Passive teaching seems dull and
boring. Although there are some concepts that are taught off of memorization,
this should not be the highest level of achievement in school. Students need to
be engaged in their learning. They need to be intrinsically motivated to think
critically about concepts. Active learning allows the teacher to present
information, and facilitate learning. Students need to take the information
presented, and discover concepts on their own. An example that could be very
enjoyable for active learners has to do with learning about the human body. An idea
for active learners would be something called, “Create a Debate”. In this
lesson, the teacher assigns groups of students a system of the human body, such
as the circulatory system. Each group would then receive a letter from the body’s
CEO (the brain) that there are going to the budget cuts. Each system needs to research,
in detail, every reason why their system is the most beneficial and why it needs
to remain in the human body. After a certain time frame, the class will come
together and have a debate in front of a panel of other teachers. Students will
then take notes on all of the arguments presented. By being in charge of their
own note taking, the students are taking responsibility of their learning. This
type of activity allows students an opportunity to fully engage in their
learning. They must find the facts and functions of their assigned system and
use critical thinking skills to create topic points that make their body system
imperative to the overall well-being of the human body. Although this assignment is fictional, the
students are getting an opportunity to engage in non-traditional strategies in
the classroom. By allowing students an opportunity to take control of their own
learning; the information they discover will be much more valuable in the long
run.
Yes. Active learning is best because it engages the brain- as we are learning. What are some specific ways that it works to help learners learn?
ReplyDeleteIn order to be an active learner, students must engage in the lesson(s) physically as well as mentally. When students are mentally engaged in a process, they are using multiple pathways while thinking critically about subject matter. They are constantly firing and wiring. An example of this would be when a student is engaging in a group discussion. Everyone is discussing the same subject matter. The more everyone is engaged in the discussion, the more they will fire the information being presented. This could be taken a step further. Each individual student could be asked to reflect on the discussion, this will allow them to use brain pathways to think about their own discoveries as well as the discoveries of the rest of the group.
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