Promoting Active
Learning
Compiled by Benjamin
Linder
The
following is a list of ideas for activities inside and outside of the
classroom that can help to promote active learning. Although the list
is far from complete, we have tried to provide a wide range of
suggestions.
Engaging Students with Subject
Material
- Use exercises or problems in
class
- Ask questions in class; call on
students to answer those questions
- As a homework assignment, have
students generate questions to bring into class
- Have students generate their own
examples and illustrations
- Have students write short
summaries of discussions or lectures
- Require students to keep journals
on some aspect of the subject
- Assign students the task of
writing homework problems
- Have students give each other
feedback on some portion of their classroom
performance
- Hand out incomplete notes that
students have to fill in during the lecture
Developing Interactions Among
Students
- Use an ice breaking activity at
the first class (e.g., pair students and have them introduce each
other)
- Team students in small groups to
work on homework problems
- Provide time in class for
students to discuss course material or solve problems
- Set up student panels or
debates
- Pair students for problem solving
with one student recording how the other solves the
problem
- Set up a Web discussion forum for
the course
Developing Faculty-Student
Interaction
- Learn students’ names and
have students learn each others’ names
- Arrange the classroom so that
students face one another
- Describe the kind of interaction
you expect in class at the beginning of the semester
- Survey students to find out their
knowledge base and expectations for the subject
- Tell short, focused, relevant war
stories
- Arrive early to class; stay after
class
- Describe some part of your
research
- Walk around the classroom rather
than just staying at the front
- Recognize and compliment student
participation
- Ask for feedback about the
subject regularly
Incorporating Engineering
Practice
- Use demonstrations
- Use cases
- Pass around hardware
- Plan trips to plants or other
field trips
- Use game playing
simulations
- Bring in guest
lecturers
- Relate current events to class
material
- Assign on-paper design
contests