Wi13 Workshop - Clickers 1: Intro to Peer Instruction with Clickers

CTD WEEKLY WORKSHOPS:CLICKERS 1: INTRODUCTION TO PEER INSTRUCTION WITH CLICKERS

Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development,University of California, San Diego

[email protected] @polarisdotca

ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd

slides and resources: http://tinyurl.com/CTDClickers1

Thursday, January 24, 201312:30 – 1:30 pm Center Hall, Room 316

We know How People Learn

Clickers 1: Introduction to Peer Instruction with Clickers2

…and what that means for teaching [1]:1. Teachers must draw out and work with

the pre-existing understanding that their students bring with them. Classrooms must be learner centered.

2. Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge.

3. The teaching of metacognitive (“thinking about thinking”) skills should be integrated into the curriculum in a variety of subject areas.


student-centered instruction

listening

interacting

engaged

learning

traditional lecture

listening


student-centered instruction

listening

interacting

engaged

learningpeer instruction w clickersworksheetsvideosinteractive demonstrationssurveys of opinionsreading quizzesdiscussions

Clickers 1: Introduction to Peer Instruction with Clickers

Typical Peer Instruction Episode

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Alternating with 10-15 minute mini-lectures, 1. Instructor poses a conceptually-

challengingmultiple-choice question.

2. Students think about question on their own.

3. Students vote for an answer using clickers, colored/ABCD voting cards,...

4. The instructor reacts, based on the distribution of votes.


Let’s try it… 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


Biology class

It’s Intro Biology and we’re about to start a new section on photosynthesis…


Clicker questionThe molecules making up the dry mass of wood that forms during the growth of a tree largely come from

a) sunlight.b) the air.c) the seed.d) the soil.

Question credit: Bill Wood


Astronomy class

We’re in an astronomy service course. We’ve just finished a worksheet on the phases of the Moon.


Clicker questionIf 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


Clicker choreographyTo be effective, the instructor needs to run the peer instruction in a way that gives students sufficient time to think about, discuss and resolve the concepts.

We want students to participate without ever having to stop and think, “What am I supposed to do now?”


Clicker choreography1. 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


Clicker choreography2. “Please answer this on your own.”

Goals of the first, solo vote:• get the students to commit to a choice in

their own minds• get the students to commit to a choice so

they’ll be curious about the answer• get the students prepared to have a

discussion with their peersIf 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


Clicker choreography2. “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


Clicker choreography3. Don’t start the i>clicker poll. Instead 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.

• Another possibility: keep facing the class, watching for confused stares and/or and satisfied smiles.

• Another possibility: model how to think about the question by “acting it out.”

• When you notice students picking up their clickers and getting restless, they are prepared to vote.


Clicker choreography4. When you have made a choice or when

you see the class getting restless, ask the students, “Do you need more time?”

5. “Yes!” Give them a few more seconds.“[silence]” Ask them to prepare to vote.

If many students are not ready to vote, they will not have committed to a choice and will be unprepared to discuss the question.

Some students may be uncomfortable asking for more time. Make it clear, from the first class, that you’ll honour the request with no repercussions.


Clicker choreography6. Open the poll, “Please vote.”

If you’ve given them sufficient time to commit to a choice, the voting should take very little time.


Clicker choreography7. Prepare to 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.


Clicker choreography8. 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 pick the popular choice on the 2nd vote even if it’s not the answer they feel is correct: “lemming effect”

Students may not know how to “discuss” the question so give them direction: “…convince them you’re right.”


Clicker choreography9. 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.


Clicker choreography10.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 [pause 10

seconds] in5…4…3…2…1…thank-you!” Stop the

poll.


Clicker choreography11.Now you can display the histogram – this

is the signal to the students that a discussion is about to begin.

Depending on their votes, you have several choices for sparking the discussion…


Clicker choreography11.Right 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?


Clicker choreography11.No clear winner.

Ok, this was a harder one, weneed 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?


Clicker choreography11.If you’re not sure what to do, you’re

never wrong asking,

What did your group talk about?


Clicker choreography12.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.

Briefly confirm the correct choice:• explain why the right answer is right• explain why wrong answers are wrong• allows students who chose the right

answer to make sure they had the correct reasoning


In effective peer instruction

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students teach each other while theymay still hold or remember their novice misconceptions

students discuss the concepts in theirown language

the instructor finds out what the students know (and don’t know) and reacts

students learn and practice how to think, communicate like experts


Effective peer instruction requires

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1. identifying key concepts, misconceptions2. creating multiple-choice questions that

require deeper thinking and learning

3. facilitating peer instruction episodes thatspark student discussion

4. resolving the misconceptions

beforeclass

duringclass

today

nextweek


Resources1. National Research Council. 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, 2000.http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853&page=1

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

CTD WEEKLY WORKSHOPS:CLICKERS 1: INTRODUCTION TO PEER INSTRUCTION WITH CLICKERS

Peter Newbury Center for Teaching Development,University of California, San Diego

[email protected] @polarisdotca

ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd

slides and resources: http://tinyurl.com/CTDClickers1

Thursday, January 24, 201312:30 – 1:30 pm Center Hall, Room 316

Wi13 Workshop - Clickers 1: Intro to Peer Instruction with Clickers

Education

Transcript of Wi13 Workshop - Clickers 1: Intro to Peer Instruction with Clickers