This Peer Instruction tool was developed by CTLT to improve critical thinking skills and enhance self and peer learning. It is available as an advanced component on edX and edX/Edge.
Overview
Over the last 20 years, Peer Instruction has become a widely-adopted instructional technique across higher education. It is the cornerstone of a range of approaches that collectively aim to use classroom time (usually lectures) more productively than simply as a vehicle for didactic presentation of content. Such approaches often broadly classified as ‘interactive engagement’ strategies, or — more recently — ‘flipped classroom’ approaches. The learning and retention benefits of interactive engagement strategies has been convincingly demonstrated in a recent meta-analysis by Freeman et al (1) which examined 225 published studies across various STEM disciplines and course contexts. Relating directly to peer instruction, and specifically the efficacy of peer discussion to improve student performance on concept questions posed in class, a 2009 study by Smith et al (Science 323, 122 (2009)) demonstrates this effect comes from enhanced learning, rather than simply peer influence. The impact peer instruction has had was recognized through the award of the inaugural Minerva prize for enhancement in higher education to Eric Mazur in 2014.
One of the key features in the success of peer instruction in enhancing student learning is to promote higher-order cognitive activities (articulation, evaluation, synthesis etc) within a learning sequence or activity (for example, within a lecture segment in the face-to-face environment). It is specifically this benefit that we seek to replicate and expose within the online environment through this suggestion to develop online Peer Instruction in the functionality within edX.
About the Peer Instruction Tool (ubcpi)
The peer instruction tool is divided in 3 steps:
1. Submit an answer (select an option to a multiple-choice question and explain the rationale for the answer selected);
2. Reflect on other students’ responses (students review their classmates responses and their justifications, and then decide whether to change their answer based on their responses);
3. Results (students view the graphical representation of their classmates answers).
| Note: Students receive a participation mark for completing this activity. |
Workflow on edX and/or edX/Edge
| 1. In Studio, add “ubcpi” in the advanced problem area; 2. In a unit, click Advanced Component and select Peer Instruction; 3. Edit the question and update the multiple-choice question and answers (choose the right answer, or select N/A if no right answer); 4. Add an explanation (feedback) and an answer for each response (for the first student completing this activity). 5. Define number of answers to display. |