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Active
Learning
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Good
Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques
"Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much
just sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments,
and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning,
write reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it
to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves
(Chickering
& Gamson, 1987)."
ACTIVE LEARNING is defined as any strategy "that involves
students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing".
(*Bonwell, C., & Eison, J. (1991). Active learning:
Creating excitement in the classroom (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report
No. 1). Washington, DC: George Washington University, p. 2)
ACTIVE LEARNING includes a range of teaching and learning activities.
These strategies, supported by decades of classroom research, may be thought
of as a continuum from low risk to high risk for both teachers and students.
Such a continuum may include (but not be limited to) strategies such as
some of the following:
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involving students in well structured question and answer sessions in lecture
classes
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individual think and write exercises, such as the pause technique or one
minute papers
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pairing activities such as "think, pair, share"
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interactive seminars
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case studies
More complex and higher risk processes might include such activites
as:
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individual and group project based assignments;
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student involvement in research,
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internships,
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practicum experiences,
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student teaching,
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clinical preceptor structures
Highest risk processes may include such carefully structured small group
based strategies as some of these more familiar ones:
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collaborative learning
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cooperative learning
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team learning
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problem-based learning
As you can see, there are many names for strategies that apply what we
know from the research. Summaries of classroom research have revealed
a number of best practices that encourage active student participation
in the learning process. For example, collaborative learning encompasses
a variety of approaches to education, that may also be referred to as cooperative
learning or small group learning. What is more important
than the names are that these strategies create an environment that engage
students who might not otherwise be engaged in their own learning in meaningful
ways. Collaborative learning, then, is one among a wide variety of
teaching strategies that each contribute to the total picture of
making learning a deeper, more engaging, meaningful, active and effective
process.
University of Delaware Active Learning Resources &
Programs
On-Campus Resources:
Off-Campus Resources:
