TurningPoint Case Study

Indian Valley Vocational Center

BACKGROUND

Vince Logan spent 15 years in law enforcement. After working for various-sized towns, including a large community outside of Chicago, he left the field to follow his passion for teaching. After spending a year teaching sixth grade, he knew that he wanted a mixture of both environments. After researching vocational schools, Logan found a position as a law enforcement instructor at Indian Valley Vocational Center (IVVC) and has found the perfect blend of classroom and real-world experience.

The law enforcement program at IVVC mimics the Illinois State Police Basic Training and includes the hands-on instruction that Logan desired. The curriculum teaches students how to investigate a crime, process a crime scene and execute arrests in addition to scenario-based training, defensive tactics, safety skills, firearm safety and simulators. When Logan joined the program five years ago, his class totaled at 27 students. Now, through reputation and word-of-mouth marketing, he teaches two classes with a total of 62 students comprised of junior and senior high school students.

CHALLENGE

During his first year of teaching, a representative from a local college presented to Logan's class. Before the presentation began, students were given "clickers" to actively participate in the session. As Logan watched, the students became incredibly engaged and loved answering the questions throughout the presentation. After the session concluded, he was sold on the technology and inquired about the system and supplier in order to procure his own.

Logan reached out to Turning Technologies shortly thereafter and purchased a refurbished kit. In order to accommodate the size of his class, he was given two free clickers so that all students could participate. Logan adopted TurningPoint software for real-time assessment during his instruction and review prior to tests. In addition to traditional TurningPoint, he also authors tests and instantly grades answers with TestingPoint software.

"I feel that the system keeps my students attentive and engaged with learning," said Logan. "I have about 30 PowerPoints from 'use of force' to 'case histories.' It's amazing to see how quickly they learn, especially when on team environments. There is a lot of competition to pay attention and get the right answer. Overall, the learning curve is really cut down."

SOLUTION

In addition to traditional classroom duties, Logan also participates in SkillsUSA Quiz Bowl competition. SkillsUSA is a non-profit organization that aims to assist teachers, high school and college students to prepare for trade, technical and skilled service occupations. The Quiz Bowl is a competition where students can showcase real-world knowledge by answering a series of questions from a variety of related topics. In similar game show fashion, the team with most correct answers wins the competition.

In order to prep his team for the Quiz Bowl competition, Logan implemented TurningPoint in order to review the questions that would be asked during actual gameplay. Reviewing over 250 questions, Logan's team won first place in the state competition and qualified for nationals. According to Logan, "We used the ARS exclusively and that is what helped us learn quicker and retain what we learned."

CONCLUSION

Since the implementation of the student response system, IVVC applied for a grant, which allowed the school to buy two additional systems. In addition to the excitement that system creates with students who simply "can't wait for the PowerPoint" when the clickers are distributed, test results have been improving in his class. Prior to one test, Logan reviewed without the response system with his morning class. Later, he used the system for review with his afternoon class. When the test results came back, 14 in his morning class had failed, while only two in his afternoon class received D's.

"I attribute it all to the system," said Logan. "Three years ago, it was very hard to get an A in my class. Now, with the response system, about 30% are receiving an A grade. I credit having the technology so that they can study and so it's fun. The competition makes the students love it, and I can see the results when the grades come through."

For more information about purchasing Turning Technologies' student response systems for your organization, contact us at 866-746-3015.