As we continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges facing students and instructors continue to become more disruptive to the learning environment at our university. These challenges, such as a reduced sense of community, economic insecurity, a rapidly changing technological tools, artificial intelligence, and more, also provide a unique opportunity to catalyze a critical analysis of changes we can make to our classrooms to benefit both students and instructors. One type of instructional transformation is the implementation of, so called, active learning methods.
Jo Handelsman et al. describe active learning methods as seeking to , “…engage learners and deepen understanding by emphasizing in-class discussions, practicing inquiry and problem-solving, using interactive technologies, and having students pose original ideas” and are associated with positive student outcomes in the literature. I will present on a pilot that I ran in PHYS1001 during Fall 2023 focusing on the implementation of the ‘Peer Instruction’ methodology as proposed by Prof Eric Mazur at Harvard. I will present the context, descriptions of techniques, interventions undertaken, and data collected from this pilot program. The latter half of the colloquium will be dedicated to discussion of the presented material and both students and instructors are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion.