Identifying Effective and Successful Teaching Strategies Using the PERIA Model

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to outline effective strategies that increase student learning and stimulate the development of reflective thinking in undergraduate courses. Specifically, it shows that class activities using the PERIA model (Preparation, Experience, Reflection, Integration, and Application) can increase student learning in a variety of technical and non-technical courses. The first example illustrates the use of games and simulations to stimulate and encourage reflective learning in an economics course where students discuss, reflect, practice and apply what they learned from the simulation. The second technique illustrates cooperative learning using small group discussions, case studies, and brief presentations in the context of a discussion-oriented moral philosophy class. The third example uses a Nearpod application in an active, learner-centered Spanish classroom to encourage metalinguistic discussion, communicative uses of language, and even intercultural comparisons. The final example demonstrates how a mathematics course, historically dependent upon lecture, can use consulting projects and a cyclical approach to the PERIA process to increase student learning.