EFFECTS OF AUDIENCE RESPONSE SYSTEMS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND LONG-TERM RETENTION SELCUK KARAMAN Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey The effects of audience response systems (ARS) on students’ academic success and their perceptions of ARS were examined in this study. Participants, comprising 44 undergraduate students, were randomly assigned to a control or treatment group. The course design was the same for both groups and the instructor prepared the multiple-choice questions in advance; students in the control group responded to these questions verbally whereas the treatment group used ARS. Two paper-based examinations were used to measure the learning of concepts and skills that were taught. Students’ perceptions of ARS were collected via a questionnaire. Results showed that ARS usage has a significant learning achievement effect in the first 4 weeks but not at the end of the second 4 weeks. There was no significant difference in retention between either group. Students perceived the ARS tool positively, finding it very enjoyable and useful. Keywords: audience response systems, classroom performance systems, student achievement, long-term retention. Audience response systems (ARS) are a tool used to create interactive and effective instruction in classrooms (Caldwell, 2007). ARS allow students to respond to a question by pressing a button on an individual response keypad, known as a clicker. Answers are then transmitted, usually via wireless technology, to the instructor’s computer and saved as logs for future use. Students’ responses can be immediately graphically displayed in a presentation, usually as histograms. ARS has become widely known through television game shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in which audiences respond with individual choices. SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2011, 39(10), 1431-1440 © Society for Personality Research http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2011.39.10.1431 1431 Selcuk Karaman, Open Education Faculty, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. Appreciation is due to reviewers including: Lütfiye Cengizhan, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey, Email: lutfiyecengizhan@trakya.edu.tr Please address correspondence and reprint requests to: Selcuk Karaman, Open Education Faculty, Ataturk University, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey. Email: skaraman@atauni.edu.tr