Abstract:

Creating inclusive participation opportunities in large lectures can be a challenge in higher education. Student Response Systems (SRS) such as Kahoot or Mentimeter encourage interaction through instructor-initiated quizzes, but they capture student feedback only when instructors explicitly request it. As a result, moments of confusion that arise between these prompts often remain hidden, particularly in diverse classrooms where social anxiety, cultural norms, or fear of embarrassment can inhibit participation. While some tools allow students to submit anonymous questions through web forms or discussion platforms, these systems typically present individual messages that instructors must actively monitor rather than providing a more immediately actionable aggregate signal of comprehension across the class.

This paper examines how the Enhanced Lecture Flow (ELF) technology, which offers a Teacher Response System (TRS) model complementary to SRS, can support inclusive classroom participation. ELF allows students to signal confusion or submit comments at any point with minimal effort, where aggregated responses appear as a shared visual cue that provides instructors with real-time awareness of emerging learning difficulties without requiring students to publicly identify themselves.

Survey data were collected from deployments across multiple university courses, including longitudinal responses from students who used the system over several weeks and a comparison group of students unfamiliar with the tool. Results indicate that students perceive ELF as a safer and more accessible channel for communicating confusion during lectures. Participants reported greater comfort signaling confusion through the system than raising their hands and noted that the shared visual cue helped instructors adjust lecture pacing in response to collective feedback.

These findings suggest that student-initiated micro-interactions can surface otherwise hidden learning signals and broaden participation opportunities in lecture environments. The results highlight the potential of Teacher Response Systems to support more inclusive classroom communication by enabling instructors to maintain continuous awareness of student understanding during live instruction.

Keywords:

Inclusive learning, classroom participation, psychological safety, higher education, student response system, teacher response system, classroom response system.