Active Learning Strategies

ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

Active learning refers to classroom activities that engage students as active participants in the learning process. Students who participate in active learning are challenged to think about what they are doing rather than passively receiving information from their instructor. While there are many approaches to active learning, the core elements are student activity and engagement in the learning process. These activities can be interspersed into class sessions while breaking lecture material into chunks. Each of these activities are designed for students to talk and verbalize their thinking, leading to enhanced learning.

On this page, we will cover:

Evidence of Effectiveness

A meta-analysis of 225 studies compared STEM classes taught using various active learning approaches with classes taught via lecture (Freeman et al., 2014). The results show that active learning tends to decrease course failure rates by 35%. Moreover, active learning creates a more equitable classroom environment, greatly reducing racial equity gaps and nearly eliminating equity gaps for first-generation college students (Eddy and Hogan, 2014). The authors of the meta-analysis called into question the continued use of traditional lecturing in STEM disciplines given that active learning is shown to work so well in increasing learning outcomes for all students and the extent to which it helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Freeman et al., 2014).

Examples

Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a short, collaborative discussion activity that encourages all students to participate and engage (Lyman, 1981). This easy-to-implement activity encourages critical thinking, results in thoughtful responses to questions, and provides a safe environment for students to express their thoughts verbally.

Pose an open-ended prompt or question that is aligned with student learning objectives to the class.
Allow students 1-3 minutes to think about the prompt/question on their own and perhaps write down their thoughts.
Pair students for 2-5 minutes to discuss their responses.

Bring the class back together to share key points of their discussion to the entire class.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a type of cooperative learning that allows students to learn from each other, rather than directly from the instructor, by becoming “experts” in one aspect of a topic. This activity encourages students to listen, communicate, and problem-solve together.

Break down a topic into several different pieces of the puzzle and assign each group one piece.
Each student, either through reading, discussion, or experimentation becomes an expert in their aspect of the topic. One method of executing this activity is to assign a reading or portion of research as homework prior to coming to class.
Students come together in their groups for approximately 30 minutes and share their knowledge in order to collectively answer the question or solve the problem they were assigned.
Coming back together as a class to discuss.

Four Corners

Four corners allows students to choose between four options in response to a question, but also revise their choice.

Create a prompt to which students can respond. The prompt can be a controversial statement, question, or example of a concept/topic covered in the course.
The four possible options can be different answers to the question, different opinions (e.g., strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree), or multiple-choice options (e.g., A, B, C, D). You can use more or less than four possible answers or options, depending on the question and the space.
Read the prompt aloud and allow students time to think about their answers.
Designate each corner of the room as corresponding to each of the four options. Alternatively, students could choose breakout rooms in a virtual environment.
Ask students to discuss with others in their corner why they chose that option. At any time, students can leave one group and join another if they change their mind.
Ask each group to briefly summarize their reasons for choosing that option. Provide students the opportunity to change their answers, if they would like, after hearing the summaries other students have shared.
If there is a correct answer, be sure to share this, and the reasoning why, at the end of the activity.

Tips for Success

When implementing active learning techniques, follow these general steps:

Establish community agreements to encourage appropriate participation.
Introduce the activity and explain the learning benefits to students.

Modify active learning activities to address learning goals in your class.
Use activities to draw attention to issues and content you feel are most critical.

Give students a time limit to complete the task.
Reimagine activities for large classes by using technology or creating smaller groups
Stop the activity and debrief. Ask a few students or groups of students to share their thoughts and tie them into the next steps of your lecture.
Consider using classroom response technologies, such as PollEverywhere Links to an external site. or Kahoot Links to an external site., to facilitate active learning activities.

Get Up To Speed with Active Learning

This self-paced, asynchronous program provides guidance, resources, and support for planning and implementing specific active learning strategies. This course is designed for faculty who are new to active learning as well as experienced faculty who want to deepen their knowledge and learn new strategies. Learn more and apply here.

Additional Resources

Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching provides a thorough introduction to active learning and a cheat sheet with 10 steps to get started with active learning on its Active Learning page Links to an external site..
Harvard University’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning provides a general introduction to active learning and details about a few strategies, such as leading discussions and problem solving in STEM courses, on its Active Learning page Links to an external site..
The Teaching and Learning Center at UC Santa Cruz has an Active Learning page Links to an external site., which includes resources to help you decide which active learning strategy to use based on your goals for a class session. It also includes a video Links to an external site. where instructors and students share their thoughts about incorporating active learning into large lecture classes.
If you are interested in trying a flipped classroom approach where students gain knowledge prior to class and then apply that knowledge through activities during class time, the Center for Teaching and Learning at The University of Texas at Austin has a page about flipped classrooms Links to an external site..
Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education Links to an external site. (SALTISE) is a learning community in Canada dedicated to encouraging the use of active learning in higher education. The Strategies and Approaches Links to an external site. page provides helpful information about how to implement specific active learning strategies.

References

Eddy, S.L. and K.A. Hogan (2014). Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work? Life Sciences Education 13, 361-371

Lyman, F. T. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all students. Mainstreaming digest, 109, 113.

Freeman, S., et al., (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 111(23), 8410-8415.

Wieman, C. E. (2014). Large-scale comparison of science teaching methods sends clear message. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8319-8320.