Peer instruction (PI) is a learning method in which the teacher instructs students to prepare for the class by reading the materials and answering the questions regarding those reading materials. The teacher will then prepare a list of conceptual questions based on student difficulties to increase student's engagement during lectures and improve the understanding of the material. PI is a student-centred approach which was popularised by Eric Mazur (1997) and is used in many disciplines.
Beth Simon et al. (2010) produced the report describing their experience with the implementation of PI in teaching two computer science subjects. These are the main components that were used to implement PI:
Results showed that students’ initial correctness in answering ranged from 15%-86% with an average of 44-47%. After discussion with their peers the average correctness had increased to 63-68%. The students survey showed that 78-87% of the students were satisfied with PI approach and would recommend another instructor to use it.
Some issues with the use of PI have been found which involved lack of student preparation. Only twenty to thirty-eight percent of students read the materials before the class. As a result, about half of the people who did not always read before class, experienced a negative impact on their ability to learn in class. One of the proposed stimulus for resolving this problem is to give credits to students for reading the textbook before class.
Overall, the reported experience with application of PI in teaching computer science courses has been positive. PI increases the level of students’ engagement in lectures and encourages deeper understanding of the subject.
References
Beth Simon, et al (2010). Experience report: peer instruction in introductory computing.
Crouch C. and Mazur E. (2001). Peer Instruction: Ten years of experience. Am. J. Phys. 69 (9).
Eric Mazur (1997). Peer Instruction: A User's Manual Series in Educational Innovation. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
Raisa_1
The percentage of students who are satisfied with peer instructions as a learning method is impressive! I think that is beneficial in many ways. It also builds up students’ confidence and empower positive relationships within the classroom. I would like to discover ways of applying this method in teaching information literacy skills in the Library. Thank you for your informative post!