![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to explain the role of clicker technology as an innovative teaching strategy within the nursing classroom’s learning environment.
Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to appraise the benefits of clicker technology integration into the nursing classroom’s learning environment for both educators and students.
Nurse educators at a public community college in Kentucky were concerned about their current teaching-learning environment, which they characterized as a passive, lecture-bound classroom. Additionally, educators and students alike were unable to assess learning on a formative basis, leading to educators questioning their effectiveness and students questioning their comprehension. The purpose of this project was to evaluate audience response system (“clicker”) technology as a possible solution to educator concerns. The integration of clicker technology was proposed as an innovative teaching strategy to actively engage students, stimulate learning, provide student feedback, and offer immediate formative assessment of learning. A systematic literature review revealed evidence to support integrating clicker technology as an active learning tool. Turning Point clickers were introduced in a third semester general RN course during two lectures. Subsequently, both students and faculty members completed evaluative questionnaires designed to assess satisfaction by all participants. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from a convenience sample of students and educators. Results revealed that students overwhelmingly enjoyed actively participating in the learning process, appreciated the anonymity of answering questions, and found the immediate feedback of whether their answers were correct helpful. For educators, the ability to adjust teaching strategies during class based on immediate feedback helped to increase faculty’s feelings of effectiveness in their educator role. Integration of clicker technology transformed nursing classrooms from a passive to an active learning environment. However, further research should be performed to compare student learning outcomes, such as teacher-prepared or standardized examination scores, in interactive clicker classrooms versus traditional lecture classrooms.