{"id":12135,"date":"2025-09-05T21:04:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T01:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/cetlltest\/?page_id=12135"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T16:41:20","slug":"engaging-strategies-polling","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/cetll\/engaging-strategies-polling\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Strategies: Polling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Polling<\/h1>\n

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What is Polling?<\/h2>\n

Polling in the classroom describes a tool that instructors can use to anonymously or semi-anonymously solicit information from students.\u00a0<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

How is Polling Engaging?<\/h2>\n

Interactive polling through internet-connected devices allows hands-on engagement. The anonymity of these tools allows students to feel more comfortable participating in classroom discussion and answering honestly in medium to large classes (Washington University in St. Louis).<\/span><\/p>\n

Using polling throughout the semester reinforces to students that polls are an important component in your course and in their engagement with the material. As with any active learning technique, starting this process early is critical in order to indicate to students that you value their engagement with the activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following are examples of how Polling can be used in your course:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Collecting Contrasting Opinions <\/span><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re drawing a contrast during your lecture \u2013 for example, you\u2019re describing different philosophical approaches \u2013 let your students express which one resonates with them. Run a simple \u2018Where do you stand?\u2019 type of multiple choice poll. After you display the results on screen, comment on how the students voted and invite some volunteers to share their thoughts. Since your students\u2019 opinions may markedly differ, this exercise has the potential to drive a very passionate discussion in class.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recapping a Lecture with a Quiz<\/span><\/h3>\n

Polls can be a useful way to conduct summative assessments in large classes due to the ease of grading and recording responses from a large number of students. Summative assessments are typically used at the end of a unit or course. They are higher stakes and indicate more finalized \u2018results\u2019 than formative, in progress, assessments. Polls can be used to conduct end of unit quizzes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Examples of polling questions are:<\/strong><\/p>\n