Both cognitive science and classroom research have clearly shown that traditional lecturing, in which students are fire-hosed with information nonstop for 50- or 75-minute stretches or longer, does not facilitate much learning. A far more effective way to present information in class is to use active learning, in which traditional lecture segments alternate with brief activities in which the students reflect on key information (concepts and methods) in the lecture segments and then apply it, working either individually or in small groups. Less content may be presented in such sessions than when nonstop lecturing is used, but the amount of that content the students actually learn can be significantly greater.

Sometimes a participant at one of our presentations asks, “If you were to choose a single recommendation from your book or this workshop for us to try, what would it be?”  Our reply is, “Use active learning!”

The references on active learning that follow and several more posts in this blog discuss how to implement the approach in both face-to-face and online instruction, pitfalls to avoid when implementing it, and the massive body of research that attests to its effectiveness.

References on information processing in the brain

1. Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (2024). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (2nd ed.), pp. 67–71. Jossey-Bass.
2. Lovett, M.C., Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M., Ambrose, S.A., and Norman, M.K. (2023). How learning works: Eight research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
3. Oakley, B., Rogowsky, B., and Sejnowski, T.J. (2021). Uncommon sense teaching: Practical insights in brain science to help students learn. Tarcher/Penguin.

References on active learning

1. Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (2024). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (2nd ed.), (Chapter 6, and pp. 78–89, 103, 175–176). Jossey-Bass.
2. Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (n.d.) “Active learning: An introduction.” A short tutorial that defines active learning, gives examples of activities and formats, answers frequently-asked questions about the method, and includes a multiple-choice quiz on the tutorial contents that provides feedback on incorrect responses.
3. (Video) Felder, R.M. (n.d.) Active learning with Richard Felder. A 12-minute video on YouTube in which Dr. Felder explains what active learning is and why it works and shows several illustrative clips of its use in a 125-student engineering class.
4. (Video) Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (n.d.) Creating partnerships: Active learning in an engineering class. A 35-minute video on YouTube containing clips of Dr. Felder using active learning in a large class, with narration by Drs. Felder and Brent and post-course comments from several of the students about the impact of the teaching method on their learning.
5. Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., and Wenderoth, M.P. (2014). “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. A large meta-analysis of hundreds of research studies of active learning. The results conclusively demonstrate the superiority of active learning to traditional lecturing at facilitating almost every conceivable learning outcome other than short-term learning of facts.

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