Active Learning for All by Heather Francis

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Active Learning for All

Strategies for Teachers Across

Heather Francis, Jenna Gabriel, and Sophie Turnbull

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Table of Contents

General Information What is active learning?

User Guide

Active learning: level 1 Exit Slip

Refresher

Active learning: level 2 Think-pair-share

Concept maps

Active learning: level 3 Debate

Jigsaw

Active learning: level 4 Field Trips

Service-learning projects

Acknowledgements Meet the authors

Resources and References

What is Active Learning? Active learning is any classroom exercise in which the student is engaged in the construction of her own understanding as opposed to passively receiving knowledge from an expert teacher.

! Active learning is rooted in constructivism1, and there is consensus among contemporary researchers that construction of knowledge is the centerpiece of active learning. Freire contrasts active learning techniques with the “banking concept of education,”2 in which teachers deposit information in students’ minds and then assess how much of this information students can recall. This traditional educational approach is based on the misconception that students passively receive intact knowledge. In fact, students creatively build their knowledge in unique ways. Active learning techniques support this constructive learning process. In active learning, students apply their knowledge as part of the learning process3,4. Many researchers emphasize that active learning involves authentic learning experiences that incorporate both doing and thinking5,6,7,8,9. Grabinger and Dunlap argue that, at best, active learning techniques also incorporate opportunities for student-directed learning, activities that promote high-order thinking skills, and authentic assessments10. Active learning techniques lead to greater student learning, motivation, and interest than passive techniques. Research suggests that when teachers teach lessons actively, students are more engaged and have better memory of the material being taught11. Moreover, active learning techniques support students in learning material in deeper and more flexible ways. Specifically, students who learn through active techniques tend to be better prepared to transfer the knowledge they gained to new situations and applying it to creatively solve problems12,13,14,15. In addition, active learning techniques promote student interest, which also leads to better academic outcomes16,17,18. Active learning techniques that encourage students to feel safe to express their opinions seem to be particularly effective at increasing student interest19. Moreover, active learning techniques can actually encourage students to have more positive attitudes toward a field of study. A recent study at the Bedales School in collaboration with Research Schools International at Harvard University found that active learning techniques have a positive association with student enjoyment, suggesting the use of a variety of active learning techniques may positively impact students’ experiences in school.

User Guide Active Learning for All is a book of active learning resources for educators who teach in grades K-12 across different subject areas.

Below each Active Learning for All activity, you will see several symbols. These symbols will indicate which aspects of active learning each activity addresses. As you will see, the exemplar activities incorporate many different active learning strategies.

Symbol

Meaning Write Reflect Activate Prior Knowledge Ask Questions Group Work Choice Discuss Research Read

! All activities will also have a corresponding number. This number is a measure of how active an activity is based on our activeness scale.20

Low-level active

Mid-high level active

Mid-level active

High level active 5

Exit Poll

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

At the end of your lesson, ask students to respond to a question or prompt. 2. You may state the prompt orally to your students and/or project the prompt visually. 3. Distribute index cards or paper for students to write down their responses. 4. Collect and review the exit slips as part of an assessment portfolio for each student.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Write one thing you learned today. Discuss how today’s lesson could be used in the real world. I didn’t understand… Write one questions you had about today’s lesson. Did you enjoy working in small groups today? I would like to learn more about… The thing that surprised me the most today was…

Refresher

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Think-Pair-Share Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Concept Map !

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Debate

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Jigsaw

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Field Trip

Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Service Learning Materials

• Index cards or small sheets of paper • Question or prompt

Steps 1.

Sample Prompts • • • • • • •

Meet the Authors ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Heather Francis, Ed.M.

is a special educator and education researcher. She has worked in the education sector for 6 years in formal and informal learning environments. Heather specializes in researching the language and literacy development of students at-risk for language-based learning disabilities. She is currently a project coordinator researching language and literacy development at the Brain.Experience.Education.Lab and a Curriculum Fellow researching active learning in higher education at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University.

Jenna Gabriel, Ed.M.

Sophie Turnbull, Ed.M.

Resources

References