INTRODUCING INSTANT CLASSROOM ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE IN AN UNDERTRADUATE NURSING PROGRAM

Linda W. Johnston, RN., Ph.D; Peggy Morowski, RN., MSN, CRNP;

Michelle Steinhauser, RN., MS

University of South Carolina Aiken

Aiken, South Carolina

Today's student has embraced modern technology, has a short attention span, is quickly bored by PowerPoint, and will go to great lengths to avoid sitting through a traditional lecture.  Nursing educators are faced with the challenge of presenting this new generation of students with meaningful classroom experiences that will address their fascination with technology and keep them engaged during that often dreaded classroom lecture.  The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the introduction of an instant classroom assessment software package into an undergraduate nursing program The package included both instructor and individual student response remotes which they were required to bring to each class.  At the beginning of each class, two graded questions assessing the student's preparation for class were presented, as well as two graded questions at the end which assessed understanding of the class content.. To ease the student's anxiety and to allow time for both faculty and students to become familiar with the remotes, the first two weeks of the class were formative and ungraded.  Many benefits have been identified to date:  a) students arrive on time and stay to the end of class; b) students stay much more engaged and interactive during class; c) students are enthusiastic in their enjoyment of the software; d) faculty can assess the class's understanding of difficult content during class and provide more specific instruction when necessary; and e) faculty can track each individual student's responses  and provide early intervention for those who are not performing well.  Evaluation of student and instructor satisfaction with this technology is ongoing.