The College Classroom

Sample Peer Instruction Questions

Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching

UC San Diego

commons.ucsd.edu

Remember, some of these questions are deliberately bad!

Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution- 3.0 License.

clarity Students waste no effort trying to figure out what’s

being asked.

context Is this topic currently being covered in class?

learning

outcome

Does the question make students do the right things

to demonstrate they grasp the concept?

distractors What do the “wrong” answers tell you about

students’ thinking?

difficulty Is the question too easy? too hard?

stimulates

thoughtful

discussion

Will the question engage the students and spark

thoughtful discussions? Are there openings for you

to continue the discussion?

What makes a good question?

(Adapted from Stephanie Chasteen, CU Boulder) Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

clarity context learning outcome distractors

difficulty stimulates thoughtful discussion

Peer Instruction - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu