What is active learning?

Active learning can be defined as any learning activity that involves students in doing or practicing something and thinking about what they are doing (Bonwell and Eison, 1991). Effective active learning allows students to work towards achieving course learning objectives and helps engage students in the work of the class and discipline.

Courses with effective active learning focus on what students are doing rather than on what you, the instructor, is doing. Many types of activities fall under this broad umbrella and include both large class activities and individual work:

• Brief pauses in lecture to allow students to apply knowledge by solving a problem or categorizing information
• Short discussions with a partner
• Longer pair or small-group activities taking up a substantial amount of time
• Individual tasks

Why should I use active learning in my courses?

The inclusion of active learning is supported by research: students learn more effectively when they are engaged with actively practicing skills and applying knowledge. A key study by Scott Freeman and colleagues showed that active learning increases student performance in STEM courses. 

Active learning allows your students to practice the skills they need to be successful in the class in a low-stakes or no-stakes environment. It can help to improve the sense of classroom community, which supports the success of  all students, and is especially helpful for first-generation students and students from underrepresented backgrounds.

What are factors to consider when designing active learning for my class?

These questions will help you identify where active learning will benefit your students and how to structure learning activities:

• How does the active learning strategy fit with your learning objectives? The activity you choose should align with the objectives you have for that class session. For example, if your objective is to have students practice public speaking in preparation for an upcoming oral presentation, think about how they can practice sharing information orally rather than doing a silent activity.
• How much time does the activity take to prepare, and what things will you need to have on hand or do ahead of time? Active learning strategies can range from low preparation to high preparation. You may need to bring supplies, prepare technology, form multiple sets of groups, etc.
• How much time will the activity take? Will it last for most of the class session, or will it be one of several distinct components? How will you manage communicating content if you use a large portion of a class for active learning?
• What will you need to do to prepare your students for the activity? Will they need to bring anything (e.g., a hard copy of the reading)? Will you need to introduce a concept? How much explanation will you need to provide? Letting your students know ahead of time the kind of engagement and activity that is expected of them can help them prepare to participate fully.
• What is the best balance between activity and lecture? Integrating active learning does not mean doing away with lecture. A well-designed lecture is an excellent way to communicate information to students. Rather, consider where you might pause your lecture to allow students to experience something for themselves: solving a problem or answering a question about an excerpt of text, for instance.

Simple strategies to start with

With those questions in mind, what are some simple strategies to start with?

• Write-Pair-Share: Sometimes known as think-pair-share, this technique involves asking students to spend a minute or two reflecting on or writing about a question on their own before turning to a neighbor to discuss it as a pair. After a brief discussion, pairs report the substance of their discussion to the full class. This technique takes only a few minutes and requires little  preparation.
• Recall: The process of retrieving information from short- or long-term storage in your memory is a key component of learning. You can help students practice this through low-stakes, in-class recall activities. For instance, ask students, without looking at their notes, to recall the main points of the previous lecture and share them with a neighbor.
• Minute Papers: Often used at the end of a class session, minute papers provide a chance for students to reflect and think critically about what they learned that day. True to their name, the minute paper format involves asking students to write for just one minute in response to a question. Students can then share their responses verbally or turn in their responses (either index cards or a Google Form are perfect for this task) so that you can check for learning. Here are a few examples of questions that work well for minute papers:
  • What was the key concept from today’s lesson?
  • What aspects of today’s lecture helped you understand the material? What aspects did not help your learning?

Next steps in your active learning journey

If you are already familiar with those simple strategies and are looking for new ideas, here are a few options that are slightly more involved. In addition, we recommend checking out the resources in the next section.

• Jigsaw: This discussion technique involves students being formed into two sets of groups. In their first group, students become “experts” on a particular topic: for example, a reading, a methodology, or a technique. Then, students are mixed into groups with one expert from each of the previous groups and tasked with explaining their expertise to others before discussing together.
• Learning from case studies: In small groups of 3–5, students explore a case study from the real world to apply their knowledge in a situation where a solution is not cut and dried. Case studies are often associated with business, but can be developed and used in a wide range of disciplines.
• Fishbowl: A small group of students, usually 4–5, sit in the center of a circle of chairs. They participate in the discussion, while the remaining students in the outer circle observe. After a certain period of time, rotate students in and out of the fishbowl, so that all students take on both roles. At the conclusion of the discussion, debrief the discussion.

Where can I learn more about different active learning strategies?

There are numerous websites and repositories of active learning techniques where you can go to identify strategies that will be a good fit for your needs. Sometimes, these resources will refer to discussion protocols, formative assessments, or classroom assessment techniques (CATs); all of these labels overlap substantially with the idea of active learning.

Some of the Center for Teaching Excellence’s favorite resources:

• K. Patricia Cross Academy Techniques Video Library: includes short videos and teaching guides for techniques that can be filtered by teaching environment, activity type, or teaching problem addressed
• ABLConnect: this Activity-Based Learning resource from Harvard’s Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning is searchable by activity type, learning goal, and subject area
• Active Learning Cheat Sheet: from Vanderbilt University, this resource helps you think through the process of implementing active learning in your classroom

How can the Center for Teaching Excellence help me learn more about active learning?

The Center for Teaching Excellence offers a number of ways to learn more about active learning:

• Workshops
  • For an up-to-date list of effective teaching workshops, many of which provide ideas for facilitating active learning, see our workshop calendar.
  • We also offer “build-your-own” workshops to support a department or program. If you are interested in learning more, use our form to contact the Center for Teaching Excellence. We will work with you to plan a session that fits your needs and available time.
• Consultations
  • Contact us to request a one-on-one consultation. Some active learning questions we have discussed recently include:
    • Facilitating active learning when students seem reluctant to participate
    • Varying structures and activities to engage students during a 2.5-hour class session
    • New ideas for active learning when old favorites are feeling stale

Feedback on teaching: The Center for Teaching Excellence can partner with you to conduct classroom observations and mid-semester student feedback sessions to see how active learning is working in your classroom. Contact us to learn more about these services or to request an observation or mid-semester feedback session.