Data-based pedagogy
Research has found that student attention span is only fifteen minutes long, and at that point the attention drops dramatically.
This is problematic in the courses Dr. Tang teaches, like Dynamics, Mechatronics, and Controls Systems, where information is equally imparted and important throughout the class period.
So she places Poll Everywhere polls at these breaking points. “Every fifteen minutes I give them a poll to see if they understand what I’m talking about."
Measuring for correctness and certainty
Sometimes the class will respond with answers all over the board, and it will be obvious that they don’t yet understand. But sometimes there will be a question many students answer correctly, even though they aren’t certain. It would be easy for Dr. Tang and the students to interpret the near-consensus as understanding.
To help her students recognize what they do or do not know, Tang includes a simple self-evaluation within each multiple-choice question.
Here’s how she does it: The first three or four response options are possible answers to the question. The last two are a gauge of certainty, either, “I am sure of the answer,” or “I guessed the answer.” She allows each student two responses per poll– one for the answer, and one for the level of certainty. “This way they have a better feeling about how much they understand. It helps them realize what they know and what they don’t know.”
