Peer Instruction: Ten years of experience and results
10 Aug 2001-American Journal of Physics (American Association of Physics Teachers)-Vol. 69, Iss: 9, pp 970-977
TL;DR: The authors report data from ten years of teaching with peer instruction (PI) in the calculus and algebra-based introductory physics courses for nonmajors; their results indicate increased student mastery of both conceptual reasoning and quantitative problem solving upon implementing PI.
Abstract: We report data from ten years of teaching with Peer Instruction (PI) in the calculus- and algebra-based introductory physics courses for nonmajors; our results indicate increased student mastery of both conceptual reasoning and quantitative problem solving upon implementing PI. We also discuss ways we have improved our implementation of PI since introducing it in 1991. Most notably, we have replaced in-class reading quizzes with pre-class written responses to the reading, introduced a research-based mechanics textbook for portions of the course, and incorporated cooperative learning into the discussion sections as well as the lectures. These improvements are intended to help students learn more from pre-class reading and to increase student engagement in the discussion sections, and are accompanied by further increases in student understanding.
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TL;DR: The analysis supports theory claiming that calls to increase the number of students receiving STEM degrees could be answered, at least in part, by abandoning traditional lecturing in favor of active learning and supports active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.
Abstract: creased by 0.47 SDs under active learning (n = 158 studies), and that the odds ratio for failing was 1.95 under traditional lecturing (n = 67 studies). These results indicate that average examination scores improved by about 6% in active learning sections, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than were students in classes with active learning. Heterogeneity analyses indicated that both results hold across the STEM disciplines, that active learning increases scores on concept inventories more than on course examinations, and that active learning appears effective across all class sizes—although the greatest effects are in small (n ≤ 50) classes. Trim and fill analyses and fail-safe n calculations suggest that the results are not due to publication bias. The results also appear robust to variation in the methodological rigor of the included studies, based on the quality of controls over student quality and instructor identity. This is the largest and most comprehensive metaanalysis of undergraduate STEM education published to date. The results raise questions about the continued use of traditional lecturing as a control in research studies, and support active learning as the preferred, empirically validated teaching practice in regular classrooms.
5,474 citations
TL;DR: There is a growing body of research within specific scientific teaching communities that supports and validates the new approaches to teaching that have been adopted, and their applicability to physiology education is discussed.
Abstract: Calls for reforms in the ways we teach science at all levels, and in all disciplines, are wide spread. The effectiveness of the changes being called for, employment of student-centered, active learning pedagogy, is now well supported by evidence. The relevant data have come from a number of different disciplines that include the learning sciences, cognitive psychology, and educational psychology. There is a growing body of research within specific scientific teaching communities that supports and validates the new approaches to teaching that have been adopted. These data are reviewed, and their applicability to physiology education is discussed. Some of the inherent limitations of research about teaching and learning are also discussed.
1,191 citations
Cites background from "Peer Instruction: Ten years of expe..."
...In physics, students generate better solutions to problems when they work cooperative than when they work alone (34), and peer instruction, developed by Mazur (51), has been shown to increase student mastery of conceptual reasoning and quantitative problem solving (20)....
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TL;DR: Increased student attendance, higher engagement, and more than twice the learning in the section taught using research-based instruction in an introductory undergraduate physics course is found.
Abstract: We compared the amounts of learning achieved using two different instructional approaches under controlled conditions. We measured the learning of a specific set of topics and objectives when taught by 3 hours of traditional lecture given by an experienced highly rated instructor and 3 hours of instruction given by a trained but inexperienced instructor using instruction based on research in cognitive psychology and physics education. The comparison was made between two large sections (N = 267 and N = 271) of an introductory undergraduate physics course. We found increased student attendance, higher engagement, and more than twice the learning in the section taught using research-based instruction.
925 citations
01 Jan 2011
888 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that peer discussion enhances understanding, even when none of the students in a discussion group originally knows the correct answer, when students answer individually and then revote on the same question.
Abstract: When students answer an in-class conceptual question individually using clickers, discuss it with their neighbors, and then revote on the same question, the percentage of correct answers typically increases. This outcome could result from gains in understanding during discussion, or simply from peer influence of knowledgeable students on their neighbors. To distinguish between these alternatives in an undergraduate genetics course, we followed the above exercise with a second, similar (isomorphic) question on the same concept that students answered individually. Our results indicate that peer discussion enhances understanding, even when none of the students in a discussion group originally knows the correct answer.
786 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, a survey of pre/post test data using the Halloun-Hestenes Mechanics Diagnostic test or more recent Force Concept Inventory is reported for 62 introductory physics courses enrolling a total number of students.
Abstract: A survey of pre/post-test data using the Halloun–Hestenes Mechanics Diagnostic test or more recent Force Concept Inventory is reported for 62 introductory physics courses enrolling a total number of students N=6542. A consistent analysis over diverse student populations in high schools, colleges, and universities is obtained if a rough measure of the average effectiveness of a course in promoting conceptual understanding is taken to be the average normalized gain 〈g〉. The latter is defined as the ratio of the actual average gain (%〈post〉−%〈pre〉) to the maximum possible average gain (100−%〈pre〉). Fourteen “traditional” (T) courses (N=2084) which made little or no use of interactive-engagement (IE) methods achieved an average gain 〈g〉T-ave=0.23±0.04 (std dev). In sharp contrast, 48 courses (N=4458) which made substantial use of IE methods achieved an average gain 〈g〉IE-ave=0.48±0.14 (std dev), almost two standard deviations of 〈g〉IE-ave above that of the traditional courses. Results for 30 (N=3259) of the a...
4,803 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it has been established that commonsense beliefs about motion and force are incompatible with Newtonian concepts in most respects, and conventional physics instruction produces little change in these beliefs, and this result is independent of the instructor and the mode of instruction.
Abstract: Every student begins physics with a well-established system of commonsense beliefs about how the physical world works derived from years of personal experience. Over the last decade, physics education research has established that these beliefs play a dominant role in introductory physics. Instruction that does not take them into account is almost totally ineffective, at least for the majority of students. Specifically, it has been established that (1) commonsense beliefs about motion and force are incompatible with Newtonian concepts in most respects, (2) conventional physics instruction produces little change in these beliefs, and (3) this result is independent of the instructor and the mode of instruction. The implications could not be more serious. Since the students have evidently not learned the most basic Newtonian concepts, they must have failed to comprehend most of the material in the course. They have been forced to cope with the subject by rote memorization of isolated fragments and by carrying out meaningless tasks. No wonder so many are repelled! The few who are successful have become so by their own devices, the course and the teacher having supplied only the opportunity and perhaps inspiration.
2,926 citations
Book•
29 Jul 1996
TL;DR: A step-by-step guide to preparing for a peer instruction lecture is given in this article, with a focus on motivating the students and presenting concepts to motivate them during the lecture.
Abstract: I. OVERVIEW. 1. Introduction. 2. Peer Instruction. 3. Motivating the Students. 4. A Step-by-Step Guide to Preparing for a Peer Instruction Lecture. 5. Sample Lecture. 6. Epilogue. II. RESOURCES. 7. Mechanics Baseline Test. 8. Force Concept Inventory. 9. Questionnaire Results. 10. Reading Quizzes. 11. Concept Tests. 12. Conceptual Exam Questions. Appendix: Disk Instructions. Index.
1,871 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an instrument to assess the basic knowledge state of students taking a first course in physics has been designed and validated, and measurements with the instrument show that the student's initial qualitative, common sense beliefs about motion and causes have a large effect on performance in physics, but conventional instruction induces only a small change in those beliefs.
Abstract: An instrument to assess the basic knowledge state of students taking a first course in physics has been designed and validated. Measurements with the instrument show that the student’s initial qualitative, common sense beliefs about motion and causes has a large effect on performance in physics, but conventional instruction induces only a small change in those beliefs.
1,073 citations