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Reasons:
- Learning happens when there is intense engagement.
- Students’ interest and attendance are higher in classrooms that utilize an active, iterative learning process.
- The best such active learning processes involve working through misconceptions with fellow students and getting immediate feedback from the instructor.
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Actions:
- After presenting a new concept, give students a multiple-choice question about the concept to discuss in small groups.
- After giving students time to discuss, have students answer the multiple choice question electronically. (Note from the CSTeachingTips team: there are lots of options for electronic polling, including iClickers, www.polleverywhere.com, and plickers.com).
- Go over the data from their answers to reveal their grasp of the topic.
- Address any misconceptions in a short class discussion before moving on to the next topic.
- Note from the CSTeachingTips team: More resources are available from http://www.peerinstruction4cs.org/ for using in-class problems.