Active Learning

Students engaging in the learning process because they are actively doing something – analyzing, brainstorming, discussing, problem solving, reading, etc.

Why active learning?

• Students employ the "learning by doing" approach while the instructor is present to offer guidance and answer questions.
• Retention from doing-type activities, including practice and application, can be higher than retention from more traditional teaching methods.
• Active learning can be used to engage students in:
  
  • Application of concepts or skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Reflection

Suggestions for getting started

• Begin small and integrate active learning activities gradually.
• Incorporate active learning into something that already happens in the classroom.
• What changes could be made so that students are actively contributing to that process?
• Look around for existing activities from your discipline; many instructors share examples online and in journals focused on student engagement.

Considerations

• While some active learning activities are spontaneous, many require that the instructor design and/or prepare the activity prior to the class period.
• Motivation for active learning often needs to be shared with the students as many are used to a more passive classroom environment.
• Instructors may struggle with giving up some control over what is happening in the classroom.
• Active learning activities can take up a significant portion of a class period.

Resources

• Active Learning Examples from UW-Eau Claire Instructors

• Ideas for active learning in higher education
  • Classroom Assessment Techniques from Vanderbilt University
  • Promoting Active Learning wiki from the University of Utah

• Books available from CETL
  • Active Learning: 101 Strategies to Teach Any Subject by Mel Silberman
  • Classroom Assessment Techniques by Angelo and Cross
  • Collaborative Learning Techniques by Barkley, Cross, and Major
  • Engaging Ideas by John Bean
  • Learner Centered Teaching: Putting the Research on Learning into Practice by Terry Doyle
  • McKeachie's Teaching Tips by Svinicki and McKeachie
  • Student Engagement Techniques by Elizabeth Barkley
  • Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis

• Journals
  • Active Learning in Higher Education (access available through McIntyre Library)
  • College Teaching (access available through McIntyre Library)
  • New Directions for Teaching and Learning (access available through McIntyre Library)
  • List of discipline-specific journals on teaching and learning (compiled by UNC-Charlotte)