Merrimack College Merrimack ScholarWorks Education Faculty Publications Education 2011 Active Learning Isabelle D. Cherney Merrimack College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/soe_facpub Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Educational Methods Commons Repository Citation Cherney, I.D. (2011). Active learning. In R. L. Miller, E. Amsel, B. M. Kowalewski, B. C. Beins, K. D. Keith, & B. F. Peden (Eds.), Promoting student engagement (Vol. 1, pp. 150-156). Retrieved from the Society for the Teaching of Psychology Web site: http://teachpsych.org/ebooks/pse2011/index.php This Book Chapter - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Education at Merrimack ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Merrimack ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Active Learning Isabelle D. Cherney Creighton University What is Active Learning? of the instruction; and (4) stimulating student interest in the course content (Feldman, 1989). The first two There is high acclaim for the benefits of active concern the organization of information and its learning in higher education (e.g., Bonwell & Eison, effective presentation and have traditionally been part 1991; Yoder & Hochevar, 2005). The peer-reviewed of a teacher's preparation. The second two deal with journal Active Learning in Higher Education and motivation and engaging students in their learning. numerous books are dedicated to this pedagogical Learning does not take place in a vacuum. approach. The “buzz” phrase refers to several models Knowledge accumulates through complex of instructions that emphasize the role and experiences that learners store in schemata - responsibility of student learning (Bonwell & Eison, structured representations that capture information 1991). Active learning developed from the work of relevant to a situation or event (Barsalou, 1992). theorists promoting discovery learning (Mayer, Schemata and categories form some of the basic 2004). During active learning, students are actively structures that underlie knowledge and memory. We (rather than passively) engaged in their learning by rely on these mental structures to encode and retrieve discovering, processing, and applying information. information. Because active learning encourages They engage in higher-order thinking tasks such as students to think more deeply about the material, that analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Bloom, 1956). is, in a more meaningful way, it is effective in Active learning derives from the assumptions that improving students’ learning (e.g., Bonwell & Eison, learning is an active endeavor and that individuals 1991; Cherney, 2008; Yoder & Hochevar, 2005). learn in different ways. However, it is important to Cognitive psychologists have shown that more note that active learning alone will not increase meaningful processing (i.e., levels of processing) of student learning, in the absence of content, reflection, information promotes better recall (e.g., Craik & or objectives. Lockhart, 1972). Elaboration of the material, which involves interpreting information, connecting it with other information, and mulling it over is an important Why is Active Learning Important? aspect of deeper encoding of information. Other techniques that strengthen encoding and that promote Why is active learning important? More deeper thinking are conscious retrieval of the discovery-oriented and student-active teaching information, practice that is distributed in time methods ensure higher student motivation, more (Smith & Kosslyn, 2007), and generation of learning at higher cognitive levels, and longer questions about the material (e.g., Carroll, 2001; retention of knowledge (Nilson, 1998). The Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2009). In addition, foundations of any discipline are its definition, distinctiveness, and information that is self- knowledge base, terminology, structure, referenced facilitate memory for course content (e.g., methodology, and epistemology. As we move from Cherney, 2008; Hartlep & Forsyth, 2000; Roediger, basic knowledge to the complex organization and Gallo, & Geraci, 2002; VanderStoep, Fagerlin, & hierarchies of information in the disciplines, we Feenstra, 2000). Because the self is an existing well- parallel the levels of Bloom's (1956) cognitive developed and well-practiced network of knowledge, taxonomy: knowledge, comprehension, application, it offers potential for both elaborative and analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Feldman (1989) organizational processing. For example, VanderStoep has shown that there are two essential tasks to foster and his colleagues (2000) found that, in a free recall student achievement: (a) to help students see the task, students tended to remember atypical events relevance and importance of the information, and (b) better. Cherney (2008) showed that students to make it understandable. In fact, the dimensions of remembered active learning materials better than teaching that are the strongest correlates of student material that was not introduced through active achievement are: (1) preparation and organization; learning across introductory and upper-level (2) clarity of communication; (3) perceived outcome 150 psychology courses. Vivid anecdotes and to identify and understand common barriers to demonstrations improved the memory for course instructional change, including the powerful content. In addition, student understanding was influence of educational tradition, faculty self- significantly enhanced when the material was perceptions and self-definition of roles, the connected to the self and real-life concrete discomfort and anxiety that change creates, and the experiences (Cherney, 2008). limited incentives for faculty to change. According to Michael (2007) the barriers fall into three categories: Learner-Centered Teaching (a) student characteristics or attributes (e.g., students do not know how to do active learning, they are unprepared or unwilling to engage in active learning), In an active learning paradigm, the instructor (b) issues directly impacting faculty (e.g., it takes too strives to optimize learning through multiple aspects much preparation, faculty have less control over the of learner-centeredness. Classes become about class, poorer evaluations, there is no reward structure, students’ learning, not about instructors’ teaching. or faculty do not know how to do it), and (c) Instructors become the facilitators of learning. pedagogical issues (e.g., classroom set-up does not Learner-centeredness shifts the responsibility to the lend itself to active learning, it takes too much class students, who in turn have to actively engage in the time, student assessment is difficult, class size, hard learning process with their instructors and peers. to predict learning outcomes or quality control). Learner-centered instructors assess the process of Changing from a teacher-centered to a learner- learning throughout and upon completion of a course. centered classroom can be difficult for both These assessments allow instructors to address any instructors and students. For instructors, the most misunderstandings or to tailor their teaching to the difficult part of the transition may be giving up students’ needs. control of the classroom — control over content, how In sum, learning is a “meaning-making” process. much time is spent on it and what is discussed. In New learning happens when we make connections addition, faculty members' efforts to employ active between existing concepts, knowledge, and learning involve risk--the risks that students will not experience. These new links can only be created by participate in the activities, that they will not use the learner. One of the challenges for instructors is to higher-order thinking, or will not learn sufficient impart knowledge of a discipline to students who content, or that faculty members will lack the have limited attention and limited prior knowledge of necessary skills, or be criticized for teaching in the concepts. Many students have not established an unconventional ways (Michael, 2007). elaborate network of structures to build upon and Although many of the faculty perceptions are create memory cues that will enhance their correct, others are not. Understanding faculty knowledge of the material. However, not all activities perceptions about the barriers to active learning in will create new knowledge. Activities that require the their classrooms is the first step in devising strategies learner to create constructs of important concepts and for helping faculty change the way they teach. then connections between these constructs are not Careful and thoughtful planning will successfully enough. Students must also think and reflect about overcome each barrier and type of risk. There are the experience. They need to explain the concepts to several ways that faculty can learn to incorporate themselves, to their peers, and to the instructor. This active learning activities in their classrooms. Many reflection is the active meaning-making process in institutions offer teaching development programs and action; it gets the students to form concepts and opportunities that provide faculty with a peer-review schemata, to improve them, to use them repeatedly, network, feedback from colleagues willing to observe and to create those long-term links that make the classes, or funding for the scholarship of