The roles of personality and class size in student attitudes toward individual response technology

The use of individual response technology (IRT) in college classrooms is becoming increasingly common. In order to understand why some students enjoy IRT use whereas others do not, we examined the relationship between personality and attitudes towards IRT use in large and small classrooms. In addition, we investigated the relationship between IRT use and classroom learning. We collected data from 452 undergraduate students (209 males and 243 females). The results show that students who are more extraverted and conscientious report more positive ratings of IRT. Furthermore, students who earn higher grades enjoy IRT use more than other students. Implications for the effective use of IRT in the classroom are discussed and future directions for research are suggested.