A response monitoring apparatus using a remote including an electrical circuit including a user activated input, a transmitter, and a receiver, where the electrical circuit is adapted to detect operation of the user activated input and temporarily activate the receiver. After an activation period, the electrical circuit turns off the receiver to conserve battery power. Both signal verification and time monitoring may be used to generate the signal to turn of the receiver. Different transmission and receiving wavelengths are utilized at both the remote and the base unit, and a sensory output is provided on the remote to indicate receipt and acknowledgement of the signal received from the main processor. Different activation codes are sent back to the receiver to generate different sensory outputs. A supplemental teaching method for using the two way teaching apparatus is also provided.