him quickly identify how well students are grasping the concepts they discuss during lectures. In addition to these features, Nearpod is different than the typical student response system because it features:

• Unlimited storage to create, download, and customize lessons and activities with 20+ formative assessments, interactive video, gamification, and rich media features
• Unlimited access to premade interactive lessons, videos, and activities, plus built-in video and activity banks for faster creation
• Editing and Immersive Reader power with the Google Slides Add-On
• Integration with the Learning Management Systems and other platforms you’re already using to assign and manage lessons

Dr. Gentry feels that Nearpod is much more cost-effective and has better features than similar products on the market. Nearpod’s partnerships with companies such as Google Slides and Nearpod’s ability to integrate with Learning Management Systems and other platforms were huge selling points for him. 
And the best part for Dr. Gentry’s students? They don’t have to purchase anything in order to use Nearpod since it is compatible with the devices they already own!

Nearpod Team

Nearpod’s award-winning platform is used by thousands of schools around the globe, transforming classroom engagement.

nearpod.com/

The post Cost effective technology in the higher education classroom appeared first on Nearpod Blog.