Response cards: increasing individual responding during whole-class teaching

All students learn more and are less likely to be off-task when they are involved in actively making responses. The use of response cards is a cost-effective and practical strategy to increase individual responding in whole class and group teaching with students from pre- school to university level. Response cards may be pre-printed, where students select a response, or may require students to write a brief response. The research shows that students make more responses with response cards, are less likely to be disruptive and score better on quiz and test results than they do with conventional oral questioning. This article presents a number of research studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of response cards. Response cards are likely to be particularly valuable for students with learning difficulties or problem behaviour who are included in a regular class, as it meets their needs for frequent response opportunities within the framework of a whole-class lesson, and allows frequent teacher monitoring of student learning.