ENGAGING STUDENT IN THE CLASSROOM: ACTIVE LEARNING

Instruction Boot-Camp Fall 2016

By the end of this session you should be able to:

• Describe how learning works;

• Explain the role that active learning opportunities play in the quest for student learning;

• Select active learning techniques & strategies for use as you teach;

• Identify potential pitfalls (and possible solution strategies) when active learning is incorporated into teaching.

How Learning Works

Long-Term Memory

activatio

n

attentionencoding

Sensory Input

Long Term

Memory

Working Memory

“

“

“Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence, embracing philosophy, psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience,

linguistics, and anthropology. Its intellectual origins are in the mid-1950s when researchers in several fields began to develop theories of mind based on complex representations and computational procedures. Its

organizational origins are in the mid-1970s when the Cognitive Science Society was formed and the journal Cognitive Science began. Since then,

more than ninety universities in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia have established cognitive science programs, and many others

have instituted courses in cognitive science.”

“

How familiar are you with the concept of active

learning?

Discuss with a partner

Active learning is any activity that requires students to

think about what they are learning, as they are learning it.

Given our model of how learning works, why/how do you

think active learning would help?

How Learning Works

rehearsal

Long-Term Memory

activatio

n

attention

Working Memoryencoding

Sensory Input

Long Term

Memory

Active Learning

Freeman et al (2014)

How familiar are you with the pedagogical

strategy commonly referred to as Think-Pair-

Share?

Takeaways

• Providing active learning opportunities will help students learn;

• It is useful to find ways to activate students’ prior knowledge, and to focus their (cognitive) attention on the right things;

• The more we and our students talk to one another, the more likely they are to learn.

TEACHING TOOLBOX

Tools that can facilitate peer learning and peer brainstorming

Understanding Peer Instruction

Concept Map

Concept maps can be formatted many ways depending on content.

Google Draw

• For collaborative Group Concept Maps.

Concept mapping Video- with Google Draw

Suggested Scenario :

A GT instructor wants to introduce her students to concepts thatwould be helpful to students when designing their online portfolio or resume. She wants them to think about:

The Framework of a personal portfolio or research oriented website.

• The organizational structure of the website • Grouping & organizing appropriate content for the website• Accessibility• Purpose of the website • Audience of the website• Tools for website Development

Suggested Topic: Organizing and grouping content for an academic website• Break into groups

• Develop a Concept Map with Google Draw on a topic you have encountered in a class or the suggested topic.

Recap of what we’ve learned

• Active learning impacts learning outcomes and retention.• Think – Pair- Share and Concept Maps can be used to facilitate

in class student engagement.• Google Draw can be used as a tool to help students visualize

conceptual relationships . ( Concept Maps)

• These techniques are useful not only in semester long classes, but library instruction sessions as well.

• Questions? Feeback? …