Active Learning at Scale: Investigating the Benefits of Peer Instruction in Undergraduate Mathematics

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that peer instruction during online quizzes in large undergraduate mathematics classes significantly improves immediate, short-term, and long-term student performance and knowledge retention.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on the benefits of peer instruction at scale in large first-year mathematics courses, highlighting its impact on student learning outcomes.

Findings

Peer instruction increased correct responses by 0.2 immediately.

Correct responses increased by 0.34 one week later with peer discussion.

Long-term correct responses increased by 0.42 at semester end with peer instruction.

Abstract

Active learning strategies have been widely recognised for their effectiveness in tertiary education, yet their implementation at scale, particularly in large first-year mathematics courses, presents considerable challenges. A common method for actively engaging students in large classes is through online quizzes, which may include structured peer instruction. In this study, we investigate the effect of having students answer quiz-style questions during class both with and without peer discussion in a first-year large mathematics course (N = 550). We also investigate the short- and long-term effects of each protocol. Our findings indicate that peer instruction enhances student performance in mathematics in the following ways: First, when the responses to questions were measured before and after peer instruction the proportion of questions answered correctly increased by 0.2; second, when correct responses were compared to similar questions the following week the proportion correct increased by 0.34 (compared to 0.07 for the control); finally, when measured at the end of the semester the proportion of questions answered correctly increased by 0.42 (compared to 0.2 for the control). These results align with and build upon previous research on the benefits of peer instruction, indicating a potential long-term association with student knowledge retention of mathematical concepts. This suggests that peer discussion may do more than momentarily improve accuracy -- it could also contribute to more durable learning.