Are Audience Response Systems Worth the Cost? Comparing Question-Driven Teaching Strategies for Emergency Medical Technician Education

Authors

Lauren M. Maloney, Stony Brook University School of MedicineFollow
James P. Dilger, Stony Brook University School of MedicineFollow
Paul A. Werfel, Stony Brook UniversityFollow
Linda M. Cimino, Stony Brook University School of MedicineFollow

Abstract

Purpose: As Emergency Medical Technician educators develop curricula to meet new national educational standards, effective teaching strategies validated for course content and unique student demographics are warranted. Three methods for answering multiple choice questions presented during lectures were compared: a) Audience Response System (ARS, clickers), b) hand-raising-with-eyes-closed (no-cost option), and c) passive response (no-cost option). The purpose was to determine if using the ARS resulted in improved exam scores. Method: 113 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) students participated in this cross-over, block randomized, controlled trial, which was incorporated into their Cardiac Emergencies and Pulmonary Emergencies course lectures. Students took pretests, immediate post-tests, and delayed post-tests composed of multiple choice questions that targeted either lower or higher order thinking. Results: For both lectures, there were significant improvements on all immediate post-test scores compared to all pretest scores (p Conclusions: In this cohort, incorporation of no-cost question-driven teaching strategies into lectures was as effective as an ARS at encouraging significant, immediate and sustained improvements in answering multiple choice questions.

Author Bio(s)

Lauren M. Maloney, MD, NRP, FP-C, NCEE, is a Resident Emergency Medicine Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. Additionally, she has a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering, and is a board certified flight paramedic, and nationally certified Emergency Medical Services educator.

James P. Dilger, PhD is a professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology and Physiology and Biophysics at Stony Brook University. His laboratory research concerns the effects of anesthetics and other drugs on ion channels in nerve and muscle cells. He has extensive experience with statistical analysis of data.

Paul A. Werfel, MS, NRP a professor of clinical Emergency Medicine, Clinical Assistant Professor of Health Science, and the Director of the EMT and Paramedic Program, at Stony Brook University. Additionally, he is a prolific international speaker and well published author following several decades of work as a paramedic.

Linda M. Cimino, EdD, MSRN, CPNP, ANP, CCRC, CHSE is an associate professor in Stony Brook University’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Health Technology and Management and Pharmacological Sciences and holds certifications as Nurse Practitioner in Child and Adult Health, and Coordinator of Clinical Trials Research. Expertise includes instructional design planning/assessments/evaluations.

DOI

10.46743/1540-580X/2018.1704

Recommended Citation

Maloney LM, Dilger JP, Werfel PA, Cimino LM. Are Audience Response Systems Worth the Cost? Comparing Question-Driven Teaching Strategies for Emergency Medical Technician Education. The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2018 Jan 01;16(1), Article 8.