CIDR - Active Learning

Active Learning refers to a range of teaching and learning activities that require students to participate in class in ways other than sitting still and listening quietly. Such activities can include brief question-and-answer sessions, discussions integrated into a traditional lecture, and hands-on activities.

The types of active learning vary depending on teaching goals, the classroom context such as students' abilities, class size and the discipline. As you engage your students in learning, you will be deciding on the appropriate tasks, and also ways to set clear expectations, design effective evaluation strategies, and provide helpful feedback.

CIDR Resources

	CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin Actively Engaging Students in Large Classes CIDR Teaching and Learning Bulletin, 12(3)

	Consult with CIDR CIDR consultants are also available to meet with you as develop, implement, and assess active learning activities for your class. See our Consulting pages on exploring teaching issues, designing courses and assignments, and collecting student feedback for more information. To schedule a consultation, call 206-543-6588, or contact us by email to arrange an appointment.

Additional Resources

Active Learning: Creating Excitment in the Classroom
by Charles Bonwell and James Eison

Active Learning: Getting students to work and think in the classroom
Speaking of Teaching, 5(1), from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Stanford University

Active Learning with PowerPoint
including discussions of Active Lecturing, Active Learning Strategies, Effective Handouts, Games in PowerPoint, and Formative Assessment, from from the Center for Teaching and Learning Services at the University of Minnesota

Alternative Strategies and Active Learning
from Teaching at Carolina, an on-line publication of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Classroom Performance Systems
A series of short video clips by UW Austin Professor Dee Silverthorn on interactive teaching in large classes

Learning by Doing
The philosophy and strategies of active learning; by Richard Felder, Chemical Engineering Education, 37(4), 282-283 (Fall 2003).

Six Ways to Discourage Learning
by Douglas Duncan, American Astronomical Society Education Office, and Amy Singel Southon, Chicago Botanic Gardens:

"One way to improve your teaching is to become aware of very common things teachers often do which don't help the learning process, and avoid them! This usually takes some practice, and discussion with others who teach. Six of these behaviors you should note and avoid are:

Insufficient 'Wait-Time'

The Rapid-Reward

The Programmed Answer

Non-Specific Feedback Questions ('Does anyone have any questions?')

Teacher's Ego-stroking and Classroom Climate

Fixation at a low-level of Questioning"