Encouraging explanations and use of key language Peer Instruction

Technique originally developed in Physics by Eric Mazur at Harvard university Way of testing and developing deep understanding Based on carefully designed multiple choice questions with structured discussion and voting Each question is designed to bring about discussion

Peer Instruction To create a PI question you must first think about misunderstandings or misconceptions You must ensure that the options given for answers are plausible You must ensure the questions can open up good debate and discussion

PI in a secondary school context Before Pupils have already worked with the concepts in class or at home. Individual Pupils read the question and choose an answer Individual vote takes place Group of 2-4 but 3 ideal Pupils discuss what answer they chose and why Group vote takes place Whole Class Teacher facilitated discussion Class vote takes place Correct Answer Teacher reveals the correct answer Teacher explains why it’s correct Results for each round of voting noted by the teacher but not shared with pupils until after the group vote

Voting Options High TechLow Tech Pupil provided Mobile voting service via text message or on the web. Blind voting with participants eyes closed and hands up when they hear the option they want to vote for. Teacher provided Clickers and voting software so that pupils can press a button to select their choice. Show me boards with vote written on it and held up when time to decide is over.

Q. Industrial 3D printers need backing storage to store the data used to print the objects and it must be able to operate reliably in dusty conditions with lots of vibration. Rivergate storage solutions recommends using of some form of solid state storage device. Which is the best reason for using a solid state device instead of magnetic or optical based storage in this situation? A. Most solid state storage devices have a higher data transfer rate than magnetic or optical storage. B. Solid state storage devices have no moving parts and the flash memory media is enclosed making it more robust. C. Most solid state storage devices have a higher capacity than most optical and some magnetic based storage devices. D. All solid state storage devices are rewriteable but optical storage is read only or rewriteable a limited number of times. E. Solid state storage is more expensive per Megabyte or Gigabyte than magnetic or optical storage so it must be better.  Individual VoteGroup Vote Class Vote

Q. Anyanka needs the current account system to quickly backup changes made to customers bank accounts at regular intervals during the day without the system slowing down for users making deposits or withdrawals. Which type of backup would you recommend she sets up the banks computer system to make and why? A.A differential backup B.A full backup C.A discriminating backup D.An incremental backup E.A phased backup  Individual VoteGroup Vote Class Vote

What makes a good PI session? Based on your own experience or your knowledge of teaching and learning -Where in a unit of work would PI work best? -Why is there voting after each section? -Why results of the initial vote aren’t shared with students? -Which level of cognitive skills is it developing? -How would you use PI in a lesson? -How would you prepare students before the PI session?

What makes a good PI question? Poorer PI Question Q. Computers are often advertised as 32bit or 64bit which is the word length. Which of the following best describes word length? A.Maximum number of colours the screen can display B.Total capacity of registers on the processor C.The width of the address bus D.The width of the data bus. Better PI Question Q. If the word length of your processor was increased from 32 to 64bits. What would most accurately describe the effect on it’s performance? A.The processor would be two times slower than before B.The processor would be two times faster than before C.The processor could process twice the amount of data in one operation. D.The processor could process half the amount of data in one operation.