Active Teaching

When we talk about active teaching, we're talking about teaching with a focus on active learning activities. Active learning breaks away from the traditional lecture format and changes the method of instruction. Students are not considered passive receptacles for knowledge imparted by the instructor; instead, they take on an active role in their own education. Take a look at the following video for some insights about the benefits of active learning from Mel Silberman and faculty from throughout the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

So, how does one start incorporating active learning into a course? A helpful place to start is to think about what goes on in students' brains during a lecture. Are they thinking: Who can I call? I'm worried about a test. Where will I meet my friend after class? What time do I work today? Actually, what seems to go through students' brains is "everything and nothing." We've all had the same experience during a lecture. A lecturer speaks approximately 180 words per minute. The audience's ability to listen varies depending on whether the words are presented too fast or too slow, what else is on a listener's mind, how long someone's been speaking, and several other factors. So, to make the most of the time we are with students, how can we provide consistent stimulation and engage their attention? OPENING ACTIVITIES that immediately engage participants who are getting acquainted include building teamwork, assessing the group, obtaining buy-in, and building neural interest so that they will be motivated to listen to your lecture for the answer (see page 8 of handout). DISCUSSIONS that are both lively and focused can be facilitated by engaging participation,using varied format, separating fact from opinion, and managing the flow. PRESENTATIONS that are brain-friendly and retainable create brain interest, maximize understanding, involve participants, and reinforce key points. TEAM LEARNING that is collaborative and productive sets expectations, equalizes responsibility, stays on task, and ensures quality outcomes. EXPERIMENTAL ACTIVITIES that are dramatic and insightful stage the experience, give crystal clear directions, manage the flow, and debrief the learning. SKILL PRACTICE that is safe and challenging includes showing, but not telling; matching the method to the learner, monitoring performance, and providing feedback and coaching. CLOSING ACTIVITIES that are unforgettable review the material, promote self-assessment,encourage application, and end with a bang. Instructional methods are only as good as their contribution to the achievement of learning objectives. Sometimes it helps to think of the teaching methods used as roads which lead to cities (objectives) and of training materials (visual aids, case study, scenarios, role play, etc.) as the materials with which the roads are constructed. Our students travel a variety of different roads in order to learn. They learn by doing,

observing, hearing, reading, and combinations of the four. The commonly used methodologies each have their strengths. When the instructor uses lectures, he or she needs to use interesting examples to illustrate a theory, descriptive language to present ideas, a stimulating voice, and ideally move around the classroom. Reading assignments can expose our students to a vast amount of information on a topic and work best when accompanied by feedback activities for repetition of content. Demonstrations can be considered as illustrated lectures or presentations. They are useful for psychomotor objectives and to facilitate modeling. Group Discussionsare most useful when there is someone in the group with some experience or knowledge about the topic being addressed. Discussions can assist students when they have to create new ideas or actions or understand complex ideas. Case Studies or use of scenarios are usually successful in getting student involvement, and they encourage critical thinking. Group discussions and the use of case studies are two active tools to use when engaging learners, and the addition of these to your teaching methods will allow you to more fully focus the attention of your students and help them invest themselves more in the course.. Students learn best when they are fully cognitively engaged, interested, involved, connected to what they are learning, doing what is best for them, or teaching others. We facilitate learning by providing these opportunities. Providing positive reinforcement to your students as they become involved in active learning is a powerful tool. However, remembering to provide the positive reinforcers while experimenting with active learning can be challenging. Attempting to facilitate more activity from your students requires a change on your part, too. How can you make your lectures more brain-friendly? Lead off the topic with a good story, perhaps. Give students an initial problem to solve, a scenario, or a case study. Be sure to recap at the end of class each session. Students will begin to expect that and will plan to have something to add in subsequent class periods. Students won't remember if their brains don't have to do any work. Build Interest: Provide an interesting anecdote, cartoon, story, etc. to capture the students' attention. Present a problem around which you will provide information. Ask an initial question about the topic, and be sure to address the answer in the information you present. Maximize Understanding and Retention: Reduce the major points to key words and provide examples. Compare what you know about the topic with what the students already know. Using flip charts, PowerPoint, etc. will help the visual learner, and require that students hear and see the material. Involve Students in the Lecture: Stop twice to have the students re-cap the material. Ask the students to give examples of the topic. Put short activities that emphasize the topic into the class time. Reinforce the Lecture: Pose a problem or question, based on the material, for students to solve.

Introduction
Purpose and Outcomes This tutorial is meant to introduce you to the concept of active learning and provide you with a number of useful and successful techniques to employ in your courses. As a result of this tutorial, you should be able to develop exercises and activities that enhance the content of your course and serve as effective learning experiences for your students.

Overview Active Teaching: Read about the techniques mentioned above. Our brains cannot remember new material if they aren't actively engaged. We might be hearing words, but listening is another thing. Using multiple active techniques engages several senses and encourages students to focus on remembering and understanding.

Activity: This activity will help you to make some plans about how you are going to incorporate new active learning pieces into one of your courses. Quiz: Here you can review some of the main points about active learning and why it works.
Additional Resources: Here you will find the titles of some of Mel Silberman's books and a list of additional resources. There's something for everybody!

Introductory Questions Take a moment to think about these questions before you begin: What is the difference between active and passive learning? What type of learning do you use in your courses? Do you think that your students are successfully learning and retaining the information that you provide? How could you improve their rate of retention and understanding?