Clyde (Kipp) Herreid, Distinguished Teaching Professor in the University at Buffalo’s Department of Biological Sciences and co-director of UB’s National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, has received a $500,000 grant to explore innovative and improved methods of teaching science using “clickers,” electronic response devices that allow professors to gain immediate student feedback in large classes.

The project, “Case Study Teaching: How Do Questions and Emotional Engagement Impact Student Learning?,” will study how to optimize the use of these audience response systems while using case studies in teaching science. A professor can pose a question to the class, and students answer using their “clickers” like a game show buzzer, giving the professor instant feedback as to whether or not the students comprehend the material.

The grant, which runs from September 2009 until August 2011, was awarded by the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI). It brings NSF funding for UB’s National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science to more than $2 million to date. Read more.