Definition
Peer instruction is an evidence-based, interactive teaching practice disseminated by Harvard Physics Professor Eric Mazur in the late nineties. It is a student-centered approach that involves flipping the traditional classroom by moving information transfer out and moving information assimilation, or application of learning, into the classroom. Its basic aims are to promote and get the most out of student interaction during lectures while focusing students’ attention on essential concepts and techniques. In the version of Peer instruction developed by Mazur, the main objective is to promote in his students a drive to apply factual knowledge to conceptual problems. In Mazur’s technique, multiple-choice conceptual questions are placed as key points of the lecture. If the majority of the students’ answers are mistaken they are asked to turn to their neighbor to persuade them of their answer. Peer...
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References
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Dias, D. (2018). Peer Instruction in Higher Education. In: Encyclopedia of International Higher Education Systems and Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_433-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9553-1_433-1
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