• Open Access

The construction of different classroom norms during Peer Instruction: Students perceive differences

Chandra Turpen and Noah D. Finkelstein
Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 6, 020123 – Published 24 November 2010
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Abstract

This paper summarizes variations in instructors’ implementation practices during Peer Instruction (PI) and shows how these differences in practices shape different norms of classroom interaction. We describe variations in classroom norms along three dimensions of classroom culture that are integral to Peer Instruction, emphasis on: (1) faculty-student collaboration, (2) student-student collaboration, and (3) sense-making vs answer-making. Based on interpretations by an observing researcher, we place three different PI classrooms along a continuum representing a set of possible norms. We then check these interpretations against students’ perceptions of these environments from surveys collected at the end of the term. We find significant correspondence between the researchers’ interpretations and students’ perceptions of Peer Instruction in these environments. We find that variation in faculty practices can set up what students perceive as discernibly different norms. For interested instructors, concrete classroom practices are described that appear to encourage or discourage these norms.

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  • Received 7 October 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.6.020123

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Authors & Affiliations

Chandra Turpen and Noah D. Finkelstein

  • Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA

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Issue

Vol. 6, Iss. 2 — July - December 2010

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