Promoting "Active" Learning in Your Teaching Lecture

Promoting “Active” Learning in Your Teaching Lecture

David Hume D.O., ABFP

Clinical Assistant Professor Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine Midwestern University

Learning Objectives Define active learning..

Understand why active learning is successful.

Become familiar with different forms of active learning.

Definition Active learning is any well-

structured, teacher-guided, student-centered activity that “substantially involves students with the course content through talking and listening, writing, reading and reflecting.”  You might not remember this (we’ll come

back to this point)

Active Learning The student has to be engaged in higherorder thinking tasks such as: - analysis - problem-solving - synthesis - evaluation Basically, higher thinking as opposed to passive learning.

Passive Learning vs. Active Learning

Do the Math  Out of every 100 items in a passive lecture, students will remember approximately 1020.  Quick math. That’s 10-20% and that sucks.

Benefits Preferred by students

Stimulates higher order thinking/skills

Students become motivated

Promotes learning in students with different learning styles

Facilitates learning by the entire group

Barriers

Barriers Resistance to Change

• Instructor taught in the traditional method • Role of teacher is questioned

Anxiety

• Increased risk – students may not participate • Lose control of class • Labeled unorthodox

Perceived increase in preparation time

• ? Increase in class time

Methods Clickers

Discussio n

Pause

Memory Devices

Games

Clickers

Clickers Can …  Guide Lectures - Collect immediate

feedback about students' understanding of lecture topics so confusion can be addressed quickly.

 Facilitate Class Discussion - Facilitate

discussion by polling students' opinions and discussing the reasons for their opinions.

Clickers Can …  Encourage Peer Instruction - Allow students

to share, discuss, and change their opinions before answering a question.  Collect Data and Perform Formative Assessment - Collect data on course topics or learning preferences throughout the cycle of a course.  Offer Quizzes and Exams  Take Attendance

Clickers Can …  Increase students' attention, interest, retention,

and make learning fun!  Using clickers to pose questions that require synthesis of information, such as asking for an opinion on a complex social or ethical issue, promotes critical thinking and helps make learning personal.  Allow shy students to participate.  Allow anonymous, simultaneous, and fast response to instructor questions on class material or learning preferences.

Discussion Method  Most common method for encouraging

active learning

 Most promote questioning and discussion  Encourages students to take risks--

student might feel some discomfort (fear of being called on)

Memory Devices  ACRONYMS - ROYGBIV, SCUBA  SENTENCES - Some lovers try positions that they can’t handle  RHYMES & SONGS - Alphabet  METHOD OF LOCI - Visual path and connection with items  Chunking - Numbers (7-9 items) 86121996 or 8612-1996

Pause 

1 - 2 minutes of pause every 18 minutes of lecture

and

This method has been found to increase the amount of content retained (Ruhl, Hughes, Schloss 1987) Successful in my small group lecture at Midwestern University

Games

Remember this!

The philosophy behind the active learning strategy is that students "learn best by doing, not by watching or listening".

No. Remember this!  According to Carl Rogers, the only learning that really sticks is that which is self discovered.

 The Ah-Ha! Moments.

Osteopathy – The Ultimate in Active Learning

References  http://www.slideshare.net/DeirdreB/promo

ting-active-learning-using-games  http://blogs.usask.ca/medical_education/a rchive/2006/03/active_learning.html  http://www.texascollaborative.org/activel earning.htm  http://medicaleducation.wetpaint.com/pa ge/Active+Engagement  http://activelearningcarnival.blogspot.co m/2008/02/assessing-active-learning-1.ht ml

Implement at least one new (to you) “active” learning strategy in your teaching this week.

LEARN – REFLECT - TEACH What will you keep the same?

What will you do more of?

What will you do less of?

What will you stop doing?

What will you do differently & how will you do it?

What will you add?

DEFINITION N

Active Learning

 Active learning is defined as any instructional

method that engages students in the learning process. Active learning requires students to do meaningful activities and think about what they are doing. While this definition could include traditional activities such as homework, in practice it refers to activities introduced into the classroom. The core elements of active learning are student activity and engagement in the learning process. Active learning is often contrasted to the traditional lecture where students passively receive information.

DEFINITION

Collaborative Learning  Collaborative learning can refer to any instructional

method in which students work together in small groups toward a common goal. As such, collaborative learning can be viewed as encompassing all groupbased instructional methods, including cooperative learning. In contrast, some authors distinguish between collaborative and cooperative learning. In either interpretation, the core element of collaborative learning is the emphasis on student interactions rather than on learning as a solitary activity.

DEFINITION

Cooperative Learning  Cooperative learning can be defined as a structured

form of group work where students pursue common goals while being assessed individually.

A common model of cooperative learning incorporates five specific tenets: individual accountability, mutual interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, appropriate practice of interpersonal skills, and regular self-assessment of team functioning. The core element held in common is a focus on cooperative incentives rather than competition to promote learning.

DEFINITION

Team-based Learning  Team-based Learning (TBL) is an instructional method

that allows a single instructor to conduct multiple small groups simultaneously in one classroom. TBL stresses the importance of out-of-class learning based on learning objectives, emphasizes the importance of holding learners accountable for attending class prepared to participate, and provides guidelines for designing group learning tasks to maximize participation. Class time is shifted away from learning facts toward application and integration of information.

The instructor retains control of content acting as both facilitator and content expert. TBL consists of repeating sequences of three phases: pre-class preparation, readiness assurance, and application of concepts.

DEFINITION

Case-Based Learning  Case-Based Learning (CBL) is a learner-

centered instructional approach where factually based, complex problems are used to stimulate discussion and collaborative analysis. CBL involves the interactive exploration of realistic and specific situations for which there is often no single correct solution.

DEFINITION

Problem-based Learning (PBL)  Problem-based Learning (PBL) is a type of CBL

where problems are introduced at the beginning of the instruction cycle to provide the context and motivation for learning. It is always active and usually collaborative or cooperative. PBL typically involves significant amounts of self-directed learning. Some evidence shows that PBL develops enhanced problem-solving skills in medical students and that these skills can be improved further by coupling PBL with explicit instruction in problem solving.