“It started out like a typical large-enrollment lecture course. Hundreds of students filed into Berkeley’s Pimentel Hall for Chemistry 1A, sat in their seats, and began taking notes as the instructor started to lecture. The students paid close attention to the front of the classroom, where three large projection screens displayed the instructor’s lecture notes and animations.
But then something unconventional happened. The lecturer, Mark Kubinec, displayed a slide that contained a multiple-choice question called a ChemQuiz. On cue, students reached into backpacks, pockets, and elsewhere and pulled out little remote control-like devices. They pointed the devices up to the ceiling, pressing one of the many buttons.
As the students did this, colored blocks with ID numbers scrolled across one of the projection screens, recording their responses. After a few minutes when Kubinec asked for final votes, a histogram showing the distribution of responses was displayed. Kubinec then asked the students to talk among themselves for a couple of minutes and answer the question again. After a few minutes of animated discussion, the second tally showed convergence to one of the possible answers. Kubinec then announced the correct answer and further explained the concept behind the question.”