Teachers!....Let´s Learn too!
What Is Active Learning?
Defining "active learning" is a bit problematic. The term means different thing to different people, while for some the very concept is redundant since it is impossible to learn anything passively. Certainly this is true, but it doesn't get us very far toward understanding active learning and how it can be applied in college classrooms.
We might think of active learning as an approach to instruction in which students engage the material they study through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting. Active learning stands in contrast to "standard" modes of instruction in which teachers do most of the talking and students are passive.
Categories of Active Learning Strategies
There are four broad categories of learning strategies that one might use in an active learning classroom:
- individual activities
- paired activities
- informal small groups
- cooperative student projects
Keys to Success
- Be creative! Invent new strategies and adapt existing ones to your needs.
- Start small and be brief.
- Develop a plan for an active learning activity, try it out, collect feedback, then modify and try it again.
- Start from the first day of class and stick with it. Students will come to expect active learning and perform better.
- Be explicit with students about why you are doing this and what you know about the learning process.
- Request students vary their seating arrangements to increase their chances to work with different people. Have students occasionally pair up with the student behind them, since friends often sit side by side.
- Use questions from in class activities on tests. For example, include a short essay question that was used in a think/pair/share.
- Negotiate a signal for students to stop talking.
- Randomly call on pairs to share.
- Find a colleague or two to plan with (and perhaps teach with) while you're implementing active learning activities.
- Continue learning through workshops, reading, and practice.
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