To me an active learning environment is when you give the students time to learn the material and then have them demonstrate what they have learned through hands on exercises and /or through presenting the material to the other student in the class. I also teach in a tech school and for most of my classes I hand out a list of topics that each student get to choose from , then research the material, the present what they have learned to the class in an open discussion forum.
I teah in a medical assistant program and all of our courses are actvie learning settings...role playing while learning to Room a Patient.
An active learning environment is one in which students feel comfortable discovering, talking, writing and using what they are learning. Faculty and staff can create an active learning environment by allowing students to have more responsibilty for their learning. One of the methods I use is to have students connect the information I give them to a national or international current event and lead a discussion with other students.
Like some others I also teach in a culinary school and active learning comes with the territory but we can do more to get students engaged in the process. I have had success breaking the class into teams and giving them a goal to complete by the end of class (getting the food completed, cleaning, presenting). It is more meaningful and reflective of what they will encounter when they complete the program than just have them replicate a dish.
Several years ago I created a collaborative pre-test for the beginning of my course that consisted of fifty questions based on the first chapter of the course and some life experience questions...
It has worked so well that I have reversed the order I do my lectures and now have students complete the review questions together in class before I even discuss the topic... Completion rates and comprehension improved dramatically I have been able to reduce lecture time by half by doing this
Teaching in a class with timed projects does tend to push the students but I try to reassure them that speed often creates more work for you. Until you have had practice several times you need to focus on getting it right as opposed to beating the clock.
I agree speed should not be tought in the begaining it will be developed later on.
I would define an active learning environment as a class that allows for the student to participate in the learning and the assessment portion of the course. have the students engage and participating in the learning process is a good way to measure in real time how the student is reacting to the curriculum and the delivery. I cajn create and active learning environment by asking the students to share in the demonstartion portion of my lecture, through this the other students will see a peer doing what they will have to do and this will help in the comprehensive learning for the entire class.
Hands-on learning is what I would define as an active learning environment. Students should be doing, learning from their peers and practicing.
Teaching Dental Hygiene is routinely active. Much of technique must be taught "Tell-Show-Do". I cannot only verbally describe how instrumentation or intra-oral injections are preformed, I must also demonstrate. Very often for first time procedures, I even hold hands and guide the direction of the instrument or syringe.
by having the student to do lots of hands on activities, peer centered projects and individual projects they have to present in the class room.
Meher,
The more they do, they better they comprehend the skills. Just telling them is not enough.
Philip Campbell
I think it is good to have the student do a lot of hands on activities to help them remember and gives them a bit of control in their learning process.
I would define an active learning environment as a student guided lesson with an instructor as more of a mentor. The instructor is there to help lead the exploration into a subject area. The students can learn hands on through models, activities, videos, etc... With an active learning environment an instructor should include all the basic learning modalities and this particular method is very good for kinesthetic learners while including the visual and auditory as well.
An active learning has to involve students and their learning experiences as much as possible.
Since I teach a course called Career Development,
I engage students by getting them to question the majors that they have chosen and their plans for the future. This allows students to link their
thoughts and experiences with others in the class.
Hi
Active learning environments are premised on "real life" experiences and are most beneficial in associative learning. When an individual has knowledge of something, they can easily build on that knowledge through association between the established knowledge and the new piece of information.
I use active learning,especially in cases where there is a very complex issue. The existing knowledge is explained first and then the new information is integrated seamlessly and the outcome is usually....'oh, yes, I understand'.
One method of active learning is giving the students case studies that they have to research/reference to find the correct answers. They not only gain knowledge but learn how to interact with other students and share information. This achieves a greater confidence in the student than lecture based, memorization learning.
Rudy,
Good activity to promote interaction as a team. Valuable lessons are learned I am sure.
Philip Campbell
An active learning environment requires interactive activities. The problem with many institutions is that these resources need to be there. If we are to have labs that simulate reality lets make it as real as possible. Let get the students involved in the process of learning and get away of "let's imagine or let's pretend".
Robert,
Yes, get them involved and also let them explore on their own a little. Let them explore and see what they come up with and guide them along the way.
Philip Campbell
