Te Kete Wānaka
Learning, Teaching and Library
Active learning
As you plan and deliver your teaching, a key goal should be creating a learning environment where students feel supported, engaged, and involved in their learning journey. Active learning will help you achieve this.
Active learning, either physical or online, stimulates students through talking, writing, reading, reflecting, or questioning. Numerous active learning strategies can be used in both large and small classes, where students work individually or in groups. These strategies can take as little as two minutes or you can stretch it out to an entire class session or even the whole week if combined with an online environment.
There are numerous active learning strategies that can be used in both large and small classes:
- Peer instruction
- Think-pair-share
- Q&A pairs
- 1 minute paper
- Case Studies
- Problem-Based Learning
- Jigsaw Teamwork
- Student Response System
Active learning strategies can be used for a single question or a series of questions. You might use them at the beginning of the class session to discuss “What do you know about …?”, during the class session, or at the end of class session to discuss “What have you learned today?”
Try to vary your class session at least every 12-15 minutes. Well-placed and carefully designed activities help students process content and minimise information overload, facilitating learning. Active-learning exercises motivate students to use their notes, and the use of short activities fosters greater awareness of the class session itself. If students know that the pace will change often, they are much less apt to be side-tracked by their devices, fall asleep, or skip class.
Active learning strategies
Peer instruction is a method created by Eric Mazur to make lectures more interactive and to get students intellectually engaged with what is going on. Students demonstrate, model, apply, or practice the concept, theory, or skill they have just learned to other students. This approach gives students a chance to interact both with new knowledge, with each other and with different approaches to putting this new knowledge into practice.
How do I use this strategy?
Watch this video (13mins:56s) to learn why Professor Mazur changed the way he teaches, bringing questioning and peer instruction into the classroom. This flipped classroom approach helps students to make sense of the information presented and apply critical thinking.
Think-Pair-Share is a strategy designed to provide students with “food for thought” on a topic enabling them to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with another student. Rather than using Call and Respond[SG1] , where a teacher poses a question and one student offers a response, Think-Pair-Share encourages a high degree of student response and interaction. This can help keep students on task and engaged in the class session. Think-Pair-Share is easy to use without much prior planning and can be used in both large and small classes.
Providing “think time” increases the quality of student responses. Students become actively involved in thinking about the concepts presented in the class session. Students need time to mentally “chew over” new ideas to store them in memory. When teachers present too much information all at once, much of that information is lost. If we give students time to “Think-Pair-Share” throughout the class session, more of the critical information is retained. When students talk over new ideas, they are forced to make sense of those new ideas in terms of their prior knowledge. Their misunderstandings about the topic are often revealed (and resolved) during this discussion stage. Students become more willing to participate in discussions since they do not feel the peer pressure involved in responding in front of the whole class.
How do I use this strategy?
- Announce a discussion topic or problem to solve.
- Give students at least 10 seconds of “think time” to THINK of their own answer. Research shows that the quality of student responses goes up significantly when you allow “think time.”
- Announce discussion partners. For example, turn to the person on your right, or number students.
- Ask students to PAIR with their partner to discuss the topic or solution.
- Finally, randomly call on a few pairs to SHARE their ideas with the class.
- Teachers may also ask students to write or draw a diagram with their responses while doing the Think-Pair-Share activity. Think, Pair, Share helps students develop conceptual understanding of a topic, develop the ability to filter information and draw conclusions and develop the ability to consider other points of view.
In this technique you get students to engage individually with learning resource and then pair them up to answer questions. This helps to deepen the level of analysis of learning resources. It encourages students to explain new concepts, as well as makes them consider how and where to apply the concepts to their own thinking or work setting.
How do I use this strategy?
- Students review a learning resource (eg, video, presentation, or reading) and compose one or two questions about it – they may do this during the class session, or you may ask students to bring questions with them.
- The students pair up; Student A asks a prepared question and Student B responds, and then Student B asks a prepared question and Student A responds.
- Give the students a specific time to discuss, eg, 5 minutes.
- If students have not prepared questions, the teacher may provide some questions for discussion.
- The teacher may ask for students to share a sample of questions and answers to help bridge to a full group discussion.
The 1 Minute Paper is particularly useful in moments where teachers are asking students to move from one level of understanding to another, from presentation of new ideas to application of ideas, or from considerations about self to situations involving others. These moments provide a transition for students by bringing together prior learning, relevant experience and new insights as a means of moving to a new aspect of the topic. The technique involves students writing and offers students a moment to explore ideas before discussion, or to bring closure to a session by recording ideas in their minds at that moment. A minute of writing is also a useful thing when discussion takes a turn you did not expect – when a particularly good question comes from the group, when discussion keeps circulating around a basic idea rather than inching its way into potential applications or deepening of ideas.
How do I use this strategy?
- Identify a discussion point that you would like students to explore.
- Ask students to write for 1 minute or longer on a topic or in response to a question that you have developed for the class session.
- Once the allocated time is up, start a discussion with the class asking students to share their thoughts.
This technique can be used in the classroom as well as for assessment purposes. Students could record ideas on a sheet of paper or white board so that the teacher can draw questions and synthesis from the material, briefly present their findings to other small groups or to the whole class, or submit their answers for grading.
Teachers could also ask students to develop (individually, in pairs, or small groups) their own work-based case studies and exchange them with others for discussion and analysis.
How do I use this strategy?
- Provide students with a scenario/case and an example of a concept/theory/issue/topic that is covered.
- Students work in small groups to discuss and analyse the scenario/case, applying the information to some situation they may encounter outside of the class session. It is important to have a problem that is based on an authentic situation that students could encounter.
- Students apply the presented information to address the problem. They may address the problem deductively (determine what is causing the problem) or inductively (analyse the issues and identify the problem).
Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centred technique where the problem is the central focus. Teachers become facilitators of the learning process rather than providers of content knowledge, and students work in small groups to solve a real-world problem. PBL encourages students to develop their communication, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Teachers can used PBL in a single class session, across multiple topics or even through the entire semester.
How do I use this strategy?
- Start by identifying the learning outcomes from the problem or learning project.
- Provide students with a relevant problem/scenario/case/project. It is important to have a problem that is based on an authentic situation that students could encounter.
- Decide how the learning will be evaluated including any use of peer-evaluation and self-evaluation.
- Students work in small groups to discuss and analyse the problem. You may need to allocate some time to discussing group work.
- Groups share their findings and/or experiences with the rest of the class. This is a good time for feedback to be provided.
In this technique, a topic is divided into smaller pieces with each student becoming the ‘expert’ of their piece of the content. After each student has finished teaching, the total content can be discussed so that everyone in the team knows something important about every piece of the content and how they interrelate.
How do I use this strategy?
- Assign students to small groups, and within the groups assign each student to one piece of learning content (eg, a section in the textbook).
- Students review their assigned piece of learning content, becoming the ‘expert’.
- Students teach the other group members about the learning content they have been assigned.
- After each person in the group has finished teaching, the total content covered by the group can be discussed so that everyone in the class knows something important about every piece of the content and how they interrelate.
A Student Response System (SRS) can be used in a classroom to rapidly collect answers to questions from every student. Teachers can choose to display a summary of the responses and use them to form the basis for a discussion about a particular concept. Students can feel more comfortable about responding to questions using a SRS due to anonymity.
How do I use this strategy?
- Identify a suitable cloud-based SRS system to use.
- Ideally, set up questions before the class session including the time limit.
- During the class session, teachers activate the questions, providing students with the log in details for connecting to the SRS.
- Students use their own devices (eg, smartphones, tablets, laptops) with the campus WiFi to connect to the SRS.
- Students work through the questions as they are displayed. Teachers can choose how many questions to present at once and whether to discuss each question as it is answered or to discuss the responses after all questions are answered.
Tips to make active learning work
- Begin using active learning strategies early in the course. Introduce the concept on the first day of class and let students know that they will be expected to participate in such strategies throughout the course.
- Use active learning frequently – at least once per class session initially. After the first several sessions, students will understand that you are serious about active learning and will readily accept their role as participants.
- Give clear instructions. State the goal students should meet, how much time they have for the activity, what procedures they should follow and with whom they should partner (ie, “turn to the person next to you” or “form groups of four with the people nearest you”). Put directions for in-class activities on the screen so that students have something to refer to as they begin the activity.
- Explain to students why you are using active learning and the benefits they can expect from it.
- Be sure to provide adequate “think time.” You could have students give a thumbs-up sign when they have something they are ready to share.
- Be committed to your choice to use active learning and communicate that confidently to students. Students will be put at ease if they understand that you are in charge and have good reasons for what you are doing.
- Break students into groups. This can be an effective way to overcome student reluctance and demonstrate that you are in charge.
- Start small and simple. Use low-impact strategies such as think-pair-share or in-class writing exercises. These strategies are easy to implement, take only a few minutes and are “low stakes” for students who may be unsure or uncomfortable. As you and your students gain experience, you may decide to graduate to more involved activities.
- During the sharing stage at the end, call on students randomly and share the role around the class.
- Address student complaints about active learning immediately and with confidence. Keep your comments positive.
- Explain to your students why you are using active learning. Highlight what students can gain from participating in such activities. Consider making such an announcement early in the semester and repeating it later if necessary.
- See student complaints about active learning as “teachable moments” that offer students opportunities to reflect on how they learn and how to improve those learning skills.
- It is not necessary to devote your entire session to active learning. You can still have periods of time when students are listening to you explain or discuss concepts (i.e. lecture). A mix of instructional methods – lecturing for ten or fifteen minutes followed by a 3-4 minute active learning interval – can be extremely effective. It is also very easy to implement and does not require a great deal of additional preparation.
- Just because students are “active” (ie, talking to one another or engaging in some other activity) does not necessarily mean they will learn anything. Simply putting students in groups does not constitute active learning. Any activity you choose must be well planned and executed.
- Walk around and monitor the discussions. You will frequently hear misunderstandings that you can address during the whole-group discussion that follows.
- When planning and presenting active learning strategies to your students, make sure to consider the goal of the activity, the outcomes you expect of students, the procedure they should follow and the time limit for the activity.
- Use strategies to keep control of the classroom during active learning activities. These might be clapping your hands, setting a timer, or dimming the lights to gain students’ attention.
- Consider your learning outcomes carefully. Based on them, what content is most important for students to master?
- Consider what content you must cover in your class session and what content students can cover outside of the class session by themselves. It may be necessary to create some learning activities such as videos, lessons, forums, or quizzes to help students master material on their own.
- Attempt to use one or two brief active learning strategies during your class sessions. Space the activities throughout the class session to break it up and keep students engaged.
- Attempt to determine what students are learning and what is confusing them. These can help you decide when (and whether) you need to spend more time on specific material.
- Avoid racing through material to finish it all by the end of the period. This is almost always counterproductive. Students tend to become overwhelmed and discouraged and it may jeopardise the gains made from including active learning in the class session.
- Remember that just because you say it, does not mean they learn it. If student learning is your goal, resolve to spend more time on less material.
- Successful cooperative learning does not just happen. It takes careful planning, a well-designed activity, and a teacher who is willing to intervene to help groups function properly.
- Design group activities to include positive interdependence, independent accountability, face-to-face interaction, use of group social skills and group processing.
- If you notice one person is monopolising the conversation, you can switch to timed discussions where you give each person a certain amount of time to talk. For example, after 60 seconds, call time and ask the next person to share their ideas.
- Sometimes it is best to assign discussion partners rather than just saying “Turn to the person next to you and talk it over.” When you do not assign partners, students frequently turn to a friend and leave other people out.
- Switch the discussion partners frequently. With students seated in groups, they can pair with the person beside them for one discussion and the person across from them for the next discussion.
- Assign group roles for students – eg, discussion leader, timekeeper, note-taker. Explain these clearly at the outset of the activity.
- Recognise that peer reviews often falter because students fail to understand the process of peer review or they lack buy-in to the concept. Develop strategies to address these concerns in your students.
- Teach students how to conduct a peer review. Focus on the reasons for doing them, the process to follow and how to give (and receive) constructive feedback.
- Create a rubric or checklist for students to use during peer review.
- Grade students’ revision and peer review work. Consider portfolio grading or having students submit a revision essay outlining the comments they offered their peers and how they used peer comments to improve their own writing.
- Intervene as quickly as possible when groups struggle with peer review.
- Make it clear to your students that they should not expect to rely solely on the teacher’s comments for their reviews. Peer commentary is important.
