Diary of a Teacher

Diary of a Teacher is a spoken diary of my experiences in education to date. I record short eps about everything from report writing to reflective practice. I share honest reflections from the classroom, lessons I’ve learned the hard way, and insights from educational research that shape how I teach.

2: Does Peer Instruction Actually Work? 07/17/2025

2: Does Peer Instruction Actually Work? Harvard physics Professor Eric Mazur developed Peer Instruction in the early 90s, after noticing that many of his students weren't deeply understanding concepts despite performing well on traditional exams. He wanted to explore the nuts and bolts of that discrepancy. In this episode, I talk about my dealings with Peer Instruction to date, what the research says, and some potential pitfalls. Literature etc. I consulted for this episode includes: Mazur, E. (1997). Peer instruction: A user’s manual. Prentice Hall. Crouch, C. H., & Mazur, E. (2001). Peer instruction: Ten years of experience and results. American Journal of Physics, 69(9), 970–977. Fagen, A. P., Crouch, C. H., & Mazur, E. (2002). The effects of Peer Instruction on student learning gains: Evidence from a range of classrooms. The Physics Teacher, 40(4), 206–209. Lasry, N., Mazur, E., & Watkins, J. (2008). Peer instruction: From Harvard to the two-year college. American Journal of Physics, 76(11), 1066–1069. Smith, M. K., Wood, W. B., Adams, W. K., Wieman, C., Knight, J. K., Guild, N., & Su, T. T. (2009). Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions. Science, 323(5910), 122–124. Crouch, C. H., Watkins, J., Fagen, A. P., & Mazur, E. (2007). Peer instruction: Engaging students one-on-one, all at once. Research-Based Reform of University Physics, 1(1), 40–95. Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. Zhang, P., Ding, L., & Mazur, E. (2017). Peer instruction in introductory physics: A method to bring about positive changes in students’ attitudes and beliefs. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1), 010104. If you have a topic you would like covered, write to me: . Visit the website: https://www.spongeeducation.com. /episode/index/show/sponges/id/37439545