Peer Instruction 2.0: Beyond a 90's pedagogy

Peer Instruction (PI) is a research-based, interactive teaching method that helps instructors engagestudents in and out of class. The centerpiece of Peer Instruction is the ConcepTest, a short conceptual question that helps elicit, uncover and resolve student misconceptions. “Turn to your neighbor” is the classic catch phrase of PI methodology, whereby after a brief mini-lecture in class, teachers encourage students to think about a question, vote on their answer, and then turn to their neighbor to engage, rather than sit passively in a lecture. In this presentation, we examine three big, open questions frequently posed by Peer Instruction users: How do I group students with neighbors to maximize effective conversations? Should I ask my students to vote first, before turning to their neighbor to discuss? Should I show or tell my students the results of the answer polls before I cue them to turn to their neighbors? Find out what the experts say and try out their advice in your own classroom. Dr. Julie Schell will facilitate this workshop using a new Classroom Response System called Learning Catalytics, developed at Harvard University.