SIGCSE 2016 - March 2nd - 5th
Memphis, Tennessee

SIGCSE Award for Lifetime Service to the Computer Science Education Community

Barbara Boucher Owens, Emeritus Professor of Computer Science

SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contributions to Computer Science Education

Jan Cuny, Program Officer, CISE BPC

Best Paper 2016: A Multi-institutional Study of Peer Instruction in Introductory Computing

Authors:

Leo Porter (University of California, San Diego)
Dennis Bouvier (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
Quintin Cutts (University of Glasgow)
Scott Grissom (Grand Valley State University)
Cynthia Lee (Stanford University)
Robert McCartney (University of Connecticut)
Daniel Zingaro (University of Toronto, Mississauga)
Beth Simon (University of California, San Diego)

Abstract:

Peer Instruction (PI) is a student-centric pedagogy in which students move from the role of passive listeners to active participants in the classroom. Over the past five years, there have been a number of research articles regarding the value of PI in computer science. The present work adds to this body of knowledge by examining outcomes from seven introductory programming instructors: three novices to PI and four with a range of PI experience. Through common measurements of student perceptions, we provide evidence that introductory computing instructors can successfully implement PI in their classrooms. We find encouraging minimum (74%) and average (92%) levels of success as measured through student valuation of PI for their learning. This work also documents and hypothesizes reasons for comparatively poor survey results in one course, highlighting the importance of the choice of grading policy (participation vs. correctness) for new PI adopters.

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