Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Reaction Lecture: Text Messaging to Increase Student
Engagement in Large-Scale Lectures
Koos Winnips, Joost Heutink, and Hans Beldhuis
University of Groningen, Netherlands
koos.winnips@rug.nl
j.h.c.heutink@rug.nl
h.j.a.beldhuis@rug.nl
Abstract: By helping to be active during large scale lectures, students remember better what is presented, and
can better connect new knowledge to entry knowledge. In large scale lectures with more than 150 students, it is
nearly impossible to manage personal, face-to-face discussions and interaction. Based upon positive
experiences with enabling interaction via mobile phones a new form of interaction was tried in a second year
Bachelor’s course (722 students). Students could send in open comments and questions via SMS, Twitter or via
mobile Internet. The lecturer built in blocks of time to respond to these questions and comments. Unanswered but
relevant questions are forwarded to the forum of the electronic learning environment (Blackboard), enabling an
online response. An experimental design was set up, dividing the lectures of the same lecturer between
“reactionlectures” and traditional lectures. Three primary questions for this study were defined: Would students
learn better in a reactionlecture than in a traditional lecture? What are the opinions of students on giving direct
reactions during a lecture? What forms of providing open comments during lectures can be used? A difference in
learning results (as perceived by the students) was not found. Although students indicated that by giving open
comments, the lecturer could better adapt to their entry knowledge. Further, questionnaires showed that students
were happy both with the options for interaction, and with the connection between the lecture and the discussion
forum in Blackboard. Students indicated they would like to have more blocks of interaction during the lecture, so
that responding via their mobile phone doesn’t distract from listening to the lecturer. Contrary to expectations
about the “Facebook generation”, students did not respond or comment often. To make the reactionlecture more
effective, blocks of interaction on key lecture topics should be scheduled.
Keywords: backchannel, audience response systems, student interaction, large-scale lectures
1. Introduction
This paper describes a way to give students a new role during lectures that supports active learning.
Traditionally, large-scale lectures (more than 150 students) provided a passive experience. A lecturer
provides information to students, and students are listening. But, the attention span of students is
limited. Students themselves report that the longest time they can endure uninterrupted lecturing is 20
to 30 minutes (MacManaway, 1970). To “reset this attention clock” several measures have been tried
out, such as “structured interactive sessions” (Kumar, 2003), audience response systems (Caldwell,
2007), attention breaks in lectures (Johnstone & Percival, 1976) to using clothespins for audience
paced feedback (described in Poulis, Massen, Robens & Gilbert, 1998). By clicking an electrically
wired clothespin, the audience could give reactions to the lecturer. Students could indicate whether
the content is understood, give answers to multiple choice questions, or indicate whether they are
ready to continue. All these measures are designed to increase interaction and engagement with the
audience during a lecture.
Further, we have seen that contact with fellow students, and especially contact with a lecturer
promotes positive study behaviour, and thus increases the chances of students successfully finishing
a course (Torenbeek, 2011). Consequently, measures that promote contact between students and
lecturer, even in very large lecture halls, would increase the efficiency of courses.
Via an earlier study (Winnips & Thlaoele, 2010) we found several didactic models to promote
interaction in large courses:
Concept tests: as proposed by Mazur (2009), concept tests are challenging multiple choice
questions that are presented after 15 to 20 minutes of lecturing. After answering the questions,
students discuss with their neighbour. At the end of the lecture, students are asked to give their
answers again, after which the “correct” answer is given and discussed.
Group answers: a variation on the “Mazur” model is proposed by Thloaele (2011). Groups of
students are asked to discuss their answers to questions first, before answering and getting
feedback on the answer.
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