What Is Student-Active Teaching?
Student-active teaching and learning involves students in the learning process. Certain
cognitive research (see constructivism) suggests that
genuine learning requires more than just passive listening — students must discuss, write, ask and
answer questions, or otherwise engage in their own learning. These activities in turn require students to
use critical thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation (see
Bloom's taxonomy of higher order thinking). Faculty use a
variety of approaches in student-active classrooms including cooperative groupwork, debate and discussion,
and open-ended problem solving. Formative evaluation —
ongoing evaluation of a course — is a critical aspect of student-active teaching because this
process helps teachers be more reflective, effective teachers.
Student-Active Teaching...
- Can be done in any class regardless of size or students' prior experience with the subject
- Does not depend on use of any particular technique; faculty need to find approaches and course design that work best for them and their students
- Involves students more actively in their own learning and teachers in their teaching
- Is solidly based on theories of learning and many studies
- Requires more preparation time at first, but not necessarily later on
- Can include lecturing
- Often entails the "less is more" approach: less material is covered which students learn better
- Helps faculty recognize that what students learn may be quite different from what they taught
- Entails ongoing evaluation done by the teacher which provides feedback about the effectiveness of an approach or a session; such evaluation rarely happens in lecture-based courses
- Involves science faculty in the science of teaching - the theories, testing ideas, data analysis, and revision of hypotheses
- Gives students variety in the classroom, more control over their learning, involves them in activities that require thinking
- Usually works better when students are told what teachers are doing and why
You will find many online resources for Student-Active Teaching under Teaching Resources: LINKS
