Abstract
Increasing student participation in college classrooms is an overlooked yet socially valid endeavor. The present study attempted to increase student participation, accuracy of responding, and weekly quiz scores, by incorporating student response-cards. Measures of social validity were also addressed. One hundred twenty university students in two sections of an introductory course served as participants. An augmented incomplete ABA reversal design was used to compare the effects of review questions with and without response-cards. Results suggest that response cards can increase participation as well as measures of learning, in this case quiz scores. Also, students rated the intervention positively on a consumer satisfaction rating scale. In addition to improving rates of student participation and quiz scores, response-cards positively impacted both students and the instructor's subjective experience in the classroom.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Austin, J. L. (2000). Behavioral approaches to college teaching. In J. Austin & J. E. Carr (Eds.), Handbook of applied behavior analysis (pp. 449–472). Reno, NV: Context Press.
Armendariz, F., & Umbreit, J. (1999). Using active responding to reduce disruptive behavior in a general education classroom. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 1(3), 152–158.
Cavanaugh, R. A., Heward, W. L., & Donelson, F. (1996). Effects of response cards during lesson closure on the academic performance of secondary students in an earth sciences course. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 403–406.
Christle, C. A., & Schuster, J. W. (2003). The effects of using response cards on student participation, academic achievement, and on-task behavior during whole-class, math instruction. Journal of Behavioral Education, 12(3), 147–165.
Davis, L. L., O’Neill, R. E. (2004). Use of response cards with a group of students with learning disabilities including those for whom English is a second language. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37(2), 219–222.
Gardner, R., III, Heward, W. L., & Grossi, T. A. (1994). Effects of response cards on student participation and academic achievement: A systematic replication with inner-city students during whole-class science instruction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 63–71.
Hayes, S. C., Barlow, D. H., & Nelson-Gray, R. O. (1999). The scientist practitioner: Research and accountability in the age of managed care. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Heward, W. L. (1978). Visual response system. Exceptional Children, 44, 466–468.
Heward, W. L. (1994). Three “low-tech” strategies for increasing the frequency of active student response during group instruction. In R. Gardner, III & D. M. Sainato (Eds.), Behavior analysis in education: Focus on measurably superior instruction (pp. 283–320). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Kellum, K. K., Carr, J. E., & Dozier, C. L. (2001). Response-card instruction and student learning in a college classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 28(2), 101–104.
Marmolejo, E. K., Wilder, D. A., & Bradley, L. (2004). A preliminary analysis of the effects of response cards on student performance and participation in an upper division university course. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 37(3), 405–410.
Narayan, J. S., Heward, W. L., Gardner, R., III, Courson, F. H., & Omness, C. K. (1990). Using response cards to increase student participation in an elementary classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 483–490.
Shabani, D. B., & Carr, J. E. (2004). An evaluation of response cards as an adjunct to standard instruction in university classrooms: A systematic replication and extension. North American Journal of Psychology, 6(1), 85–100.
Sterling, R. M., Barbetta, P. M., Heward, W. L., & Heron, T. E. (1997). A comparison of active student response and on-task instruction on the acquisition and maintenance of health facts by fourth grade special education students. Journal of Behavioral Education, 7, 151–165.
Test, D. W., Cooke, N. L., Heron, T. E., & Heward, W. L. (1983). Adapting visual response system technology to the regular classroom. Journal of Special Education Technology, 6, 15–26.
Weiten, W. (2004). Psychology: Themes and variations, brief edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clayton, M.C., Woodard, C. The Effect of Response Cards on Participation and Weekly Quiz Scores of University Students Enrolled in Introductory Psychology Courses. J Behav Educ 16, 250–258 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-007-9038-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-007-9038-x