The average normalized gain for female non-native English speakers was 0.62 (compared to 0.53 among their peers). The average gain on the same assessment for university students was 0.40.
Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2013). Scientific Practices: Equalizing Opportunities for Linguistically Diverse Students, in P. Engelhardt, A. Churukian, D.L. Jones (Eds.), 2013 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Classroom research conducted by Nicole Schrode, a PEER Physics teacher, demonstrated that her PEER Physics students more readily relied on evidence to determine the correctness of an idea than students in a more “traditional” physics class.
Schrode, N. (2015). Consensus Paragraphs to Promote Connections Between Inference and Physics Principles. Presented at the bi-annual meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, July 2015.
Normalized learning gains are a consistent measure of the effectiveness of a course in promoting conceptual understanding, as they take into account the diversity of students’ initial knowledge about physics. In a pilot-test year, differences in normalized learning gains between students in PEER classrooms and students in traditional classrooms were statistically significant.
[T-test Differences in Normalized Learning Gains Means: 0.13 ± 0.03, t=4.5, p=0.00]
Lindsay, W., Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2018). PEER Suite: a holistic approach to supporting inductive pedagogy implementation, in A. Traxler, Y. Cao, and S. Wolf (Eds.) 2018 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Washington DC.
References and Publications
Publications discussing design principles on which PEER Physics is based:
Meltzer, D. E., & Thornton, R. K. (2012). Resource Letter ALIP-1: Active-Learning Instruction in Physics. American Journal of Physics, 80(6), 478-496.
Goldberg, F., Otero, V., & Robinson, S. (2010). Design Principles for Effective Physics Instruction: A Case from Physics and Everyday Thinking. American Journal of Physics, 78(12), 1265.
Hake, R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses. American Journal of Physics, 66(64), 64-74.
Publications and Presentations about PEER Physics classrooms:
Martins, J., Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2021). PEER Physics: An evidence-based framework for inclusive physics curricula, in The Physics Teacher 59, 730
Mitchell-Polka, K., Lindsay, W., Martins, J., & Otero, V. (2020). The physics classroom as a space for empowerment. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2020, Virtual Conference.
Lindsay, W., Widman, S. and Garcia, M. (2019). The association between sustained professional development and physics learning, in Y. Cao, S. Wolf, and M. Bennett (Eds.) 2019 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Washington DC.
Lindsay, W., Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2018). PEER Suite: a holistic approach to supporting inductive pedagogy implementation, in A. Traxler, Y. Cao, and S. Wolf (Eds.) 2018 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Washington DC.
Keil, J., Schrode, N., & Stober, R. (2017). Physics Instruction That Facilitates Learning Among Underrepresented Groups in S. Rabelo, C. Singh, & P. Engelhardt (Eds.) 2017 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Schrode, N. (2015). Consensus Paragraphs to Promote Connections Between Inference and Physics Principles. Presented at the bi-annual meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, College Park, MD, July 2015.
Keil, J., Stober, R., Quinty, E., Molloy, B., & Hooker, N. (2015). Identifying and analyzing actions of effective group work. in S. Rabelo, C. Singh, & P. Engelhardt (Eds.) 2015 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Ross, M. (2013). Challenging Traditional Assumptions of High School Science through the Physics and Everyday Thinking Curriculum (Doctoral dissertation).
Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2013). Scientific Practices: Equalizing Opportunities for Linguistically Diverse Students, in P. Engelhardt, A. Churukian, D.L. Jones (Eds.), 2013 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Ross, M. & Otero, V. (2013). Challenging Traditional Assumptions of Secondary Science through the PET Curriculum, in P. Engelhardt, A. Churukian, D.L. Jones (Eds.) 2013 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Knapp, E., Otero, V. (2013). Adapting a Novel Curriculum in a Traditional High School Environment. Presented at the bi-annual meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers, Portland, OR July 17, 2013.
Belleau, S. & Otero, V. (2012). Critical Classroom Structures for Empowering Students to Participate in Science, in S. Rabelo, C. Singh, & P. Engelhardt (Eds.) 2012 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
Belleau, S., Ross, M., & Otero, V. (2011). Implementation of Physics and Everyday Thinking in a High School Classroom: Concepts and Argumentation, in S. Rabelo, C. Singh, & P. Engelhardt (Eds.) 2011 Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings. Melville, NY: AIP Press.
PEER Physics was formerly called Physics and Everyday Thinking – High School (PET-HS).
