Interactive voting engages pupils with biology revision
Find out how using interactive voting handsets motivates pupils with their revision. Fiona Cruickshanks, Principal Teacher of Biology at The Gordon Schools in Aberdeenshire, explains how the system works and its benefits for teaching and learning.
What is interactive voting?
'Oh good, she's got the zappers out again today.' 'Zappers' is the name given to the Qwizdom handsets by some of my third and fourth year pupils. I have been using Qwizdom with my pupils for the last 18 months. The way it works is that I set a series of revision questions and each pupil votes for the correct answer. The handsets have red and green lights which flash to show whether the answer is right or wrong. The class enjoys the instant feedback and we are able to discuss the correct answer.
Assessment and learning
I decided to use an interactive voting system in class as another way of testing my pupils' knowledge. Biology is a knowledge-based subject and the pupils have to keep revising their course work. They usually underestimate how much actual revision is required, so as a department we try to provide different assessment opportunities for them. I saw interactive voting systems as a way of making the pupils, especially the boys, more involved in their own assessment and learning.
Over the years I have found that boys need extra reassurance about their learning. Qwizdom helps because the flashing lights give them instant feedback. They do not have to write anything down and they see the handsets as 'quite cool gadgets'. All this makes them more interested in the classroom activities and, as a result, more involved. They also see Qwizdom as a competition in which they can be a winner or a loser.
' I liked helping Mrs Cruickshanks make up the questions. It made me feel like I was helping other people to learn their biology.'
S4 boy who has just sat his Intermediate 1 Biology
Supporting revision
So far I have used the equipment with S3/S4 pupils, both Standard Grade and Intermediate 1, and I have also used it with Intermediate 2 pupils in S5. It has been most successful with my fourth year pupils in the weeks before their SQA exams. Another benefit of the software is that it keeps track of the pupils' marks for each different test.
It may be necessary to adapt the use of Qwizdom for specific pupils with learning difficulties, in much the same way that a class teacher would normally adapt or differentiate the materials to ensure they are accessible to all pupils. In particular, pupils with dyslexia may experience difficulty in accessing information from a screen and could require a printed copy of the questions.
' Using Qwizdom really made the revision more fun. I revised more so that I could get better marks on the quizzes.'
S4 boy who has just sat his Standard Grade Biology
How do I set the questions?
The Science and Biology PowerPoint packages currently available from Qwizdom match some of the courses being offered by the school. The quizzes are not a complete match but there is a facility in the program to delete the PowerPoint slides and replace them with others. I decided to make up my own questions for the Intermediate 1 Biology course. See the following example for Health and Technology using text and images:
PowerPoint file: Voting Questions for Health and Technology (121 KB)
Setting up Qwizdom
Setting up and using the system is very easy. I use the handsets with a data projector and an interactive whiteboard. An interactive whiteboard is not always essential, but I find it useful for annotating diagrams or when asking for extra information. Each pupil is issued with a handset and when they want to answer a question they point their handset at a hub (which is connected to a laptop). I placed the hub on an overhead boom so that all pupils could see the question and point their handsets towards it at the same time.
In our school, the Science department has nine teachers on three different floors, but the equipment is quite light and easy for the technicians to transport. At present it is only being used by biology staff but next year all staff will be using it for formative assessments with S1 classes, so we will have to introduce a booking system.
I have used the quizzes at the start of a topic and again at the end to compare pupils' marks. However, I think that if the pupils were using the handsets in different subjects around the school there would always be the danger of them becoming less of a novelty and pupils would stop being so enthusiastic about using them.
' I really like using the voting handsets. You don't have to write down your answers and it makes you feel like you are doing less work than usual.'
S3 Girl who has just started studying Standard Grade Biology
Future plans
Over the next year, pupils in S1 will be using Qwizdom and this will be extended into S2 the following session. We are at present updating our Standard Grade course and we have plans to write more questions to link more closely with the learning outcomes.
There is no doubt that using Qwizdom has made teaching more enjoyable for me and it has increased the pupils' desire to learn. I will be keen to see the impact of this method of revising, if any, on their final SQA examinations. If their performance is matched by their motivation and enthusiasm, then I am sure they will do very well.
Contact
Fiona Cruickshanks
The Gordon Schools
Castle Road
Huntly
Aberdeenshire AB54 4SE
Tel: 01466 792181
E-mail Fiona Cruickshanks
igsfcruickshanks@gordonschools.aberdeenshire.sch.uk
Date posted: June 2005