Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development UC San Diego ctd.ucsd.edu November 19, 2014

1. Peer instructions questions that support expert-like thinking
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Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development, University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca
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2. How familiar are you with peer instruction and clickers?
A)I’ve heard about it but never used it
B)I’ve used it once or twice
C)I use it every time I teach
D)I can’t imagine teaching without clickers
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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3. What is expertise? [1]
To develop competence in an area of inquiry, student must
(a)have a deep foundation of factual knowledge
(b)understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and
(c)organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application
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4. Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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knowledge

5. Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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knowledge framework

6. 6
knowledge
framework
retrieval
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking

7. Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
What the best college teachers do[2]
More than anything else, the best teachers try to create a natural critical learning environment: natural because students encounter skills, habits, attitudes, and information they are trying to learn embedded in questions and tasks they find fascinating – authentic tasks that arouse curiosity and become intrinsically interesting, critical because students learn to think critically, to reason from evidence, to examine the quality of their reasoning using a variety of intellectual standards, to make improvements while thinking, and to ask probing and insightful questions about the thinking of other people.
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8. 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.[2]
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try
fail
receive feedback

9. Peer instruction
Pause to let students think, provide a question for them to think about, and provide prompts so they have the conversations you want them to have.
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10. Supporting expert-like thinking: Introductory Biology class
The molecules making up the dry mass of wood in a tree come from
A)sunlight
B)the air
C)the seed
D)the soil
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(Question: Bill Wood)
(Image: Autumn? No Doubt! by blavandmaster on flickr CC)

11. In effective peer instruction
students teach each other while they may still hold or remember their novice preconceptions
students discuss the concepts in their (novice) language
each student finds out what s/he does(n’t) know
the instructor finds out what the students (don’t) know and reacts, building on their initial understanding and preconceptions.
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students learn and practice how to think, communicate like experts

12. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen

13. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen

14. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen
The students have not resolved Concept X.
But they’re know X exists and why X is interesting.

15. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen

16. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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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.

17. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps students learn...
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Adapted from Rosie Piller, Ian Beatty, Stephanie Chasteen

18. Effective peer instruction requires
1.identifying key concepts, misconceptions
2.creating multiple-choice questions that require deeper thinking and learning
3.facilitating episodes of peer instruction that spark and support expert-like discussion
4.leading a class-wide discussion to clarify the concept, resolve the misconception
5.reflecting on the question: note curious things you overheard, how they voted, etc. so next year’s peer instruction will be better
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before
class
during
class
after
class
today
next week

19. Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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What makes a good question?
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?
(Adapted from Stephanie Chasteen, CU Boulder)

20. Sample Questions
With others in your group, look through the collection of questions (start with the questions in subjects you’re familiar with. )
WARNING: Some are good, some are not.
Try to identify at least one characteristic (clarity, context,…) that makes each question good (or bad). Use the scorecard to record your opinions.
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21. Peer instruction helps you teach
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing knowledge
assessing
learning
the learning cycle

22. the learning cycle
Peer instruction helps you teach
Peer instruction questions to support expert-like thinking
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Do they care about this?
Are they ready for the next topic?
What DO they care about, anyway?
What do they already know?

23. the learning cycle
Did they notice key idea X?
Where are they in the activity?
Peer instruction helps you teach
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up
instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Are they getting it?
Do I need to intervene?

24. the learning cycle
How did I do?
Did they get it?
Peer instruction helps you teach
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BEFORE
DURING
AFTER
setting up instruction
developing
knowledge
assessing
learning
Can I move to the next topic?
Did that activity work?

25. Resources
1.Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
2.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.
3.Colvin, G. (2006, October 19). What it takes to be great. Fortune, 88- 96. Available at money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm
4.Peer instruction resources from the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the Univ. of British Columbia : http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/clickers.htm
5.Videos by the Science Education Initiative at the Univ. of Colorado (Boulder) provide excellent background for using clickers: http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/SEI_video.html
6.Peer Instruction network blog.peerinstruction.net
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