CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 6 - Peer Instruction

CIRTL – The College Classroom Meeting 6:

Cooperative Learning and Peer Instruction

March 3, 2016

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Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching, UC San Diego

[email protected]

Tom Holme

Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

[email protected]

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Scholarly approach to teaching:

(also known as Backward Design)

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Carl Wieman

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?


active learning

cooperative

learning

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


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

Instructors must provide structure


Goal: all students practice thinking and communicating in

expert-like ways

Challenge: every student needs to learn both the content

and the expert-like behaviors

Solution: provide structure so every student practices

expert-like behaviors and learn the content

What do you notice?


Eddy, S.L., and Hogan, K.A. (2014). Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does

Increasing Course Structure Work? CBE Life Sci Educ vol. 13 no. 3 453-468

doi: 10.1187/cbe.14-03-0050


active learning

cooperative

learning

peer

instruction

(Question: Sujatha Raghu from Braincandy via LearningCatalytics)

(Image: CIM9926 by number657 on flickr CC)

Discussion (peer instruction)

Melt chocolate over low heat. Remove the chocolate from

the heat. What will happen to the chocolate?

A) It will condense.

B) It will evaporate.

C) It will freeze.


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 they (don’t) know

the instructor finds out what the students (don’t) 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


The students have not

resolved the concept.

But they know it exists

and why it’s 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.edu (Adapted from Stephanie Chasteen, CU Boulder)

Sample Questions


With others in your breakout room, open this link in your browsers and look through the collection of questions (start with the questions in subjects you’re familiar with.)

Some of these questions are deliberately bad!

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

http://tinyurl.com/zpbzrfr

Try to identify at least one characteristic that makes each

question good (or bad).

Which engineering application is most likely to use thermoplastic polymers?

A) Automobile engine

B) Asphalt road construction

C) Heating exhaust system

D) Consumer product packaging

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu (Tom Holme, Iowa State University)

Response to transport? If high level nuclear waste (HLW) was scheduled to be transported through your city, what action would you take?

A) Not much – safety concerns must have been addressed for transportation.

B) Not much – I’d be worried, but not enough to change my daily routine.

C) A little – I’d monitor what was happening by following reports on Twitter, etc.

D) Quite a bit – I’d be actively protesting or part of citizens groups that would track progress on Twitter, etc.

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu (Tom Holme, Iowa State University)

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.”[1]

try

fail receive

feedback

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. Los Angeles: 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 STEM Teaching”

(coursera MOOC) class.coursera.org/stemteaching-001

3. Eddy, S.L., and Hogan, K.A. (2014). Getting Under the Hood: How and for

Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work? CBE Life Sci Educ vol. 13 no. 3

453-468

doi: 10.1187/cbe.14-03-0050

CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 6 - Peer Instruction

Education

Transcript of CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 6 - Peer Instruction