Active Learning in the Classroom

Texas Tech University INTS 3330-S01, SPRING 2016

Today’s Agenda

Introduction/Definition 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

Theory of Active Learning 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Purpose/Effectiveness of Active Learning 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Lunch 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Review Previous Material 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM

Examples of Active Learning Techniques 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM

The Practice of Active Learning 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Q&A 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Group Activity to Discuss Material 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Introduction

Personal Introduction

Introduce yourself to the teachers being trained.

Discuss your teaching background to establish your credibility on the subject.

Take a couple of minutes for the teachers to discuss their teaching backgrounds

with the others sitting around them.

Discuss the learning outcomes

Learn the theory of active learning and the importance of using it in the

classroom.

Learn how to develop active learning activities and classroom applications

Discuss the agenda for the day.

Let them know when the breaks occur and when they should be back from the

break.

Definitions

Active Learning-

o The term ‘active learning’ is used to describe a range of academic approaches

from the simple asking of questions in a class through highly structured problem

based learning exercises and simulations to practical experiential learning in the

community outside the classroom (Drew & Mackie, 2011).

Problem Based Learning- A method of teach where students learn

through the experience of open-ended problems.

Practical experiential learning- Any learning that supports students in the

application of knowledge to real-world problems or situations.

Social constructivism- The nature of learning and also that knowledge is constructed

through social interaction.

Communicative language teaching- emphasizes interaction but the main goal is to learn

or study.

Cooperative learning- variety of children on small teams that involve learning activities

to improve their understanding skills.

Critical thinking – a way to evaluate the thinking process.

Activity time- Question and Answer

o Ask the group to define some of the above terms, in their own words.

o Wait around 15 seconds before calling on someone to answer.

This gives everyone a chance to think of their answer before someone

answers.

o After someone has answered, call on another person to re-word the answer that

was just given.

Theory of Active Learning

Research shows teachers need to make sure that they challenge their students’ thinking.

o Modern-day concepts of learning and teaching styles recognize that students are

active participants in the learning process (Drew & Mackie, 2011).

Students learn more from participating in class discussions than they do

from just listening to a lecture.

o Students build knowledge and understanding in response to opportunities

provided by their teacher (Drew & Mackie, 2011).

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a form of instruction emphasizing

communicative competence instead of grammatical competence (Richards, 2005). In

other words, CLT can be used to instruct students in the common, everyday uses of

language (Savignon, 1991) instead of grammatical competence, the extent of which is

studied in textbooks and practiced according to a set of certain, prescribed, and, in

many cases, static technical rules (Richards, 2005).

This idea of communicative competence, according to Richards (2005), has many

aspects:

o Knowing how to use and vary one’s usage of language according to different

settings, purposes, functions, and participants.

o Knowing how to develop and understand various forms of texts.

o Knowing how to communicate effectively with someone in spite of having a

limited understanding of one’s own language knowledge.

CLT, in short, emphasizes communication and interaction rather than simply

memorizing grammatical rules and formulas.

CLT is beneficial to learning a language:

o It emphasizes communication in a variety of different settings since teachers are

allowed to create different scenarios in which language would be used.

o It stresses accuracy, as well as fluency, by giving the students the freedom to

choose their words, thereby giving them the opportunity to practice word choice

and ensuring that their verbal thoughts are clear and understood by others in

the conversation.

o And by giving the opportunity to practice their language skills in a comfortable,

familiar environment (Belchamber, 2007).

When students engage in active learning they are doing more than just listening.

Students actually retain the material more effectively and quickly.

o Active learning also leads to, increased content knowledge, critical thinking and

problem-solving abilities, and positive attitudes towards learning in comparison

to traditional lecture-based delivery (Anderson et al, 2005).

The effective method of teaching social constructivism incorporates collaboration and

social interaction. The theory of 'social constructivism' says that learning happens

mainly through social interaction with teachers and/or other students (Powell & Kalina,

2009). Learners develop their existing knowledge and understanding in order to achieve

deeper levels of understanding. Skilled teachers make these deeper levels of

understanding more possible by providing learning environments, opportunities,

interactions, tasks and instruction that foster deep learning (Powell & Kalina, 2009).

Active listening exercises that are effective include: Individual exercises, question and

answering exercises, immediate feedback exercises, critical thinking motivators, share

and pair exercises, and cooperative learning exercises.

By having students participate in active learning, students are responsible for their

understanding of the material. This is often done by making teachers guide instruction

rather than being a one-way source for information.

Student participation in the learning process helps increase confidence and encourages

students to accept more responsibility for their own learning. Learner engagement is

the process by which the learner makes the learning his or her own (Moustakin, 2007).

o By having an open discussion, students can learn in ways that are interesting to

them.

o Students are held responsible for their learning because they are often working

together with their classmates, thus making themselves partially responsible for

other students learning.

Activity time- finger signals

o Have all the trainees face the instructor.

o Ask a series of true/false questions about the theories of active learning.

Have the trainees hold up one finger in front of their chest if they think

the answer is true.

Have them hold up two fingers if they think the answer to the question is

false.

o Ask some multiple choice questions about the theories of active learning.

Have the trainees hold up one finger if they think the answer is A.

Have them hold up two finger if they think the answer is B.

Have them hold up three fingers if they think the answer is C.

Have them hold up four fingers if they think the answer is D.

o If, during the finger signal exercise, there is a question that a lot of people did

not get correct, go over that material again to clarify understanding.

Purpose/Effectiveness of Active Learning

There are numerous benefits that can be taken from active learning. In studies

concerning the benefits that children get from participating in games, for instance, it has

been found that students who participate in interactive games while learning had more

effective learning experiences than those who did not. This is because games engage

and stimulate multiple parts of the mind: fantasy, representation, senses, challenge,

mystery, assessment, and control, all of which contribute to these experiences (Wilson,

2009).

Studies suggest that “active learning leads to better student attitudes and

improvements in students’ thinking and writing” (Prince, 2004 p.3). If the student has a

positive experience in the classroom, they will get positive attitudes. When students are

engaged, their thinking and writing improvements increase because they are interested

in learning.

Prince (2004) also argues that “students will remember more content if brief activities

are introduced to the lecture” (P.7). This means that instead of lecturing all day,

teachers should do something fun before the lesson to get the students’ attention so

that they are engaged before the lecture.

Active learning also benefits teachers and, potentially, the surrounding community. It

benefits teachers by creating a more positive and interactive learning environment

(Olgun, 2009).

Engaging Elementary Preservice Teachers with Active Learning Teaching Methodologies,

(Olgun, 2009) is a research article published in The Teacher Educator, that focuses on

how training teachers using active learning methods increase the teacher’s overall

attitude towards teaching, specifically towards science. This study was carried out in

Turkey and compares the change in attitude towards teaching, of two different groups

of third year teachers undergoing preservice training. The control group went through a

traditional style preservice training, while the experimental group was trained using

active learning techniques.

o The study found that teachers who are trained using active learning techniques,

felt more confident about the material presented then those who were trained

using traditional methods.

It can benefit the surrounding community if active learning is community based, in that

it is equivalent to service-learning: working and putting classroom theory to practical

use while still in the process of mastering it (Hildebrand & Schultz, 2015). Thus there are

many benefits that can be taken from various forms of active learning.

Active Learning techniques can be used in the classroom with little to no materials

required

This can be accomplished in many different ways, all of which can range from very

simple to very complex. The simplest is teachers pausing to allow students the time to

reflect mentally on what has been said. The most complex is taking students on

excursions to see how classroom theory translates to the real world. In the middle are

other activities such as games and other forms of group activities (O’Neal & Pinder-

Grover, n.d.). So there are many different forms that active learning can take.

Activity time- Think/pair/share

o Have the trainees break into pairs with the person sitting next to them.

o Have them spend 6-10 minutes discussing what they have learned from this

section.

o Use some questions to guide their discussions.

Why should we use active learning in the classroom?

What are some of the benefits of using active learning in the classroom?

What part of this section makes the most sense to you?

o Allow one person from each group to stand and share their groups answers with

the rest of the group.

Examples of Active Learning Techniques

Immediate Feedback (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o These techniques are performed during the lecture.

o This allows the teacher to evaluate student understanding during the lecture.

o Teachers can focus on the material that the students are have trouble with.

Finger signals (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

Teacher asks a multiple choice, or a true-false, question.

The student then holds up the correct number of fingers in front of their

chest to show their answer.

For true-false, 1 finger = true and 2 fingers = false

For multiple choice questions, 1 finger = A, 2 fingers = B, 3 fingers = C, and

4 fingers = D

Question and answer (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o This is the traditional style of evaluating student understanding.

The teacher will ask a question and then call on a student to answer the

question.

If the student does not know the answer to the question, the teacher will

either call on another student to answer or ask for a volunteer to answer

the question.

o This method can have some disadvantages, including;

Students being singled out and embarrassed if they do not give the

correct answer.

Teachers tend to favor only a small part of the class.

After a student has answered a question they stop paying attention

because they usually don’t have to answer again.

o This method can still be effective if the teacher uses some simple techniques to get

multiple students involved.

Wait Time (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

Establish the 15 second rule, where the instructor will wait about 15 seconds

after asking a question before calling on someone to answer.

No students will be allowed to raise their hands during this time.

This allows all the students to think about their answer before being called

on.

Student summary of another student’s answer (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

After a student has answered the initial question, ask another student to

summarize their classmate’s response, in their own words.

This promotes active participation by all students and causes students to pay

more attention to their classmate’s responses.

Individual student (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o Can be used without disturbing class time.

o Provides feedback of student understanding.

o Can lead to higher retention rates.

o Allows teachers to focus on parts that are unclear.

Clearest Point

o Wait until the end of the lecture or when there is a natural break, then ask

students to identify what is the clearest point of the lecture

o Can also phrase the question “which part of the lecture makes the most sense to

you?”

o May be used with groups so more responses can be shared with the rest of the

class.

Share/pair (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o Have the students partner up with the person sitting next to them.

o This gives each person the ability to share their opinions and to hear the

opinions of their classmates.

o With this method each student must participate in the discussion and students

are often more comfortable discussing with a classmate rather than a teacher.

o This method does not require as much time as it takes to break into large groups,

and can be done without disturbing too much class time.

Ten-Two Strategy (Some basic active learning techniques, n.d.)

Teacher spends 10 minutes talking.

Allow two minutes for students to get into pairs.

Pairs can share ideas and clarify information with each other.

Think/pair/share (Some basic active learning techniques, n.d.)

Allow 6 – 8 minutes for this activity.

Students turn to their partner and summarize what they have learned.

Students can also answer a pre-determined question about the lecture.

Cooperative learning (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o Arrange students into groups of three or more.

o Students working in groups help each other learn.

o Won’t embarrass students who do not fully understand the material.

Round Table (Some basic active learning techniques, n.d.)

o Teacher asks a question.

o Students write one answer on a group paper.

Students share their answers with the rest of the class.

Critical thinking motivators (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o Have students think critically about topics being presented in the course.

o Presents students something that can be approached and engaged from multiple

perspectives.

Paradox/Puzzle (Faust & Paulson, 2016)

o Teacher presents a puzzle related to the topic of interest.

o Without help, the teacher divides the class to work in small groups to solve an

issue.

o By the end of class, everyone will be gathered to discuss their different

approaches to solving the puzzle.

o Allows students to think critically and build cooperation.

The Practice of Active Learning

Active learning in English

o One way that everyone can learn the alphabet is by drawing 26 lines on the chalk

board and each person goes up to the board and writes the next letter.

This way they will learn the alphabet and how to write the letters. And

this uses the resources that they have and includes everyone.

If there are more than 26 people in the class, they can keep starting over

so people learn writing all the letters. This way it is an interactive way to

learn with a big group and minimal supplies.

This method can be effective for students who are just starting to learn

English and need extra practice learning how to write their letters.

o Another activity that can be done for the students who already have a grasp of

their letters and are starting to learn their words is to have a group spelling bee.

In this activity split the students into small groups and inform them that

they will be one team.

Tell the first group the word you wish them to spell.

The words chosen can be very simple or more difficult, depending

on the level of the students involved.

Give the group up to a minute to discuss with each other the way they

think the word should be spelled.

The group then chooses one person to give their answer to the rest of the

class. If that group gets the answer correct they gain one point.

If the group does not answer the question correctly, they are given no

points and the next group has the opportunity to spell the word correctly.

The group with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Active Learning in History

o Road trip with historical figures

o Have the students break into large groups, with 10 to 20 kids per group

o Tell the children “We are going on a road trip, and we are going to bring our

heroes with us.”

o The first student starts off the game by saying “I am going on a road trip and I am

bringing _________ with me” (have them say a historical figures name in the

blank).

o The next student then continues the story by saying “I am going on a road trip

and I am bringing, (First students answer) and _________ with me.”

o The third student then continues the pattern by saying, “I am going on a road

trip and I am bringing, (First students answer), (Second students answer), and

_________ with me.”

o The pattern will continue until a student cannot remember the list, then the

activity will start again with student who could not remember the list starting the

next round.

Active Learning in Math

o Have the students get into groups with 4 or 5 students per group.

o Instruct the groups to imagine they are given a certain amount of money (maybe

$20 USD) and they need to go to the market and they have to spend it all.

o Then assign values to certain items that can be found in the market, some

examples might be.

Bananas cost $1 USD

Apples cost $2 USD

Bread cost $3 USD

Beef cost $5 USD

o The students will then decide as a group how many of each item they wish to

purchase so that the total cost comes out to the amount they started with.

o Then have each group share how many of each item they decided to purchase.

o This can demonstrate to the class how there are many ways to get to the same

answer and will help to strengthen their addition and subtraction skills.

Active activity- Have teachers break into groups of 3 or 4 and spend the last hour

developing at least one active learning use for in their classroom

References

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