Active Learning

Thankfully, the old ways of learning in the classroom, with just a textbook and a lecturing teacher, are gradually coming to an end. There is nothing worse than seeing students yawning, out of boredom. With technology, there seems to be an endless number of choices and ways to learn. What really makes a difference is that students are getting to have a say about how they learn. They are given options. When students take ownership of their learning, it has greater meaning. They might be given the choice of making a skit or video, a Powerpoint or Prezi presentation, a Popplet, a newspaper, an art piece, poem, or storyboard. The word “active” in active learning means students are not simply passive learners, but are learning by doing.

While there are so many different technological resources and opportunities, it is important to analyze the value of activities, making sure that learning is possible and not taken over by gimmicks. However, sometimes a little wasted time with gimmicks can be the very factor that motivates a student to engage in learning. The fun factor can make a difference!

For the past several years, I have been co-teaching a remedial reading summer school class that has been very successful, as our students all create a newspaper of their own design. We encourage the students to choose their own topics to research and write about, as well as to add interviews, puzzles and quizzes. What motivates the students is their autonomy with content and design. After writing an article on a topic, they choose images and interesting fonts and layouts for their newspaper. I am amazed by how motivated students are when they can produce a polished piece that looks really professional. Knowing they will print and share the newspaper with others also motivates them to spend more time adding detail to their writing, proofreading, and editing their work.

Some ideas can be simple, but produce surprisingly varied and creative results. A project called "One Year in Six Words" required students to choose words carefully, reducing thier choices to only six words, to sum up thier school year.

One Year in Six Words- Link


PREZI LINK  

The article “What is Learning?” in the USFSP Distance Learning Blog talks about the criteria that makes students active learners. Autonomy, relevance, exploration and reflection are all important in the learning process. 

https://usfspdistancelearning.wordpress.com/2016/07/13/what-is-active-learning

image source

The graphic above shows the different retention rates when students learn by lecture compared with increasingly active and interactive ways of learning. Clearly, the trend to move away from traditional lecturing methods is worthwhile! What matters is what a student takes away from a learning experience, whether the knowledge and skills can be applied at another time or are simply forgotten. Too much energy is wasted with rote memorization of facts that are forgotten as soon as the test is taken. 

Technology is not an essential element in active learning. Our school's 7th graders had a fabulous interdisciplinary unit where students read The Call of the Wild by Jack London. The students were divided into teams that designed and built their own Iditarod sleds (with wheels rather than runners), made creative team names, shirts, cheers or songs, built fires, created questions that needed to be answered by teams at race stations and, finally, raced other teams around the school, with one student riding as the musher and the others pulling the sled. The project required a great deal of coordination and planning, with parent participation to help with the supervision of power tools and stations along the race, but the effort was worth it. The students were so highly motivated and engaged, with real hands on learning, and it was a true highlight of their time in middle school. They will certainly remember The Call of the Wild.

Certainly creating active learning experiences require more effort and planning than the traditional lecture and test model of teaching, but the rewards can be great for teachers and students alike.