Using Plickers to Support Student Learning in Rural Schools: A Comprehensive Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of Plickers use on rural students’ learning outcomes through two case scenarios. In the first case scenario, the study adopted a preexperimental study method with a focus on comparing Plickers with traditional testing to examine rural students’ learning attitudes toward Plickers. The participants were 24 students in a small rural elementary school in Taiwan who completed 1 month of English learning. In the second case scenario, a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design was employed to evaluate the instructional effectiveness of Plickers on students’ learning performances. Research participants were 60 students from two classes in a large rural elementary school in Taiwan. During 1 month of math instruction, students in the experimental group took Plickers-based quizzes, whereas students in the control group used small whiteboards to respond during quizzes. The results from the first case indicated that students’ overall attitudes toward Plickers in English class remained positive. The results from the second case revealed that Plickers may enable students to achieve greater learning performance and improvement during math instruction. However, students’ perceptions of Plickers were similar in both cases, indicating joyful learning and active engagement when Plickers was adopted as a formative assessment tool.