When you were a kid, did you attend driving classes?
If you remember, you started learning its rules in the classroom. You learned about the rules we follow on the road or the concept behind changing gears.
You could probably pass every test and answer every question.
But when you started driving the car, you found out that it was an entirely new ball game.
Folks, whether it is your first car or first job, you might observe that what we learn is different from what we have to do using that learned knowledge.
That is where active learning comes in.
Active learning helps in reducing the gap between what you learn and what you practice.
Furthermore, it facilitates the complete transformation of your so-called boring classroom into a modern one.
Are you curious to know how this happens?
Let us jump into reading this blog to know everything about active learning!
Active Learning, What Is It?
Active learning is an innovative way of learning which depends upon the instructional approach.
Students get engaged in the learning process through problem-solving activities, group discussions, writing assignments, excursions, and reflection activities in the instructional approach.
All these activities enhance high-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of the students.
Further, it aims to acquaint the students with something that results in holistic development.
So this method is the total opposite of passive learning, which transmits knowledge to students via a tiresome lecture method.
How Active Learning Works?
Whenever you try to learn something new, you read instructions on how to do anything, but you cannot gain mastery in it till you do not perform it.
This rule also applies to classroom learning.
To master things, you need to learn innovatively. Here the role of active learning comes.
Through active learning methods, you can now use lecture capture software to record the lectures. By doing this, the whole scenario of the classroom flips.
You can give your students video assignments and quizzes based on the discussion topics for the next day.
In this way, students gain some insights into what they will learn in the coming days.
If we talk about the future of active learning methods, there will be more creation of tools by Modern LMS and Video CMS platforms.
These will lead to the use of innovative methods anywhere in the world by anyone.
Why Is Active Learning Important?
As we all know, children are intelligent learners and can harmonize to change quickly. Similarly, when we expose them to active learning at a young age, the usage tends to hold and pursue them into maturity.
Moreover, as compared to other age groups, children are always eager to acquire new things and explore the world around them. Although they fail, their self-confidence increases.
But how they acquire new things that are useful for the modern world. That is where the necessity of active learning arrives.
Let us read about how active learning is essential to us:
# Chance to Actively Participate
Students get the chance to participate actively in learning activities. They will get opportunities to voice up their opinions and views as well.
# Make Students Self-Aware
By active learning, the awareness among the students improves. Also, by this, the study sessions become more productive and fun.
Moreover, active learning provides a flexible learning environment to students as the activities can be conducted inside and outside the classroom.
# Encourages Risk-Taking
Passive learning initially resists students from expressing themselves as it is comparatively easy to sit in class and listen to lectures.
But active learning brings the students out of their comfort zone. It creates such an environment where students take risks without any fear.
They will become more comfortable expressing their thoughts, upholding their findings, and building on each other’s suggestions.
# Improve Communication Process
The content of communication between the teacher and the students increases considerably with effective participation.
It improves not only in linguistic form but also in several non-linguistic ways.
For example, while writing on a flipchart, learners drill their written and visual communication abilities when they write down their opinions.
# Enhances Critical Thinking
Through active learning, the focus of imparting knowledge shifts from passive to active sources of information.
Based on these sources, when students interact, they will build powerful arguments and recognize the logic.
# Increases Retention Power
Learners possess about 10% of what they read, 20% of what they listen to. But they retain 90% of what they practice.
Active learning classrooms make them capable of applying their ideas, acting on collaborative plans, or utilizing strategies like design reasoning to establish their understanding.
# Students Become Tech Savvy
Earlier, students were not able to use audio and video systems in their daily lives.
But due to active learning, nowadays, students get more chances to use tools and systems.
With this, their knowledge on how to use technology to get education rises.
# Make Students Creative
Active learning enables students to realize that creativity is beyond the Eureka moment. That means it formulates with endeavor and hard work.
With more practice of angling their creative muscles, students also discover how unique thinking and collective interaction can improve ideas and get more peculiar solutions to troubles.
The primacy and necessity of active learning cannot be further stressed.
Countries worldwide have been transforming their teaching systems to uncover their learners to active learning from a young age.
And we, as educators, also need to give our best to support this transformation.
What Are The Examples Of Active Learning?
When the active learning techniques which you selected match the learning objectives decided, only then does the purpose of active learning gets completed.
So, if you want a unique way of teaching to get started or possibly if you are out of ideas to run lessons in person, online, or somewhere in between.
For your help, we will provide you with different examples that will give you some insights into the utilization of active learning in classrooms.
- Think-Pair-Share
Instructors can use it for pairs and small groups formed formally or informally.
In this way, learners try to search for answers to questions. Then share their opinions with a partner.
The opinions gathered can be used as a source for discussion to collect feedback about what learners understand adequately.
So you can say that it is an incredible strategy to encourage students and facilitate higher-level thinking.
- Learning Through Games
Under this, you can use competitive exercises by either placing the students against each other or making them challenge themselves to encourage them to enhance their knowledge.
To create a good educational game, the teacher needs to make clear that understanding the topic is more necessary than scoring and winning.
Game-based learning not only helps in the integration of learning but also makes gaming more fun.
Further, it motivates learners to the material, so they learn more effectively.
Also, it prompts them to acquire knowledge by learning through their mistakes.
For using learning through games, a teacher needs to figure out how to give learners points for fulfilling certain objectives in a lesson plan.
Further, he also needs to decide on rewards for the winners.
But the most important step is that after creating game pieces, examine your game before the actual execution.
- Peer Review
Under this method, learners study and give remarks on topics penned by their classmates.
This kind of review is helpful for instructors of substantial introductory-level lessons that want to strive for their students to learn critically, synthesize data, and communicate science in non-technical dialect.
Further, through the usage of technological tools, peer review can provide the option of conducting class at any location or time.
- Role-Playing
To understand this method, take an example where each student performs the role of a person who lives near a polluted lake.
And students will study the impacts of the lake on human life from the viewpoint of that person.
This strategy is an outstanding tool for immersing students and enabling them to interact with their friends as they try to finish off the task allocated to them in their distinct roles.
Further, this method is ideal for cooperative groups as it helps students sustain their position’s persona throughout class time.
- Finding Plate Boundaries
It is a group discussion method based on the elements of cooperative learning.
Under this method, learners use the Jigsaw method to understand better about plate tectonics.
The jigsaw method is one of the most significant activities of cooperative learning.
Talking about the Jigsaw method, each student of the homegroup specializes in one aspect of a topic.
Students meet with members from other groups assigned the same aspect, and after understanding the topic properly, return to the homegroup and teach the topic to their group members.
With this strategy, every student in the homegroup performs like a piece of the topic’s puzzle. And they work together as a whole.
- Just in Time Teaching
Here, learners read provided data outside the class. They will respond to short questions online and then participate in collaborative exercises in the next class period.
Just-in-Time teaching enhances student understanding and improves in-class instruction efficiency and efficacy.
Also, it improves students’ preparation for the lesson and promotes continuous formative assessment of student learning.
Moreover, this strategy is very useful in informing in-class activities that target student understanding gaps.
- Debates or Discussions
In debates, the students will speak up their thoughts on the topic assigned.
The objective of debate encompasses enabling students to improve critical thinking skills, construct argument structure.
Moreover, it broadens viewpoints and participation and explores issues in depth.
- Problem-Solving Using Real Data
In this method, learners use concrete data to explore answers to scientific problems.
Using real data in the classroom, the learning process based on observations can offer multiple benefits like support student inquiry and participation, effective evaluation of data uncertainties, and applicability.
All these things ultimately contribute to improving students’ critical thinking skills.
- Socratic Questioning Technique
In the Socratic approach, the teacher deliberately ignores the topic under discussion to elicit engagement among the students.
This method is also popular as the dialectical approach that can correct fallacies and direct students to credible knowledge construction.
Socratic questioning enables students to understand critically by directing explicitly on the technique of thinking.
Moreover, it initiates thoughtful, disciplined questioning in the classroom that can support active, student-centered learning, facilitate inquiry-based learning and problem-solving skills.
All this ultimately provides for the improvement of long-term retention of knowledge.
- Active Learning With Simulations
This strategy promotes active learning and real-world applications of theory in the absence of clinical reliefs.
In addition, this kind of learning offers three considerable benefits for learning:
- It stimulates student interest in the topic.
- It encompasses the students in the creation and negotiation of meaning.
- It improves empathy as they see problems from numerous viewpoints.
There are four steps for the execution of simulation in a class: practice and explanation of the topic by the teacher, learner preparation for involvement in training, the substantial simulation activity, and the discussion or debriefing on the simulations.
So, these were the examples that will make you understand how you can use active learning in the classroom.
You can use one or both depending upon the number of students, their learning needs, the level or grade at which they are, and the location of your class.
What Is The Benefit of Active Learning As A Study Technique?
As per a meta-analysis of Freeman conducted to compare active learning strategies with traditional lecturing, By active learning, exam scores got improved, and failure rates declined.
Further, various researches conducted demonstrate the favorable effect of active learning on the knowledge of the students.
As per researcher Anderson (2005), from knowledge gained through active learning, the problem-solving proficiency of a person increases.
If we talk about the views of Thaman as per his research conducted in 2013, active learning can boost enthusiasm for understanding in both learners and educators.
One more researcher named Deltor reflected on active learning as a way that leads to improvement in student understandings and behaviors towards knowledge literacy.
You can also view the Research of Active Learning In Higher Education here.
Despite the broad span of favorable advantages documented above, in 2006, Michael communicated a significant point that active learning does not only occur automatically.
It requires the creation of a learning environment by a teacher, which is supplemented by several active learning techniques.
What Are Active Learning Strategies?
Active learning connects students to reasonable learning using different recreational activities such as reading, writing, problem-solving, which facilitate research, synthesis, and evaluation of lesson topics.
Active in-class understanding also furnishes students with conversational opportunities for acknowledgment of how well they inferred the topics.
Various activities that can be done under active learning are meant for usage in class, particularly in lecture environments, and can get modified to any training.
Many of them take only a few moments to finish. Some activities are individual-based, while some you can perform in pairs or little groups.
Let us have a look at a few more strategies of active learning.
- One Minute Paper or Muddiest Point
In this method, you will give papers to your class for formative assessment.
Then you will ask questions like: What are the most valuable topics from the session? What was the unclear fact from the session?
Then you will give one or two minutes to students for writing quick feedback.
- Short cases or Scenarios
The aim of scenarios or case studies enables students to relate the theories learned in class to real-life situations.
This recreation is adaptable and can be modified for practice in several disciplines.
It can be as reasonable as presenting an individual question to the class, to develop a discussion about how the learners would approach a given scenario or situation.
It can also be comprehensive and instruct that learners perform additional research to effectively address the scenario.
For example, learners will talk about and examine the scenario or case by correlating the knowledge they have read up in the lesson.
Learners can briefly reflect their conclusions to the class, either in little groups or in a paper or assignment.
- Brainstorming
In this method, you will give students different opportunities to find ideas on a specific topic or question while you are on the whiteboard to note down all the feedback from the students.
By this method, students will get a chance to use their prior understanding and experiences.
Moreover, this method is suitable for large or small classes in any domain and any duration of time.
- Question- Answer Technique
Questions are an easy yet beneficial manner to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and empower teachers with a sense of student comprehension.
Questions can be utilized in any vocation. Teachers need to develop questions before class and determine when they are going to ask them.
Teachers can ask questions at any time. But it is significant if they modify the timing to stave off repetition or boredom.
For instance, teachers do not need to routinely ask questions after every five slides.
It is essential to promote training from the whole class and to affirm all answers, to benefit constant participation.
- Structured Learning Via Jigsaw Method
Another structured collective training depends on individual responsibility to attain group objectives.
Here, student groups can talk over research studies to correlate course text to unravel real-world difficulties.
Students can refer to the Case Consortium at Columbia University that gives research studies on public policy, journalism, public health, and other domains.
- Interactive Demonstrations
You can use it to ascertain the effectiveness of a concept.
Under it, students get involved in the demonstration and are required to evaluate and assess the procedure.
For example, you can allow students to foresee the consequences of the demonstrations separately and then bring them together for group discussions.
By this strategy, the understanding of students about concepts increases so that students will enjoy the class.
- Peer Instruction Strategy
In this strategy, you can ask students an abstract question.
Then allow students some minutes to understand the question, and then ask them to give answers, probably employing clickers.
Then, allow them to talk about their answers in pairs, encourage them, and convince each other that their explanation is correct. Then students will speak again after recorrecting their answers.
For instance, a cooperative activity named Gallery Walk in which groups walk between sites to build on explanations or discussions started by others.
So these active learning strategies establish the chance for wider learning; yet, student resistance to this kind of learning is frequently high.
Moreover, active learning conflicts between traditional views of education and knowledge.
However, active learning expects them to withstand risks and strive for learning that they have no previous understanding of.
Did You Know?
In a world where information is constantly being acquired, students must be engaged in their education.
According to a report distributed by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE), Active learning incorporates “students’ endeavors to develop their knowledge effectively.”
The AUSSE’s elements to assess active learning have helped this idea continue through the years.
When it’s time to present your project, you’ll have the opportunity to work with other students on projects during class. You also get a chance for some questions and discussions!
When one is a teacher, it’s not just about teaching lessons and correcting papers.
They also help other students outside of class on their assignments; communicate suggestions from the lesson with companions who need extra assistance during school hours or tutoring sessions at home before coming back to campus after break periods are; overall, to make sure everyone learns something new each day!
What Are The Six Steps Of Active Learning?
After reading the above sections, you have understood what active learning is, how it benefits the students and teachers in attaining learning outcomes.
Here in this section, we cover the part which pertains to the correct way of channelizing active learning in classrooms.
So there are six essential steps which are as follows-
Step 1- Analyze Requirements For Executing An Active Learning Technique:
Before you decide on an active learning strategy, analyze the requirements. Ask yourself the following questions.
- What evidence will strengthen my teaching and learning strategy?
- How will active learning help my students to meet their learning objectives?
- What concrete data can you use in your classroom to supplement the procedure?
- What do the research books say about my subject matter and the best strategies for introducing it?
Then ask some questions related to pedagogical challenges-
- What are the challenges you will face in your current classroom
- In which topics do students toil with the most?
- How many students need personalized attention?
Then based on the response and data collected from the students, decide on the active learning strategies that make meaning in your class.
Step 2- Identify Issues And Topics:
The initial step is to recognize the topics you want to apply to active learning strategies. Also, specify the overarching questions related to the topic.
Example: Topic: Air Pollution in New York City
Questions: Is New York City polluted? What are acceptable degrees?
Who specifies these degrees? Is there any proper explanation for this topic?
Step 3- Identity Learning Outcomes:
In this step, interpret the learning outcomes for each of the topics. Give a well-written learning outcome to students.
Motivate them to collaborate in small groups with each other to perform research on air pollution.
Learning outcomes can be like students will enhance their knowledge by collecting data, analyzing it, giving written findings that fulfill professional analysis standards, and finally presenting the results- orally and pictorially to the students.
Step 4- Plan And Formulate The Recreational Activity
Ask yourself the following question- where can you perform the recreation inside or outside the classroom, or both?
Ready a timeline schedule to enable you to organize the activity and keep students on duty.
Then provide clear-cut guidelines to students before they start.
Motivate them to interact with each other for completion of the activity.
You can also assign duties for any group task, discussion, or debate. After completion, provide verbal feedback that is unbiased and satisfactory.
You can also prepare a rubric for evaluating student endeavors.
Step 5- Assess The Ordering Of Learning Circumstances:
Next, plan the correct order of learning circumstances that will come out as best to meet the learning outcomes.
There are many routes that you can use to sequence learning circumstances.
As a teacher, you must carefully understand the planning process and circumstances to benefit your students.
Step 6- Evaluation And Assessment:
At last, ascertain the cogency of the activity by assessing student understanding and meeting the associated learning outcomes.
Here you can give tests, quizzes, or assignments to the students.
Since active learning activities consist of these six stages, one can say that this kind of learning is not a theory but an education strategy that reinforces understanding.
This method employs strategies such as writing introspections, conversation, problem-solving activities to improve research, synthesis, and students’ experimentation towards accomplishing learning goals.
But the success or failure entirely depends upon your choice of activity and apparatus, time available for execution, location (in-class or online), class size, and others that are particular to the students, such as their aptitude level and access to apparatuses.
How Is Active Learning Used In The Classroom?
Active learning lets students fully participate in their getting knowledge by thinking, examining, analyzing, and creating.
However, in traditional classrooms, students may be asked to review skills, solve issues, struggle with complicated questions, formulate solutions, and illustrate ideas in their own words through composition and discussion.
Moreover, research suggests that with active learning methods, students’ learning, compared to classes that primarily consist of lecturing, enriched a lot.
As far as the execution of active learning methods is concerned, become familiar with a few active learning strategies before starting.
At the start, select a small and easy one. You can select one or two strategies and revise them according to your learning goals.
Then, establish codes of conduct to motivate ethical participation.
Later on, introduce the activity and illustrate the learning benefit.
Plus, give learners a time limit to finish off the task.
You can also consider using responsive classroom technologies like video clips, laptops, tablets, and smartphones to promote active learning activities.
Here are a few easy activities that you can use to promote active learning in the classroom.
# Game-Based Learning
Abbreviated as GBL, it is the most entertaining activity among all the activities. Gamification or GBL turns learning into a game.
Through learning apps, you can create unique tests on your own!
Gamification comprises three elements- achievement, competition, and fun that lead to the endeavor.
# Collaborative Virtual Classrooms
These classrooms create online learning more fascinating.
Besides audio-visual connectivity, there are annotations and resource sharing also available for facilitators and participants.
# Online Discussion Boards
Online boards are virtual boards where learners can read up collaboratively. They post problems and answer questions.
The facilitator’s responsibility is less as the answers usually appear from the participants who are more aware of the topic.
# Learning by Teaching
In this method, you allow students to instruct the lessons to their classmates.
The facilitator is on a hands-off approach in this technique, but it implicates a rather complicated process as the facilitator is both mediator and subject matter specialist.
# Flipped Classroom
It is an honestly new term in the Edtech industry. In this type of classroom, all the work like reading, writing, discussion, and research is performed outside the classroom.
By following this method, the facilitator will have more time to carry out other related activities during class time.
This method ensures productive use of class time with fewer lessons and extra time for recreational activities.
Results obtained from these four assessment techniques can lead educators in making improvements in their teaching methods to better fulfill student deficiencies.
A good strategy would provide the right and timely feedback consistent with your teaching style and can be implemented easily in your class.
Before conducting the activity, all you need to do is explain the activity’s purpose to learners and then execute it.
After the lesson, evaluate the results to determine the students’ learning and decide what changes to make if any.
What Is The Goal Of Active Learning?
With active learning, a teacher can include so many activities in their classroom. But with what purpose or goal?
What is the motive of including active learning tasks in day to day classroom course of action:
A teacher may include active learning to fulfill specific goals, which can be as follows:
1. To Meet Learning Objectives Of Students
Above all, active learning tasks should be such that they help students expand their understanding and abilities.
They become able to identify an idea, utilizing evidence to uphold a claim.
Further, they become able to arrange information and distinguish a problem concerned. These all things make them proficient in their work.
2. Facilitate Students Participation
Active learning tasks should create an environment among all the students to interact with each other freely.
Moreover, the tasks given should be easy. And for complex tasks, teachers should provide outlines to the students.
Clear-cut outlines will help students assess what the teachers expect from them.
3. To Provide Chances for Feedback and Introspection
Effective feedback guides students on how to improve their execution or improve their understanding of the topic concerned.
With earlier conducted active learning tasks, you can judge the input of the students. Plus, you can also find gaps in the applied learning approach.
So, active learning aims to improve students’ reflection and encourages them to make connections between their previous knowledge and new theories.
Further, active learning tasks let students make their reasoning explicit, which also enables instructors to assess learners’ knowledge.
Several types of research have suggested that learners in active learning classrooms have a lower percentage of failure and achieve better on assessments than learners in a traditional lecture.
How Many Steps Are In Active Learning Methodology?
An active learning methodology is furthermore a kind of activity-based learning. It makes all students participate in learning.
In this method, the learners are included in the reading, writing, speaking, sharing, communicating abilities, and questioning singly and in groups.
Moreover, it involves learners in doing things and understanding what they are doing.
In other words, this methodology engages learners in higher-order thinking tasks like analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Let’s read in detail the active learning methodology by evaluating every step.
- Introduction
At the beginning of the session, the educator will introduce the topic. Give a few hints about what he is going to convey in his lecture.
The educator will pinpoint critical and complex portions of the content. Further, the educator can ask questions to assess the prior knowledge of the students.
- Understanding
Now the educator focuses on the adequate understanding of the topic by the students.
The educator can conduct activities like extensive reading, which allows the children to read the content silently. Through this, students can understand what is there in it.
Also, by doing this, the competency of the speaking language of students increases.
Moreover, the educator should leave the choice of selecting the content for reading with the students. That will allow them to do the activity with interest.
- Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a brainstorming exercise that enables children to create maps to learn new information fast.
With this, children will think more about complex problems.
Furthermore, they will consolidate large amounts of information into smaller parts that are easily understandable for them.
- Summarising
After then the teacher will summarise the topic by explaining in detail the complex portions of the content.
For this purpose, the educator can utilize the different active learning strategies like think pair and share, audio-video recorded lessons, role-playing, etc.
- Discussion
Here the educator will let students discuss with each other the mind maps they have created.
The students will speak up about the problems or questions they have to find solutions. Educators can also conduct discussions on different online discussion platforms.
- Writing Activity
Educators will give time to students to write what they have understood in the class in their own words.
Writing involves a compilation of facts or records, then penning down those facts onto the notebook.
Then find out the main idea or purpose of writing. After that, students will start writing by organizing the facts or records that they have written.
The educator will also encourage students to use a dictionary to add additional words to the written material.
- Revision
At this step, the students will revise and rewrite the thoughts that they wrote in the notebook.
They will re-read the essay again. And will check the spellings, vocabulary, use of verbs, and so on. By doing this, clarity of expression in their thoughts increases.
- Evaluation
The last step of the active learning methodology is evaluation. The teacher will allow students to share what they have written with the class.
In discussion, the students can make arguments, pinpoint the wrong information. That will allow them to make corrections to the written material.
Meanwhile, the educator will assess the appropriateness of the learning strategy implemented. That will further help in knowing the understanding of the students.
Instead of conducting discussions, the educator can also give tests, quizzes to them.
An educator can employ many teaching strategies to engage students in the knowledge process actively.
The activities in ALM (active learning methodology) not only improve critical thinking skills but also increase motivation and retention, and interpersonal skills.
Instead of traditional learning, it involves learners directly and actively in the learning process where they receive verbal and visual information.
In short, we can say that active learning methodology empowers the student to find opportunities to talk, listen, write and read anything learned meaningfully.
How Do You Engage Students In Active Learning?
Active learning is not only dealt with physical interaction with the topic.
But it involves a deep mental interaction with the students.
Generally, in traditional classrooms, whenever we think about a topic that we desire to learn, we likely never create a game to learn that topic.
We just actively comprehend it by reading and writing.
On the other hand, in active learning classrooms, if we want to memorize words or concepts that we do not find interesting, we likely need to create a game that will help us memorize properly—for example, flashcards to quiz ourselves or a friend and develop a small game out of it.
Let’s read some strategies that we as educators can help our pupils become active and dynamic learners.
Do Learning As A Game
Active learning is not just about games, but it means that games appear to have a place in the classroom.
By playing games, a positive mindset develops among the students which ultimately, benefits their overall learning.
You can introduce platforms like Classcraft that let you create a world for students where students learn content by finishing off quests, combat bosses, and obtaining prizes for their avatars.
This new learning model can win you students who might not have a curiosity about coming to school.
Creates Learning A Hands-on Process
You can turn the traditional learning method into a hands-on process by giving students different opportunities to interact with the material.
For example, commanding them to arrange a science class or letting them browse about an idea or listen to a video lecture will create an unforgettable impression on the students’ minds, which your ordinary teaching cannot formulate.
Teamwork and Debate
These will provide them opportunities to discuss a topic and even do debate with one another. These are the great ways that increase effective learning in the classroom.
Further, by doing this, they will get ideas that do not appear in their head. And all this leads to making them indulge in abstract thinking or thinking out of the box.
Give Choice To Students
Whenever possible, allow students to explore their areas of interest. By doing this, they will feel less hesitancy in speaking up their thoughts.
For instance, if you command students to learn about climate change, you might tell them to read a range of topics like fossil fuels, the greenhouse effect, or the impact of the transforming environment on nature.
Another advantage that your students get is to take responsibility for what they are learning.
That means they will choose the learning topic on their own. By this, students will not complain and take less pressure in completing the work.
What Is An Active Learning Environment?
An environment where cooperative learning takes place that encourages healthy collaboration among students plus initiates peer teaching.
And all this can be done through the use of technology.
The used technology enables students to illustrate their tasks for analysis by fellow mates and educators.
The furniture design should be such that it facilitates the instructors to guide students during sessions.
Proper guidance will build belief among students regarding the completion of work, and more they will show respect for each others’ viewpoints.
Is Active Learning Better Than Passive Learning?
The distinctions between these two learning styles are due to who is working on the task.
In passive learning, students consume, comprehend, consider, and clarify knowledge. Here the active role is of teachers. That implies passive learning is teacher-centered.
But, active learning expects students to understand, examine, challenge, and study knowledge.
Due to this, active learning is student-centered.
Next, active learning motivates conversation and debate among students, while passive learning motivates effective listening and expanding attention to detail.
After that, another difference is active learning allows students to question against notions and biases by discussions.
On the other hand, passive learning allows students to consider teachers’ beliefs.
That means in passive learning, they learn from what is being presented to them and do not make an effort in doing research.
In a passive environment, students may hesitate in clarifying doubts due to fear of insult or scolding.
However, in the active learning environment, a teacher will motivate learners to raise questions when confused and guarantee the resolution of all issues.
Depending on the topic concerned, you can decide what to use and how to use them.
You can use both if you want to but only for certain topics.
How Do Students Become Active Learners?
Active learning techniques include a distinct teaching approach as well as employing lesson ideas.
Under the active learning method, students are not seen as empty vessels that need a teacher to be filled with knowledge.
Rather, they land at the table with abundant knowledge and curiosities that can make the knowledge process entertaining and remarkable.
To evolve your students as active learners, here are some of the techniques that you can try:
- First of all, choose a place where there is no distraction. Selecting such a study space will increase the concentration of the learners.
- Then tell students to record all the ideas they already know.
- Ask questions in between the activity and while explaining the content.
- You can also make flashcards, recite the material aloud. That will improve the memory of the students along with their interests.
- You can tell students to make notes of the essential points in their own words.
- In the end, effectively summarize what you read.
- You can take help from the students here.
Encourage students to take part in discussions to share their ideas and ask questions.
Once they have learned something, you need them to recall it when they need it, such as in exams.
Most children tend to forget a lot of what they have learned the very next day of learning.
So, reviewing their day-to-day learning can help prevent this from happening.
You can follow this strategy after a study session: Tell them to recall all that they have studied after an hour of learning.
Revision and review the material again the next day, after a week, then a month, and again just before the exams can serve the purpose.
These techniques combined with different active learning modes can transform your old boring classroom into a room full of joyful activities.
What Is Active Learning In Early Childhood?
Children acquire knowledge through sensory-motor experiences and evolve as active learners.
As per educators Mary Hohmann and David P. Weikart, in active learning, a child acts upon objects and interacts with people, ideas that construct new understanding in him on his own.
As babies explore materials using sensory-motor skills, they encounter immediate tactile contact, which allows them to learn new things.
Further, active learning in childhood also implies providing kids space and time to study these materials by themselves, with their friends, and with parents.
You can watch children explore how they use their senses and note how they analyze by mixing things.
We are sure you will get awed when you see they combine and transform materials such as toys into tools to generate knowledge.
Further, you can sit with the kids and talk with them about their interests.
That will enhance their thinking skills. You can also watch what they do with stuff and can join their play.
One thing you need to note down is that children will not understand the outcomes of their actions.
So always show compassion and patience during disputes and hardships.
How Do You Promote Active Learning In The Classroom?
Many educators often neglect to explain the lesson aimed at the beginning of their class.
They try to develop the habit of illustrating aims on the board.
As per studies, it is noticed that learners focus more on learning when they have been told everything that they will do in the class.
Accordingly, their participation in the work also improved.
Other than this, there are a few more ways to promote active learning in the classroom. Let us have a look at them:
Give Students Equipment To Fulfill The Lesson Aims
Make students clear about the aims of studying the topic. It needs to put extra time in preparation but is worth it.
Involve your learners in the procedure and invite them to construct their own. You can also give templates for their help.
Encourage Students To Express Thoughts On The Lesson
At the end of the lesson, you can command students to draw pictures to connect the lesson’s topic or objectives and glue their remarks next to the given lesson’s template on the wall.
You can also create a small group of learners. And they will recognize all the stuff they have read up today.
No Need To Stick To The Previous Plan
If the lesson is not going as planned, you can improvise and modify things. You can also involve students to do improvisation in activity timings and rules.
Make Secret Lesson Aim
You can create a hidden lesson aim for yourself. You can give clear instructions or reduce echoing.
Further, you can also encourage learners to do the same. By doing this, learners will come to be more effective in the learning process.
Following the above said ways helps learners in keeping track of the lesson.
It helps them discern the relationship between what they are performing in class and what they are taught to learn.
In other words, we can say that it helps them in knowing exactly what is expected of them, thus reducing distress among them.
What Does An Active Learner Look Alike?
An active learner is committed to the learning process. They are those students who grapple with the course material to find solutions to their problems.
Such learners constantly process what they learn. They search over the Internet, do debates and discussions actively to support their arguments.
Such students remain busy connecting with others, conveying ideas, and correlating new knowledge to previous knowledge.
They participate continually in creative projects, mindful activities, self-directed learning, and multisensory strategies of learning.
In addition, they will try to find how to use inner voice and visualizations to formulate knowledge memorable and easy to encode.
What Is Active Learning In The Primary Classroom?
The child shows more fascination and energy in the early years of life.
In the classroom, the child can focus more on the activity given rather than on studies.
The child will follow the phenomena in which work will get better by constant efforts.
So, he tries to bounce back and try again.
For a child in primary school, play is a learning activity as a child can make discoveries about concepts and develop his skills.
Few are the activities that can help a child in getting a primary school education.
Building Blocks
This activity can help children recognize spatial relationships, size, weight, balance, and problem-solving skills.
They learn through trial and error while playing with blocks.
Craft Activities
Crafts benefit children in developing fine motor skills and can also take in many other skill areas.
For instance, preparing a strand of beads can spin into an activity where children understand repeating patterns or make categories according to shape, weight, or color.
Story Telling
It can be very relaxing for many children and is also known as a calming activity.
Make Story sacks, stick puppets based on the story for helping children to play along as they listen to their beloved stories or rhymes.
You can also add extra materials to your continual requirements to motivate child-led activities based on these beloved children’s stories.
Themed Scavenger Hunts
These are accurate for kids who celebrate being questioned to search for something or finish off a task.
You can also involve kids in preparing a checklist together.
Seasonal scavenger hunts are incredible for enabling children to learn about the seasons and surroundings.
At the primary level, teachers should create environments where children get involved in exploring knowledge through adventure and games.
Teachers should let children possess an active choice in inciting learning desires.
Teachers should try to respond to these desires by planning enjoyable, challenging, and interesting learning experiences that enable the learner freedom to make selections.
This all will properly lead to self-directed learning by the students.
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Active Learning?
In the 21st Century, Active learning is a superior method of teaching and learning adopted worldwide.
It facilitates children to acquire knowledge through trial and error, finding, and social interaction.
Active learning includes performing experiments, projects, and inquiry-based learning. Further, it is learning to embrace mistakes.
But everything in this world has two faces of a coin.
So, let us examine the pros and cons of active learning about framed learning outcomes.
Active Learning Pros and Cons
| Pros of Active Learning | Cons of Active Learning |
|---|---|
| Continued Engagement and Motivation. | It is Time-Consuming. |
| Contextualized Learning. | Occasionally Memorization is Essential. |
| Learning From Trial and Error. | Prohibits Listening to Seniors. |
| Unrestricted Thinking and Creativity are Facilitated. | Learners could Formulate Misconceptions. |
| Encourages Participation. | Not all Consequences are Reliable. |
Pros Of Active Learning:
Let us have an in-depth look over the above-said points.
1. Continued Engagement & Motivation
An active approach to learning involves more time in tasks.
When you involve students more in learning by doing, they will occupy more immersive experiences.
Moreover, they will likely reach a more flow state in which they are entirely engaged in their learning.
Further, active learning may stave off indifference which increases motivation throughout the learning procedure.
2. Contextualized Learning
Contextualized understanding or learning involves understanding in actual environments rather than only understanding facts that are discarded from real life.
For example understanding division by physically dividing up things into groups, as contradicted to understanding division by rote.
Active learning implies contextualization because it expects learning by committing to issues.
Commitment to issues can be done by using strategies and projects, as obstructed reading up from books.
This learning scenario helps learners comprehend what they are reading up and how it associates with reality.
Learning in context can also enable a learner to boost memory by retaining information in mind.
3. Learning From Trial And Error
When learners comprehend actively, they have the independence to enhance knowledge.
They can commit mistakes and learn through their adventures.
Likewise, when we try things out and fail, we have a deeper understanding of why our strategy won’t work.
It is the opposite when we are simply told that it doesn’t work, and we don’t even try it.
Thus, an active learning approach will direct to a deeper understanding and knowledge of the issues under inquiry.
4. Unrestricted Thinking And Creativity Are Facilitated
Creativity implicates the usage of original thought and imagination to find answers.
It enables you to visualize new possibilities and create new awareness.
Active learning will also boost creativity.
Creativity leads to improvement in thinking and imagination.
With this, new possibilities lead to the creation of new knowledge.
Further, active learning classroom teachers encourage students to innovate and take chances to reach explanations, rather than only take answers for granted.
5. Encourages Participation
The learning process in the 21st Century requires learners to evolve as participating parties in the world.
Learners generate confidence in participating in projects when they enter into active rather than passive learning settings.
What’s more!
Functioning in groups can help students to work together to achieve their goals.
These affiliation skills are very valuable for students, as they will be expected to work together with others in the workgroup.
Cons Of Active Learning:
1. Time-Consuming
Many teachers cannot spend much time implementing active lessons.
This is because they have a jammed curriculum to finish off.
The curriculum requires an educator to go through a lot of content before the end of the course.
Our modern education system does not provide time for deep understanding and active tasks of learning that jammed curriculum.
2. Sometimes Memorization Is Essential
We use rote memory to memorize the maximum stuff we learn.
For example-doing basic multiplication.
Imagine we need to multiply 5 x 5. We need to count on our fingers to get to 25.
Is it possible to do it in a very less amount of time?
Further, we need to memorize timetables and other basic pieces of knowledge.
Occasionally, we just have to reiterate it until we remember!
3. Discourages Listening To Seniors
An active learning approach is that you do not need to trust what is being told.
Many believers argue that it is significant to overhear seniors and learn from their errors.
Further, they said that if we only listen more and go over more books, we would understand the errors in history and not depend on trial and error methods for every tiny thing.
4. Learners Could Formulate Misconceptions
We often observe that students formulate misconceptions about active learning.
They thought that active learning is only about doing a particular activity.
Moreover, they thought that activity is more important than study, which leads to the non-fulfillment of learning objectives.
5. Not All Outcomes Are Reliable
Sometimes the outcomes are not reliable, which implies they are unachievable.
Unreliability can be due to biased and incomplete findings, lack of equipment and material.
It can also be because the strategy implemented does not match with the topic taught.
Due to the above-said and some unknown reasons, sometimes the whole process of learning suffers.
Folks, each student is different.
Both active learning and passive learning are useful techniques for absorbing knowledge.
Each learner has a unique way of conception and immersing in new information.
In the end, we will say that develop engaging lesson plans and do not alienate passive learners but doesn’t exclude active learners either.
Closing Thoughts On Active Learning
Learners discover much more when they are energetically involved in your lecture.
For educators, active learning is all about being creative and skillful.
Try out new ideas, assignments, and methods for teaching.
Be imaginative in your planning about integrating active learning into your everyday teaching.
Explore strategies like gamification, collaboration, and hands-on learning.
Moreover, also leave the choice of topic for students to energetically connect with a subject that they ordinarily might not get excited about.
Take a chance and try something fresh!
We are sure you will not feel disappointed about it.
Share this article with your colleagues who might find it beneficial.
Also, do not forget to comment below to share your teaching experiences as well. We would love to hear from you.
