Active Learning
by Beverly Grose

One very interesting and well-respected method of teaching is called Active Learning. Active Learning encourages teachers to lecture less to a classroom of passive students. Simply listening to lectures and taking notes doesn't allow the students to learn reasoning and analytical skills. When a teacher lectures, active learning proponents offer strategies for lecturing in a more interactive manner. However, listening to a lecture is not true active learning. Don't misunderstand. Students can learn much from a good lecture. However, writing is a skill that requires that students practice, and this practice is a form of active learning.

The UTD rhetoric department encourages many of the strategies of active learning. Of course, with the Learning Record Online the students are actively involved in participating in their own learning by preparing a learning portfolio. The students are also involved in activities like reading, discussion, and writing. Working in small groups is an important component of active learning.

Active learning strategies provide an opportunity for students to learn higher-level skills and to actually feel more involved in the process of learning.

Web Sites and Books

• Interview with Dr. Richard Felder
  Dr. Richard Felder, a major proponent of active learning, couldn't handle the glazed looks from his students while he lectured. He researched in the educational psychology field and started trying new teaching techniques based on his research. His students showed more interest and learned more.
• Active Learning in the Classroom
  Dr. L. Dee Fink is another proponent of Active Learning. Read his articles entitled "How to Incorporate Active Learning in your Classroom."
• How to Design Courses for Significant Learning
  Obtain a free copy of Dr. Fink's thirty-three page "Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning."
• Five Principles of Fine Teaching by Dr. L. Dee Fink
• California State University Active Learning Site
  This web site offers detailed information about active and cooperative learning with bibliographies.
• How People Learn Table of Contents
  Want to discover the latest information on how people learn? Read a few sections or all of this free e-book, How People Learn—Brain, Mind, Experience, and School by John Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney Cocking (Washington, D.C. National Academy Press, 1999.)
• Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching
  This online book, edited by Larry K. Michaelsen, Arletta B. Knight, and L. Dee Fink, describes team-based learning strategies.