Preparing to Use Peer Instruction in Teaching Principles of Microeconomics

Peer Instruction, a teaching strategy pioneered by Eric Mazur, a Harvard University physicist, apportions learning responsibility differently from a traditional lecture course. Instead of the instructor lecturing on all issues great and small, students are expected to read their textbook ahead of class to learn the “simple” things while class is given over to discussion of key or particularly taxing concepts. Class periods are broken down into several modules. During the first part of each module, students are given a short lecture on a topic. They are then quizzed on their understanding by being asked to respond to a question. Before the correct answer is revealed, students are allowed to discuss their answer with a small group of students seated nearby (this is where peer instruction comes in), and change their answer. If significant misunderstanding remains, the sequence of question and discussion continues until mastery is obtained. Peer instruction is more efficient when students have access to “clicker” technology, although it is not required. The strategy is particularly well-suited for courses where problem-solving ability is an important goal. Mazur and others claim significant gains in student learning in a wide variety of science courses and in institutions ranging from Harvard to two-year colleges. Economics is a discipline which attempts to teach students problem-solving ability, and would seem to be fertile ground for the Peer Instruction approach. I discuss the trials and tribulations encountered in a first-time use of Peer Instruction in Principles of Microeconomics.