Active Learning - Teach Anywhere

Our purpose in teaching is to create a sense of responsibility for learning and agency in students that leads to students’ self-confidence and the ability for life-long learning in their chosen field and beyond. We do this through effective design and implementation of courses by actively engaging students in the thinking of our disciplines, whether online and at a distance, in a blended format, or in fully face-to-face courses.

Engage Students in the Classroom with Active Learning

“Active learning” describes a broad category of practices that place students at the center of classroom activities. Students learn best when they are doing something that requires an investment and a commitment of participation, rather than listening to a lecture or watching a video. Being active often means interacting with other learners. Cooperative, Collaborative and Team-Based Learning are some examples of strategies used for Active Learning.

To create this kind of classroom environment requires some planning. For one, the instructor has to communicate consistently clear expectations that the classroom will not merely be used simply for the instructor’s lecture, but will be the place where students demonstrate their learning through their own actions. To be successful as a strategy, this needs to start on Day One, and continue throughout the course. Second, if students are to develop the confidence they need to be challenged in this way, they will need to come prepared. The instructor will therefore need to use strategies and techniques to ensure that students do the preparatory work necessary for their success. Third, the evaluation of student learning will need to be tied to students’ demonstrated skill in applying course content in new situations, rather than in mere memorization and accurate recall of information recorded from lecture and readings. Most students will pursue what counts toward their marks, and discount what does not.

Golden rules for creating an active learning classroom

The in-class learning activities need structure but should not be canned steps. Students need to act for themselves in using their new knowledge. Asking students to make judgments and decisions is an effective way to exercise the freedom of self-determination, but within a context that you have structured to be relevant.
The in-class activities can and should include a variety of formats: problem-solving, analyses and diagnoses based on situations or data sets, quizzes, and “let’s see what you can do” challenges. These learning activities force students to retrieve, apply, and/or extend the material learned outside of class.
Consistent instructor expectations for student preparedness are essential to make class meetings productive and engaging for students. Students need to demonstrate their preparedness on a regular basis, in the form of online tasks due before class, reading quizzes (online or at the beginning of class), or other assessment activities.
A significant portion of a student’s mark for the course needs to be tied to classroom activities related to applying and using course content.