Comment [41]:

A Paradigm Shift: From Passive to Active Learning

Sujata S. Kathpalia & Koo Swit Ling

ABSTRACT
Equipping students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to deal with
today’s complex world demands that we transform university classrooms
from passive to active learning communities. This would involve replacing
traditional style of classrooms to more active and motivated ones using
models of teaching where the information flow in not one-way, from the
teacher to the students (Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2004; Eggen & Kauchak,
1996). Research based on college education clearly shows that learning
rarely takes place passively and to ensure that learning is optimized, it is
essential to involve students in their own learning process (McGill&
Brockbank, 2004; Halpern & Associates, 1994; Dressel & Marcus, 1982).
With greater awareness of the experiential and social nature of learning,
many innovative teaching models and learning strategies have been
explored to develop higher-order and critical-thinking abilities in students.
The objective of this paper is to propose certain models of teaching along
with innovative ways of learning that promote critical thinking through
active student involvement with teaching materials, peers and teachers.
With this aim in mind, the authors would like to present the models of
teaching and student-centred activities they have been using with NTU
undergraduates in their Communication Skills classes to promote active
learning.

1. INTRODUCTION

Equipping students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to deal with today’s complex
world demands that we transform university classrooms from passive to active learning
communities. This would involve replacing traditional style of classrooms to more active
and motivated ones using models of teaching where the information flow is not one-way,
from the teacher to the students (Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2004; Eggen & Kauchak,
1996). Research based on college education clearly shows that learning rarely takes place
passively and to ensure that learning is optimized, it is essential to involve students in
their own learning process (McGill& Brockbank, 2004; Halpern & Associates, 1994;
Dressel & Marcus, 1982). With greater awareness of the experiential and social nature of
learning, many innovative teaching models and learning strategies have been explored in
the field of education to develop higher-order and critical-thinking abilities in students.

1.1 Models of Teaching

There is an abundance of teaching models proposed and used by teachers in different

contexts. A simple definition of a teaching model is that it “is a description of a learning
environment, including our behavior as teachers when that model is used” (Joyce, Weil &

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Calhoun, 2004, p.25). It is basically a blue print for teaching taking into account the
interaction of students to an environment design for optimal learning. Among the
repertoire of models available to teachers, there is no model that is superior to another but
perhaps one that is more suited in a particular classroom context, depending on the goals
of a lesson as well as the subject matter. Some of these models are specific, goal-oriented
models that get immediate results whereas others are more broad-based with outcomes
that can only be measured over time, after a period of extensive training. Most models
have a theoretical basis with varying philosophical and psychological orientations and
due to their use over an extended period of time, these models have been refined and
adapted to different learning situations. Joyce et al (2004) have grouped these models
into four families:

the information-processing family that includes models based on inductive

learning, focusing on students’ innate ability to make sense of the world around
them through concept formation and hypothesis testing;

the social family of models with emphasis on collaborative learning which leads
to powerful learning communities through student cooperation and synergy;

the personal family models that begin with the individual learner at the centre of
the learning process, who takes responsibility for his/her learning to go beyond
his/her present stage of development and master the skill of independent
learning; and

the behavioral systems family with the underlying belief that learning is achieved
through a trial-and-error and self-correcting method in which feedback, whether
positive or negative, plays an important role in knowledge construction through
observational learning coupled with direct instruction.

Although the four families of teaching models have been presented as independent
models, a combination of these models may be used in different sessions of a course to
enhance learning. At times the decision to use a particular model is clear-cut as it seems
to be tailor-made for a particular topic with a specific teaching goal, but the decision
becomes harder when two models can be used successfully to achieve the same purpose.
To complicate matters further, it may be that the impact of teaching models varies
depending on the learning styles of students. Given the different variables involved in
learning, the onus is upon the teacher to decide whether to use the traditional “chalk-and-
talk” or an inductive method for optimal effect. The goal should be for teachers to master
the alternative models of teaching so they can pull out the most appropriate one in the
different classroom situations that they are likely to encounter in their teaching careers.

1.2 Classroom Strategies for Active Learning

Given the many approaches available to the teacher/facilitator in the classroom, how
information or content is delivered to the students determines how much thinking and, in
turn, learning takes place. In the classroom where there is active learning, certain
practices encourage greater involvement from students. After all, since it is unlikely
learning is passive, effective instruction necessarily involves students in their own

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learning. The active classroom presents such opportunities for the learner to explore the
multiple pathways to learn and discover knowledge (Halpern & Associates, 1994). The
efficacy of classroom strategies depends on how much input there is from the basic
stimulation of the faculties. There are four areas in which learning can be heightened:
learning by seeing, learning by saying, learning by doing, and learning by listening
(Olivier and Bowler, 2002).

Learning by seeing entails the use of visual aids to enhance the delivery of content
matter. Learning by saying encourages the verbalizing of what is being learnt. The
expression from students in their attempt to explain, summarize, ask and answer
questions, and participate in discussions reinforces active learning. Learning by doing
provides the opportunities of performance, demonstrations, and simulations. This
encourages the reconstruction of reality from different perspectives which in turn allows
new understanding of concepts. Learning by listening is implicitly part of learning by
saying and doing since these two activities are not effective without listening on the part
of the learner. Whatever path is taken to increase active learning, these four areas
described apply to the individual student as well as to the group.

The four classroom strategies discussed in this paper: questioning, lecturette, role-
play/simulation, and games combine most of the types of learning discussed above.
These four classroom strategies are particularly useful because they are frequently used in
the classroom and they can be adapted to any of the approaches discussed in the previous
section on models of teaching.

1.3 Objectives

The objective of this paper is to propose certain models of teaching along with innovative
classroom strategies of learning that promote critical thinking through active student
involvement with teaching materials, peers and teachers. With this aim in mind, the
authors would like to present some models of teaching and student-centred activities
they have been using successfully with NTU undergraduates in their Communication
Skills classes to promote active learning.

2. APPLICATION OF TEACHING MODELS

Among the repertoire of models that have been used successfully in the communication
skills courses in NTU would be the Direct Instruction, Inductive, Inquiry and
Collaborative approaches to teaching. Each one of these will be elaborated along with the
specific classroom activities designed for our undergraduate students to maximize their
learning.

2.1 The Direct Instruction Approach

The Direct-Instruction model which belongs to the family of the behavioural systems is a
teacher-centered model in which the teacher takes on the responsibility of introducing

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and explaining concepts in a structured manner. However, this does not mean that the
students are passive participants. In fact, the teachers give them an opportunity not only
to practice these concepts but also give feedback on their own performance. According to
Eggen & Kauchak (1996), the Direct-Instruction model “is a teacher-centered strategy
that uses teacher explanation and meaning combined with student practice and feedback
to teach concepts and skills.” This definition makes it clear that while both teachers and
students play important roles in this method of learning, there is a transfer of
responsibility from the teacher to the students as the lesson progresses. The teacher starts
off the session by explaining and describing the concepts and then the baton is passed to
the students so they can analyze the examples by themselves.

Using the Direct-Instruction method, the session can be broken up into four main phases
of Introduction, Presentation, Guided Practice and Independent Practice (Eggen &
Kauchak, 1996). In the first two phases, the teacher taps on the students’ background
knowledge on the topic of the lesson, shares the learning goals and presents the relevant
concepts/skills along with detailed explanations and examples; in the last two phases, the
students are first guided to get familiar with the content and then practice it independently
for better understanding and retention. These phases will be illustrated by means of a
classroom activity on Communication Climates used with first year undergraduate
students in their Effective Communication course.

In the Introduction phase, the very first task of the teacher is to draw the students into the
lesson using interactive strategies. After this attention-getting function is satisfactorily
reached, then the teacher introduces the lesson objectives, gives an overview of what is
going to be covered in the session and finally, sustains student interest by highlighting the
value of the particular lesson to their everyday lives.

The session opens with an exploration of interpersonal problems students may have
encountered in their own lives in different situations. After the students are drawn into
discussing their own problems and as a result, have been made aware of their background
knowledge on the subject, the teacher introduces the learning objectives:

Objectives
• To build awareness of different styles of communication - aggressive, assertive and
deferential
• To help students to transform defensive communication into supportive communication

The teacher then gives an outline of not only what is going to be covered in the tutorial
but also the time to be spent on each phase along with the method employed.
Specifically, the teacher says that she will start with the input on different styles of
communication, followed by a case study video and group discussion of the case study,
and eventually end with an enactment of the revised case study script.

Referred to as the developmental, modeling or input phase of teaching, the goal in the
second phase of Presentation is to ensure that the concepts are clearly explained by
means of examples and demonstrations that students can relate to easily. In the tutorial on

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Communication Climates, the teacher presents information on the different forms of
defensive and supportive behaviours:

DEFENSIVE BEHAVIOURS SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOURS

Evaluation – Judgmental statements focusing
on the person, not the issue
Certainty – Being absolute, seeing no
alternative interpretations, closing off to
another’s ideas and feelings
Strategy – Manipulative behaviours to force
the other person to respond in a predetermined
way
Control – Imposing preference over others’
preferences, winning the argument is more
important than finding the best solution
Neutrality – Indifference to others’ goals,
feelings and ideas
Superiority – Implying others are inferior,
less important
Description – Identifying, focusing on the
issue, not on the person
Provisionalism – Being objective, seeing
possible alternatives, leaving room for
another’s ideas and feelings
Spontaneity – Freedom to hear and express
ideas, feelings
Problem-oriented – Focusing on resolving
problems and tensions, coming up with
solutions that everyone finds acceptable
Empathy – Caring about others’ goals,
feelings and ideas
Equality – Showing respect, equal footing with
others

In order to make these concepts clear to students, the teacher presents plenty of
hypothetical and real examples, encouraging students to share their own personal
experiences. To make the information accessible to students, s/he presents attractive
PowerPoint slides, directs student attention to relevant pages in the textbook or even
shares a cartoon or newspaper/newsletter write-up on the topic with them.

During the third phase of Guided Practice, the job of the tutor is to play the role of a
coach, providing instructional “scaffolding” in the form of cues and prompts. There is a
reversal of roles in this phase as teacher talk decreases in comparison to student
discussions. Instead of being the information giver, the teacher monitors the progress of
the students carefully and gives them feedback at appropriate points to raise their level of
thinking and to encourage them to apply the new concepts. In this phase, the students
watch a Case Study Video entitled “Cloudy Climate” which features a heated argument
between a married couple with regards to the husband’s decision to take up a job in
Seattle. After viewing the video, students are asked to analyze the dialogue in groups and
are given a list of guided instructions to keep their discussions focused on the topic of
study:

Instructions
With specific reference to the case study, in groups of 5 or 6:
1. Identify the climate: healthy/unhealthy; confirming/disconfirming.
2. Analyze the process of conflict: overt/covert; win-win/ win-lose/ lose-lose orientations.
3. Highlight defensive behaviours which contribute to lose-lose orientation.

Each group presents their responses on the issues of climate, process of conflict and the
defensive behaviours apparent in the case study. The teacher intervenes with questions
and comments, prodding students if explanations are one-sided or if claims need to be

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supported further with concrete examples. When all the groups have had a turn, the
activity is further extended.

The final phase of Independent Practice is when the students are encouraged to apply the
concepts they have learnt in a structured classroom activity in the hope that they will
extend these skills to real life situations which they encounter outside the classroom. This
phase is very important as practicing is essential for the transfer of these skills and for
developing “automaticity”. Therefore in this phase, the teacher instructs the students to
rewrite the conflict script in the video by transforming the defensive behaviours into
supportive ones that promote harmony for a win-win outcome. To drive home the
message, students are asked to enact their rewritten scripts to their classmates. This
dramatization gives the teacher an opportunity to monitor the students’ learning as well
as to diagnose the potential problems that the students may face in their communication
with others.

2.2 The Inductive Approach

As a model of the information-processing family, the Inductive approach to learning is

grounded in the belief that students develop their own worldview based on information
they are exposed to rather than through a ready-made package of knowledge that is
delivered to them by teachers (Eggen & Kauchak, 1996). Underlying this thinking is the
notion of “constructivism” which places the learner in the centre of the learning process.
According to constructivism, the learner plays an active role in the acquisition of
knowledge but at the same time the teacher’s role is critical too, that of a facilitator who
guides the learner towards valid understanding of concepts.

Eggen and Kauchak (1996) have identified five distinct but interrelated phases in the
implementation of the Inductive model. These include: Lesson introduction, the Open-
ended phase, the Convergent phase, Closure and Application. While in the first phase the
tutor introduces the activity, in the second phase the students go through the steps or
process involved while constructing a variety of meanings. Phase three is when the tutor
helps the students narrow down their responses and verbalize the characteristics of the
concept and their relationship to each other. Through a process of elimination and
convergence, students reach a point when they can clearly define the concept and its key
characteristics as well as state the underlying principles, generalizations or rules that they
have discovered in the process. Phase four serves the important function of closure when
the teacher pulls together all the aspects of the lesson to reinforce the learning goal(s).
The final phase is one of application in order to bridge the gap between classroom
learning and real-life application of concepts.

An example of the Inductive approach would be the tutorial on Communication Models in

the introductory tutorial of the Effective Communication course. In this tutorial, an
activity (designed by Assistant Professor Lim Cheng Geok) that has been used
successfully is one which requires students to describe a picture to each other and note
what happens to the message in the retelling. Students conduct this activity in groups and
with every retelling certain variables are added, withheld or altered.

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In the opening phase of Lesson Introduction, students are told that the tutorial is on
communication, specifically the elements involved in communication. They are then
instructed to get into groups of 5 and in each group the students are numbered from 1 to
5. All the students numbered 1-3 are asked to leave the room and the remaining students
are briefed as follows:

“You’re going to observe Student 1 describe a picture to Student 2, who will

describe the picture to Student 3, who will describe the picture to the class. Your
role is to observe the interactions and answer the following questions:
- How successfully was the message transmitted? (Note any differences in
vocabulary used, presentation of ideas, etc)
- What factors made the communication successful/unsuccessful”

The students should also be instructed to take down notes of their observations and to
compare the descriptions of Students 1, 2 and 3.

The Open-ended phase is the one in which the process of retelling begins in earnest. All
the students numbered 1 are called back into the classroom and they are given a minute to
observe a picture. After that, they are asked to join their respective groups to describe the
picture in detail to Student 2. All the students numbered 2 are called back into the
classroom and they are instructed to listen carefully to the description of the picture by
Student 1 so they can describe it in turn to Student 3. Both Student 1 and Student 2 are
allowed to ask questions for clarifications and to check understanding. Apart from that,
they are also free to use body language in their exchange. After the retelling is
accomplished, all the students numbered 3 are allowed to come into the classroom. They
are told that they will listen to a description of a picture from Student 1 and that they have
to try to form a clear mental image of the picture based on the description. However, this
time round, they are not allowed to ask any questions or use body language. When they
are ready, they are asked to describe the picture as they have imagined it to the class. If
their descriptions are skimpy, the tutor prods them on with questions like:

• In what form is the picture presented (a painting, cartoon, line drawing or a

photo)?
• What period is the picture set in?
• What is the orientation of the subject(s) in the picture?

At the end of their descriptions, the picture is shown to all the students so they can
compare it to the mental representations they have constructed on the basis of the various
descriptions.

In the previous phase the students concentrate on how the activity unfolds while noting
down their observations. However it is in the third phase, the Convergent phase, when
they have the opportunity to make sense of their notes and to share their observations
with the class. The observers are specifically asked to comment on the

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effectiveness/ineffectiveness of the communication based on the changes that emerged in
the retelling from Student 1 to Student 2 and Student 3. The teacher notes down the
differences on the board. In the discussion that follows students usually end up
verbalizing their views on the communicators’ field of experience, the symbolic nature of
language, opportunities for feedback through verbal and nonverbal language, the channel
and the context of communication, all of which are essential elements of communication.
The teacher plays an important role as facilitator in this phase by directing the discussion
towards specific comparisons between the students in their retelling and ultimately, a
delineation of the elements of communication.

The convergent phase leads naturally into the penultimate phase of Closure. The concepts
identified by the students are reinforced by the teacher with the help of a slide on the
Interactive Model of Communication and the many elements of the model (see figure
below):

Figure1: The Interactive Model of Communication

Message

Field of Experience
Field of Experience

Encoder Decoder
Source Receiver
Decoder Encoder

Feedback

Source: In Wood, 2004, p32 (Adapted from Schramm, 1955)

The session culminates with an interactive discussion on the various elements of the
model in relation to the experiential activity of describing a picture under different
circumstances. It becomes at once apparent to students how communication occurs within
systems, whether they are shared systems of the communicators i.e. their campus, country
and culture or the personal systems of each communicator i.e. their family, religious
associations and friends. In addition, they are able to pinpoint how feedback affected the
retelling of the picture descriptions when listeners/decoders were allowed to ask
questions for clarifications and when speakers/encoders were allowed to respond to
questions and use body language in their communication. This kind of debriefing at the

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end of the session proves to be effective as students have experienced first hand the
dynamic nature of communication. They realize that communication is often bi-
directional, not unidirectional; dialogic, not monologic; and above all interactive in terms
of verbal and nonverbal feedback as well as shared fields of experience.

The final phase of the Inductive method, the Application phase, is when students begin to
apply lessons learnt in the narrow setting of the classroom to real life situations. Students
are given plenty of opportunities during the course of the semester to apply the principles
learnt in this introductory session of the course. The important elements of
communication such as nonverbal communication, verbal communication, listening and
responding are covered in further depth in various contexts that include intrapersonal,
interpersonal and intercultural communication during the semester.

2.3 The Inquiry Approach

The Inquiry approach is very similar to the Inductive approach in that the primary goal of
the teacher is to develop higher-order and critical thinking skills in their students. This is
reflected in Eggen and Kauchak’s (1996) definition of Inquiry as “a process for
answering questions and solving problems based on facts and observations”. In order to
investigate problems and questions, the following five steps are proposed: Identifying a
question or problem, Making hypotheses, Gathering data, Assessing hypotheses and
Generalizing. The role of the teacher using the Inquiry model is to guide the students
through these steps as they work towards finding an answer to the research question.

The Inquiry model is used in the Technical Communication course offered to

undergraduates at NTU. The objective of the course is to teach report writing skills to
engineering students using a project based approach. In the spirit of this approach,
students are presented with a list of possible topics of research but they are asked to do
their own Internet and library search to come up with a research question that is worth
investigating. In order to facilitate this process, library workshops are arranged for the
students and they are also given a list of online references for each topic. This helps them
along the first phase of Identifying a relevant research question. To take an example, one
of the student groups decided to work on airplane wings and they came up with the
following research question and hypothesis:

Research Question What kind of effect do different wing designs have on the flight
pattern of an airplane?

Hypothesis Different wing designs will have a different effect on the flight
pattern of an airplane.

Formulating the research question and hypothesis is a good starting point. The
brainstorming that precedes this enables students to examine the topic they have selected
from several angles and to come up with several possible research questions on the basis
of their many readings on the topic. After they have decided on a particular research

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question from the list of possible questions, the next step of hypothesizing or making
educated guesses about possible answers/solutions to that question enables them to
identify the important variables and to decide on a method for data collection to test these
variables. For instance, the students in this investigation defined the scope of their
research based on their hypothesis as follows:

To achieve this, a thorough and detailed study of only Bernoulli’s Principle and Newton’s
Laws of Motion will be carried out. Different flight patterns of different wing structures
will be demonstrated. However, due to technical constraints, only Styrofoam models will
be used during experiments. This experiment will also focus only on different shapes of
wings and air drag created by them. Angles and materials of the wings will not be
considered in this investigation.

This exercise takes the student well beyond the inquiry problem, it gives them first hand
experience in research skills whether it is sifting through the readings of different
researchers to decide which of these secondary sources are reliable, distinguishing
important information from the superfluous or developing tolerance for ambiguities if
they come across inconsistencies in different readings.

The phase of Gathering data involves three sub-steps: conducting the experiment,
representing data and analyzing it. In order to conduct the experiment, the students
designed the different types of airfoil wings (conventional and laminar) and the body of
the aeroplane using styrofoam board, malleable metal sheets, paper, aluminum foil and
board pins. This turned out to be a trial-and-error activity as students learnt that the
designing of the airfoils required a high degree of precision, especially in the case of the
laminar airfoil which has a complex structure. In addition, they discovered that several
factors such as the streamlining of the shape, weight and dimensions of the wings in
proportion to the body had to be considered carefully. The entire process of designing the
model was an excellent learning experience as it taught them the importance of keeping
the variables constant and the consequence of inconsistencies in the design of the
apparatus. The first time they carried out the experiment the plane nosedived into the
ground due to inappropriate weight distribution in the overall design. This meant refining
the design of the model until it could fly in a stable pattern.

The next two sub-steps involve data representation and analysis of data. With the
guidance of the tutor, students are not only able to select the appropriate method of data
representation but they are also made aware of the fact that in scientific investigations it
is crucial to give explanations for their findings in relation to current theory on the topic
of investigation. In the investigation on aeroplane wings, the students were able to make
these connections with some prodding in the tutorial session that dealt with the
conventions of different forms of graphics and the conventions of the results section of a
report. These conventions were further reinforced in the conferencing sessions to discuss
the draft of their results chapter. Their investigation led them to the following findings
and comments:

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Wing Design Observation Comment
Conventional The plane flew at a The small surface of the wings resulted in less
Airfoil 1 high speed in a straight
air contact and hence low drag (air friction)
path. and high speed.
Conventional The plane flew
Due to the symmetry and reduced curvature of
Airfoil 2 downwards slowly but the wing, the amount of lift produced was not
the body was still enough to counteract the weight of the plane.
horizontal. The slow speed could be attributed to the high
amount of drag.
Laminar The plane tilted at an High speed was caused by low drag.
Airfoil angle and flew in a Tilted angle and circular path could be due to
circular path at high the unbalanced weight of the wings.
speed.

Generalizing, which brings to a closure the scientific inquiry, is the phase when students
assess their hypothesis based on their experimental data. On the basis of their findings,
the students were able to confirm their hypothesis that wing shapes indeed have a
different effect on flight patterns. Specifically, the results showed that the flight pattern is
fast and straight with Conventional Airfoil 1, slow and dipping with Conventional Airfoil
2, and fast and circular with the Laminar Airfoil. They were even able to account for
discrepancies in the results as the experiment was repeated three times with each design.
They were forced to assess the experimental conditions that could have lead to the
discrepancy and they came up with plausible explanations that could have affected the
results: the wind speed, the angle at which the model was thrown or the speed of the
release. The realization that errors can happen is perhaps the best way of coming to terms
with the fact that one has to be tentative when making generalizations on the basis of
experimental findings. In addition, it encourages them to explore all the possibilities
before arriving at firm conclusions.

Although this is the last phase of the Inquiry model, it in fact opens the door for further
research possibilities as it gives rise to several unanswered questions. The students
investigating the airfoil experiment realized that their research was incomplete as there
were so many other aspects that needed to be explored, for instance, how flight pattern is
affected by other variables like the choice of materials, angle of the wings, dimensions of
the wings (i.e. weight and length) and the forces acting upon the wings. This sets the
stage for more research and the realization that research is a continual process with no
definite answers, that what is true today maybe disproved in the future.

2.4 The Collaborative Approach

Many social theorists have raised questions about the teacher-dominant pattern of
learning in schools and tertiary institutions where teachers structure tasks for individual
students. They argue that institutions of learning should not be “a collection of
individuals acquiring education independently” but hubs of social activity where the

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emphasis is on learning through social interaction (Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2004).
Therefore the current thinking on education is one of doing away with teacher-dominated
patterns and switching to collaborative tasks in order to raise learning rates and
simultaneously promote a culture of sharing.

What’s particularly interesting is that collaborative learning can be combined with any
type of teaching model whether it is Direct instruction, Inductive or Inquiry. This is
because it works equally well with in-class activities such as the one on Communication
Climates (see Section 2.1), Communication Models (see Section 2.2) as well as with more
challenging project-based activities that run through the entire semester (see Section 2.3).
When using any of these teaching methods in combination with the Collaborative
approach, the phases would be the same except that students would have to deal with the
additional task of forming groups, defining the roles and responsibilities of the various
group members, coordinating the efforts of the individual group members and working
out an overall plan of action (Eggen and Kauchak’s 1996).

The teacher’s role would be that of a counselor, guiding the groups through the different
levels of the group experience: the problem solving or task level, the group management
level and the level of individual meaning (Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2004). In short, the
teacher would have to facilitate the group process, intervene to channel their efforts in the
right direction and monitor them to ensure that each individual student is learning from
the experience. However, intervention by the teacher should be minimal unless the group
breaks down completely and has trouble coping with the task ahead. The ways in which
the teacher can facilitate the entire group process will be discussed in further detail in the
next section on interactive strategies that teachers can use to promote active learning in
their classrooms.

3. CLASSROOM STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE ACTIVE LEARNING

Having discussed the different models of teaching, it is appropriate to explore how these
methods can be translated into classroom strategies to promote active learning. The
strategies described below cover the use of questions, lecturettes, role-plays/simulations,
and language games. These strategies can be used for the different approaches to
teaching and learning.

3.1 Questions

The process of learning involves knowledge construction. Having knowledge is a state of

understanding which comes through a process of making sense of new information in
terms of what an individual already knows (King, 1994). An extremely effective way of
constructing knowledge is to ask thought-provoking questions. Having a questioning and
an inquiring mind is the cornerstone of learning. After all critical thinking is about
analysing, inferring, synthesizing, applying, evaluating, comparing, contrasting,
explaining and hypothesizing. To be a good thinker and therefore a good learner, these
skills need to be sharpened and an effective way of doing this is to ask questions.

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To do this effectively, it is necessary to consider the numerous factors that affect learning
and the motivation to learn. Broadly categorised, there are social, cultural, physical,
environmental, emotional and personality factors as well as intellectual capabilities that
contribute to the extent and type of learning that takes place as well as the way learning
takes place. Motivation is a powerful factor when it is diligently and effectively
harnessed. To ensure a high level of motivation in the classroom while using the
questioning strategy, a number of things have to be put in place.

One of them is what Ennis (1986) and Baron (1988) call a disposition towards thinking.
It involves having attitudes and beliefs that support critical thinking such as openness to
new ideas, confidence in one’s ability to solve problems, curiosity to search for answers,
and the willingness to be adventurous in the search. How questions are posed to students,
therefore, affects the learning. The belief among some educationists that learning comes
like a flash of understanding is not conducive to real learning or thinking. What is more
effective is incremental learning. When questions are asked, the teacher should not
expect immediate answers. A ‘wait time’ is obligatory if thinking is to take place and
hence, classroom activities have to be designed with that in mind.

Another point to consider in exploring the effectiveness of using questions as a classroom

strategy is the types of questions to be asked and timing of these questions. There are
many models on the use of questions to provide the structure for developing learning
objectives for the classroom. Dantinio (1990) has put together a set of thinking processes
that can be translated into questions. There are ten processes grouped into four
categories:

1. Gathering: observing and recalling

2. Sorting: comparing, contrasting, and grouping
3. Organising: labelling, classifying, and sequencing
4. Interpreting: inferring (causes, effects, qualities) and predicting

In the first category of Gathering, factual information is to be elicited with

straightforward ‘what’ questions. In the next category of Sorting, information is
processed for understanding. The thinking skills of comparing, contrasting and grouping
are required because this is one way to make sense of new information against old
information and this process is necessary for knowledge acquisition. Once that is done,
Organising takes place with what has been sorted. The critical part in this whole process
is the last category of Interpreting. Everything comes together when the learner is
required to synthesize what s/he has gathered, evaluate and then infer meaning from that
information. Finally, if required s/he can make predictions from the conclusions.

The use of questions is versatile and as Dantinio (ibid) has pointed out effective questions
can be used at the different levels of the learning process. In the Effective
Communication course, the use of questions is extensive. For example, in the Gathering
phase which is when information is being delivered to students, they are quizzed
interactively on their understanding of concepts of the topic being presented. The

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questions take the form of ‘What are the points that have been covered…?’ and ‘What do
we know of this…?’

After this point, there is a tutorial activity in which students work together in small
groups of four to six people. The activities take many forms and they will be covered in
the discussion to follow. Whatever the activity, questions are designed to probe the
students’ understanding and to take them further along the thinking process. At this point
the group is pushed into the Sorting and Organising phases of learning because this is
when they have to consolidate what has been presented or what is new. In the Sorting
process, to make sense of the new input, it is necessary to pull together the new and the
old by comparing, contrasting and grouping the input. The process of sorting moves into
organising as a natural progression of learning.

Some of the types of questions that assist in this process can be found in the examples for
a topic on media and communication. The students are asked to discuss television
portrayals of co-culture which could touch on gender, race, class, etc. They are asked to
think through some given questions such as:

- How real is Reality TV?

- Have these shows blurred our notion of the ‘public’ and ‘private’?
- Why are they popular?
- What are the underlying messages/morals concerning human behaviour that these
shows promote?

These questions are designed to move the students into the Interpreting phase which is
the most critical in the whole process of thinking and learning. When the questions have
been adequately addressed, the tutorial comes to an end.

3.2 Lecturette

As a strategy for teaching and learning in the classroom, lecturettes have proved to be an
effective tool. These lecturettes are produced and presented by students who have been
put into small groups to work on a given topic from the Effective Communication course.
The students are tasked to introduce the topic to the class after having read the textbook
and any other reading material they find useful. They are also instructed to personalise
the topic with their own examples and experiences to make the presentation more
meaningful for themselves and for the class.

The student lecturette combines collaborative learning with the Inductive approach to
learning. With the lecturette, the first four phases of the Inductive approach are
reaffirmed. The first phase requires an introduction to the topic which in this case is done
by the student group and not the teacher. This gives added value to the information being
delivered. In the second phase, the students go through the meaning construction process
which takes place in the preparation of the lecturette when they have to make sense of
what they read. They learn as they prepare to deliver the contents and the rest of the class
learns when the contents are delivered to them. The third phase of elimination and

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convergence where the students arrive at a better understanding of the principles or
concepts is a natural progression from the second phase of meaning construction.
Similarly, the student presenters go through these phases in their preparation while the
class experience the two phases when the lecturette is delivered. In the fourth phase, the
tutor pulls together the different threads of discussion and gives meaning to what has
been discussed. The final phase of understanding and application will take place outside
the classroom if the process of learning has been successful.

The student lecturette is particularly effective as a classroom strategy because students

have to work together towards a common goal. This works very much like cooperative
learning (Cooper, Robinson and McKinney, 1994) which is a subset of collaborative
learning. Some of the characteristics of this type of learning include positive
interdependence, individual accountability, and teacher facilitator. Positive
interdependence works because each member of the team has a shared sense of
responsibility towards the final outcome. For one member of a team to do well, s/he must
be well co-coordinated with the other members of the team. Each member contributes to
different aspects of the lecturette so that each is interdependent upon the other. Individual
accountability occurs when each is required to make a presentation. The teacher’s role in
this is to be a facilitator. In this arrangement, the teacher provides the expert guidance
when points need to be further explained, clarified, illustrated and highlighted for
discussion. Cooperative learning using an Inductive approach proves to be effective in
this context.

Another added feature of the student lecturette that works particularly well is the
personalized examples and experiences that are used as illustrations in the lecturette.
Personalized accounts invariably serve to generate greater interest in the topic and that
makes learning easier and more pleasurable for the audience. When the student is able to
draw from his/her own experience to illustrate a concept being taught, s/he is taking
responsibility for his/her learning. When that happens, learning is actively taking place.
Pedagogically, this is important because what is self-generated involves greater thinking
when the learners have to clarify concepts for himself/herself first before they are used. It
enhances motivation.

3. 3 Role-play/ Simulations

Yet another classroom strategy is the use of role-play/simulation. It is well established

that role-playing unfamiliar or disorientating perspectives, and playing out ‘what if’
situations make an excellent critical thinking exercise (Bean, 2001). The essence of role-
playing is the involvement of participants and observers in a real problem situation and
the desire for resolution and understanding of the situation. It allows students to 1)
explore their feelings; 2) gain insight into their attitudes, values, and perceptions; 3)
develop their problem-solving skills and attitudes; and 4) explore subject matter in varied
ways ( Joyce, Weil & Calhoun, 2004) .

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The assumptions made about the learning process are that role-plays provide experience-
based learning. It also assumes that role plays can recreate authentic real-life situations
and that the enactments can elicit genuine emotional responses and behaviour from
students. To ensure that the benefits of role-plays are fully maximised, students have to
understand the roles they play. They need help to learn how to play their roles so that
they are able to fully empathise with the roles. Once they are able to get into the thoughts
and feelings required of their roles, they will be able to reflect and interpret social
behaviour with greater accuracy.

This strategy is extensively used in the same Effective Communication course. In most
of the tutorials which begin with the student lecturette followed by the discussion,
students are given an activity, one for each small group to work through. They are then
required to present the outcome of their discussions to the rest of the class. This can take
the form of skits in which the students within the small groups role-play their given
situation to the entire class. These situations are usually described to them in tutorial
handouts. One such example from a tutorial on Communication Climates in the Effective
Communication course is as follows:

Instructions
Listed below are 6 scenarios that describe a situation and your goal in the situation. Form 6
groups of 5 to 6 students and role-play the scenarios below to illustrate a destructive and then a
constructive communication climate.

Scenario 1: You need to study for an examination, but your boyfriend/girlfriend really wants to
go out for dinner and a movie.

Scenario 2: You think your roommate is angry with you, but you have no idea why and he/she
denied being angry when you stated your perception. But he/she is acting very distant and
unfriendly.

Scenario 3: One of your close friends asks to borrow your car. Normally, you wouldn’t mind
lending your car to a friend, but this person has a record of speeding and being careless behind
the wheel. You can’t afford to have your car wrecked.

Scenario 4: A close friend asks you about something very personal. You want to show that you
trust the friend, but you don’t want to discuss this topic – even with a close friend.

Scenario 5: Ten days ago you lent $20 to one of your classmates with the agreement that he/she
would repay you within a week. He/she has not repaid the money, nor has he/she offered any
explanation. You need the loan to be repaid.

Scenario 6: One of the members in the group to which you belong tells racist and sexist jokes.
You find the jokes very offensive, but you don’t want to create tension in the group or make the
person who tells the jokes feel bad. You just want the jokes to stop.

Source: Cole, Kobland & Wood, 2004, p101

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Before they start their preparation for the role-play, the tutor explains, clarifies and does
whatever is needed to ensure students understand the situations. The students are then
given 20-30 minutes to discuss the situations in their groups, decide amongst themselves
who in the group will act out specific roles, and then prepare their lines. When they are
ready, they enact the given situation. Very important to the learning process is the
analysis and discussion following the enactment. This is done immediately after the
enactment to raise awareness of the emotions and ideas brought out in the role-play. The
consequences and responses are then explored and discussed collectively to further
harness the benefits of cooperative learning.

3.4 Games

The use of games is another classroom strategy that works well in encouraging active
learning. Teachers have been using games in classrooms for many years but it needs
reminding that games are not time-fillers (Lee, 1995). When games are carefully
constructed while keeping clear objectives in mind, games are highly effective in many
ways. Games are infinitely adaptable to the type of subject matter, type of students and
class objectives to teach specific skills, highlight points and create the right environment
for learning.

By using games as part of teaching, students benefit in many different and significant
ways. For instance, using games can lower anxiety about the learning though it is
conceivable that there could be performance anxiety. Generally, well-conceived games
encourage creative and spontaneous learning, promote communicative competence, and
are high on motivation (Lengeling and Malarcher ,1997).

The benefits of games can be multiplied when combined with role-plays to exercise
metaphoric or analogic thinking. This forces a player to look at X from the perspective
of Y. The strange becomes familiar or the familiar becomes strange (Bean, 2001). When
that happens, the experience encourages a development of mature thinking. By assuming
a different role from one’s natural self, s/he is invited to look at issues from a different
perspective. In doing so, cognitive skills are challenged which in turn precipitate
learning.

Another feature of games in the classroom is the cooperative learning that takes place.
Games in whatever form inevitably involve at least two people at the minimum. When
there is positive interdependence, individual accountability and when the teacher is the
facilitator, positive learning occurs. Many features of this classroom strategy work in
combination to encourage active learning.

An example of how games can work is in a language and thesis writing course taught to
foreign graduates at NTU. To help students improve vocabulary and reinforce the use of
rhetorical structures orally, a series of activities were designed to make learning fun,
varied and at the same time to complement the written component in the course which
focuses on thesis writing.

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One such language game is the use of idiomatic expressions to begin story-telling. The
students are given a card each with an idiomatic expression written on it and they have to
guess it’s usage. If the guess it incorrect, it is thrown open to the whole class. Once the
meaning is established, the student who was given the card has to tell a story based on the
idiomatic expression. To generate more interest for both the story-teller and the rest of
the class, the story-teller can decide if the story is real or completely false. It has to be
one or the other. After the story is told, the class has to make a guess. Thereafter, the
tutor-facilitator picks up on the language used by commending on good usage, correcting
wrong usage, introducing new usage and discussing interesting possibilities of
manipulating meaning.

Another game used to increase vocabulary is to have students use stimulus materials such
as advertisements. Each student is given an advertisement and a small piece of paper on
which to write down as many words that are relevant to describe the advertisement. This
list of words is then attached to the advertisement and is passed to another student who is
to describe or tell a story about the picture using his own vocabulary and those from the
attached list. The tutor-facilitator intervenes to give comments on the usage as in the
above game. Active learning occurs when old vocabulary is used with its meaning and
usage reinforced and sometimes expanded on. When new vocabulary is used, active
learning takes the form of experimentation with and explorations of new words and
usage. An added benefit of this game is that the entire class actively learns during the
interactive discussions.

Through the use of the interactive strategies of questions, lecturette, role-play/simulation

and games in combination with the various teaching models, classroom learning becomes
truly meaningful. This melding of teaching models with innovative classroom strategies
leads to a holistic learning experience for students, especially when used within an
overall pedagogical framework that completes the learning process. The different
elements of this framework will be elaborated upon in the next section.

4. PEDAGOGICAL FRAMEWORK

In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss some teaching models and classroom
strategies that promote “active” learning. There are in fact many more models and
strategies that teachers can use or even a combination of models and strategies in order to
make their classrooms interactive where the flow of information is not just one-way, from
the teacher to the student. The choice of a model is clear cut in certain cases such as using
the Direct-instruction model when the concepts are complex and need to be explained
before launching on experiential activities; using the Inductive model when the concepts
are simple enough to be grasped through experiential activities; the Inquiry model when
students have to investigate a topic; and the Collaborative learning model for problem
solving as well as project-based activities where a synergy of several members leads to
better results. Whichever model the teacher decides to use, the underlying principle
behind the different types of teaching models discussed in this paper is that knowledge is
not just transmitted from the teacher to the students but that current knowledge is

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reconstructed in the light of new knowledge that the students have received. In order to
help students in this process of reconstructing knowledge, there are some guidelines that
teachers can follow:

Lesson Alignment: Identifying a clear goal and then matching the goal to the
activities planned for a lesson are the most fundamental tasks for a teacher. This
keeps the lesson on track from the start to the close, with the teacher verbalizing
the lesson goal at the beginning and then reiterating it at the end of the class along
with a review of the important points covered during the lesson.

Lesson Focus: Focusing the students means drawing them into the lesson and
keeping their attention as the lesson progresses. While a conceptual introduction
is one that spells out the objective in terms of the content to be covered during a
lesson, it is equally important for the teacher to introduce the lesson in an
interesting manner to raise the motivational level of students. There are many
resources like models, pictures, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint slides,
videos, advertisements, newspaper articles or even the white board by means of
which teachers can provide their students sensory stimuli.

Student Motivation: Establishing and maintaining high student motivation is

essential for maximum learning. What students bring with them to class in terms
of expectations, aspirations, and presumptions determines to a large extent how
much learning takes place. A teacher who is cognizant of this can enhance the
learning process by adding value to it, and at the same time dispelling any
negativity.

Class Size and Group Dynamics: Keeping the class size small ensures the quality
of the teaching and learning. In addition when students work well together, the
entire mood in the classroom improves and the learning outcomes are invariably
better. The teacher-facilitator plays an important role in promoting synergy
among students to ensure that more active learning takes place. If the teacher has
no control over class size, then the other alternative would be to break up the class
into small groups and to inculcate in group members good group values for
positive interdependence as well as independent accountability.

Monitoring Progress: Keeping track of students’ verbal and nonverbal behaviour

is something alert teachers are constantly aware of during learning activities.
Attending to the reactions of the students with appropriate prompts and comments
can lead to a supportive climate of learning and promote the students
“metacognition” i.e. it makes them aware of the kind of learning strategies they
can employ in order to be better as well as more independent learners.

Performance Feedback: Giving feedback is crucial in order to make learning a

meaningful experience for students. Teachers who give immediate and specific
feedback in a friendly tone ensure that students are aware of their performance

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 and feel encouraged to give alternative responses to queries. This kind of
feedback or “scaffolding” gives student the support they need in their process of
learning and it ultimately gives them the confidence to manage and control their
own learning.

Communication and Attitude: Being able to communicate clearly, coherently and

enthusiastically with students is a prerequisite for those in the teaching profession.
A thorough knowledge of the topic, effective delivery and an engaging style are
characteristics that a teacher should strive towards in his/her teaching. Just as
student motivation is important in the learning process for the student, teacher
motivation is equally important. How committed the teacher is to the task of
teaching determines how much learning takes place for the student. If effort and
enthusiasm are lacking, the quality of the teaching will be affected.

Classroom Management: Maintaining classroom order goes a long way in saving

precious class time for instruction or actual learning. This can be achieved by
preparing materials in advance and inculcating in students good classroom
routines. An effective teacher is often one who is also an effective manager,
making optimal use of the time available for a lesson.

Teacher Expectations: Pitching lessons at the right level is an essential aspect of

teaching. Teachers have to gauge the standard of their students and pitch their
teaching at a level just beyond their developmental level for optimal learning. If
students need more structure then teachers should be on stand-by to provide it and
if there is excessive support, they should be able to withdraw it. The idea behind
this is to provide the right amount of support for learning to be challenging to
students but not beyond their grasp. This approach pulls students towards better
performance and inevitably towards more independent learning.

These guidelines provide an overall framework for a successful learning and teaching
experience. Along with selecting the right teaching model and classroom strategies
that match a particular lesson goal, the teacher needs to take into consideration the
many factors discussed in this section to make the education experience a fulfilling
and holistic one for the students.

5. CONCLUSION

An attempt has been made in this paper to discuss a selection of teaching models and
classroom strategies that when used in combination promote interactive and thinking
classrooms where knowledge is generated through experiential learning activities. In such
classrooms, the teacher’s role changes from that of an information-giver to a facilitator
and the student’s role from a passive to an active learner. The goal of the lesson
determines the choice of the teaching model and in some instances, a combination of
these models may have to be used for optimal results. To promote both thinking and deep
understanding, the teacher has at her disposal a whole range of classroom strategies that
can be used successfully to draw the students out and make learning an enjoyable and

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meaningful experience for them. Although teaching models and classroom strategies are
important tools that teachers need in order to make their classes effective, they are
definitely not a replacement for basic teacher qualities such as knowledge of content,
sensitivity towards students and above all, creativity. For a paradigm shift from passive to
active learning, all three aspects need to be taken into consideration whether it is the
teaching model, interactive classroom strategies or basic teacher qualities.

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