Peer Instruction-A Med Ed Pearl from the 2019 Annual CGEA Conference

MedEdPearls April 2019: How might you use the 7 steps of Peer Instruction to encourage participation and active learning in medical and health professions?

At the 2019 Central Group on Educational Affairs Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Irina Overman and Brenda Roman from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine shared their experiences with Peer Instruction (PI). PI is a learner‐centered instructional approach developed at Harvard University by Eric Mazur and a straight forward method for encouraging active learning.

Below are the 7 steps of PI with suggestions that leverage the features of audience response systems (ARS) to encourage participation and active learning.

Seven Steps of PI

  1. Do a 10-15 minute mini lecture or provide a reading before class
  2. Pose a question
    • The art of writing this question is to ensure that 30‐80% of the learners will get it correct. If it is under 30%, revisit the content in a mini lecture. If it is over 80%, move on to the next topic.
  3. Prompt learners to think before answering.
  4. Prompt learners to vote individually using clickers (ARS)
    • Do not show the response graph. Studies suggest that learners will change their answers to the most popular response versus the correct answer when they revote.
  5. Prompt learners to discuss the question with someone who disagrees with them citing the evidence for their opinion.
  6. Prompt learners to vote again this time revealing the response graph. Revote showing the response graph.
  7. Explain the correct answer.

To learn more about peer instruction at Wright State University, see here.  

References

  1. Yelton, L., Holyoke, A., Trout, M.J. et al. Peer Instruction: an Analysis of Quality Improvement at Boonshoft School of Medicine (BSOM). Medical Science Educator. (2017) 27: 729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-017-0480-7
  2. Eric Mazur, Peer Instruction: A User’s Manual (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1997) 

 

About the MedEdPearls Author

The MedEdPearls are a collaborative, peer-reviewed, monthly brief intended to provide practical tips and strategies for medical and health professions educators to enhance teaching and learning.

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Larry Hurtubise

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  • Curriculum and Instruction Consultant, Michael V. Drake Institute for Teaching and Learning, Ohio State University
  • Jean Bailey, PhD – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
  • Carrie Bowler, EdD, MS, MLSCM (ASCP) – Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development
  • Kristina Dzara, PhD, MMSc (Educators ’16; Assessment ’16; HCE 2.0 ’17) – Saint Louis University School of Medicine
  • Shanu Gupta, MD, SFHM – University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and Tampa General Hospital
  • Jennifer Hillyer, PhD – Northeast Ohio Medical University
  • Larry Hurtubise, PhD, MA (HCE 2.0 '16) – The Ohio State University
  • Anna Lama, EdD, MA – West Virginia University School of Medicine
  • Machelle Linsenmeyer, EdD, NAOME (Assessment ’07) – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Skye McKennon, PharmD, BCPS, ACSM-GEI – Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
  • Rachel Moquin, EdD, MA – Washington University School of Medicine
  • Stacey Pylman, PhD – Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
  • Leah Sheridan, PhD – Northeast Ohio Medical University
  • Lonika Sood, MBBS, MHPE – Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
  • Mark Terrell, EdD – Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Stacey Wahl, PhD – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

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