Peer Instruction with Audience Response Systems-How to use peer instruction when teaching remotely with Zoom

How to use peer instruction when teaching remotely with Zoom

Pdf Summary

This document provides guidance for delivering a Peer Instruction (PI) session using Zoom in an online teaching environment. It recommends having a Zoom moderator to handle technical logistics and ensuring the host account has Polling and Breakout Rooms enabled. Prior to the session, instructors should prepare 3–5 questions of varying difficulty incorporated into their PowerPoint. To reduce disruptions, questions should be grouped for discussion later, and corresponding PDFs of question rounds should be ready to share via Zoom Chat.<br /><br />During the Zoom session, instructors conduct the presentation as usual and use the Zoom Polling tool to collect student responses on the PI questions. The results should be recorded (e.g., by screenshot) for later comparison and student feedback. Questions where 30%–70% of students answer correctly are identified as prime candidates for discussion in Breakout Rooms.<br /><br />Before sending students to Breakout Rooms, instructors provide clear discussion instructions and post the relevant question PDFs in Chat. Students are automatically assigned to Breakout Rooms with 2–3 participants each. While the groups discuss, the instructor can review poll results and plan subsequent questions. Communication with Breakout Rooms is possible via Zoom’s Broadcast tool. To avoid bias, instructors should ensure poll results are not displayed on screen during discussions.<br /><br />After an appropriate discussion period, students return to the main room where those same questions are re-polled. Results from both rounds are then shared and discussed. This cycle can be repeated for multiple sets of questions.<br /><br />For immediate Zoom assistance, contact Academic Multimedia Services (AMS). The document emphasizes preparation, clear communication, and effective use of Zoom tools to replicate the interactive Peer Instruction model virtually.

Keywords

Peer Instruction

Zoom

online teaching

Zoom Polling

Breakout Rooms

moderator

question preparation

student discussion

interactive learning

Academic Multimedia Services