Technology-Enhanced Learning

This post was first published on EdSurge Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Ten years ago, I read  an article in the New York Times  with dismay. It was about how clickers were all the rage in schools across the country. It featured colorful photos of students using clickers and quotes from teachers who were thrilled with students’ newfound enthusiasm in class. The article focused on how clickers could help boost engagement and gamification in the classroom. But it only mentioned the word “learn” twice. As cognitive scientists who conduct research on learning, my colleagues and I were baffled. Scientists have demonstrated the power of retrieval, or bringing information to mind, for more than 100 years. Our research on using clickers in a public K-12 school district near St. Louis showed  dramatic benefits on student achievement —even increasing students’ grades from a C to an A. So why was...