Dr Eric Mazur to headline at Turning Technologies User Conference 2012, Denmark

April 3, 2012 - PRLog -- Event: Turning Technologies User Conference
Date: Tuesday 19 June 2012
Time: 09:00 -16:30
Venue: Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 4, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark


Dr Eric Mazur, Professor at Harvard University and pioneer of the world-renowned Peer Instruction teaching method proven to improve results in higher education, will be the key-note speaker at this year’s Turning Technologies’ User Conference in Denmark, 19 June 2012.  Aimed at university professors and administrators as well as distributors and resellers interested in the student response market, attendees will discover new ways to use student response technology to enhance learning environments through pedagogical strategies, peer to peer learning and best practices.  

The Peer Instruction technique seeks to make lectures more interactive and to get students intellectually engaged with what is going on. Encouraging students to actively participate in the classroom results in better comprehension of course material and overall enhanced learning.

Dr Mazur’s teaching method has been adopted by over 2,000 instructors around the world, and has been adapted to teaching in many disciplines in the sciences as well as the social sciences and the humanities. Eric Mazur is author and co-author of over 200 publications, and 12 patents and helped produce the award winning DVD Interactive Teaching.  Almost 20 years ago, Eric Mazur had a eureka moment about his teaching practice that forced him to rethink the traditional unidirectional teaching model. He developed a strategy that incorporates “just-in-time” teaching with short lectures punctuated by conceptual questions posed to the students, using student response technology.  Students also had a chance to discuss the questions with each other before submitting their answer. This became the basis of what he called the “Peer Instruction” method, which engages students, provides continuous assessment and feedback, and encourages students to learn from each other, even in classes with more than 100 students.

The Faculty of Science and Technology at Aarhus University, Denmark, has been using Turning Technologies’ student response system for over two years with 40 lectures over six departments adopting the system. Michael Caspersen, Associate Professor, Centre for Science Education (CSE) at Aarhus University, says: “Student response devices have been very successful because they give a real time indication of whether students have understood the lesson or whether we should explain the topic in another way. The interactive response system has enhanced students learning outcomes significantly.’’

Gary Morrison, General Manager EMEA, Turning Technologies, says: ‘’we are extremely excited to be partnering with Aarhus University for this unique learning experience.  Aarhus’s dedication to further higher level teaching and learning directly coincides with our commitment to enhancing education through technology.  The 2012 user conference will allow us to bring together thought leadership in the area of pedagogical approaches to provide an agenda truly focused on effective instructional methods.’’

For further information about the conference, please visit:
http://www.turningtechnologies.com/studentresponsesystems...