• group discussion,
• role play, or
• experimentation.
Rather than passively receiving and memorizing knowledge or instruction from the teacher in order to be able to repeat it accurately.
Active learning became the norm in most schools, as the value of being able to reproduce information uncritically and ‘parrot fashion’ came increasingly under question in the 20th century. However, the facilitation of active learning becomes more difficult the larger the class size. The implementation of an active approach to learning, therefore, can depend as much on pupil-teacher ratio as on beliefs about effective approaches to learning.
What IS Active Learning?
Learning in which students, “by acting on objects and interacting with other people, ideas, and events, construct new understanding” . (Luckner & Nadler, 1997, p. 13)
“Learning is conceived of as something a learner does, not something that is done to a learner.” (Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991, p. 7)
What is Active Learning is NOT?
Learning is not merely the acquisition of knowledge where students receive information from teachers and regurgitate it - this is memorization
Confucius
- What I hear, I forget
- What I see, I remember
- What I do, I understand
Modified by Silberman (1996)
- What I hear, I forget.
- What I hear and see, I remember a little.
- What I hear, see, and ask questions about or discuss with someone else, I begin to understand.
- What I hear, see, discuss, and do, I acquire knowledge and skill.
- What I teach another, I master.
