Dayna Doskocil

Critical thinking skills are difficult for students who are used to the "sit and get" method of teaching.  Having students work together or by themselves on tasks and projects give students more opportunities to think critically and use their knowledge in new ways.  I have give my students models to analysis in small groups and provided some guiding questions to help them better understand the concepts being learned,  Students much discuss their findings and understandings before they move on to the next model or question.  This gives them practice with analyzing and thinking about their results and ideas in a… >>>

Incorporating active learning strategies doesn't have to time intensive or high risk.  Start small with purposeful low-risk activities like discussion boards or breakout groups.  You can build in the trust of the students as they are successful in small ways by giving timely feedback and encouraging their engagement.  As students and instructors before more comfortable with active learning, more high-stakes projects can be used.

The limitations of active learning boil down to by-in.  Both the instructor and the students have to by-in the process for it to be successful.  Some instructors have trouble letting go of the "control" they have over students' learning.  Some students believe that the instructor isn't "teaching" them when they are required to guide their own learning.  I have found that explaining to students the science of why we do the activities and discussions has helped my students by-in to the things we do both in class and online.

Active learning means that student are engaged in the class work and discussions.  It is more student-centered than teacher-centered.  The instructor is there to guide and facilitate rather than be a sage-on-the-stage presence.  In my own practice, I have students answer questions in chat, discuss together in small breakout rooms, and online whiteboards that allow students to show their thinking and see the thinking of others.