Additionally, active learning has been shown to decrease the achievement gap for underrepresented minorities and first generation college students ( Theobald et al, 2020).Īctive learning strategies come in many varieties, most of which can be grafted into existing courses without costly revisions. A 2014 meta-analysis of 225 research studies in STEM classes found that students in classes with active learning performed 6% better on exams than students in classes with traditional lecturing, and that students in classes with traditional lecturing were 1.5 times more likely to fail than in classes with active learning ( Freeman et al, 2014). Many of the larger scale studies on active learning have been conducted in STEM disciplines, although it reasonable to expect that the benefits of active learning extend to any field. It creates a low bar to participation for quiet or passive students by encouraging every student to think and do. By grappling with ideas, students connect new concepts to prior knowledge in meaningful ways and construct their own understanding.Ĭollaborating with classmates promotes community and connection between students, which can enhance a sense of belonging as well as motivation. It helps students gauge their own understanding. It provides instructors with feedback about what students are learning. Furthermore, even small classes can increase student engagement beyond what might occur in a full group discussion by varying the instructional approaches and including small group discussions and activities.Īctive learning is valuable for a variety of reasons: Nonetheless, even large classes-including classes that meet in lecture halls with fixed seats-can incorporate a variety of activities that encourage students to talk with each other, work in small groups on an activity, or respond to a question through in-class writing or polling. Instructors can employ active learning in classes of any size, although certain activities may be better suited for smaller classes than large lecture halls. Active learning commonly includes collaboration between students in pairs or larger groups, but independent activities that involve reflection or writing-like quick-writes, or real-time polling in lectures-are also valuable. As examples, students might talk to a classmate about a challenging question, respond to an in-class prompt in writing, make a prediction about an experiment, or apply knowledge from a reading to a case study. Active learning includes any type of instructional activity that engages students in learning, beyond listening, reading, and memorizing.
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