This question is the first one we get in just about in every workshop we give. Everyone worries that active learning exercises and other learner-centered methods will take too much time, and important course material won’t be covered. It’s a completely understandable fear, but there are some techniques you can use to do all the learner-centered teaching you want without sacrificing coverage of course content, and maybe even covering more.
Reduce coverage of nice-to-know material. Write learning objectives and use them to distinguish need-to-know from nice-to-know course material. Need-to-know material directly addresses your learning objectives and may be on your assignments and tests, and nice-to-know material doesn’t and won’t be. Make sure you cover all of your need-to-know material, and put nice-to-know material in any remaining time you have.
Felder, R.M. (2014). Why are you teaching that? Chem. Engr. Education, 48(3), 131-132.
Felder, R. M, & Brent, R. (2024). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide, 2nd Edn., pp. 38-39. Jossey-Bass.
Reduce in-class coverage of material to be memorized. If all you want students to do with information is memorize and repeat it on exams, put it on handouts or study guides to be read outside class, and quiz the students on it in class or online.
Felder, R. M, & Brent, R. (2016). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (p. 34). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Keep in-class activities short. Most activities should take between 10 seconds and three minutes. As few as two or three activities in a 50-minute class can make a huge difference in your students’ learning without seriously damaging your content coverage. If you want students to do something that will take more than three minutes, break it into chunks and process the chunks separately.
Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. Active learning tutorial
Felder, R. M, & Brent, R. (2016, 2024). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (Chapter 6). Jossey-Bass.
Flip some course content. Present some course content in interactive online tutorials and self-tests before class, and use the class period for active learning that builds on the online material.
Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2015). To flip or not to flip. Chem. Engr. Education, 49(3), 191-192.
Felder, R. M, & Brent, R. (2016). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (pp. 142-146). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Use handouts with gaps. Put your lecture notes on handouts interspersed with questions, incompletely labeled diagrams, and skipped steps in problem solutions. Have students read straightforward material themselves in class and ask questions rather than lecturing on everything. Use active learning to fill gaps.
Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2015). Handouts with Gaps. Chem. Engr. Education, 49(4), 239-240.
Felder, R. M, & Brent, R. (2016). Teaching and learning STEM: A practical guide (pp. 81-84). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
