Peer Instruction for Astronomy
Paul J. Green
with >30 Astronomy Instructors and
Educators
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Imagine a class where the students come
prepared because they don't want to let
their group down, where they have the
confidence to find answers themselves,
and where they question each other as
well as other sources.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
What is Peer Instruction?
• An interactive lecture method suitable for
Astro101.
• A way to engage students in the learning
process.
• A form of collaborative learning.
• Related to techniques with a long history
of study and application.
(Johnson & Johnson 1993; Mazur 1997)
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Classroom Recipe for PIA
•
•
•
•
Mini-lecture (10 minutes)
Pose ConcepTest (1 minute)
Quick-read tally (1 minute)
If 30-80% correct, students break into peer
groups for discussion (2-3 mins)
• Re-tally after discussion (1 min)
• Discuss and iterate or move on
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
This space intentionally left blank.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
ConcepTest
If the Sun were suddenly to be replaced by a
solar-mass black hole, the Earth would
A) remain in the same orbit
B) move into a much smaller orbit
C) be pulled into the black hole and disappear
D) suddenly disappear
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Peer Instruction Should…
• improve attention & retention
• highlight and address common pre- or
misconceptions
• increase understanding of key physical concepts
• develop ability to communicate scientific ideas
• enhance collaborative skills
• raise satisfaction with your course
• raise class attendance, lower course attrition
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
A “Long Walk off a Short Peer”?
Common Concerns
• How can I cover all the course material?
• Chaos will reign!
• Groups allow students to ‘hide’ and to ride the
coattails of more motivated peers.
• My students want to be taught by teachers, not
by other students!
• My colleagues will scoff ! PI is countercultural. It
looks like I’m trying to avoid lecturing!
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
How can I cover all the course
material?
• Amount heard ↓ Amount learned ↑ !
• Prep can focus on key concepts, rather
than on length and density of sermon
• Insist on preparation
– Reading assignments
– Reading quizzes
– ConcepTest writing assignments
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Chaos will reign!
• Well, yes, it will.
• But only briefly, because students are eager to
know the answer.
• Set a firm maximum time limit for discussion, but
call a halt if room grows quiet.
• Relax! Chaos is a healthy sign.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Order & Disorder
“…at these phase transitions the forces leading to order and disorder
compete, resulting in states more complex than those away from the
transition.” †
Lattice interactions (a crystal forms!)
• long-range correlations and aligned-spin clusters
Evolutionary dynamics (a species evolves!)
• Selection-mutation balance
• gene stability (for heredity) and genetic diversity and mutation (for
species adaptability)
Social Catastrophe Theory (society evolves!)
• cooperation and conflict theory, peace and war, social movements
• Both the structure of expectations and the status quo have high
social viscosity, but realignment first demands misalignment.
†Crutchfield & Schuster 2002, Evolutionary Dynamics
Groups Allow Students to Hide
• Techniques of group formation can help
circumvent this issue.
• Good groups foster
– Positive interdependence
– Individual accountability
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Forming Groups
• Group Size
– Short discussion time → small size
– Small size → greater participation
– Too small means too few ideas and interactions.
• Self-Assignment tends to form groups with
– Students at similar levels
– Less diversity
– Closer social connections
• Random Assignment
– Enforces diversity
– Breaks up social groups
• Grouping Criteria
– allows fine-tuning
– by achievement, preparation, participation, background, culture…
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Forming Groups:
Recommendations
• Group Size and lifetime
– 3-4 students
– 2-3 weeks lifetime
• Self-Assignment
– Good at the outset so students acclimatize
• Random Assignment
– Simple and effective
– Use e.g., by alphabetical or birthdate groupings
• Mixed Assignment, e.g.,
– Within birth month
– With the nearest person who chose a different answer
• Grouping Criteria
– last resort, but can boost learning
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Students Want to Be Taught by
Teachers!
• Actually, you bore them sometimes.
• You will be able to focus with them on concepts,
not on reciting what they should have read.
• You will become both teacher and meta-teacher.
• Your role as Socratic mentor is enhanced.
• Their role as scientist is enhanced.
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
My Colleagues Will Scoff!
• Tell them in advance that you are trying a novel
educational technique.
– They may not know unless you tell them!
• Tell them it’s not so novel.
– Collaborative Learning techniques are well-known
– They can stagnate, while you innovate!
• Show them when you
– raise class attendance
– lower course attrition
– raise popularity
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Prentice-Hall 2002
Peer Instruction:
Description
Effectiveness
Pros & Cons
 Classroom Recipes
What’s a ConcepTest
500 ConcepTests in
text, Word, and PDF
Assessment of PIA
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
History of the Internet Project
• 1998
– ConcepTest Library opens
– password access; requires contribution
• 2000
– Over 30 Instructors contribute
– Library at 500 ConcepTests
– Prentice-Hall suggests a book
• 2002
– Many more ConcepTests ready for use & testing
– Help!?
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
ConcepTest Grading
Generally discouraged, but often useful as a motivator
• Individual CT answers can sometimes be collected for a
grade
• Group answers can too, or can be added to individual grades
• Student-composed CTs make a good homework assignment
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Overall Grading
• Use a variety of evaluators to encourage both individual
accountability and cooperative learning
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•
•
•
Reading quizzes
ConcepTests
Problem Sets
Midterm and Final
• If you make grading transparent, students can keep
track for themselves
• Curves discourage cooperation and participation
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Building A Community Resource
on the Internet
PASSIVE ENHANCEMENTS
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•
•
•
•
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Expand Library to >1000 ConcepTests
Remove contribution requirement
Enhance keyword and topic searches
Allow instant display of ConcepTests
Add figures & illustrations
Track and report ConcepTest popularity via downloads
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Active Enhancements & Interactivity
on the Internet
• Course Tracking
– Allows return statistics
– Tracking each class with a unique ID and data on
institute, course level, teacher, class size
• Accrue statistics on ConcepTests
– Tally and search by actual usage, fraction correct
answers
• Enables instructors to shop for appropriate CTs
– Answer choice tracking
• Allows refinement of distractors
– Instructor feedback
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
Method Assessment
• Compare pre- and post-course test results
– with and without PIA
– repeat in similar circumstances (teacher,
institution, course, class size), or use
– Relative Gain Index= (%pre-%post)/(100-%post)
• Repeat with other courses, instructors
• Perform at numerous institutions
• This is difficult, costly, unlikely
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html
The Astronomy Diagnostic Test
http://solar.physics.montana.edu/aae/adt/
• First version adopted questions from Project STAR (Sadler 1992)
• ADT has 33 multiple-choice questions
– 12 student background questions
– 21 concept / knowledge questions
• Validated and Reliable
– A wrong answer means the student doesn’t understand.
– A right answer usually means the student understands.
• Diverse Comparison Database
– 3800 students in 22 classes ranging from 6-201 students
– 17 institutions of 5 types
Pre-Course Results
Sample ADT Question
Where does the Sun’s energy come from?
A. The combining of light elements
into heavier elements.
B. The breaking apart of heavy
elements into lighter ones.
C. The glow from molten rocks.
D. Heat left over from the Big Bang.
E. Did not attempt to answer.
No.
420
%
27
870 56
142
9
122
8
3
0
1557 100
Internet Enhancements,
Method Assessment and Refinement
• NEEDED
– instructor/collaborators
– a web programmer
– $$, NSF CCLI-EMD (Course Curriculum and Laboratory
Improvement- Educational Materials Dissemination)
– Deadline June 2004
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/PIA.html