Get Your Students Hired
Students taking an active interest in their learning seems like a simple concept, but often I have seen them waiting to be handed information rather then taking the lead to discover. It is difficult to get those students to interact as they feel that they are there to absorb and regurgitate rather than interact and participate.
In an active learning environment, the facilitator attempts to have the student turn on their lighbulb. Do activities that force the student to critically think.
Active learning online is one of the most important means of teaching. Utilizing technology such as a simple drawing program can make active learning come alive by allowing the student to take control of your computer and (for example) draw the connecting wires to a circuit in an electrical photo.
In active learning I love the fact that you get to share problem solving and role playing it helps retain information easier rather than trying to make someone memorize the information. I also feel it makes students interact in a more realistic way instead of just typing on a keyboard.
I learned that, as an instructor using active learning, I'm more of a guide or mentor than a lecturer. It's my job to provide an environment of learning and activities that promote interaction, peer feedback, problem solving, etc. I plan on applying moments of pause to ask questions and allow time for students to reflect. I want to offer more collaborative and cooperative activities, such as group projects, peer teaching, finding information together, games, etc.
We are learning that the children who grew up with electronics are learning more efficiently and effectively in active learning environments, as opposed to how I learned from lectures, individual reading and studying and memorizing information to pass standardized tests. So I must adapt my teaching style and release my control of content introduction. In an active learning environment, I become the coach or instructional facilitator, and the students become responsible for their learning through shared discussion, research, listening, strategy development, leading and teamwork, and problem solving. This will likely mean more work for me in the beginning to develop and prepare a good active learning environment, but the students will learn and sustain more knowledge and skills overall.
Active learning is important in communication and having a collaborative learning process online is critical and conducive to online learning
I have found that "chalk talk", or asking/calling a student to interact with the class often times is very enjoyable for the student, and the class alike. It is espeically fun when they are allowed to share their learned discoveries.
In active learning students construct their own knowledge rather than being force fed.
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it.
I've learned that, generally speaking, most of my educational/professional experiences have been "sage on the stage" based, though there has definitely been active learning incorporated. I see the benefit of both and believe a good mixture is still optimal with active learning being predominant. It's been somewhat challening to get out from behind the podium, which is what I'm most comfortable with because of my experiences, but flexibility is key. This is challening enough in a traditional in-person academic experience. Doing so on-line is taking it up a notch.
Since the on-line environment is podium free technically, this provides me an ample opportunity to involve students in active learning collaborative/cooperative environments. As we're still waiting to see platform capabilities I don't know exactly how (i.e. Blackboard, video/audio capability, grouping capability) yet.
Performing on stage as the sage is what I do best. But, online learning needs more interface with student learners. My take away is many small active activities to coexist with the lecture as my online student lectures need to take a pause, reflect, and interact. This method also works
I have learned the importance of active learning for the student. The student will enjoy learning, discussing, reflecting on and retaining the information because they have a part in the learning process.
Active learning is a considered to be a learning environment where the student is not given the answer but they are responsible for learning the content. Active learning is where the student is engaged in learning the content and not forced fed information for the teacher. Students are actively learning in the classroom (either F2F or online) through collaborative, cooperative, and problem based learning -- these three methods of students learning and are engaged in the classroom.
This helped me really take a more reflective view on active learning for the student and for online courses. There was a misconception before about what is included in an online course and whether or not it can be as effective as a F2F course. I'm excited to utilize these tools and tricks in the classroom to get my students actively participating.
Active learning requires students to be responsible for their own learning, and instructors to be responsible for providing and facilitating the activities that enable that. Whether live or online, courses that provide active components such as discussion, group work and projects, and problem-based learning provide greater learning success. While the active learning component may be more time- and labor-intensive to design and develop, including discussion and collaboration, questing and wikis, and production of learning products, it also improves learning outcomes and student completion and retention. I am eager to incorporate more of this into my online courses, particularly effective discussion questions and collaborative production using the features of our LMS to full capacity.
In active learning, students must take responsibility for their own learning. This type of learning can take some time to practice/master both on the student side and the educator side. Active learning promotes deeper understanding of content instead of just being 'force fed' information. Active learning allows students to possibly apply content to real life situations to deeper their knowledge.
I already practice active learning in my classroom, and it is a great way to engage studetnts and facilitate their processing of information. In my classroom, we take the approach of learning by doing. Students learn the concepts of sewing by engaging in projects that will teach them skills they will need to become better tailors. However, in an online environment, it will be interesting to include this concept. I hope that the platform we use will have the ability to group students for disucssion and support. This will ultimately help students to form a community that will hopefully transition to face to face instruction later in the school year.
With active learning students are responsible for their own education. Instructors should no longer lecture in the traditional style. In an online envrionment students should still be encouraged (or even mandated) to participate in collaborative/cooperative assignments. This allows the intsructor to become more of a facilitator.
The shift from the "sage on the stage" to the "coach" can be a difficult one for many teachers. I know that I have struggled with some of those aspects, especially in reference to the rigor and amount of content that I am expected to cover in my AP classes. I often find that I lecture too much and that I struggle to pause and add effective active learning opportunities for my students as I often fear I will not cover all of the curriculum. Striking an effective balance between curricular demands and reflective student engagement is a balancing act I will work to accommodate. I have found it much easier to do in my science and CTE coursework, so I will attempt to embrace it within my AP course as well. :)