Encouraging Active Student Participation in Chemistry Classes with a Web

Much of the debate surrounding the use of lecture-based classes as a method for teaching science has focused on the passive role assumed by students in lecture (1, 2, 3). The communication channel is primarily instructor-to-student. Numerous studies have shown that student performance in science classes improves with increasing levels of active participation by students in classroom discussions (4, 5, 6). Cooperative learning techniques, classroom discussion, and turn-to-your-neighbor (7) activities are all methods designed to improve not only instructor-to-student communication, but also student-to-instructor and student-to-student communication. In this paper, we describe a new technology-based Student Response System (SRS) for improving instructor-to-student and student-to-instructor communication that we have used effectively in both large and small classes.