The College Classroom Fa15 Meeting 6: Peer Instruction

What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
2013–2014 Higher Education Research Initiative (HERI) Faculty Survey of
16,112 full-time faculty at 269 four-year colleges and universities

The College Classroom Meeting 6:
Cooperative Learning and Peer Instruction
November 3 and 5 2015
Unless otherwise noted, content is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-
Non Commercial 3.0 License.
Please form groups of
2-3 with others in
your subject area:
Look for colored cards
like yours.

Scholarly approach to teaching:
(also known as Backward Design)
Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu3
CarlWieman
Science Education Initiative
cwsei.ubc.ca
What should
students
learn?learning
outcomes
assessment
active
learning
What should
students
learn?
What are
students
learning?
What instructional
strategies
help students
learn?

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu4
active learning
cooperative
learning
peer
instruction

What do you see?
5 Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
2013–2014 Higher Education Research Initiative (HERI)
Faculty Survey of 16,112 full-time faculty at 269 four-year
colleges and universities [1]

Cooperative Learning[2]
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so
that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s
learning.
(Rique Campa)
constructivism social constructivism
recognizes that knowledge is
constructed in the mind of the
learner by the learner
([3], p.262)
implies that this “building”
process is aided through
cooperative social interactions
([3], p. 262)

Key to successful cooperative learning
If you choose to use cooperative learning so that students
learn how to work effectively as a team,
you need to teach the students
how to work effectively as a team
You can’t leave it up to them to figure out
 positive team member traits
 team-building, management, conflict-resolution skills
 how to remain inquiry-based: asking questions of each
other, making recommendations, receiving feedback
 how to make effective, professional presentations

What to watch for
and what to do about it
 lack of group maturity
insufficient guidance and training from instructor about
how to work together
 “free-riding”
instructor hasn’t built in enough individual accountability
 loss of motivation
instructor needs to stay in touch with groups frequently
 lack of skills and abilities
instructor needs to create groups with more diverse
skills and abilities

In natural critical learning environments
students encounter safe yet challenging conditions in
which they can try, fail, receive feedback, and try again
without facing a summative evaluation.[5]
try
fail
receive
feedback

Discussion (Economics)
Which of the following professionals chooses to drive an
expensive car as a sign of their success compared to others
in the same profession?
A) a realtor
B) a politician
C) a carpenter
D) a major league baseball player
(adapted from Steve Morris, Bowdoin College, ME)

Typical Episode of Peer Instruction
1. Instructor poses a conceptually-challenging
multiple-choice question.
2. Students think about question on their own and vote
using clickers, colored ABCD cards, smartphones,…
3. The instructor asks students to turn to their neighbors
and “convince them you’re right.”
4. After that “peer instruction”, students may vote again.
5. The instructor leads a class-wide discussion concluding
with why the right answer(s) is right and the wrong
answers are wrong.

Peer instruction is successful when
 students teach each other while
they may still hold or remember
their novice preconceptions
 students discuss the concepts in their
own (novice) language
 each student finds out what s/he does (not) know
 the instructor finds out what the students (do not)
know and reacts, building on their initial understanding
and preconceptions.
students practice
how to think,
communicate
like experts

1. identifying key concepts, learning outcomes,
misconceptions
2. creating multiple-choice questions that require
deeper thinking
3. facilitating episodes of peer instruction that
spark and support expert-like thinking
4. leading a class-wide discussion to clarify
concepts, resolve misconceptions
5. reflecting on the question: note curious
things you overheard, how they voted, etc. so
next year’s peer instruction will be better
before
class
during
class
after
class
Effective peer instruction requires

t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen

BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning

BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
The students have not
resolved Concept X.
But they’re know X exists
and why X is interesting.

BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning

BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Students have had opportunities to
try, fail, receive feedback and
try again without facing a
summative evaluation.

BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning

Writing Good
Peer Instruction Questions

clarity Students waste no effort trying to figure out what’s
being asked.
context Is this topic currently being covered in class?
learning
outcome
Does the question make students do the right things
to demonstrate they grasp the concept?
distractors What do the “wrong” answers tell you about
students’ thinking?
difficulty Is the question too easy? too hard?
stimulates
thoughtful
discussion
Will the question engage the students and spark
thoughtful discussions?Are there openings for you
to continue the discussion?
What makes a good question?
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu22 (Adapted from Stephanie Chasteen, CU Boulder)

Sample Questions
With others in your group, look through the collection of
questions (start with the questions in subjects you’re
familiar with. )
WARNING: Some are good, some are not.
Try to identify at least one characteristic (clarity,
context,…) that makes each question good (or bad).

Try it yourself:
In your groups of 2 – 3,
1. Show each other the learning outcomes you brought to class.
2. Decide which learning outcome all of you are familiar with.
3. On a whiteboard, write a peer instruction question that helps a
student move towards that learning outcome.
4. Select someone in your group to be prepared to state the
learning outcome, describe the question, and justify each choice.

References
1. Eagan, M. K., Stolzenberg, E. B., Berdan Lozano, J.,Aragon, M. C., Suchard, M. R.,
& Hurtado, S. (2014). Undergraduate teaching faculty:The 2013–2014 HERI Faculty
Survey. LosAngeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA. www.heri.ucla.edu
2. Derek Bruff, Henry (Rique) Campa, III,Trina McMahon, Bennett Goldberg (2014).
“An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEMTeaching” (coursera
MOOC) class.coursera.org/stemteaching-001
3. Hurtado, S., Eagan, M. K., Pryor, J. H.,Whang, H., &Tran, S. (2012). Undergraduate
teaching faculty:The 2010–2011 HERI Faculty Survey. LosAngeles: Higher Education
Research Institute, UCLA. www.heri.ucla.edu
4. National Research Council (2000). How People Learn:Brain,Mind,Experience,and School:
Expanded Edition. J.D. Bransford,A.L Brown & R.R. Cocking (Eds.),Washington, DC:
The NationalAcademies Press.
5. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.

The College Classroom Fa15 Meeting 6: Peer Instruction

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