Context

• At the University of the West Indies, faculty across multiple disciplines faced a persistent challenge: low student engagement in large-enrollment lecture courses.

• Traditional lecture formats reinforced passive learning behaviors students were hesitant to participate, and faculty had limited visibility into real-time comprehension.

• Previous engagement strategies had minimal impact, highlighting the need for a more systematic, scalable, and technology-enabled approach.

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Objective​

 To increase student engagement and improve real-time instructional insight by integrating response technology into teaching practices through research-driven, faculty-centered design.​​​​

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Strategy & Approach​

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• Partnered with faculty across disciplines to integrate the technology into course design.

Risks Identified Early:

• Faculty resistance: New technology in established teaching routines creates friction. Mitigated by pairing tech with research-backed rationale showing learning outcomes.

• Novelty effect: Clickers could create short-term engagement spikes that fade. Mitigated by designing long-term implementation patterns grounded in pedagogy.

• Anonymity misused: Anonymous responses could encourage disengagement. Mitigated by structuring questions that required real reasoning, not guessing.

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Anticipated Risks & Mitigation Strategy
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• 1. Faculty Resistance to New Technology
  → Mitigated by pairing implementation with clear, research-backed evidence of improved learning outcomes

• 2. Short-Term “Novelty Effect”
  → Mitigated by embedding clicker use into repeatable, pedagogy-driven teaching practices

• 3. Misuse of Anonymity
  → Mitigated by designing higher-order questions requiring reasoning and application

• 4. Superficial Tool Adoption
  → Mitigated by aligning all clicker activities with learning objectives and assessment strategy

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Key Solutions & Innovations​

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• Co-authored a faculty-facing eBook translating research into actionable teaching practices

• Partnered with faculty across disciplines to integrate clicker technology into live course delivery

• Designed real-time polls, quizzes, and interactive scenarios aligned to learning objectives

• Developed a model for using response data to adjust instruction in real time

• Bridged formative and summative assessment through continuous feedback integration

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Results & Impact

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• Significant increase in student participation across disciplines — including traditionally reserved students

• Faculty creativity expanded as instructors incorporated real-time feedback into lesson design

• Data-driven teaching adjustments enabled targeted interventions on difficult concepts

• Published research on the work:

  • Publication: George, J., Riley, C., Findley, S., & Rowe, C. (2021). Breaking down the barriers between formative and summative assessment through the use of clickers. University of the West Indies.

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Leadership Takeaway

Technology alone, does not drive engagement , intentional instructional design does.

By anchoring implementation in pedagogy and supporting faculty through practical application, we transformed a simple tool into a meaningful driver of participation, insight, and learning.