The GPS Cows Module is a co-developed, Australian resource that aims to increase the knowledge and skills of high school students in emerging agricultural technologies. It aligns with many outcomes in the New South Wales (NSW) Stage 4 Technology Mandatory Syllabus, a compulsory subject for Stage 4 students (Years 7-8), that engages students in…

Tertiary institutions are increasingly providing hybrid delivery options to students, requiring course coordinators to migrate formerly face-to-face curricula into frameworks that suit online teaching. However, there is a risk that the implementation of hands-on, engaging activities will decrease during hybrid sessions due to staff uncertainty of…

Active-learning pedagogical practices are encouraged in the education literature to improve academic outcomes. The research reported in this paper explored the effect of real-time interactive polling--a type of active learning--on three measures of academic outcome: final marks, student engagement, and failure probability. To provide credible…

The use of online student response systems (OSRSs) is increasing within tertiary education providers, however, research investigating their potential to enhance student engagement is limited. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of an OSRS using an experimental crossover design. Quantitative data measuring student engagement was…

Most pedagogical literature has generated "how to" approaches regarding the use of student response systems (SRS). There are currently no systematic reviews on the effectiveness of SRS, for its capacity to enhance critical thinking, and achieve sustained learning outcomes. This paper addresses this current gap in knowledge. Our teaching…

As part of curriculum renewal in three introductory chemistry courses at the University of Sydney, a partially flipped classroom model was implemented. Content that is conventionally delivered in the in-class sessions was moved online through the use of web-based tutorials, videos and quizzes. During the in-class sessions, active learning…

This paper aims to answer how we can increase students' engagement in a large class. We hypothesised that the use of KeyPad, an interactive student response system, can lead to enhanced student engagement in a large classroom. We tested a model of classroom technology integration enhancing the students' engagement among first year undergraduate…

This case study trialled the introduction of a student-response system (Top Hat) in a third-year engineering Fluid Mechanics course (n = 44) to improve student engagement, motivation and cognition. It was recognised that for the potential benefits of student-response systems (SRSs) to be fully realised, more time must be allocated for student…

Described in this study is a learner response system (clickers) used with first-year undergraduate students in a small group setting. The aim of the project was to address issues faced by us all as we seek to improve class participation, as well as engage students in lectures and tutorials throughout the course. Data collection for this case study…

There is a dearth of research into teaching strategies and learning approaches for units involving sensitive topics that can provoke an emotional response in students. In a business ethics unit, attempts to strike a balance between conceptual knowledge and theory and skills training can be challenging because the unit can involve personal,…

Using a Classroom Response System (CRS) has been associated with positive educational outcomes, by fostering student engagement and by allowing immediate feedback to both students and instructors. This study examined a low-cost CRS (VotApedia) in a large first-year class, where students responded to questions using their mobile phones. This study…

This article reports on an action-research project designed to investigate the effect of a technological intervention on the complex interactions between student engagement, participation, attendance and preparation in a large lecture delivered as part of a compulsory first-year law course, a discipline which has not been the focus of any previous…

This paper examines teacher responsiveness to an ability approach of within-class curriculum differentiation using technology. Teachers were guided through a series of four workshops designed to enhance their capacity to differentiate the curriculum using Web 2.0 technologies and Student Response Systems. Anderson & Krathwohl's (2001) Taxonomy…

A quick polling initiative was tested in finance classes using multiple choice questions to determine whether it can improve student interaction and engagement in a large class. Students (n = 446) responded using either a smartphone app (53%) or by using pen and paper (47%). Immediate feedback was provided to students using charts that were…

Student engagement at first-year level is critical for student achievement, retention and success. One way of increasing student engagement is to use a classroom response system (CRS), the use of which has been associated with positive educational outcomes by fostering student engagement and by allowing immediate feedback to both students and…