Creating Opportunities for Active Learning, to do or not to do?

The answer is a resounding YES! 

Before you decide if you want to focus on active learning, here is a brief definition of active learning from the Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence.

What is active learning?

Active learning is "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p. 2). Felder & Brent (2009) define active learning as "anything course-related that all students in a class session are called upon to do other than simply watching, listening and taking notes" (p. 2). Active learning strategies can be as short as a few minutes long. Active learning techniques can be integrated into a lecture or any other classroom setting relatively easily. Even large classrooms can involve learning activities beyond the traditional lecture format.

In our Educational Technology class this week, we had the opportunity to work with another student to learn about an active learning technique. My partner and I learned about kids using QR codes to present information, and we quickly created a google slide presentation about the blog post that we read. Please click here to see our presentation. Reflecting on this assignment, I realized that not only did I learn about using QR codes to provide an opportunity for active learning, I learned about other active learning opportunities from the presentations of my classmates.

Image Source: Personal Collection

QR codes are engaging and fun! It is a great way to share information. In class, I took the kids’ pictures, and they read their goals for third grade into a laptop using Audioboo. The QR codes were printed out and glued to the kid’s pictures. On Open House afternoon, the kids opened their iPads to the Scan app and set them on their desks. When their parents came in that evening, the parents clicked on the QR code and they could hear the goals their child had for third grade, so the parents were actively learning too. Of course, as others have found, this took time and energy, but the end result was worth it. The students were so excited about writing their goals and reading them into the laptop, and their parents were happy to hear them.

Why active learning?

By doing an active learning assignment in class, it made me focus on the role of a student. I find that doing learning activities is much more stimulating than sitting, listening to a lecture. This is something that all teachers need to consider when writing lesson plans. Why? It is because as the experts at Cornell write:

Research suggests that audience attention in lectures starts to wane every 10-20 minutes. Incorporating active learning techniques once or twice during a 50-minute class (twice to or thrice for a 75-minute class) will encourage student engagement. Active learning also:

•  Reinforces important material, concepts, and skills.
•  Provides more frequent and immediate feedback to students.
•  Addresses different student learning styles.
•  Provides students with an opportunity to think about, talk about, and process course material.
•  Creates personal connections to the material for students, which increases motivation to learn.
•  Allows students to practice important skills, such as collaboration, through pair and group work.
•  Builds self-esteem through conversations with other students.
•  Creates a sense of community in the classroom through increased student-student and instructor-student interaction.

In this diagram from the Powerful Learning Practice, one can see that Active Learning will help students recall a higher percentage of what they say, write, and do. Active learning focuses on analyzing, defining, creating, and evaluating, all high level skills.  

Image Source 

I agree with the researchers that active learning has many positive features and outcomes. I am using the Six Word Story idea from our Educational Technology class in my classroom this week. I will let you know how it works out!