Using Multiple Choice Questions During Lecture to Create an Active Learning Atmosphere

Abstract

Prior to this research, lecture was the primary instructional method used to teach an urban high school Advanced Placement (AP) Biology class. Students often lose focus during the first 15 minutes of lecture (Mazur, 1 997). As a result, multiple choice questions were added to each lecture every 15-20 minutes. Students were encouraged to actively discuss the questions as a group to determine the correct answer. The focus of this method is increasing student involvement in lecture and critical thinking of the class material. Informal interviews of students and instructor observations provided qualitative data regarding the efficacy of this strategy, while tally sheets of the groups' correct answers and student survey results quantitatively provided evidence of its success. Continued use of this method as a strategy of increasing student involvement is suggested, with the caveat of development of more complex and topic encompassing questions being applied.