Teacher Training Session Plan: Active Learning

Domain Attitude / Knowledge Duration: 90 minutes

Session Type Teaching skills Rooms required: 1 large room
Outcomes Trainees will have planned to include an active learning activity in a lesson
Preparation Print texts – Active learning; Active Learning Leads to Higher Grades and Fewer
Failing Students; Active Learning
STAGE & AIM PROCEDURE MATERIALS /
ALTERNATIVES
LEAD-IN  Trainees are read statements about learning. They stand on Alternative: show the
What: Activates a spectrum (agree to disagree) and then speak to someone statements on a
trainees’ schemata standing near them about their opinion PowerPoint so trainees
before reading task  Trainer then leads a short discussion on each point can read these
AND have trainees  Ask trainees to consider to what extent do they agree /
reflect on their disagree that: Alternative: instead of
opinions o Students learn better when they are engaged / interested speaking to someone
How: Demonstrate o Discussing what you learn helps you to remember better near them trainees can
an example of a o Students can only concentrate for around 10 minutes at a speak to someone far
discussion as a time away from them (with a
warmer REFLECTION: trainees consider how it felt to discuss the topic different opinion)
and give their opinions. Elicit from trainees the aim of the activity
(to activate schemata before the reading task).
INPUT  Trainees are put into three groups Extension: Trainees that
What: Trainees are  Each group is given a reading related to active learning finish reading early
given input on active  Trainees are told to read and take notes and prepare to should compare their
learning. explain what they read to another group notes with someone else
How: trainees read  Trainees read the articles. in their group.
and then share with  Trainees mingle and ask each other Alternative: send
each other o What were the main points from their reading trainees the links to the
o What did the reader agree / disagree with articles (above)
 REFLECTION: trainees consider the advantages and
disadvantages of the activity. Trainees consider the how they
could have more effectively have taught the material to their
partners
ACTIVATE  Trainees go into small groups Alternative: If there’s
What: Trainees  Trainees pick an active learning activity and plan how they enough time trainees can
consider how to use could use this in one of their classes demonstrate their activity
active learning in one  Trainees present their plan for which activity they would use to the rest of the group
of their own classes in which class and why Alternative: big groups
How: Trainees  Trainer gives feedback on presentation and suggests trainees can send their
consider how to use alternatives, etc. ideas to mentimeter
what they learned
REFLECTION  Ask trainees to consider Alternative: trainees can
What: reflect on the a) Which of the activities in the training could they steal and play a game (also from
process of the use in their own classes active learning!) like back
training b) What language practice could these activities give to the board to review the
How: think-pair- students (e.g. practice reading and then explaining main concepts from the
share overall concept, or formulating an opinion on something training session
and speaking about it)?
c) Why the training session included examples of different
types of task (i.e. what are the benefits of loop input /
experiential learning)?
 Trainees share their answers with a partner, then with the
whole group
Active Learning?
What is active learning?
- Active learning is "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are
doing" (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p. 2).
- Felder & Brent (2009) define active learning as "anything course-related that all students in a class session
are called upon to do other than simply watching, listening and taking notes" (p. 2).
- Active learning strategies can be as short as a few minutes long.
- Active learning techniques can be integrated into a lecture or any other classroom setting relatively easily.
Even large classrooms can involve learning activities beyond the traditional lecture format.

Why incorporate active learning techniques?

Research suggests that audience attention in lectures starts to wane every 10-20 minutes. Incorporating active
learning techniques once or twice during a 50-minute class (twice to or thrice for a 75-minute class) will
encourage student engagement. Active learning also:
- Reinforces important material, concepts, and skills.
- Provides more frequent and immediate feedback to students.
- Addresses different student learning styles.
- Provides students with an opportunity to think about, talk about, and process course material.
- Creates personal connections to the material for students, which increases their motivation to learn.
- Allows students to practice important skills, such as collaboration, through pair and group work.
- Builds self-esteem through conversations with other students.

How can you cover the content when using active learning?
Consider what students can do outside of class to more effectively prepare for in-class activities:
- Incorporate pre-class reading assignments.
- Assign videos for students to watch and answer questions about.
- Require students to complete pre-class quizzes (to ensure that students have read the material) online.

How can you incorporate active learning into various classroom settings?
- Become familiar with a few active learning techniques like "classroom discussion" and "think-pair-share"
- Choose one or two techniques and modify them so that they address learning goals in your class.
- When implementing active learning techniques, follow these general steps:
o Use activities to draw attention to issues and content you feel are most critical.
o Establish rules of conduct and civility to encourage appropriate participation.
o Introduce the activity and explain the learning benefit to the students
o Control the time cost by giving students a time limit to complete the task.
o Stop the activity and debrief. Call on a few students or groups of students to share their thoughts
and tie them in to the next steps of your lecture.
o Consider using classroom response technologies, video clips and smartphones

What are some considerations for integrating active learning techniques?

Implementing any new teaching technique can be a daunting or challenging task.
- Start small. Choose one simple technique to try in one class.
- Think about how you will facilitate the process each step of the way. How will you introduce the activity? Do
you need to provide visual aids with directions? How much time will you give students? How will you
debrief? Smaller groups may be easier to manage than larger ones.
- Consider the logistics of getting a large group of students back on track after an activity. Clap your hands
or flash the lights to get students to stop and refocus their attention on you.

Some students may not accept new learning activities with complete ease. Rather than trying to engage all
students, focus on engaging more students in more meaningful ways.
- Again, start small. Integrating many active learning techniques in one session may irritate students and
discourage their participation. Explain the benefits for using active learning techniques and connect the
activity to student learning outcomes for the class.
- Use a quick icebreaker or two early in the term to help students become comfortable with one another and
to set expectations for an interactive class.
Types of Active Learning Activities
 A class discussion may be held in person or in an online environment. Discussions can be conducted with any
class size, although it is typically more effective in smaller group settings. This environment allows for instructor
guidance of the learning experience. Discussion requires the learners to think critically on the subject matter and
use logic to evaluate their and others' positions. As learners are expected to discuss material constructively and
intelligently, a discussion is a good follow-up activity given the unit has been sufficiently covered
already.[20] Some of the benefits of using discussion as a method of learning are that it helps students explore a
diversity of perspectives, it increases intellectual agility, it shows respect for students’ voices and experiences, it
develops habits of collaborative learning, it helps students develop skills of synthesis and integration (Brookfield
2005). In addition, by having the teacher actively engage with the students, it allows for them to come to class
better prepared and aware of what is taking place in the classroom.[21]

 A think-pair-share activity is when learners take a minute to ponder the previous lesson, later to discuss it with
one or more of their peers, finally to share it with the class as part of a formal discussion. It is during this formal
discussion that the instructor should clarify misconceptions. However students need a background in the subject
matter to converse in a meaningful way. Therefore, a "think-pair-share" exercise is useful in situations where
learners can identify and relate what they already know to others. So preparation is key. Prepare learners with
sound instruction before expecting them to discuss it on their own. If properly implemented, it saves instructor
time, keeps students prepared, helps students to get more involved in class discussion and participation and
provide cumulative assessment of student progress. The "think-pair-share" method is useful for teachers to hear
from all students even those who are quiet in class. This teaching method functions as a great way for all the
students in the class to get involved and learn to work together and feel comfortable sharing ideas. It can also
help teachers or instructors to observe students and see if they understand the material being discussed.[22] This
is not a good strategy to use in large classes because of time and logistical constraints (Bonwell and Eison,
1991). Think-pair-share is helpful for the instructor as it enables organizing content and tracking students on
where they are relative to the topic being discussed in class, saves time so that he/she can move to other
topics, helps to make the class more interactive, provides opportunities for students to interact with each other
(Radhakrishna, Ewing, and Chikthimmah, 2012).

 A collaborative learning group is a successful way to learn different material for different classes. It is where
you assign students in groups of 3-6 people and they are given an assignment or task to work on together. This
assignment could be either to answer a question to present to the entire class or a project. Make sure that the
students in the group choose a leader and a note-taker to keep them on track with the process. This is a good
example of active learning because it causes the students to review the work that is being required at an earlier
time to participate. (McKinney, Kathleen. (2010). Active Learning. Normal, IL. Center for Teaching, Learning &
Technology.) To create participation and draw on the wisdom of all the learners the classroom arrangement
needs to be flexible seating to allow for the creation of small groups. (Bens, 2005)

 A student debate is an active way for students to learn because they allow students the chance to take a
position and gather information to support their view and explain it to others. These debates not only give the
student a chance to participate in a fun activity but it also lets them gain some experience with giving a verbal
presentation. (McKinney, Kathleen. (2010). Active Learning. Normal, IL. Center for Teaching, Learning &
Technology.)

 A class game is also considered an energetic way to learn because it not only helps the students to review the
course material before a big exam but it helps them to enjoy learning about a topic. Different games such as
Jeopardy! and crossword puzzles always seem to get the students' minds going. (McKinney, Kathleen. (2010).
Active Learning. Normal, IL. Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology.)

 Learning By Teaching is also an example of active learning because students actively research a topic and
prepare the information so that they can teach it to the class. This helps students learn their own topic even
better and sometimes students learn and communicate better with their peers than their teachers.

 Gallery Walk is also an example of active learning where students in groups move around the classroom or
workshop actively engaging in discussions and contributing to other groups and finally constructing knowledge
on a topic and sharing it.
Active Learning Leads To Higher Grades
Think back to when you learned how to ride a bike. You probably didn’t master this skill by listening to a series
of riveting lectures on bike riding. Instead, you tried it out for yourself, made mistakes, fell down a few times,
picked yourself back up, and tried again. When mastering an activity, there’s no substitute for the interaction
and feedback that comes from practice.

What if classroom learning was a little more active? Would university instruction be more effective if students
spent some of their class time on active forms of learning like activities, discussions, or group work, instead of
spending all of their class time listening?

A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences addressed this question by conducting
the largest and most comprehensive review of the effect of active learning on STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics) education. Their answer is a resounding yes. According to Scott Freeman, one
of the authors of the new study, “The impact of these data should be like the Surgeon General’s report on
“Smoking and Health” in 1964–they should put to rest any debate about whether active learning is more
effective than lecturing.”

Active learning engages students in the process of learning through activities and/or discussion in class, as
opposed to passively listening to an expert. It emphasizes higher-order thinking and often involves group work.

They then searched for classroom experiments where students in a STEM class were divided into two groups
– one group engaged in some form of active learning, while the other group participated in a traditional lecture.
At the end of the class, both groups took essentially identical exams.

The authors looked at studies where both groups were taught by the same instructor and the students were
assigned at random to each group, as well as less ideal experimental conditions, where the instructors differed,
or the students weren’t assigned to groups at random. They evaluated the performance of these studies using
two metrics – their scores on identical exams, and the percentage of students that failed (receiving a D, F or
withdrawing from the class). In all, they identified 228 studies matching their criteria, to analyze further.

Here’s what they found.

1. Students in a traditional lecture course are 1.5 times more likely to fail, compared to students in courses with
active learning
2. Students in active learning classes outperform those in traditional lectures on identical exams

I asked Scott Freeman whether star lectures with strong teaching evaluations should be interested in these
findings as well. He responded,

“Most of the studies we analyzed were based on data from identical instructors teaching active learning v
lecturing sections; some studies (e.g. Van Heuvelen in Am. J. Physics; Deslauriers et al. in Science) have
purposely matched award-winning lecturers with inexperienced teachers who do active learning and found that
the students did worse when given “brilliant lectures.” We’ve yet to see any evidence that celebrated lecturers
can help students more than even 1st-generation active learning does.”

I’ll leave the last word with Scott, who makes a strong case for active learning.

“[Under active learning,] students learn more, which means we’re doing our job better. They get higher grades
and fail less, meaning that they are more likely to stay in STEM majors, which should help solve a major
national problem. Finally, there is a strong ethical component. There is a growing body of evidence showing
that active learning differentially benefits students of color and/or students from disadvantaged backgrounds
and/or women in male-dominated fields. It’s not a stretch to claim that lecturing actively discriminates against
underrepresented students.”