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Engaging Knowledge: Active Learning Strategies

Cheryl R. Richardson, PhDCenter for Teaching & Assessment of LearningUniversity of Delaware

Presented for the Young African Leaders InstituteJuly 15, 2015

What is your favorite animal?

A. dog

B. panda

C. snake

D. lion

E. elephant

What is your teaching experience?

A. Teaching youth in non-school settings (religious institution, home, NGO..)

B. Teaching children in school settings

C. University teaching

D. Training adults

E. No teaching experience

Workshop Objectives

❖ Define “Active Learning”

❖ Identify basic elements of active learning

❖ Name 3 specific active learning techniques

Think-Pair-Share

❖ Think for a moment:

❖ What does “active learning” mean?

❖ How does active learning differ from lecture?

❖ Find a partner and share your thoughts

❖ Take 2-3 minutes each

Active Learning is the process of involving all students in activities that encourage them to develop a deeper understanding of content by working with and reflecting upon the material being presented

Research has shown that the overall quality of instruction and learning is improved when learners have the opportunity to clarify, question, apply, and consolidate new knowledge.

Basic Elements of Active Learning

❖ These basic elements can take place through:

❖ individual activities

❖ paired activities

❖ informal small groups

❖ formal small groups

❖ cooperative projects

❖ Instructors can create opportunities for active engagement in the learning process through:

❖ Talking

❖ Writing

❖ Reading

❖ Reflecting

Corners

❖ Count off from 1 to 4. Join with others who have the same number as you.

❖ Discuss the question posted on the chart in each corner of the room.

❖ Write your group’s response to the question, adding to or clarifying previous groups’ responses if appropriate.

❖ When signaled, rotate to the next corner

Scenario

❖ Watch the video clip:

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/active/scene1/index.html

❖ What did you observe in the video?

❖ What could the instructor have done differently?

❖ Share your questions and ideas with a partner.

Anticipated Difficulties

❖ Resistance to active learning

❖ Confusion about who is in control

❖ Fear of loss of control over the classroom and content coverage

❖ Lack of seriousness on the part of learners

Jigsaw Activity

❖ Choose a colored paper rectangle and find others with same color

❖ Each group has a reading that they will read and discuss together, becoming “experts” on that topic

❖ Each group member will move to a new group based on the numeral printed on your colored rectangle

❖ Each member of the new group will teach the rest of the group her or his content from the reading

Some Active Learning Techniques

❖ Think-pair-share

❖ Write-pair-share

❖ Student summaries

❖ One minute paper

❖ Focused listing

❖ Case Studies/Scenarios

❖ Jigsaw

❖ Role play/simulations

❖ Peer survey

❖ Note Check

❖ Problem Based Learning

Active Learning Improves

❖ Critical Thinking

❖ Retention and transfer of new information

❖ Student Motivation

❖ Interpersonal skills

Getting Started❖ Be creative! Invent new strategies and adapt existing ones to your needs.

❖ Start small and be brief.

❖ Develop a plan for an active learning activity, try it out, collect feedback, then modify and try it again.

❖ Be explicit about why you are doing this and what you know about the learning process.

❖ When planning and presenting active learning strategies, make sure to consider four elements: the goal of the activity, the outcomes you expect of students, the procedure they should follow, and the time limit for the activity.

Thank YouCheryl R Richardson, PhD

cherylrr@udel.edu