The Impact of Peer Instruction Pedagogy on Student Learning, Attitudes Toward Learning and Student Engagement: Evidence from a Large Enrollment Political Science Course

Abstract

The impact of Peer Instruction (PI) pedagogy on student learning gains is well documented in the natural and physical science disciplines, but it has been less studied in the social sciences and humanities. For this reason, we know relatively little about whether this pedagogy might be effective in political science courses. This study proposes to address this gap in the academic literature by examining the impact of PI on student engagement, motivation to learn, and learning outcomes in a large enrollment political science course at UC San Diego during fall quarter 2012. It finds that Peer Instruction not only improves student academic achievement at statistically significant levels, but that it also positively promotes student engagement in the course, motivation to learn, and attitudes toward learning.