Education
Event Title
Understanding the ‘Quality’ of Peer-to-peer Computer-supported Collaborative Communities in Undergraduate Science Students Studying Freshman Chemistry
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Education
Start Date
13-4-2018 10:45 AM
End Date
13-4-2018 11:45 AM
Sponsor
George Bodner (Purdue University West Lafayette), Chris Randles (Purdue University West Lafayette)
Description
Active learning pedagogies have shown improved academic performance (Cooper et. al. 2015) especially among underprepared/underrepresented students (Freeman et. al. 2014). However, the implementation of active learning pedagogies in large enrollment courses, such as 1st-year science courses, remains difficult. Research has shown that peer-collaborative communities outside the classroom can support active learning. These peer-collaborative communities can provide immediate feedback and improve student learning by helping students construct meaning, introduce disciplinary language (Webb & Palincsar, 1996) and foster the development of disciplinary values and ways of knowing (Brown, 1995).
This paper reports on the development of a rubric to understand the ‘quality’ of peer-to-peer interactions using a Web2.0 computer-supported collaborative communities platform called PeerWise. PeerWise was implemented on a large-enrollment (n > 2000) chemistry lecture course to bridge some of the difficulties inherent in engaging students in active learning without either temporal and geographical constraints. With this platform, students complete three tasks: 1) author multiple-choice questions for their peers, 2) answer multiple-choice questions created by their peers, and 3) critique peers on their scientific understanding of problems. Previous research has established that using PeerWise has improved learning outcomes, with students able to author problems with higher cognitive demands (Galloway & Burns, 2015). Here we focus on developing a rubric using student authored questions and discern ‘quality’ characteristics using emergent axial coding through adopting a pseudo-grounded theory framework. We will present the ‘quality’ characteristics and suggest methods in which the rubric may transform peer-to-peer critiques of content in Web2.0 computer-supported collaborative systems.
Understanding the ‘Quality’ of Peer-to-peer Computer-supported Collaborative Communities in Undergraduate Science Students Studying Freshman Chemistry
Indianapolis, IN
Active learning pedagogies have shown improved academic performance (Cooper et. al. 2015) especially among underprepared/underrepresented students (Freeman et. al. 2014). However, the implementation of active learning pedagogies in large enrollment courses, such as 1st-year science courses, remains difficult. Research has shown that peer-collaborative communities outside the classroom can support active learning. These peer-collaborative communities can provide immediate feedback and improve student learning by helping students construct meaning, introduce disciplinary language (Webb & Palincsar, 1996) and foster the development of disciplinary values and ways of knowing (Brown, 1995).
This paper reports on the development of a rubric to understand the ‘quality’ of peer-to-peer interactions using a Web2.0 computer-supported collaborative communities platform called PeerWise. PeerWise was implemented on a large-enrollment (n > 2000) chemistry lecture course to bridge some of the difficulties inherent in engaging students in active learning without either temporal and geographical constraints. With this platform, students complete three tasks: 1) author multiple-choice questions for their peers, 2) answer multiple-choice questions created by their peers, and 3) critique peers on their scientific understanding of problems. Previous research has established that using PeerWise has improved learning outcomes, with students able to author problems with higher cognitive demands (Galloway & Burns, 2015). Here we focus on developing a rubric using student authored questions and discern ‘quality’ characteristics using emergent axial coding through adopting a pseudo-grounded theory framework. We will present the ‘quality’ characteristics and suggest methods in which the rubric may transform peer-to-peer critiques of content in Web2.0 computer-supported collaborative systems.