Research consistently shows that student achievement benefits from some form of peer instruction. In peer instruction, in its purest form, instructors pose a challenging question to students, and students answer the question individually. But students then discuss their answers with a peer or group of peers before finally answering the question again.
Studies find that students’ accuracy consistently improves after discussion with a peer. Peer discussion seems to help students select the correct answer by prompting them to create new knowledge. This benefit to student accuracy that comes from students discussing their answers with partners is what we call a “process gain”, in that working in a group yields better performance than can be predicted from individuals’ performance alone.
Despite big differences in how it is utilised, peer instruction can consistently benefit student learning. Switching classroom structure from didactic lectures to one centred on peer instruction improves learners’ conceptual understanding (Duncan, 2005; Mazur, 1997), reduces student attrition in difficult courses (Lasry, Mazur & Watkins, 2008), decreases failure rates (Porter, Bailey-Lee & Simon, 2013), improves student attendance (Deslauriers, Schelew, & Wieman, 2011), and bolsters student engagement (Lucas, 2009) and attitudes to their course (Beekes, 2006).
CARS & STARS Online is a digital reading program designed to turn every student into a proficient and capable reader, with advanced levels of reading comprehension.
The core reading strategies that underpin the entirety of the CARS & STARS Online digital reading comprehension program form an underlying instructional framework that recurs throughout every level and provides consistency of understanding and instruction for students and teachers alike.
This makes CARS & STARS Online uniquely aligned to a classroom aimed at peer instruction. Because the program is built on teaching to student need rather than presumed year level, a typical class will contain students working at multiple different CARS & STARS Online levels. But because the strategies that make up CARS & STARS Online feature at every level of the program, peer instruction can take place across instructional and age levels – benefiting students of all ages and levels at once.
Peer instruction is not just easier with CARS & STARS Online, it’s built into the DNA of the program – optionally in the CARS module and as a standard part of instruction during the STARS module. What’s more, the same principle holds true for teachers as well – meaning discussion between teachers teaching at different levels is even more valuable, due to the applicability of the strategies across the whole program.
If you are interested in learning more about the CARS & STARS Online subscriptions and how they can help children to achieve better results, then sign up for a free trial to be an integral part of your child’s reading success.
