Every now and then I like to bring another voice into the classroom. The students have their say, I have my say, and the assigned reading has its say. A guest speaker can be a nice way to shake up this routine, and video now
“Enabling interaction in a large class seems an insurmountable task.” That’s the observation of a group of faculty members in the math and physics department at the University of Queensland. It’s a feeling shared by many faculty committed to active learning who face classes enrolling
Clickers have made their way into many classrooms, and unlike any number of other instructional innovations, they have already generated a plethora of research findings, almost all of them indicating the positive benefits of the use of these response systems. The study highlighted here illustrates
Endorsed but not used: that’s a nutshell summary of a study that looked at faculty use of active learning in a professional-level physiology program. The conclusion was supported by faculty and student perceptions of active learning use.
Although team teaching is often seen as too expensive these days, the benefits of this kind of teacher collaboration are unparalleled. Team teaching takes the idea of on-the-job practice to a different level by blurring the lines between our roles as teachers and learners. Team
The research methods being used to study active learning are improving. They are looking at outcomes beyond a single course at one institution. Here’s a summary of a study that explored some larger impacts.
As part of a keynote panel discussion for the Improving University Teaching Conference in Santiago, Chile (July 2013), I was asked to ponder the issue of “30 Years of Active Learning.” Active learning has a much longer history than that, but I have had 30
For many of us, learning to teach in a different way is a long and not always easy journey. Old habits die hard. Moreover, most of us are not particularly well-prepared to confront the task. We have copious amounts of content knowledge but lack great
When I introduced a new topic in class, I would often refer back to something said or discussed during a previous class period or to a reading assigned for homework. I would attempt to make connections for students so that they could link the new
Many faculty seek to encourage students to reflect—to consciously think about what they are learning and sometimes about how they are learning. Through reflective journals students often answer a set of teacher-supplied prompts. In other assignments they may be reflecting on a course activity, say
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