the college classroom wi16 meeting 6: peer instruction
TRANSCRIPT
The College Classroom Meeting 6:
Cooperative Learning and Peer Instruction
February 9 and 11, 2016
Please form groups of 2-3 with
others in your subject area:
Look for colored cards like yours
Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution- 3.0 License.
Peter Newbury
Center for Engaged Teaching, UC San Diego
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Scholarly approach to teaching:
(also known as Backward Design)
Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2
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?
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 3
active learning
cooperative
learning
peer
instruction
What do you see?
4 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]
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 5
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 6
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 7
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 8
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
(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.
Active Learning - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 10
Typical Episode of Peer Instruction
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 11
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 12
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 13
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
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 14
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 15
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 16
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
The students have not
resolved the concept.
But they know it exists
and why it’s interesting.
t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 17
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 18
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
Students have had opportunities to
try, fail, receive feedback and
try again without facing a
summative evaluation.
t h e l e a r n i n g c y c l e
Peer instruction helps students learn
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 19
BEFORE DURING AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
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 21 (Adapted from Stephanie Chasteen, CU Boulder)
Sample Questions
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 22
With others in your group, look through the collection of questions (start with the questions in subjects you’re familiar with. )
Try to identify at least one characteristic that makes each question good (or bad).
Some of these questions are deliberately bad!
clarity context learning outcome distractors
difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion
Try it yourself:
In your groups of 2 – 3,
1. Show each other the learning outcome and assessment 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.
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 23
References
Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 24
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. Hurtado, S., Eagan, M. K., Pryor, J. H., Whang, H., & Tran, S. (2012). Undergraduate
teaching faculty: The 2010–2011 HERI Faculty Survey. Los Angeles: 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 National Academies Press.
5. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.