Using CPS for a Balanced Math Lesson

Technology and the Balanced Mathematics Lesson
Presentors: Michael Dantona and Victoria Moscatelli
Queens, NY

Michael is a vice principal at IS 5 Elmhurst. Victoria is a classroom teacher at Elmhurst that uses CPS in her classroom.

I was very excited to go to this session. The session focused on using the CPS clickers in math instruction. I personally own a set of these “clickers” and they have quickly become an essential tool in my classroom. I am presenting a science/technology session tomorrow in which I will take a little different spin on the clickers and use them for an actual lesson with participants.

What is CPS?

CPS is a Classroom Performance System, a package of software and hardware developed by eInstruction Corporation. The hardware consists of a receiver unit and 16, 24, or 32 response pads. The software and hardware work together to create and deliver course-relevant questions. The software reports student performance data.

The CPS system consists of a response pad and coordinating receiver unit. Each uniquely numbered pad transmits responses that the receiver unit records, and that the CPS software automatically attributes to the corresponding response pad number listed in the class. You must have a computer and LCD projector in order to use this system.

My favorite component of the system is the report generator. You can immediately generate data through a variety of reports that you can use to evaluate your students’ performance on a given assessment. Reports can be printed as an entire class, by question, by student, etc. You can review the report assessment, print your assessment, or export the assessments to the following file types: plain text, HTML, Excel, or PDF.

The clickers can be used during any part of the workshop. The most common time to use it, however, is the opening or closing session. The immediate feedback can be used to diagnose students strengths and weaknesses as well as any misconceptions students have.

Participants were shown how to insert questions into the system. Questions can also be used through PowerPoint.