UC Berkeley | RTL Commons

In-Class Polling

Overview

Polling during lectures involves posing questions to students and collecting their responses in real-time using various digital tools (e.g., dedicated polling software, learning management system features, or even simple hand raises/index cards/or having student take a side by learning right or left!). This dynamic strategy moves beyond the traditional one-way lecture, transforming students from passive listeners into active participants and planning polls while developing your lecture content helps you be strategic in how you implement the strategy.

Female student looking at a laptop

Benefits of In-class Polling

Immediate Feedback

Quickly gauge student understanding, identify misconceptions, and adjust your teaching on the fly. This helps you address learning gaps before they become major issues.

Supports Self-regulation

Students can reflect on their own understanding based on their poll responses and the overall class results.

Increased Engagement

Encourages all students to participate, including those who might be hesitant to speak up in a large group. It breaks up lectures and keeps students engaged.

Data-driven Instruction

Provides valuable data on student comprehension that can inform future lesson planning and course adjustments.

Sense of Community

Allows students to see how their understanding or thinking compares to their peers, normalizing challenges in understanding tough content, and celebrating successes.

Promotes Active Recall

Requires students to retrieve information, consider new concepts, and apply their knowledge, reinforcing what they are learning in real time.

Tips for Small Enrollment Courses (Under 60 Students)

  • More discussion-oriented questions: Use polling as a springboard for deeper discussion. After a poll, ask students to elaborate on their answers or debate differing viewpoints.
  • Open-ended questions: Tools allowing for short text responses can be very effective in smaller groups for qualitative feedback.
  • Peer instruction: Have students discuss their answers with a partner before or after submitting their poll response (think-pair-share).
  • Low-tech options: For quick checks, consider asking students to raise hands, cards, or even lean with their bodies (e.g., thumbs up/down for agreement/disagreement, take a side on a controversial topic).

Tips for Large Enrollment Courses (Over 60 Students)

  • Multiple choice & true/false: These question types are highly efficient for rapid data collection and analysis in large classes.
  • Concept checks: Use polls frequently throughout the lecture to check understanding of key concepts before moving on.
  • "Confidence index" questions or the "muddiest point:" Ask students not only for their answer but also how confident they are in their answer. This can reveal areas where students are guessing rather than truly understanding.
  • Pre-class formative assessment: Use polls before class to gauge prior knowledge and identify areas that need more focus during the lecture. This could also be a way to have students submit questions about outside of class work to cover at the beginning of your lecture.
  • Post-class "Exit Tickets:" Deploy a quick poll at the end of class asking "What was the most important thing you learned today?" or "What are you still wondering about?" to inform your next steps.

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