2. Active learning
Before you can start thinking about how to incorporate active learning into your lesson and curriculum planning, it is important to understand what the term “active learning” means. In short, active learning refers to any teaching methods or techniques that require students to participate within the learning environment and assume responsibility for constructing their own knowledge.
Active learning may be contrasted with more didactic forms of teaching (for example, lectures) in which the student passively takes in information. Instead, through active learning, the student takes ownership of and plays a pivotal role in their learning journey, while the teacher becomes more of a facilitator.
Active learning helps students practice skills that are important in their discipline – and in the real world – including teamwork, presentation skills, critical thinking, and synthesis of ideas. Additionally, active learning provides immediate feedback to students about whether they are learning the material, and to instructors about student comprehension and ability. This feedback enables students to understand where they need to focus their studying, and allows instructors to modify their teaching to ensure that students are succeeding.
The following sections look at the value of incorporating active learning, as well as examples of active learning techniques. By completing this unit, you will see how active learning can be applied to any discipline.