|
|
Introduction
Before we begin, let’s review what we know about active learning. Although the traditional lecture format still dominates the college classroom, students need to be able to do more than listen and write down exactly what they hear and regurgitate that lecture in writing on an exam. Students need higher level thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. [See Bloom’s Taxonomy] Researchers Schwartz and Bransford explain that “when telling occurs without readiness, the primary recourse for students is to treat the new information as ends to be memorized rather than as tools to help them perceive and think.”1 And in a review of the literature on active learning, Bonwell and Eison observe that “research studies evaluating students’ achievement have demonstrated that many strategies promoting active learning are comparable to lectures in promoting the master of content but superior to lectures in promoting the development of students’ skills in thinking and writing.”2
1Schwartz, D. L.& Bransford, J. D. (1998) A time for telling. Cognition and Instruction. 16(4), 475-522,
2Bonwell, C.C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. ERIC Digest ED340272
For more information about active learning and online teaching, take a look at the following videos:
|
|
Welcome | Introduction | Moving Away from the Sage... | Online Discourse | Facilitating Small Groups | Metacognition | Conclusion | Back to CTL Tutorials | CTL Home
