Active Learning

Excerpts from the Approaches to learning and teaching series, courtesy of Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment International Education

What is active learning? Active learning is a teaching approach that places student learning at its centre. It focuses on how students learn, not just on what they learn. We, as teachers, need to encourage learners to ‘think hard’, rather than passively receive information. Active learning encourages learners to take responsibility for their learning and supports them in becoming independent and confident learners in school and beyond. Research shows us that it is not possible to transmit understanding to learners by simply telling them what they need to know. Instead, we need to make sure that we challenge learners’ thinking and support them in building their own understanding. Active learning encourages more complex thought processes such as evaluating,analysing and synthesising, which foster a greater number of neural connections in the brain. Although some learners may be able to create their own meaning from information received passively, others will not. Active learning enables all learners to build knowledge and understanding in response to the opportunities we provide.

Why adopt an active learning approach? We can enrich all areas of the curriculum, at all stages, by embedding an active learning approach. In active learning, we need to think not only about the content but also about the process. It gives learners greater involvement and control over their learning. This encourages all learners to stay focused on their learning, which will often give them greater enthusiasm for their studies. Active learning is intellectually stimulating and taking this approach encourages a level of academic discussion with our learners that we, as teachers, can also enjoy. Healthy discussion means that learners are engaging with us as a partner in their learning. Learners will be better able to revise for examinations in the sense that revision really is ‘re-vision’ of the ideas that they already understand. Active learning develops learners’ analytical skills, supporting them to be better problem solvers and more effective in their application of knowledge. They will be prepared to deal with challenging and unexpected situations. As a result, learners are more confident in continuing to learn once they have left school and are better equipped for the transition to higher education and the workplace.

What are the challenges of incorporating active learning? When people start thinking about putting active learning into practice, they often make the mistake of thinking more about the activity they want to design than about the learning. The most important thing is to put the learner and the learning at the centre of our planning. A task can be quite simple but still get the learner to think critically and independently. Sometimes a complicated task does not actually help to develop the learners’ thinking or understanding at all. We need to consider carefully what we want our learners to learn or understand and then shape the task to activate this learning. Content via Cambridge GO