Active Learning

Meyers and Jones (1993) define active learning as learning environments that allow students
to talk and listen, read, write, and reflect as they approach course content through problem-
solving exercises, informal small groups, simulations, case studies, role playing, and other
activities -- all of which require students to apply what they are learning. Many studies show
that learning is enhanced when students become actively involved in the learning process.
Instructional strategies that engage students in the learning process stimulate critical thinking
and a greater awareness of other perspectives. Although there are times when lecturing is
the most appropriate method for disseminating information, current thinking in college
teaching and learning suggests that the use of a variety of instructional strategies can
positively enhance student learning. Obviously, teaching strategies should be carefully
matched to the teaching objectives of a particular lesson.

The knowledge is categorised into Pedagogical, Content and Technical as follows.

Content knowledge (CK) is knowledge about the actual subject matter that is to be learned
or taught. The content to be covered in high school social studies or algebra is very different
from the content to be covered in a graduate course on computer science or art history.
Clearly, teachers must know and understand the subjects that they teach, including
knowledge of central facts, concepts, theories, and procedures within a given field;
knowledge of explanatory frameworks that organize and connect ideas; and knowledge of
the rules of evidence and proof. Teachers must also understand the nature of knowledge and
inquiry in different fields. For example, how is a proof in mathematics different from a
historical explanation or a literary interpretation? Teachers who do not have these
understandings can misrepresent those subjects to their students.
Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is deep knowledge about the processes and practices or
methods of teaching and learning and how it encompasses, among other things, overall
educational purposes, values, and aims. This is a generic form of knowledge that is involved
in all issues of student learning, classroom management, lesson plan development and
implementation, and student evaluation. It includes knowledge about techniques or methods
to be used in the classroom; the nature of the target audience; and strategies for evaluating
student understanding. A teacher with deep pedagogical knowledge understands how
students construct knowledge, acquire skills, and develop habits of mind and positive
dispositions toward learning. As such, pedagogical knowledge requires an understanding of
cognitive, social, and developmental theories of learning and how they apply to students in
their classroom.
Technology knowledge (TK) is knowledge about standard technologies, such as books, chalk
and blackboard, and more advanced technologies, such as the Internet and digital video. This
involves the skills required to operate particular technologies. In the case of digital
technologies, this includes knowledge of operating systems and computer hardware, and the
ability to use standard sets of software tools such as word processors, spreadsheets,
browsers, and e-mail. TK includes knowledge of how to install and remove peripheral devices,
install and remove software programs, and create and archive documents. Most standard
technology workshops and tutorials tend to focus on the acquisition of such skills. Since
technology is continually changing, the nature of TK needs to shift with time as well. For
instance, many of the examples given above (operating systems, word processors, browsers,
etc.) will surely change, and maybe even disappear, in the years to come. The ability to learn
and adapt to new technologies (irrespective of what the specific technologies are) will still be
important.
Other pedagogical techniques

1. Crossover Learning

Learning in informal settings, such as museums and after-school clubs, can link educational
content with issues that matter to learners in their lives. These connections work in both
directions. Learning in schools and colleges can be enriched by experiences from everyday
life; informal learning can be deepened by adding questions and knowledge from the
classroom. These connected experiences spark further interest and motivation to learn.

An effective method is for a teacher to propose and discuss a question in the classroom, then
for learners to explore that question on a museum visit or field trip, collecting photos or notes
as evidence, then share their findings back in the class to produce individual or group answers.

These crossover learning experiences exploit the strengths of both environments and provide
learners with authentic and engaging opportunities for learning. Since learning occurs over a
lifetime, drawing on experiences across multiple settings, the wider opportunity is to support
learners in recording, linking, recalling and sharing their diverse learning events.

2. Learning Through Argumentation

Students can advance their understanding of science and mathematics by arguing in ways
similar to professional scientists and mathematicians. Argumentation helps students attend
to contrasting ideas, which can deepen their learning. It makes technical reasoning public, for
all to learn. It also allows students to refine ideas with others, so they learn how scientists
work together to establish or refute claims.

Teachers can spark meaningful discussion in classrooms by encouraging students to ask open-
ended questions, re-state remarks in more scientific language, and develop and use models
to construct explanations. When students argue in scientific ways, they learn how to take
turns, listen actively, and respond constructively to others. Professional development can
help teachers to learn these strategies and overcome challenges, such as how to share their
intellectual expertise with students appropriately.

3. Incidental Learning

Incidental learning is unplanned or unintentional learning. It may occur while carrying out an
activity that is seemingly unrelated to what is learned. Early research on this topic dealt with
how people learn in their daily routines at their workplaces.

For many people, mobile devices have been integrated into their daily lives, providing many
opportunities for technology-supported incidental learning. Unlike formal education,
incidental learning is not led by a teacher, nor does it follow a structured curriculum, or result
in formal certification.

4. Context-Based Learning

Context enables us to learn from experience. By interpreting new information in the context
of where and when it occurs and relating it to what we already know, we come to understand
its relevance and meaning. In a classroom or lecture theater, the context is typically confined
to a fixed space and limited time. Beyond the classroom, learning can come from an enriched
context such as visiting a heritage site or museum, or being immersed in a good book.
We have opportunities to create context, by interacting with our surroundings, holding
conversations, making notes, and modifying nearby objects. We can also come to understand
context by exploring the world around us, supported by guides and measuring instruments.
It follows that to design effective sites for learning, at schools, museums and websites,
requires a deep understanding of how context shapes and is shaped by the process of
learning.

5. Computational Thinking

Computational thinking is a powerful approach to thinking and problem solving. It involves

breaking large problems down into smaller ones (decomposition), recognizing how these
relate to problems that have been solved in the past (pattern recognition), setting aside
unimportant details (abstraction), identifying and developing the steps that will be necessary
to reach a solution (algorithms) and refining these steps (debugging).

Such computational thinking skills can be valuable in many aspects of life, ranging from
writing a recipe to share a favorite dish with friends, through planning a holiday or expedition,
to deploying a scientific team to tackle a difficult challenge like an outbreak of disease.

The aim is to teach children to structure problems so they can be solved. Computational
thinking can be taught as part of mathematics, science and art or in other settings. The aim is
not just to encourage children to be computer coders, but also to master an art of thinking
that will enable them to tackle complex challenges in all aspects of their lives.
6. Learning by Doing Science (with remote labs)

Engaging with authentic scientific tools and practices such as controlling remote laboratory
experiments or telescopes can build science inquiry skills, improve conceptual understanding,
and increase motivation. Remote access to specialized equipment, first developed for
scientists and university students, is now expanding to trainee teachers and school students.
A remote lab typically consists of apparatus or equipment, robotic arms to operate it, and
cameras that provide views of the experiments as they unfold.
Remote lab systems can reduce barriers to participation by providing user-friendly Web
interfaces, curriculum materials, and professional development for teachers.

With appropriate support, access to remote labs can deepen understanding for teachers and
students by offering hands-on investigations and opportunities for direct-observation that
complement textbook learning. Access to remote labs can also bring such experiences into
the school classroom. For example, students can use a high-quality, distant telescope to make
observations of the night sky during daytime school science classes.

7. Embodied Learning

Embodied learning involves self-awareness of the body interacting with a real or simulated
world to support the learning process. When learning a new sport, physical movement is an
obvious part of the learning process. In embodied learning, the aim is that mind and body
work together so that physical feedback and actions reinforce the learning process.

Technology to aid this includes wearable sensors that gather personal physical and biological
data, visual systems that track movement, and mobile devices that respond to actions such
as tilting and motion. This approach can be applied to the exploration of aspects of physical
sciences such as friction, acceleration, and force, or to investigate simulated situations such
as the structure of molecules.

For more general learning, the process of physical action provides a way to engage learners
in feeling as they learn. Being more aware of how one’s body interacts with the world can
also support the development of a mindful approach to learning and well-being.

8. Adaptive Teaching

All learners are different. However, most educational presentations and materials are the
same for all. This creates a learning problem, by putting a burden on the learner to figure out
how to engage with the content. It means that some learners will be bored, others will be
lost, and very few are likely to discover paths through the content that result in optimal
learning. Adaptive teaching offers a solution to this problem. It uses data about a learner’s
previous and current learning to create a personalized path through educational content.

Adaptive teaching systems recommend the best places to start new content and when to
review old content. They also provide various tools for monitoring one’s progress. They build
on longstanding learning practices, such as textbook reading, and add a layer of computer-
guided support.
Data such as time spent reading and self-assessment scores can form a basis for guiding each
learner through educational materials. Adaptive teaching can either be applied to classroom
activities or in online environments where learners control their own pace of study.

9. Analytics of Emotions

Automated methods of eye tracking and facial recognition can analyze how students learn,
then respond differently to their emotional and cognitive states. Typical cognitive aspects of
learning include whether students have answered a question and how they explain their
knowledge. Non-cognitive aspects include whether a student is frustrated, confused, or
distracted.

More generally, students have mindsets (such as seeing their brain as fixed or malleable),
strategies (such as reflecting on learning, seeking help and planning how to learn), and
qualities of engagement (such as tenacity) which deeply affect how they learn.

For classroom teaching, a promising approach is to combine computer-based systems for

cognitive tutoring with the expertise of human teachers in responding to students’ emotions
and dispositions, so that teaching can become more responsive to the whole learner.

10. Stealth Assessment

The automatic data collection that goes on in the background when students work with rich
digital environments can be applied to unobtrusive, ‘stealth’, assessment of their learning
processes.

Stealth assessment borrows techniques from online role-playing games such as World of
Warcraft, in which the system continually collects data about players’ actions, making
inferences about their goals and strategies in order to present appropriate new challenges.
This idea of embedding assessment into a simulated learning environment is now being
extended to schools, in topics such as science and history, as well as to adult education.

The claim is that stealth assessment can test hard-to-measure aspects of learning such as
perseverance, creativity, and strategic thinking. It can also collect information about students’
learning states and processes without asking them to stop and take an examination. In
principle, stealth assessment techniques could provide teachers with continual data on how
each learner is progressing.
11. An Asynchronous Learning Network (ALN) – Virtual Class Room
ALN uses the World Wide Web and the Internet to deliver courses, with an emphasis on
student-student as well as student- teacher interaction. Asynchronous ("anytime," rather
than same time) online interaction leads to different paradigms for teaching and learning,
as compared to teaching in a traditional classroom, with both unique problems of
coordination and unique opportunities to support active, collaborative (group or team-
based) learning.

 The cognitive aspect of instruction deals with mental processes pertaining to

perception, learning, information storage, memory, thinking, and problem
solving. We looked for changes that occurred in instructors' cognitive
processing because the communication medium changes in ALN from oral
to written and because the need for increased course planning in ALN
suggests that there is less spontaneity and more formality in instruction.
Those processes that were discussed in the interview relate to learning,
information storage, and thinking. The thinking, reasoning and analysing
processes deal with the mental manipulation of information. Instructors
mentioned that using ALN helped extend a students' ability to analyse
information because instructors could easily guide students to other
sources of information on the Web to assist in their analyses.
 Affective Roles – in carrying out tasks related to ALN pedagogy, one
instructor role deals with the affective domain. The affective role includes
instructor behaviour related to influencing student's relationships with the
instructor and with other students and the virtual classroom atmosphere.
We were particularly interested in learning how faculty were coping with this
computer-mediated communication channel, which remains impoverished
with respect to emotional expression. Faculty reported in their interviews that
their affective role changed in terms of nonverbal communication, intimacy,
and energy/humour.
 Managerial Roles – one of the roles filled in carrying out tasks related to
pedagogy deals with class and course management. This role includes
instructor behaviour related to course planning, organizing, leading, and
controlling. Course planning deals with the effort involved in getting the
course online. Organizing deals with establishing relationships between the
instructor and others in administration, between students and the instructor,
and among students so that course goals can be achieved. Leading deals with
instructor behaviours that reflect motivation and coordination of students and
controlling deals with monitoring and evaluating student learning outcomes.

12.Blended learning
Blended Learning is an effective strategy for utilizing your expert’s knowledge in a highly
targeted manner. Using this strategy, you have a portion of your course delivered in real time
either in a classroom environment or via a live distance learning portal, and a portion of your
course via an asynchronous course model via an LMS (typically via learning objects, discussion
forums, and online assessments). Your employees can take basic and intermediate level
courses through the online course portal in their own time and at their own pace. For more
complex or hands on experiences you can have an expert deliver training face-to-face, on site,
or virtual via a synchronous platform (WebEx, Go2Meeting, Connect, etc…).
13. Interactive tutorial based training
This is the most typical method of training. In a highly interactive environment basic and
intermediate skills and knowledge can be presented in an effective manner that can be
assessed and tracked as training materials are presented. This is typically launched via an LMS
and packaged as a SCORM object or xAPI object.
14. Simulation based training
Simulation based training allows users to learn how to operate expensive machinery or work
with complex computer software in a safe and easy to work in environment. It provides its
end users a method of experimenting and learning in an environment that does not have
severe or dangerous consequences if they make a mistake – all the while tracking their
performance and educating them on best practices.
15. Case based training
Case based learning is an excellent method of training your users utilizing real world case
studies that the learners work through throughout their course. This provides your learners
a situated experience in the course that is similar to challenges they will face on the job. Case
based learning forces users to analyse their decisions in an environment that provides
feedback that helps them get to the next step in the learning environment. Case based
learning is often used in Harvard Business school as a method of helping students understand
the impact of workplace decisions that are made in the work environment.
16. Problem based training
Problem-based training emphasizes learning as a process that involves problem solving and
critical thinking in situated contexts. It provides opportunities to address broader learning
goals that focus on preparing workers for active and responsible roles within their jobs.
Learners gain experience in tackling realistic problems, and emphasis is placed on using
communication, cooperation, and resources to formulate ideas and develop reasoning skills
all the while tackling real problems faced in the workplace.

17. Video Demonstrations

Using a webcam, record a demonstration relevant to your topic and post it to YouTube.
18. Student Videos
Student projects, presentations, or speeches can take the form of video instead of
PowerPoint, and uploaded for the class to see.
19. Closed Eyes Method
To prevent students at home from “reading” presentations (such as poem recitations) that
were supposed to be memorized for YouTube upload, require them to give the performance
with their eyes closed.
20. Interactive Video Quizzes
Using annotations (text boxes) and making them hyperlinks to other uploaded videos,
instructors can construct an on-screen “multiple choice” test leading to differentiated video
reactions, depending on how the student answers. Requires filming multiple videos and some
editing work.
21. Movie Clips
Show brief segments of popular movies to illustrate a point, start a conversation, have
students hunt for what the movie gets wrong, etc.
22. Embed into PowerPoint
YouTube videos can be embedded into PPT as long as there is an active Internet connection;
save the PPT after recording audio as file type “Windows Media Video” and upload to
YouTube.

23. Shared Account

Instructor creates a generic YouTube username/account and gives the password to everyone
in the class, so student uploads all go to the same place.
24. Flipped Classroom
A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses
the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside
of the classroom. It moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been
considered homework, into the classroom. In a flipped classroom, students watch online
lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home while engaging in
concepts in the classroom with the guidance of a mentor.

25. Role Play

Role-play is a technique that allows students to explore realistic situations by interacting with
other people in a managed way in order to develop experience and trial different strategies
in a supported environment. In which people spontaneously act-out problems of human
relations and analyse the enactment with the help of other role players and observers.

26. Think-Pair-Share
The teacher decides upon the text to be read and develops the set of questions or prompts
that target key content concepts. The teacher then describes the purpose of the strategy and
provides guidelines for discussions. As with all strategy instruction, teachers should model the
procedure to ensure that students understand how to use the strategy. Teachers should
monitor and support students as they work.
T : (Think) Teachers begin by asking a specific question about the text. Students "think"
about what they know or have learned about the topic.
P : (Pair) Each student should be paired with another student or a small group.
S : (Share) Students share their thinking with their partner. Teachers expand the "share"
into a whole-class discussion.
27. Jigsaw
The Jigsaw Method is a teaching strategy of organizing student group work that helps
students collaborate and rely on one another. This teaching strategy is effective for
accomplishing multiple tasks at once and for giving students a greater sense of individual
responsibility. Here is the basic way this popular teaching strategy is used in classrooms:

 Students are broken down into groups.

 Each student within the group is assigned a specific role or task.
 As the group works, students contribute their role/task to the group’s overall efforts.

28. One-Minute Paper

A “one-minute paper” may be defined as a very short, in-class writing activity (taking one-
minute or less to complete) in response to an instructor-posed question, which prompts
students to reflect on the day’s lesson and provides the instructor with useful feedback. This
strategy was originally developed by a Physics professor at the University of California,
Berkeley (cited in Davis, Wood, & Wilson, 1983), then popularized by Cross and Angelo (1988)
as one of a wide variety of quick “classroom assessment techniques” (CATs)—designed to
provide instructors with anonymous feedback on what students are learning in class. For
example, students write a one-minute paper in response to such questions as, “What was the
most important concept you learned in class today? Or, “What was the ‘muddiest’ or most
confusing concept covered in today’s class?”.

29. Extempore
"Extempore" or "ex tempore" refers to a stage or theatre performance that is carried out
without preparation or forethought. Most often the term is used in the context of speech,
singing and stage acting. You probably prepare without even knowing it. You have to read to
learn new things for this type of speaking. When doing extempore speaking, you need to use
the knowledge that you have and use a strong delivery.
It may be for anything - a radio interview, a teacher trying to get you to speak up in class, or
even in a casual debate. It happens more often than most people would think. The words we
speak are chosen at the point of delivery and they flow back and forth, with communication
being two-way, three-way or four-way. It is all done without any preparation. The key to
extempore speaking is that the words spoken are chosen as we speak them, and what is
delivered is a stream of consciousness that is fluent, erudite and articulate, while being
unscripted. Effective extempore speaking always has the purpose of the presentation and the
impact on the audience at its heart.
30. Social Media Blending

There are many ways to integrate social media into the classroom setting. By integrating
social media, students can show mastery of content through a variety of digital tools such as
blogging, Skype, Edmodo or video conferencing. Classmates have the option to constantly
share knowledge and interact with each other well beyond the hours spent in the classroom
and online discussions can become engaging.

References
1. https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/10-innovative-learning-
strategies-for-modern-pedagogy/
2. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.523.3855&rep=rep1&typ
e=pdf
3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/NW_Coppola/publication/220591836_Becom
ing_a_Virtual_Professor_Pedagogical_Roles_and_Asynchronous_Learning_Networks
/links/56f00bc008ae01ae3e70ef44/Becoming-a-Virtual-Professor-Pedagogical-Roles-
and-Asynchronous-Learning-Networks.pdf
4. https://rejimaruthora.blogspot.com/2016/08/techno-
pedagogy.html?showComment=1547557292275#c4488091503806027224
5. http://samookhyasamanwaya.blogspot.com/2014/08/techno-pedagogy.html
6. https://www.docebo.com/blog/5-pedagogical-techniques-elearning-success/
7. https://www.usf.edu/atle/documents/handout-interactive-techniques.pdf
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki