Collaborative Research: Peer Instruction in Computer Science

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This collaborative project builds on existing STEM education knowledge by examining the value, adaptability, and adoptability of Peer Instruction (PI) in the computing classroom at three different types of institutions. The work develops and disseminates curricular materials (including reading quizzes, exploratory homework, PI clicker questions with supporting meta-data) for six computer science courses at different levels in the curriculum: CS0, CS1, CS2, computer organization, computer architecture, and theory of computation. Peer Instruction materials previously developed for CS1 in media computation and the proposed AP CS Principles course (in Alice) are being expanded and disseminated along with the newly developed PI materials through a publicly available web-site, a workshop, conference presentations, and publications.The broader impact of this work is to dramatically improve both classroom climate and learning gains by bringing a student-centered learning environment, Peer Instruction, to a range of computing courses. The project evaluates the classroom materials, the faculty experiences, and the student learning gains. A preliminary exploration is done of supportive processes to enable PI adoption by other faculty through a variety of methods. Additionally, the project assesses and reports on various forms of learning gains and student attitudes that result from PI use in the four higher level courses using a variety of techniques including: pre- and post-tests, comparative exam performance evaluation, common clicker questions during class-time, and an attitudinal survey.