Peter Newbury 30 May 2014 peternewbury.org

1. BEST PRACTICES FOR RUNNING
PEER INSTRUCTION WITH CLICKERS
Peter Newbury
Center for Teaching Development,
University of California, San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca
ctd.ucsd.edu #peerinstructionCSULA
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
12:00 – 12:50 pm Center Hall, Room 316

2. Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers2
student-centered instructiontraditional lecture

3. Breaking News!
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers3
Freeman et al. (2014) conducted a massive meta-
analysis (an analysis of other analyses): compared to
traditional lectures, students in active-learning
classrooms
 score 6% higher on tests and concept inventories
 are1.5 times less likely to fail / withdraw
“If the experiments analyzed here had been conducted as
randomized controlled trials of medical interventions, they may
have been stopped for benefit—meaning that enrolling patients in
the control condition might be discontinued because the treatment
being tested was clearly more beneficial.”

4. Student-centered instruction
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers4
peer instruction with clickers
interactive demonstrations
surveys of opinions
reading quizzes
worksheets
discussions
videos

5. Let’s try it…
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers5
 Don’t get (too) distracted by the content of the
questions: this is not a test of your knowledge!
 Try to be aware of how the peer instruction is
“choreographed” – we’ll talk lots about it
afterwards

6. Astronomy class
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers6
We’re in an astronomy survey course. We’ve just
finished a worksheet on the phases of the Moon.

7. Clicker question
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers7
This is the phase of the Moon when it rises:
What is the phase of the Moon 12 hours later?
(Adapted from Ed Prather)
A B
D
C
E

8. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
The instructor needs to run the peer instruction in a way
that gives students sufficient time to
1. think,
2. discuss, and
3. resolve the concepts.
We want students to focus all of their precious cognitive
load on the concept. We don’t want them wasting any
of it wondering, “What am I supposed to do now?”
8

9. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
1. Present the question. Don’t read it aloud.
Reasons for not reading the question aloud:
• your voice may give away key features or even
the answer
• you might read the question you hoped to ask, not
the words that are actually there
• the students are not listening anyway – they’re
trying to read it themselves and your voice may, in
fact, distract them
9

10. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
2. “Please answer this on your own.”
Goals of the first, solo vote is to get the students
• to commit to a choice in their own minds
• curious about the answer
• prepared to have a discussion with their peers
If they discuss the question right away:
• students are making choices based on someone else’s
reasoning
• those students cannot contribute to the peer instruction as
they have no ideas of their own
10

11. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
2. “Please answer this on your own.”
Students may be reluctant to quietly think on their
own. After all, they have a better chance of picking
the right choice after talking to their friends.
If you’re going to impose a certain behaviour on the
students, getting their “buy-in” is critical. Explain to
them why the solo vote is so important. Explain it to
them early in the term and remind them when they
start drifting to immediate discussions.
www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/SEI_video.html
11

12. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
3. Give the students sufficient time to make a choice.
What is sufficient?
• Turn to the screen, read and answer the question as if
you are one of your students. If applicable, model
how to answer about the question by “acting it out.”
Alternatives:
• keep facing the class, watching for confused stares
and/or and satisfied smiles
• when you notice students picking up their clickers and
getting restless, they are prepared to vote.
Don’t make it a game of “beat the clock.”
12

13. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
4. Count down and close the poll
When almost all the votes are in, say, “Final votes,
please, in 5…4…3…2…1…Thank-you!” and close
the poll.
Don’t wait for every last student to vote. Some may
be choosing not to vote.
13

14. Analytical vs. Argumentation skills
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers14
solo vote
pose question
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

15. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
5. Initiate small group discussions: “Please turn to your
neighbors and convince them you’re right.”
Don’t display the histogram: if the students see it, they
tend to argue for the popular choice on the 2nd vote
even if it’s not the answer they feel is correct.
Students may not know how to “discuss” the question so
give them direction: “…convince them you’re right.”
15
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

16. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
6. Wander around the room, listening to the
conversations.
o Avoid joining conversations – this is their time to
talk, not yours.
o Listen for misconceptions, places where students get
stuck – these nuggets of student thinking are your
source for improving the questions, clarifying the
questions, etc.
16
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

17. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
7. When it starts to get quiet and/or you notice
students starting to disengage or talk about other
things, collect the 2nd vote:
“Group vote, please!” Start the poll.
“Last call on the group vote. I’m closing the poll in
5…4…3…2…1…thank-you!” Stop the poll.
17
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

18. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
8. Now you can display the histogram if it will help, not
hinder, the discussion.
Depending on their votes, you have several choices
for guiding the discussion…
18
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)
The students had an opportunity to practice talking
about the problem. They’ve received formative
feedback from their peers.
They’re more confident and ready to join the class-
wide discussion.

19. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
9a. Correct answer is the clear
winner.
Ok, well done, B is correct but…
 why might A be tempting?
 why might someone think it could be E?
 could someone explain why D is wrong?
 (possible follow-up question)
How would be change the question so that A is right?
19
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

20. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
9b. No clear winner.
Ok, this was a harder one, we
need to look at all the options…
 what reasoning would someone use for A (repeat for
all popular choices)
 if you changed your vote, what did you discuss in your
group?
20
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

21. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
9c. If you’re not sure what to do, you’re never wrong
asking,
What did your group talk about?
21
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

22. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
10. At the end, confirm the answer(s) and continue with
the class.
Even if more than 80–90% of the students have
picked the correct choice, some students may still not
sure why that choice is correct.
You must confirm the correct choice:
• briefly recap why the right answers are right and
the wrong answers are wrong
• allows students who chose the right answer to
make sure they had the correct reasoning
22
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)

23. Analytical vs. Argumentation skills
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers23
solo vote
pose question
Analytical
(typically one right answer)
(STEM classes)
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

24. History
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers24
According to Augustine, which do you think was the most
significant event in his conversion to Christianity? Be
prepared to defend your choice with evidence from the
readings.
A) Corporal punishments as a school-boy
B) Student years of follies (studies and promiscuity)
C) Stealing the pears from the neighbor’s tree
D) Death of his classmate/friend
(Keller-Lapp UCSD)
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

25. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
4. Count down and close the poll
When almost all the votes are in, say, “Final votes,
please, in 5…4…3…2…1…Thank-you!” and close
the poll.
Don’t wait for every last student to vote. Some may
be choosing not to vote.
25
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

26. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
5. Initiate small group discussions: “Please turn to your
neighbors and explain to them why you made the
choice you did.”
Don’t display the histogram: if the students see it, they
may be reluctant to support an unpopular (though still
correct) choice.
All choices might be correct. Each student practices
supporting an argument with evidence.
26
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

27. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
6. Wander around the room, listening to the
conversations.
o Avoid joining conversations – this is their time to
talk, not yours.
o Listen for misconceptions, places where students get
stuck – these nuggets of student thinking are your
source for improving the questions, clarifying the
questions, etc.
27
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

28. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
7. When it starts to get quiet and/or you notice
students starting to disengage or talk about other
things…
Show the histogram – this is the
signal to the students that a
discussion is about to begin.
28
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)

29. Clicker choreography
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
8. Facilitate a class discussion, prompting students to
share
 which answer they chose
 what evidence they have to support that choice
(for example, citing readings)
29
Argumentation
(all choices may be correct)
(Art & Humanities, Soc Sci)
Create a “summary” slide to show after, with each
point or argument + evidence you wanted covered.
If the students get to all of them, great. If not, you can
briefly add anything that was missed.

30. Peer instruction takes time!
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers
30
Where does that time come from?
(Image: Ready steady go by purplemattfish on flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

31. Traditional classroom
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers31
 first exposure to material is in class, content is
transmitted from instructor to student
 learning occurs later when student struggles alone to
complete homework, essay, project
learn easy
stuff together
learn hard
stuff alone
transfer assimilate

32. learn easy
stuff alone
Flipped classroom
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers32
 student learns easy content at home: definitions,
basis skills, simple examples. Frees up class time for...
 students come to class prepared to tackle
challenging concepts in class, with immediate
feedback from peers, instructor
learn hard
stuff together
transfer assimilate

33. 2 hours in 140 characters (or less)
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers33
Effective #peerinstruction is a versatile, student-
centered activity for teaching expert-like thinking

34. Resources
Best Practices for Peer Instruction with Clickers34
1. Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
2. Peer instruction resources from the Carl Wieman Science Education
Initiative at the Univ. of British Columbia :
http://www.cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/clickers.htm
3. 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
4. Peer Instruction network blog.peerinstruction.net