Active Learning for Students

The foundation of active learning is involvement by both the teacher and the student. I recently spoke with a teacher who wanted me to give her a list of active versus passive learning strategies. But it’s not that simple. For example, if a teacher lectures, is that a passive activity? Not necessarily. I’ve been on the receiving end of lectures that were very engaging; I was totally involved, taking notes and making connections to my prior

experiences and my current situation. When I was in college, though, I remember a professor who lectured throughout the entire course. I wrote on notepaper during class, so he thought that I was focused on his class. In reality, I was working on my homework from another course! It isn’t the strategy—it’s how you use the strategy that makes a difference.
Students who are actively involved in a lesson or activity exhibit several key characteristics:

ACTIVE

A Attention
C Concentrated effort
T Thinking
I Involvement
V Variety
E Engagement 

photo by jppi