Classroom and online polling are great active learning strategies that encourage students
to participate, reflect, and engage with course content. Asking students to respond
to questions, predict outcomes, and share their ideas helps transform passive learning
into active participation. Responses collected through polling can help instructors
assess student understanding, identify areas of confusion, and adapt their teaching
to meet students' needs.
Whether polling is conducted through in-person response systems, Vevox, or through
Brightspace, polls encourage participation by providing low-stakes opportunities for
participation and can help to spark meaningful discussions. Both classroom and online
polling promote a holistic approach to participation by giving every student a voice.
When students have the opportunity to compare their responses and reflect on their
thinking, they are able to engage in critical reflection and deepen their learning.
How Do I Get Started?
Choose your tool to facilitate polling. Choose from the options below:
Use a quick, low-stakes question at the beginning of class to help students get comfortable
with participating and building connections with their peers. Icebreaker questions
can also help create a welcoming learning environment and establish polling as a regular
part of the class experience.
Rather than including a large number of polling questions, focus on a few meaningful
questions that align with your learning objectives. Allowing students time to think
about their responses and discuss their results can lead to deeper engagement and more productive conversations.
After students respond, take time to explain both the correct and incorrect answers.
Reviewing the reasoning behind each option can help to address any misconceptions,
reinforce key concepts, and encourage students to reflect on their own understanding.
Consider asking students to discuss their responses with a partner or small group
before revisiting the poll. Hearing different perspectives can help students refine
their thinking, build confidence in their answers, and engage more deeply with the
course content. .
Mix up multiple choice questions with word clouds, ranking questions, open-ended responses,
and opinion polls to keep activities fresh and engaging. Different question types
can encourage different types of thinking from knowledge recall to critical reflection
and application.
Polls can be great natural starting points for discussions, case studies, problem-solving
activities, or reflections. Sharing and exploring response trends can help students
connect course content to their own experiences and learn from each other’s perspectives.
Consider asking the same question at the beginning and end of a lesson to help students
see how their understanding has evolved. Comparing responses over time can help to
make learning more visible and give both students and instructors insight into progress.
If you have and questions or suggestions for additional resources, please reach out
by emailing us at celt@stonybrook.edu.
