Active Learning – You are probably already doing it!
Whether delivering course face-to-face or remotely, faculty are encouraged to embed active learning within their classes. Active learning comprises a wide range of teaching strategies designed to facilitate the cognitive engagement of students in the learning process. The strategies encourage students to interact with and make sense of course material and to do more that just listen, read and memorize content. Active learning aligns with the constructivist theory of learning which asserts that people learn by constructing or making meaning for themselves. Active learning is not something on top of or in addition to effective teaching, rather the inclusion of active learning strategies should be a natural part of one’s teaching plan.
A literature review conducted by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation identified numerous benefits of active learning:
· Increases students’ satisfaction and positive attitude towards course material as well as their self-confidence and self-reliance
· Motivates students to be engaged learners
· Increases content knowledge, critical thinking and recall of course content
· Allows for inclusion of different learning styles
· Increases enthusiasm for learning in both students and instructor
· Gets students involved in higher order thinking, such as analysis, synthesis, creative thinking, adaptability, problem-solving, etc. Source: https://teaching.utoronto.ca/teaching-support/active-learning-pedagogies/active-learning-adapting-techniques/
Active learning strategies are most effective when the focus of the strategies highlights or emphasizes a key concept or skill. To ensure the meaningful application of active learning strategies, instructors should thoughtfully select strategies that reinforce or expand upon essential content.
To determine the focus and type of active learning strategies to use, the University of Windsor suggest that instructors ask themselves the following questions:
· What skills should students acquire and/or be able to perform by the end of the course? These might include writing, communication, reflection, critical thinking, and more. Your course learning outcomes will direct your choices.
· What specific teaching methods would give students the opportunity to practice those skills? What is viable in an online setting? What is not?
· How will students then reflect on what they've done/learned? Note, active learning is not only about doing, but building awareness around what they've learned as a result of what they've done. Source: https://www.uwindsor.ca/teaching-online/325/active-learning
Examples of Active Learning Strategies
The following list highlights a small number of active learning strategies. Instructors are encouraged to use and adapt strategies to accommodate their teaching context, their students, and their teaching style. The effectiveness of the strategy is dependent on the extent to which the instructor believes in the efficacy of the approach.
1. Think-Pair-Share
Present a question or idea to students. Invite students to silently consider or write about the topic for 1-2 minutes. Then, have students pair to share and compare their responses. Debrief with the whole class.
2. Minute Paper
Ask students to spend one minute at the end of class summarizing or reflecting on a key idea from class. You could ask students answer a key question, define a term, identify what they found most surprising or significant about the lesson, or link content to their everyday life. The minute paper can be submitted and used to guide instruction. Or, the minute papers can be kept as entries in a learning log.
3. Concept Maps
A concept map is a drawing of diagram that illustrates the mental connections that students make between concepts. The main concept is placed in the center of the map. Lines or spokes extend from the centre to show how the main concepts connects with other ideas.
Students can represent their understanding by using other visual representation such as flow charts, hierarchical charts, storylines, etc.
4. Muddiest Point
Simply have students respond to the question, “What was the muddiest point of today’s lesson?”. The answers can be written and collected by the instructor for formative assessment purposes. The responses can be discussed in small groups or as a whole class.
5. Jigsaw
Students are divided into base or home groups. Each member of the group is assigned a different reading or task. The home group separates and member meet with individuals from other home groups assigned the same reading or task. These second groups become experts on the assigned topic. Individuals return to their home group and teach the group members about their assigned reading or task.
6. Say Something
Students are assigned a short passage to read. Once the passage has been read, the students are asked to say something (or write something) about the section. The responses can be done individually, in groups, or as a whole class.
7. Guided Lecture
During a lecture, students are instructed not to take notes for a designate period of time (e.g. 15 minutes). At the end of the time, students are asked to write about what they learned or remember from the lecture. Then, students can share and explore the topic in small groups.
8. Buzz Groups
Quickly organize students into groups. Have students discuss a topic for a short period of time. This strategy can be used at the start, during, or at the end of a lesson.
9. Statement Correction or Intentional Mistakes
The instructor provides statements that contains errors. The students find and correct the errors. Concepts that student commonly misunderstand are well suited for this activity.
10. Polling
During class, the instructor asks limited response questions (e.g. multiple choice) and asks students to respond. The responses can provide stimulus for whole class or small group discussion.
11. Carousel
Questions are posted throughout the classroom. Students walk freely and contribute their responses to the questions that have been posted.
12. Sorting strips
Small bits of information are separated into strips so that students can sort the strips into various categories, or organize them into a sequence depending on the topic. This strategy encourages discussion of competing ideas or organizations or order in which a process would take place.
13. Application
After learning about an important concept, have students identify at least one real-world application. In other words, have students consider Why does this matter?
14. Idea Speed Meeting
Students talk about a topic for a short period of time (e.g. 30 seconds – 1 minute). When the time is up, another student shares their knowledge for a similar length of time. The process repeats several time. This can be done face-to-face or through the use of on-line breakout rooms.
Active learning also encompasses the use of case studies, demonstrations, presentations, debates, role playing, and experiential opportunities (e.g. field trips, practica).
Sources: https://omerad.msu.edu/teaching/teaching-strategies/active-learning-strategies https://teaching.utoronto.ca/teaching-support/active-learning-pedagogies/
Active Learning - Aupperlee, A. (2021, September 30). New Research Shows Learning Is More Effective When Active. Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/news/2021/yannier_koedinger_active_learning
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