Education Research What is the point of doing science if society doesn't understand science? Concerned with the lack of public understanding of science we have embarked on a number of projects aimed at improving science education. In 1991 we developed an easily and widely applicable technique, called Peer Instruction, that encourages student participation and interaction in large lecture classes. The method has shown to lead to consitent and measurable short- and long-term improvement in student performance. We are currently also involved in studying gender differences in physics education and the effectiveness of demonstrations.