1. Incorporating Active Learning When You Feel More Like Ant Man
Than The Hulk
Ann Lindbloom
Instructional Designer
Center for Online & Distance Learning
University of Kansas
Provide sheets of paper and writing devices for participants.
Today’s presentation offers many options for active learning activities and also provides a few samples of these activities in action at KU. Please feel confident asking questions and sharing personal experiences throughout. Your valuable experience, success, and suggestions are welcomed.

2. What is Active Learning?
What Active Learning isn’t supposed to be? (Dale, 2016)
Active Learning is anything beyond students passively listening to lecture. They might also include pedagogically sound methods that may be employed to help students better understand the core information to be learned.
It can include :
*Listening practices which help students absorb what they hear
*Writing short exercises where students react to lecture
*Complex group exercises where students apply course material to “real life” situations
It is NOT supposed to be competition for mass media, social media, and the entertainment system. Recreation and entertainment occur outside of school. School and active learning should be challenging. Using a tool, doesn’t necessarily help your students master a higher level learning objective.

3. Why use Active Learning?
Master of skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving
Contributes to likelihood of student persisting to program completion
(Braxton, Jones, Hirschy, & Hartley, 2008; Prince, 2004).
Active Learning is anything beyond students passively listening to lecture. They might also include pedagogically sound methods that may be employed to help students better understand the core information to be learned.
It can include :
*Listening practices which help students absorb what they hear
*Writing short exercises where students react to lecture
*Complex group exercises where students apply course material to “real life” situations

4. 1st Question for consideration:
Will the activities be directed at individuals, pairs, larger groups?

5. Individuals Clarification Pauses One Minute Paper Muddiest Point
Affective Response
Daily Journals
Reading/Video Quiz
Clarification Pauses – during video or in person lecture, the speaker pauses to let a concept soak in – or provides them with time to jot down more detailed notes. Sometimes the instructor might suggest to the student how to use the time (e.g. Consider how you might use clarification pauses in your class?).
One minute paper – stop class for a few minutes and pose a question? Anonymous or not – studies show that students won’t feel they have much to gain if you make them anonymous.
Muddiest Point – to determine gaps in comprehension. What concept do you find the most difficult to comprehend? Instructor can make immediate lecture adjustments.
Affective Response – ask for reaction to something. Look at the image that has been chosen to represent an individual. How do you feel about it? Is it appropriate? What image would you choose and why? Jomella Watson (ABSC855)
Daily Journals – Doug Ward (Journalism/CTE) is currently using a method I shared with him called journals. Students report each week on the readings and list 3 things they learned, 2 things they found most interesting, and 1 question they have over the material.
Quizzes – Brad Osborn (example – MUS)

6. Pairs Discussion Note Comparison/Sharing Peer Evaluation
Discussion – combine with quizzes completed as individuals, or other techniques I’ll present today
Note Comparison – especially helpful in introductory courses
Peer Evaluation – provide feedback, assess arguments, correct mistakes (should be provided with a guide that helps them determine what feedback should be provided)

7. Larger Groups Cooperative Groups Review Sessions Concept Mapping
Visual Lists
Jigsaw Group Project
Panel Discussions
Games
Cooperative Groups – pose a question for the group to work on, circulate (in person or online) answering questions, keeping group on task.
Review Session - Teacher poses questions and have groups actively work on them, possibly asking students to show solutions to entire class
Concept mapping – showing connections between concepts and describing the relationships between them
Visual lists – brainstorming pros/cons, or anything really, like theorists
Jigsaw Group Project – each student is individually assigned a part of a research project and then group forms to create comprehensive report. (Group selects country, and individuals report on economy, political structure, ethnic makeup, terrain, climate, folklore)
Panel Discussions – Leader, Devil’s advocate/antagonist, scribe/reporter, synthesizer (bring in outside ideas or knowledge covered previously in course) or you might have roles like studying energy and have students be “concerned environmentalists, transportation officials, commuters, etc”
Games -

8. 2nd Question for consideration:
Will the activities be designed to:
answer questions,
provide immediate feedback, or
stimulate critical thinking?

9. Questions and Answers Wait Time Student Summary Fish Bowl
Quiz/Test Questions
Typically an instructor presents a particular question and calls on someone until they get the correct answer. This method favors only a small segment of the class and then once chosen the student may disengage since they won’t have a turn for awhile.
Wait time – rather than having students shout out answers, provide all students with time, and randomly select one.
Student Summary – Ask another classmates to rephrase or clarify a student’s response in their own words.
Fish Bowl – Have students provide questions on the day’s lecture, place the notecards in a bowl, and draw and have them answer.
Quiz/Test Questions – have students create questions.

10. Immediate Feedback Finger Signals Flash Cards iClickers
Polling by Text
Quizzes in Blackboard
These are designed to give instructors quick indication of student understanding of material. More formative assessment of the entire course.
Finger signals – they hold their fingers at torso to show instructor correct answer with number of fingers
Flash Cards – similar to fingers
Iclickers - Mark Mort (Biology) uses Clickers (300 person class)
Polling by text can be accomplished by poll everywhere or other tools
Quiz in Blackboard that students accomplish before class begins.

11. Critical Thinking Puzzles/Paradoxes Pre-Theoretic Intuitions Quiz
Sometimes it is helpful to have students get involved in thinking or discussing material before presenting a theory or after presenting conflicting theories.
Puzzles might involve giving groups a difficult problem to solve. (Engineering – group design of bridges and strength)
Quiz – e.g. T/F questionnaire about ethics and have them discuss differences in groups

12. Coverage of less material Takes too much time Students don’t like it
Overcoming Obstacles
Coverage of less material
Takes too much time
Students don’t like it
It might become a free for all
While it is true that active learning activities take more time, research continues to show that students learn and retain the material better. All active learning does not have to occur during class time, but we should also realize that coverage of material vs. learning is not a “hard” decision.
Some active learning does require up front planning and time, however, it can be reused. And many of the options provided today require little planning on the instructors part other than changing the way they ask questions in their course (Individual activities and Questions&Answers).
As faculty get more comfortable with active learning, so will students.
Active learning is NOT the end of lecture with students leading the classroom. Instead it is exercises with clearly articulated goals.

13. QUESTIONS?
Contact CODL at: or

14. Works Cited:
Braxton, J. M., Jones, W. A., Hirschy, A. S., & Hartley, H. V., III. (2008). The role of active learning in college persistence. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 115, 71–83.
Dale, N. (2016, July 21). Why Instructional Design Must Focus on Learning Outcomes, Not Learning Activities (EdSurge News). Retrieved July 26, 2016, from
Faust, J. L., & Paulson, D. R. (1998). Active learning in the college classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 9(2), 3-24.
Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223–231.