Making Your Head Explodeand Other Classroom Delights:

The Importance of Active Learning

Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr.

Outline for My Presentation

• Why active learning is important • Why instructors don’t use active learning• Components of active learning• Types of active learning• Resources for active learning.

Classroom Realities

• Professors like to profess• Regardless of class size, the dominant teaching

activity is the lecture• Active learning often requires more work than

preparing a lecture.

Active Learning: A Definition

Active learning comprises an array of learning situations in and out of the classroom in which students enjoy hands on and “minds-on” experiences.

Students learn through active participation in simulations, demonstrations, discussions, debates, games, problem solving, experiments, and writing exercises.

Why Go To College?

College should change the individual

And that change should be positive.

Responsibilities Toward My Students

• Expose them to a world they do not know• Improve their thinking skills• Improve their ability to express themselves• Help them evaluate information quality• Convince them that learning is a life-long

activity.

“To Do List” for Each Day

1. Think2. Think3. Think...

Critical Thinking

• What is it that you are being asked to believe?• What evidence are you given to support that

claim?• What thoughts do you have about alternative

explanations for the claim?• How would you seek to verify or refute your

alternative explanations?

Claim

I am a psychic.

Claim

There is no such thing as proof in science.

Consider the Following Number Sequence

2 4 6

The Nature of Proof

• Mathematical and logical proofs are final• Scientific “truths” are provisional• Scientific theories have some measure of

accepted validity until a better theory is introduced

• No scientific knowledge is final.

Why Active Learning is Important

• Gets students out of their passive mode of learning

• Increases student involvement in class• Increases cognitive demands made on students• Fosters elaboration of meaning, enhancement

of context, and the processing of information at different levels

• Improves critical thinking skills.

And Other Reasons ...

• Improve communication skills• Increase intrinsic motivation• Promote lifelong learning• Allows faculty to monitor the process and

progress of learning more closely• Can accommodate different learning

preferences• Can improve student satisfaction with courses.

Activity

Divide the Class in Halves

In a moment I am going to read you a list of words, but first I want to

give you some instructions.

Count or estimate the number of vowels in each

word that I will read to you.

As I read each word, rate the word on a 1-5 scale (with 5 being best) in terms of its value to you if you were

stranded on a desert island.

Now, the words

Staying with Memory for a Few Minutes

Alan Baddeley’s work on working memory

Two tasks

One More Memory Activity

All Purpose Memory Demonstration

(primacy, recency, frequency, semantic distinctiveness, chunking, constructive memory)

And One Final Memory Demo

Does frequent exposure to something, that is, repeated experiences with something, ensure that we will remember it well?

I want to ask you some questions about a U. S.

penny

Why Instructors Don’t Use Active Learning

• They believe they are already using it• They are uncertain about how to do it• They fear that things will likely go wrong• They believe that active learning is gimmicky• Active learning activities take up too much

class time and too much time to prepare.

And Other Reasons...

• Activities are too expensive (equipment intensive)

• Instructor control of the class is reduced• Does not fit their teaching style• The effort will not be sufficiently rewarded• Lecturing is easier.

Components of Active Learning• Active participation by the students• Ideally involves all students in the class• Students clearly understand the relevance of

the activity to the subject matter at hand• Should stimulate learning at higher levels• Activities vary in the time they require• Involves clear feedback to the students• Some activities should be student-generated.

Types of Active Learning

• Demonstrations• Writing Exercises• Laboratories• Student research• Simulations, games• Discussions

• Debates• Field experiences• Computer activities• Jigsaw groups• Problem-based activities• In-class experiments

A Simulation

Learning to Read

page 6

The Problems with Small Samples

M&M Plain Candies

• Brown 30%• Red 20%• Yellow 20%• Blue 10%• Green 10%• Orange 10%

And Another Example ...

Teaching your students about surveys:

CNN: Text one of thefollowing two numbers to let us know how you feel about the President’s economic stimulus package.

And AnotherThe Hite Report (1976)

95% of American women are unhappy in their marriages.

“One hundred thousand women, ages fourteen to seventy-eight, were asked...”

Shere Hite

Personality Testing: Barnum Statements

Personality Adjective ChecklistActive Cooperative Industrious PersistentAdaptable Curious Initiative PlanfulAggressive Daring Intelligent PraisingAmbitious Determined Loyal RelaxedAttractive Dominant Mannerly ResourcefulAssertive Efficient Mature TalkativeCapable Enterprising Mischievous TrustingConfident Forceful Opportunistic

Understanding Considerate Good Natured Peaceable WarmContented Independent Persevering Wholesome

Personality Type CYou have a great need for other people to like you. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. While you have personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. Your adjustment to the opposite sex has presented some problems for you. More disciplines and self-controlled outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You pride yourself as an independent thinker and do not accept other’s statements without satisfactory proof. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others.

How effective do you believe the personality test was in revealing your

personality?

Circle one of the numbers below.

___________________________________1 2 3 4 5no perfectcorrespondence correspondenceat all

Resources for Active Learning

• Teaching journals• Teaching conferences• Active learning handbooks• Publisher (textbook) resources• On-line resources

Teaching Journals

• Research in the Teaching of English (1967)• Teaching Political Science (1973)• Teaching Sociology (1973)• Teaching English in the 2-Year College (1974)• Teaching of Psychology (1974)• Teaching Philosophy (1975)• Teaching History (1976)

Teaching Resources in Psychology

• More than 25 books of activities• Other books: Teaching Intro, Multiculturalism,

Writing, Gender, History, Sexuality, etc.• National and regional teaching conferences: NITOP,

Eastern, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Mountain States, Western, Best Practices, and others by state

• APA and APS programming• On-line aids from publishers, Society for the

Teaching of Psychology, APA (OPL).

The End