The Definition and Goals of Active Learning
Definition: The notion that in order for students to actually learn and comprehend something, they need to be actively involved.
In Contrast to Passive Learning
Students cannot acquire the higher-order cognitive processes required for profound understanding by merely passively sitting through lectures. An analogy would be understanding a movie's plot but finding it difficult to remember particulars or explain subtleties. During lectures, students might merely jot down notes without paying much attention to the subject matter.
The Idea of "Minds On, Hands On"
Students who are actively engaged with their minds are thinking about and applying the material being taught as part of active learning. It entails giving students opportunities to apply the subject matter during the lecture.
Comparing Interactive and Active Learning
Active learning refers to one person being active.
In contrast, interactive learning is when a student actively engages in their own thought process and interacts with others (teachers, peers, or a teaching assistant) to deepen their comprehension and create meaning for the subject.
Theoretical Foundation: Human Learning
Research Discussion
The method entails going over the literature and studies on human learning and cognition.
Constructivist/Constructionist Perspective
According to this viewpoint, people must make meaning of the topic and construct their own meaning to comprehend something.
Research Support
- Studies demonstrate that people must be actively engaged.
- This constructivist approach holds true for higher-level cognitive processes.
Evidence for the Effectiveness of Active Learning
- Classroom-Based Research: Studies carried out in classroom environments are displayed.
- Freeman's 2014 Study: The focus is on a meta-analysis of 225 other studies.
- The study's main finding was that college-level courses that implemented active learning had a 12% lower failure rate.
- Study Rigour: The results were normalized to consider significant variables like class size, institution type, instructor experience, and the class's place in the curriculum.
- Strong Evidence: The decline in the failure rate is regarded as strong evidence. It is likened to a drug clinical trial, where a 12% improvement might mean that the trial should be stopped and the drug should be given to everyone. This implies that everyone should use active learning whenever possible.
Practice and Implementation
- Data-Driven Approach: To support specific classroom practices, MIT uses data and sound research on how people learn.
- Student Familiarity: When active learning is first introduced as a teaching strategy, many students may not fully comprehend it because they have never used it before.
- Practice from the First Day: Several different types of active learning exercises are used in each class from the first day to ensure that students are involved right away.
- Deconstructing Exercises: Students are shown the benefits of the exercises by breaking them down for them.
- Basic Illustrations ("Low-Hanging Fruit"):
- Students should break into pairs to talk about a particular subject.
- Students are asked to name something they didn't understand in the readings assigned before class.
- After a brief interval (three minutes, for example), they can report to a larger group or share their thoughts with others.
- As a basic illustration of active learning, just writing something down and then reporting back is provided. A faculty member is thought to find it easy to implement these.
