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ACTIVE LEARNING
Active learning names a wide range of processes in which instructors support students to actively participate in, contribute to, and reflect on their learning of new information, concepts, and skills.
Active Learning
There is evidence that teaching techniques that promote active learning, in both small and large class contexts, can increase students’ ability to comprehend complex material and boost their academic performance. These resources support the incorporation of active learning techniques — both modest and large-scale, both low- and high-tech — into any classroom of any size.
This overview includes the educational theories informing active learning, the research that provides evidence of its effectiveness, and several strategies for promoting more active student engagement—in both large and small classes.
A repository, curated by and for university educators, of practical classroom strategies for inciting engagement, encouraging participation, and ensuring deep learning.
Citing a study that concludes that the size of a class doesn’t correlate to how well students can meet learning objectives, this article reflects on the key strategies that teachers of large-enrollment lecture courses use to increase student engagement and learning.
This article in the Harvard Gazette discusses a recent study on students’ perception of learning in traditional lectures v. active learning settings. While students may perceive themselves to be learning more in more passive lecture settings, the study indicates that students actually learn more in active learning settings—
and recommends that instructors communicate clearly with students about the benefits of active learning.
This guide offers strategies for facilitating dialogue around complex and challenging issues, and provides activity templates with sample scripts, recommended procedures, and different evaluation approaches.
A guide for planning focused and productive discussions, this site reviews the cognitive and social factors that can promote effective dialogue, and provides strategies for addressing common challenges that can arise during student-centered dialogue.
Collaborative Learning & Group Work
Key components of many active learning strategies, collaboration and group work have many benefits to student learning. These include building positive interdependence in the classroom; enhancing student understanding of complex topics through peer-to-peer instruction; increasing students’ ability to access diverse perspectives; providing the opportunity for students to receive social support and grow their peer networks; and encouraging students to develop their own perspectives in relation to their peers. These resources support instructors to design group work effectively and accessibly.
CITL’s tips and strategies are intended to support instructors, in classes both large and small, to develop effective and accessible group work so that all students can benefit from the enhanced learning made possible in collaborative settings.
Active learning highlights the value of social interactions in the learning process, and this guide provides strategies for designing effective group tasks and supporting students to get the most out of learning from their peers.
When structured well, group projects can promote intellectual and social skills important to students’ academic and professional lives. This guide addresses composing, monitoring, and assessing group tasks.