Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education

Anastasia Misseyanni, Miltiadis D. Lytras, Paraskevi Papadopoulou, Christina Marouli, Anastasia Misseyanni, Militiades D. Lytras, Paraskevi Papadopoulou, Christina Marouli

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781787149441
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Administration

In the era of the 21st century knowledge society, higher education can play an important role as a driver for innovation, leadership and creativity, as it helps develop not only well informed and knowledgeable citizens but also responsible and creative individuals. The challenges of globalization, tightly linked with rapid developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the need to address issues of quality and inclusiveness for a better quality of life and a sustainable future, have become drivers of change in higher education institutions. We are experiencing a shift towards more interdisciplinary curricula and a more integrated and student-centred approach to teaching. Instructors increasingly use active learning and other pedagogies of engagement as a means to increase learning and improve student attitudes. This book explores best practices for effective active learning in higher education. Experienced instructors from different disciplines and countries share their experiences and reflect on best practices, as well as on the theoretical underpinnings of active learning. Contributors share their thinking on strategies based on different active learning methods such as the use of ICTs, collaborative learning and experiential learning, as well as their implications for teaching, assessment, curriculum design and higher education administration.
Active learning provides skills for real life problem solving and prepares students to become responsible and active citizens. This book will be a very significant resource for educators who are interested in making a difference in students' lives.

SECTION II
ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: “STORIES” AND LESSONS LEARNT

Chapter 3

Active Learning Stories in Higher Education: Lessons Learned and Good Practices in STEM Education

Anastasia Misseyanni, Paraskevi Papadopoulou, Christina Marouli and Miltiadis D. Lytras*

Abstract

Active learning is not a simple practice. It is a new paradigm for the provision of high-quality, collaborative, engaging, and motivating education. Active learning has the capacity to respond to most of the challenges that institutions of higher education are facing in our time. In this chapter, we present active learning strategies used in STEM disciplines and we analyze the potential of active learning to redefine the value proposition in academic institutions. After providing the theoretical underpinnings of active learning as an evolving practice, an attempt is made to connect it with different learning theories and present an integrative model in which institutional strategies, learning strategy and information, and communication technologies work synergistically toward the development of knowledge and skills. We then present the results of a survey examining “stories” of active learning from the STEM disciplines, identifying good teaching practices, and discussing challenges and lessons learned. The key idea is that active engagement and participation of students is based on faculty commitments and inspiration and mentoring by faculty. We finally present a stage model for the implementation of active learning practices in higher education. Emphasis is put on a new vision for higher education, based on systematic planning, implementation, and evaluation of active learning methods, collaboration, engagement with society and industry, innovation, and sustainability, for a better world for all.

Keywords: Active learning; learning stories; STEM disciplines; mentoring; information and communication technologies; higher education; management of education; future of education

*The three co-authors after the first one have contributed equally to the chapter.

Introduction

Today, there is a global debate around the directions that higher education should take. The previous decade was characterized by a content-centric philosophy to justify the value of higher education. A lot of research was conducted globally for programs and curriculum design, for new studies in emerging fields but with a continuous monolithic emphasis on knowledge transfer and preparation of content for narrow learning objectives. In our view, elements such as creativity, collaborative work, intrinsic motivation to study, cultivation of research culture, and embodiment of social values in programs should be emphasized more. This content-driven paradigm of higher education has a number of limitations. In fact, it becomes obsolete day-by-day due to the fast evolution of content management technologies and with the great evolution of the internet and the social networks. Knowledge today is everywhere. Students become familiar with the existence of Knowledge Archives, huge open educational resources and teaching materials as well as thousands of massive open online courses. It seems that the traditional classroom model of instructor-led instruction becomes less and less motivating for students. The Generation XYZ consists of young people who are fanatical about using technology, used to fast transition of information in the internet highways, and maybe less familiar with collaboration and joint work. At the same time, instructors feel the static, slow-moving, and reluctant-to-change administration in higher education institutions as a key obstacle in the adoption of new teaching scenarios. In parallel, their academic load in teaching, scholarship, and service in their institutions increases anxiety, decreases self-esteem, and creates a context of tension and uncertainty. Within this complicated context, we support that active learning is a sound proposition.

Active Learning as an Evolving Practice: Theoretical Underpinnings and Propositions

The literature on active learning is spread across several disciplines. Several learning theories contribute to the main propositions of active learning. What is evident in the literature is an ongoing exploratory discovery of significant interventions among the teachers, learners, context, and content. While for many years the focus of studies was on deterministic approaches where the outcome of learning should be attached to specific learning tasks, nowadays we realize a shift in engaging scenarios where nothing is considered as predefined or in the context of cause and effect relationships.

At the same time, in the scientific domain of Educational Data Mining, the emergence of Learning Analytics sets new interesting challenges. The discovery of personal characteristics of learners and the understanding of hidden behavioral patterns as recorded in unexplored data sets of the educational practice provide a new wide area for the provision of active learning based on scientific findings in critical problematic areas of Higher Education, e.g., retention rates in programs, personal development plans, and the enhancement of policy making based on educational data. In the next section we elaborate on basic aspects of active learning based on different literature sources and different perceptions. The main purpose is to provide a common ground of agreement about the basic characteristics of active learning. This will be used for the development of an abstract model for active learning.

Active Learning Underpinnings

Many people consider active learning to be a recent and innovative approach to teaching, while thinking of lecturing as the traditional and oldest teaching method, dating back to the European Middle Ages. However, active learning as a phenomenon in which learners do things and reflect on what they are doing seems to have emerged before lecturing (Corrigan, 2013). As a philosophy and movement, active learning dates back to the last two centuries and decades, respectively (Page, 1990). But as a practice and phenomenon, it is probably as old as learning itself. It is an innate process through which humans come to know things by doing and through experience. In the past few decades, it has received increasing attention in higher education as an approach that offers new insights into teaching practices; in reality, this trend toward active learning just renews our attention to some of the oldest methods of deep learning.

Research shows that the “traditional” lecture approach which is convenient for delivering large volumes of information cultivates passive learning, with students acting as mere “receptacles of knowledge” (Ryan & Martens, 1989). Such teaching may fail to develop skills that are essential for professional success such as the ability for collaborative work, critical and creative thinking, as well as problem solving. Furthermore, as learners have varying learning styles (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1997), the traditional lecture approach may be appropriate only for a small number of learners. A variety of teaching methods is advisable to stimulate knowledge creation and retention. Studies show that lectures are the least efficient method of knowledge retention, when compared to reading, use of audiovisual material, demonstration, discussion, practice by doing, and teaching others (Sousa, 2001). A summary of the different types of evidence offered to support this assertion is provided by Bligh (2000). The superficial learning cultivated in lectures may also fail to stimulate student motivation and enthusiasm (Weimer, 2002). Over the years, the importance of employing active learning instructional strategies to maximize student learning in the college or university classroom has been emphasized (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996; Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Cross, 1987).

Active learning describes a more learner-centered approach to teaching, an approach that fosters student engagement in their learning. Active learning is a key principle of “pedagogies of engagement,” a term introduced by Edgerton (2001) to emphasize the need for a mode of learning that will allow students to acquire the abilities and skills they will need in the 21st century. It “involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” (Bonwell & Eison, 1991). Active learning strategies may include in- and out-of-class activities, and cooperative and collaborative learning, and may involve the use of technology tools. Instructors who employ active learning strategies spend less time lecturing and transmitting information and more time helping students develop their understanding and other skills which promote deeper learning. They thus resume the role of a facilitator in the learning process.

Extensive literature exists on different instructional strategies focusing on active learning (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Doyle, 2008; Faust & Paulson, 1998). Some examples of such methods include:

• Interactive lectures: Interactive lectures may include a variety of active learning methods such as question-and-answer sessions (Socratic method), providing wait time for students to respond (pause procedure), student summary of another student’s answer, brainstorming on a topic, interactive discussion, creating quiz questions. Icebreaker activities, in-class contests, and guest speakers can also be used to increase student motivation in a lecture.
• Visual-based active learning: Films and in-class demonstrations followed by class discussion or assignments in which students reflect on the audiovisual material are examples of visual-based active learning that can prove to be both effective and enjoyable.
• Classroom assessment techniques (CATs): The “minute” paper in which students are asked to summarize class content and the “muddiest point” activity in which students identify the most difficult point are good classroom assessment techniques that help develop active listeners and writers. Additionally, flash cards, clicker questions, and other personal response systems may provide immediate feedback to students on what they have learned.
• Experiential learning: Lab experiments, simulations, field work, and field trips are good examples of experiential learning in which students learn by doing, understand the practical applications of theoretical concepts, and become capable of connecting course material to real-life situations.
• Problem-based learning: A form of enquiry-based learning that reverses the traditional teaching approach, as students are given a problem and are asked to develop a procedure to solve it. It can be an individual or a group activity.
• Flipped classroom activities: In a flipped classroom, the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Students view short video lectures and do assignments at home before the class session. In-class time is used for exercises, projects, or discussions.
• Case study analyses: The discussion of specific real-life cases allows students to apply the knowledge they have learned to a real-world situation and understand actions and consequences.
• Creative activities: Students may undertake creative projects (e.g., creative writing, production of artwork, audiovisual material, creation of games, web sites, presentations, performances, etc.) and integrate them with course material.
• Game-based learning and gamification: Using games to enhance the learning experience is an old practice that may increase excitement in the classroom. Classroom versions of TV game shows, electronic or board games, as well as role playing can be used for this purpose. Students can also be asked to develop their own games for the course. Alternatively, gamification is the idea of adding game elements to a non-game situation; it also seems to increase student engagement.
• Cooperative and collaborative learning: Collaborative learning involves joint intellectual efforts by students, or students and teachers together, toward a common goal. Cooperative learning is more structured: each student is assessed individually and is held responsible for contributing to the success of the group. There are many activities that can involve collaborative learning: brainstorming in groups, active review sessions, concept mapping (students create a concept map by connecting terms and indicating relationships between them), problem solving, visual lists (e.g., with the pros and cons of a topic), jigsaw projects (each student is asked to complete a discrete part of a group assignment), in-class role playing, panel discussion, debates, games, etc. In think-pair-share exercises, students work in pairs to discuss topics, compare/share notes, or evaluate another student’s work. Assessed group projects are another example of collaborative learning.
• Community-based learning: This method involves teaching and learning methods that connect course material with the surrounding community (including history, cultural heritage, and natural environment). It is based on the belief that the learning experience of students can be enhanced by using intrinsic educational assets and resources that communities offer.
• Service learning: A teaching and learning strategy that includes community service as one of its essential elements. Students may engage in projects that have both learning and community-based goals. Through such projects, they may gain a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. Service learning enriches the learning experience for students, and strengthens communities.
• Research-based learning: Students are actively involved in research projects, often in collaboration with faculty; in this way, they get exposed to the most recent findings on a topic. Such projects help them develop their ability for critical analysis and synthesis as well as important transferable skills.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Section I: Active Learning in Higher Education: A Theoretical Background
• Section II: Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education: “Stories” and Lessons Learnt
• Section III: A Vision for Humanity through Higher Education
• Index