IDEAS - Personal Response System (PRS)

Stories on Developing PRS

As a learning community, faculty members and instructors generously shared their experiences on using PRS in their teaching activities. Below are their stories grouped according to the Schools and academic services.

HKUST
School of Science | School of Engineering | School of Business & Management | School of Humanities & Social Science |

Introduction: Prof Nelson Cue
Prof Nelson Cue introduced the procedures in using PRS and how it worked. He then showed a video on users who gave comments on PRS at Harvard University.

| Video |

HKUST Faculty Talking about PRS

Click here to watch a video in which faculty of HKUST talked about their experiences in using PRS.

(requires RealPlayer plug-ins and broadband connection)

HKUST

School of Science

Dr Ophelia Tsui
Dept of Physics

Dr Ophelia Tsui explained her reasons for using PRS in class and the benefits gained in her teaching through the use of PRS and its statistical tools. She also talked about some difficulties she faced using the PRS system.

| Video |

Dr Michael Wong
Dept of Physics

Dr Michael Wong explained his reasons for using PRS in class, how the system raised effectiveness to his teaching and at the same time created a good environment for learning.

| Video |

Prof Zhiyu Yang
Dept of Physics

Prof Zhiyu Yang shared how he used PRS to assess student's understanding on abstract Physics concepts taught in class. Using PHYS002 as a sample case, Prof Yang illustrated how he related Physics concepts with daily life experiences with the help of questions asked with the PRS system.

| Video |

School of Engineering

Prof Irene Lo
Dept of Civil Engineering

Prof Irene Lo shared her observations on current students learning style in Hong Kong and the potential problems of such learning style. Using course CIVIL141 as a sample case, Professor Lo displayed how PRS assisted in better student learning.

| Video |

School of Business & Management

Prof Andrew Yim
Dept of Accounting

Prof Andrew Yim explained how the questions in the PRS sessions helped to capture students' attention and concentration, and enabled self-assessment and peer assessment in class. Professor Yim noted practical issues with the implementation of the PRS system, which was also mentioned in other professor's speeches.

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Prof Karl Lang
Dept of Information & Systems Management

Prof Karl Lang shared the general advantages of PRS that attracted him in using the system and the teaching benefits gained in course management support from using the system.

| Video |

Dr Stephen Nason
Dept of Management of Organizations

Dr Stephen Nason presented how he used PRS for formal debates in his MGTO classes. He talked about how PRS encouraged instructor's to modify their teaching style.

| Video |

School of Humanities & Social Science

Prof Erik Baark
Division of Social Science

Prof Baark described some practical issues using PRS in class, especially in situations for graded assessments.

He pointed out that students' doubt in the reliability of the system made it difficult for instructors to use PRS for formal grading.

| Video |

Publications on PRS

	A conference paper on PRS, entitled "A Universal Learning Tool for Classrooms?" by Prof Nelson Cue of the VPAA Office.
	Hake wrote a paper in the American Journal of Physics, entitled "Interactive-engagement vs traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses". The study compared interactive-engagement with traditional methods, using a large data set to show that interactive engagement is more effective in helping students to learn.
	A paper in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCAL) entitled “Increasing interactivity in lectures using an electronic voting system” by Stephen W. Draper and Margaret I. Brown from the Department of Psychology and Department of Computing Science at University of Glasgow. The paper illustrated how an institution-wide project in introducing PRS for lectures raised questions about how learning benefits were obtained, and how these depended on particular pedagogic techniques which the equipment might facilitate.
	A paper in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (JCAL) entitled “Using an electronic voting system in logic lectures: One practitioner’s application” by Susan A.J Stuart, Margaret I. Brown, & Stephen W. Draper from the Departments of Philosophy, Computing Science, and Psychology University of Glasgow. The paper discussed a case of rapid adoption of PRS in lectures on philosophical logic and how the pedagogical skill with which it was used had determined its success.
	A paper in the Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching (JCMST) Volume 21, Issue 2, 2002 entitled “Learning from Past and Present: Electronic Response Systems in College Lecture Halls” by Eugene Judson and Daiyo Sawada. This article reviews literature from the past 33 years particular to the use of electronic response systems in college lecture halls. Recent studies have indicated there is significant student increase of conceptual gains in physics when electronic response systems are used to facilitate feedback in a constructivist-oriented classroom. Students have always favored the use of electronic response systems and attribute such factors as attentiveness and personal understanding to using electronic response systems.

Useful sites

North Dakota State University PRS site

Feedback from HKUST students about PRS

Evaluation of PRS has been regularly conducted in HKUST. A standard questionnaire [Appendix A] was used to collect students' feedback about PRS. Results from 3 semesters consistently showed that students found that PRS did help them to learn.

	Fall 97/98
	Fall 98/99
	Fall 99/2000

News coverage of PRS

PRS has been adopted in some universities in UK. Below are some of the newspaper clippings.

	Boston Globe (13 Sep 2003)
	Daily Mail (5 Jan 2000 )
	Scotland on Sunday (2 Jan 2000)
	The Guardian
	Engineering E2 (1999)

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