Get Your Students Hired
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Active Learning Methods --> Planning for Active Learning
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Learned that learning can be an active skill. lecture is more teacher focused and focus should be but on creating more dialogue and given expectations for the student.
This module used great activities to illustrate active learning and critical thinking (nice puzzles!). It also gave me some ideas on how to incorporate more active learning into my and colleagues' classes.
Active learning differs from passive learning as it moves away from lecture based teaching. Instead students take an active role in their learning such as participating in case scenarios, role play or other class discussions. These help students remain engaged, collaborate, participate and apply what they learn and therefore can apply the theory learned into practical situations.
I personally enjoy active learning vs lecturing. this is where we can truly exercise academic freedom. even if sometimes not feasible, it helps break monotony if we sprinkle some changes in the class.
I enjoyed reviewing the definitions of critical thinking as a a process of evaluating and making reasoned judgements, while analytical thinking is the process of breaking down information into parts to understand its components.
Active learning strategies that I have implemented that have worked are gamification, peer teaching, and problem based role playing or scenarios.
Very informative module.
The planning stage is key. I appreciate how you listed the six steps. For instance, if I do not know who students will work with, the rest of the activity could easily fall apart. The type of classroom is also conducive to active learning strategies. If students are sitting at a table and tables can be moved together, they can draw a concept to then see if their classmates can determine the concept. But this type of activity is harder to do in a lecture-style theatre.
Some examples of active learning include debates, role-playing, brainstorming and hands-on modules.
I realize that many of my class sessions need to be revamped to include more active learning opportunities.
In a nursing context, critical thinking is best used when deciding on what intervention you will use; analytical thinking is best used when gathering information (patient presentation, labs, imaging, etc...) and synthesizing it.
In my Master's program, we explored the framework for "backwards design" in education (1. Learning objectives 2. Assessment 3. Learning activities), and I'm glad this module highlighted some of these principles. First, you must develop the learning objectives and then determine the assessment methods and appropriate learning activities. In other words, having a well-organized plan is essential for creating meaningful learning experiences. I will definitely use the six-step approach when developing an active learning exercise.
Additionally, I appreciated the breakdown of critical thinking and analytical thinking. The examples were beneficial and applicable to clinical education! Nurse educators want students to think critically and apply clinical judgment in nursing practice; however, students don't always know what critical thinking means or how to use it at the bedside.
There are so many ways critical thinking is used. Trying to educate while using critical thinking and analytical thinking exercises especially in nursing is going to be so important in ensuring success of students. With nursing being application based, a new nurse needs to graduate from their program with not only the basic knowledge, but how to utilize these critical and analytic thinking skills.
Wow--looks like our curriculum needs some work on developing more active learning! Our issue is that there is so much information to teach that it's difficult to find the time to do any of the suggested learning activities--which is unfortunate, as these learning activities help to engage the students and to deepen their knowledge--or the students do not want to do them
I thought that the analytical thinking activities were fun and engaging and am going to incorporate them as a way to open up my class.
Comment on Patricia Bennett's post: The statement that there is no learning taking place when no teaching is taking place resonated with me because when I taught for the first time, my principal's favorite quote was " A lesson is not taught until it is learned"
This reinforced the six components of active learning for me. The more active and engaged the students are the more they learn and/or are receptive to the material being provided.
I love the tips for planning for active learning activities! I used all of these last school year as a public-school teacher.
I loved the examples of active learning activities provided and I intend to implement discussions, debates, and role-playing.