What is active learning? | Manaarah

Active learning is a method of teaching that uses different strategies to engage students in the learning process.

There are various learning activities and strategies some of them revolve around grouping students in teams to work together or letting each student work individually. There are short activities like paired discussions, and journal writing. Long activities include role plays and case studies.

Unlike traditional learning where the teacher explains the lesson without any interaction with students, active learning is all about engaging them in the learning process to ensure their understanding.

Active learning definition.

Active learning is an approach used by teachers and instructors to engage students in the learning process to ensure that they actively learn and digest the course. there are different strategies including discussions, role plays, team activities, and so on.

Active learning activities may be long or short, some of them may take minutes while other types may last for a whole session or a couple of sessions.  

Active learning strategies.

There’re different active leaning strategies and here are some of them.

1.     Reciprocal questioning.

In this type, students are asked to make their own questions about the topic or lesson. For example, you could divide the class into small groups and prepare their own questions about the lesson you’ve covered, or a piece of paper you asked them to read then let them discuss it with the rest of the class.

2.     Three step interviews.

In this approach for students to actively learning the lesson you can divide them into groups of three so that one of them is the interviewer, the second is the interviewee, and the third is the notetaker. This activity will help them develop their active listening as they question one another and share their opinions and knowledge.  

This type of active learning strategy may take around ten minutes for each interview. The members of each team should switch their roles together.   

3.     The pause procedure.

The pause procedure refers to pausing for three minutes every 10 to 15 minutes of the lecture. The human brain needs to take breaks every 20 minutes so that it can absorb the information correctly and keep working properly. That is the goal of taking breaks every 15 minutes. To allow your student to absorb the knowledge given in the lecture.

During the breaks, you can ask questions to check their understanding, encourage them to raise any questions they have, or give them a problem to solve. There’re many things to do to refresh their brains and make the lecture more fun and digestible.  

4.     Peer teaching activities.

In this type of active learning strategy, students take the role of the instructor and explain a concept, part of a lesson, or whatever you ask them to prepare. In this type, each student will discuss the lesson from their own opinion and understanding.

What are active learning examples?

There are many examples of active learning activities. For example, dividing the class into teams and then assigning them a project to solve or discuss based on their understanding of the lesson. Then let them make a presentation to discuss it with the rest of the class.

Another example is role play, you can divide the class into smaller groups and assign them a task to role play. There are many examples of active learning, and those were two of them.

What is active learning in the classroom?

Active learning in a classroom is the process of engaging students throughout the lecture to ensure their understanding. Instead of explaining everything to them and they are required to just listen.

Active leaning makes student part of the learning process, they are asked to share their thoughts and open discussions with the rest of the class or make projects. This way you ensure their understanding and that they will never forget what they learn.

Examples of the many approaches that you can use are dividing them into groups and assigning them tasks or projects, open discussion, written assignments, and many others.

What are the types of active learning?

There are many types of active learning and here are some of them:

•       Discussions.
•       Group activities.
•       Roleplay.
•       Peer teaching.
•       Brainstorming.
•       Written assignment.

Why is active learning important in the classroom?

Active learning is important in the classroom because it engages the student with the learning process which helps them retain and digest the information given in the class and use it to solve real-life problems.

They can ask any questions they want and open discussions with the teacher and the rest of the class which provide them with many skills they will need in their life. Active learning gives the opportunity for every student in the class to engage in the learning process and encourages them to work together and listen to each other opinions.

What are the benefits of active learning?

Active learning ensures the understanding of the student of the course material through open discussions, writing assignments, peer teaching, working in groups, or any other approach.

It gives them the opportunity to apply what they learn in the class to solve real problems they might face in the future. Knowing that what they learn can be used to solve real-life problems will make them eager to learn more and never forget what they learn.

It helps them acquire skills like teamwork skills, presentation skills, problem-solving skills, and so on.

The instructor will also understand what the students need and their way of thinking.

Motivating students to learn more.

Maintain a connection between the students and the instructor, and among the students themselves.  

There’s a study shows that students learn better through applying and participating in the class.

How do you engage students in active learning?

There are many ways to engage your students to actively learn through active learning and here are some approaches to use.

Discussion Boards: ask your students to study the lesson and then discuss it with the rest of the class online. Or ask them to make research the part they found interesting in the lesson or right a paragraph on what they understood from the lesson and share it with the rest of the class and let everyone share their opinions.

Teamwork: divide the class into small groups and assign them a task or a small project, give each group 20 minutes to discuss the task and find the best way to present it then let every team make a presentation, and other teams say their opinions or ask questions.

Assignments: after the class give the students assignment to solve, for example, it could be questions about the lesson, a problem to solve based on their understanding of the lesson, or additional research to bring more information regarding a specific topic.

Open discussion: ask a question and let all students share their opinions and listen to one another. Ask them to comment on the answers they hear.

Peer teaching: In this type of active learning strategy, students take the role of the instructor and explain a concept, part of a lesson or whatever you ask them to prepare. In this type, each student will discuss the lesson from their own opinion and understanding.

Three-step interviews: In this approach for students to actively learn the lesson you can divide them into groups of three so that one of them is the interviewer, the second is the interviewee, and the third is the notetaker. This activity will help them develop their active listening as they question one another and share their opinions and knowledge. 

This type of active learning strategy may take around ten minutes for each interview. The members of each team should switch their roles together.  

Conclusion.

We now know that Active learning is an approach used by teachers and instructors to engage students in the learning process to ensure that they actively learn and digest the course. there are different strategies including discussions, role plays, team activities, and extra. It could be long and lasts for a couple of sessions or short and only takes 10 minutes or so.

To make it clear we took an example of Active learning, the example was dividing the class into teams and then assigning them a project to solve or discuss based on their understanding of the lesson. Then let them make a presentation to discuss it with the rest of the class.

We learned about the different types and strategies of active learning like peer teaching, Discussion Boards, role play, writing assignments, and so on.

We also discussed the importance of applying it in class and its different benefits.

That’s it for today’s article I hope you found it useful, for more information or if you have any questions visit our website Manaarah.