Active Learning is defined (by Bonwell & Eison 1991)
as “Learning activities where students do more than just listen. They must read, write, discuss,
or be engaged in solving problems. Most importantly, to be actively engaged, students must engage
in higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation”
Studies have shown that
Active Learning improves student understanding, enhances problem-solving skills and positively impacts
student retention. The National Standards for Quality Online Teaching stated that maintaining high
levels of student engagement is both a priority area and a challenge for teachers in this new online
learning environment.
Objectives
Active Learning Techniques could range from basic techniques such as Pause for Reflection to more complex methods of Experiential Learning.
Pauses for Reflection: This method promotes “active listening” as faculty are expected to pause after covering an important topic and provide students with the opportunity to reflect and ask faculty any questions they may have.
Writing Activities such as the ‘One-Minute Paper’: Give students one minute after covering important topics to list the key points of their learning.
Large-Group Discussion: Engaging all students in a discussion after sharing a short case study or showing a video.
Think-Pair-Share: One of the most popular strategies in Active Learning where students are expected to solve a given question first, then team up with another student and share their views and learnings with each other.
Peer Review: Students submit a copy of their assignment to faculty and another to a peer. During class, students review the paper and give peers some constructive feedback.
Cooperative Groups in Class: Organize different groups and ask them to discuss the given short cases and present them to the class or evaluate presentations of any other group in terms of quality and delivery.
Role-Playing: The faculty shares a well-planned business scenario where students are expected to act out and play different roles. Role-play helps students develop their interpersonal skills and is effective in teaching a wide range of subject material.
Jigsaw Discussion: This technique promotes critical thinking, communication and teamwork among students. The faculty will divide a course module into smaller interrelated topics and assign them to different student groups. Students should learn the given topics and teach their peers.
Concept Map: This is an effective technique that helps students to comprehend subject material. Students should identify key concepts that they have learned in a section or entire course and draw a visual map of the relationship between those concepts. There is a wide range of free tools on the Internet that could be used for this.
Student-Generated Test Questions: Students are first placed in groups and provided with a copy of the learning outcomes as well as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Then challenge them to create relevant test questions. There should be at least a few questions for each level of the taxonomy. Students will share their questions with the rest of the class and prepare a study guide using the best questions.
