“Classrooms should be profound places of revelation and discovery. Well-designed space has the ability to elevate discourse, encourage creativity, and promote collaboration.” Lawson Reed Wulsin Jr, “Classroom Design – Literature Review” (Princeton University, 2013) Research Basis for Active Learning As the name implies, active learning refers to any type of instructional activity that encourages interaction and often collaboration. Active learning can be as simple as pausing a traditional lecture to ask a question about a topic just presented, invite students to take one minute to discuss a lecture slide with the person sitting next to them, or complete a short writing exercise on an emergent topic. In other scenarios, the instructor might devote an entire class period to learning objectives focused on collaboration–inviting group discussion and team work in a room designed for the purpose. In either scenario, active learning aims for a more participatory type of engagement with course content. Students must reflect on their knowledge in the moment and respond in some way to it—in other words, they must be actively present.Active learning strategies have been shown to improve students’ academic performance, decrease failure rates, and address issues of equity and inclusion. An analysis of 225 studies on active learning, for example, found that active learning strategies in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses led to improvements in examination scores by about 6% (Freeman, et al., 2014). Other studies have examined the difference in achievement gaps of underrepresented students in active-learning classrooms experiences against those in traditional lecturing classrooms. A 2020 cumulative analysis of examination scores from 15 studies and failure rates from 26 studies found that “active learning reduced achievement gaps in examination scores among underrepresented students by 33% and narrowed gaps in passing rates by 45%” (Theobald, et al., 2020).Test scores aside, active learning strategies can foster students’ interactions with peers, provide opportunities for students to develop disciplinary skills and expertise, and provide practice expressing learning through the formulation of questions and articulation of ideas. The addition of active learning elements can also provide you, the instructor, with valuable feedback on student comprehension and provide students with opportunities to compare their understanding of course materials with that of their peers. Even large classes, including those that take place in lecture halls, can incorporate activities that encourage students to take time to reflect upon their learning and interact with their peers (see, for example, Allen & Tanner, 2017 and Hogan and Sathy’s book on Inclusive Teaching). Why do active learning? Promotes greater understanding of course material by providing more opportunities to practice critical thinking and inquiry skills.It can provide new ways for students to bring their own existing skills and background knowledge into the classroom and more opportunities to build connections to new material.It promotes the idea of the classroom as a community of practice. Through collaboration and interaction, students get to know one another. Collaborative work encourages a sense of belonging which in turn can lead to greater motivation and greater equity.It can provide multiple ways for students to demonstrate their learning, which gives you–as the instructor–insight into their progress in the course. Sample active learning activities Introductions and Ice Breakers This might seem obvious, but it’s nice for students to get to know a bit about each other before being asked to work together. Students may be meeting for the first time in your class. They do already have one thing in common: they elected to take the same course. Giving students the opportunity to introduce themselves is particularly important for seminars and other class types that require a certain level of trust, and a shared responsibility for keeping the conversations in class meaningful and respectful. Doorknob polls / Entry-Exit Tickets Getting feedback from students at the beginning and end of each class session can provide talking points for precept discussions. These responses should be very short. They can take place on index cards, small sheets of paper, via a “clicker” exercise, or a quick poll question. Pre-class queries might ask about student expectations, prior knowledge, assumptions, or understanding of key points from previous lectures. What students think about something going into a class can change the experience that follows. Exit queries can provide opportunities for more reflective responses. You can ask about the strengths and weaknesses of the lecture, or compare assumptions gathered at the beginning of class with changed perspectives after the immediate experience of the class. These types of simple questions can focus a student on the salient points of the lecture, making them feel included in the process of learning. It can also provide a snapshot, before and after, of how the class is going. Frequent polling can allow for an agile teaching style that keeps pace with student understanding and misunderstanding. Think-pair-share Think-pair-share activities ask students to formulate or consider some question on their own for a few minutes, to discuss their ideas in pairs, and finally to report back to the entire class. Jigsaw activities In jigsaw activities, students are assigned to groups that are tasked with focusing on a portion of a larger assignment. Each group could be assigned a particular aspect of a larger problem asked to research a particular theme, or given different articles to read. Groups could then be expected to consult with other groups as subject experts or to contribute their findings to the work of the class as a whole. Example activities include implementing experiments, small research projects, analyzing and comparing datasets, and working with professional literature. Interactive demonstrations and assumption-checking This exercise works well if your course lends itself to live demonstrations or you can present narratives or case studies, the outcome of which might be predictable based on depth of subject-knowledge. First, introduce the demonstration or scenario, describing the beginning state. Explain what the change element is — for example, you are going to do “x” in order to run the experiment, or “this event happened” to a community. Ask the students to pair up and discuss what they think will happen. Survey the predictions/expectations of the small groups. Run the experiment, or reveal the outcome of the scenario. Have students discuss or analyze the outcome, based on their prior expectations. Role Play Debates, mock courtrooms, assuming identities or other forms of role play can be an important way to learn a new language, to internalize new forms of understanding and behavior, or to understand a historic event. Consider recording the session so that you and the students involved can assess their performance. Problem-based learning People like to solve problems. Depending upon your discipline, examples of workable problems might be quantitative, analytical, or situational. In some cases, the solution can be instantly checked (does the code compile? what is the solution to the equation?); in others, there might be many paths to a solution (how can a community get clean drinking water? How can a structure be designed? What happened in this case study?). Guiding questions should lead students through the activity. The questions should be designed to develop student’s critical thinking by asking students to distinguish between fact and assumptions, and critically analyze both the process they take in solving the case study as well as the solution itself. Example questions include: What is the situation? What questions do you have? What problem(s) need to be solved? What are some solution strategies? Evaluate pros/cons and underlying assumptions of these strategies What information do you need? Where/how could you find it? What criteria will you use to evaluate your solution? The advantages of problem-based learning include developing students’ problem solving and decision making skills, developing critical thinking skills, encouraging reflection, and enabling the appreciation of ambiguity in situations. For complex scenarios or case studies, the groups or an individual can each be assigned one aspect of the problem to solve — and then to come together to create a whole solution out of the pieces. More ideas For more active learning activity ideas, take a look at Interactive Techniques by Kevin Yee, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, University of South Florida. Active Learning Technologies: Digital and Analog In addition to the physical space of the classroom, some technologies lend themselves to participatory activities. Audience response systems allow you to conduct polls in class to gather feedback from students using handheld “clickers” or their own cell phones. Audience response systems can be used to prompt discussion, collectively brainstorm, or to gauge student understanding during and after lecture. Responses can be anonymous if you wish, with a wide variety of possible questions types including multiple choice, short answer, word cloud, or numeric responses. Audience response systems can also be combined with break-out group discussion. Have students vote individually on a difficult question. If the results show that a majority of the group did not answer correctly, ask students to work in pairs or in small groups to come to a consensus before voting and then do the vote again. The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning supports the use of two systems for audience response: iClicker and WooClap. Contact [email protected] to learn more. Something as simple as an index card can make your classroom more active. Index cards can be used to form groups (put different symbols on the cards and ask students to find their matches); to vote (for example, by holding up different colored cards to represent different responses); to record notes during a think/pair/share (ask students to pass the cards to classmates to read), or as an “entry/exit ticket” (see below). In large classes, a throwable microphone can facilitate discussion and collaboration. These wireless, padded microphones connect to the existing audio system of the classroom and can be passed from student to student. The McGraw Center offers a limited number of these microphones for temporary loan for use in Princeton courses.Perhaps no equipment, however, is more important for active participation than ample writing surfaces. Movable whiteboards not only support group brainstorming activities, they help to define the classroom as a dynamic and reconfigurable space. Smaller handheld tablet whiteboards, available for loan from the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, can be used to support group work in any classroom. Digital whiteboards, such as Miro and Microsoft Whiteboard, provide shared virtual spaces that can be edited in real-time by the entire class to report back group findings, collaboratively keep notes, or to brainstorm new ideas. Another tool for collaborative decision-making and brainstorming is IdeaBoardz. IdeaBoardz is a free tool that allows groups of users to place virtual sticky notes on a shared screen. Those notes can then be arranged on the screen or into colored sections to categorize and organize ideas. Perhaps often overlooked as in-class teaching and learning tools are digital applications like Google Docs and Sheets, both of which can be collaboratively edited in real-time, and Google Forms, an easy way to gather student feedback. Setting Up Your Space for Active Learning Even the most traditional classrooms can be transformed into active learning spaces. Take a few minutes at the start of class to set up your space, and explain to students why it is important that you do so. For example, you might ask students to help move desks together into small tables in preparation for group work or move chairs into a circle to facilitate full participation in class discussions. Be sure to “reset” the room when your class is done. Even if you can’t move the furniture, you can request that students sit in configurations that support your active learning strategies. For instance, consider asking students to leave every other row of a large lecture hall empty so that you or your students might be able to move around the room and interact.Many active learning exercises, for example the Think/Pair/Share, can be done in any setting. Portable tablet whiteboards are also available from the McGraw Center and can be used to facilitate group work in any type of classroom or lecture hall. Giant Post-It notes can be positioned on the walls of the classroom to so that groups can gather around them to draft responses to prompts or problems. You might take pictures of the Post-Its to upload to Canvas or allow time for students to circulate and read each other's work in a “gallery walk” activity. Green Hall Active Learning Classroom Active Learning Classrooms While even simple interventions and low-tech in-class activities can lead to more engaged learning and unique classroom experiences, Princeton has available technology, equipment, specialized furniture and classroom layouts that facilitate active learning approaches. Several classrooms have been specifically designed around the idea of active learning. These classrooms include:Green Hall 1-C-4CLewis Thomas Laboratory 005Friend Center 016McDonnell Hall 106, 107, 108The McGraw Center's active learning space in 330 Frist Campus Center The McGraw Center's Digital Learning Lab on the first floor of Lewis Library Other classrooms, while not specifically designed as active learning spaces offer reconfigurable tables and chairs:Andlinger Center Room 017Friend Center Room 009, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 Rabinowitz A01, A97, A98, 198 McDonnell Hall - Room 101A, 102A, 103A, 104, 105, 201A, 202A , 203A The Classroom Search tool provides information about the many classroom on campus, including the number and configuration of seats, whether tables are loose or fixed, and available hardware.Classroom Search Tool Spotlight on the Digital Learning Lab The McGraw Center’s Digital Learning Lab (DLL) is a technology-enhanced teaching and learning space in the Lewis Science Library designed with interactive, media-rich learning in mind. The space includes movable whiteboards, large displays, and computers loaded with a wide variety of digital media software, including the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite, 3D design programs, audio software like Audacity and Logic, and coding tools. Any of the 15 computer stations can be displayed on either of the two room displays. Spotlight on Frist 330 Frist 330, the McGraw Center's teaching lab, offers a place in which faculty can explore the latest in instructional technology. The room is host to many McGraw Center events and workshops, such as the annual New Faculty Institute, undergraduate tutoring, and AI training. It can also be booked for individual class sessions by faculty who wish to take advantage of this versatile space. Furniture can be easily moved into a wide range of configurations, and the room is equipped with movable whiteboards, writable walls and tables, and four points of wireless projection. 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