1. Introduction to Active Learning
Energizing the Classroom
Brian Rybarczyk, Ph.D.
UNC Chapel Hill
Department of Biology

2. Objectives Introduce concept of active learning
Demonstrate techniques & activities
Incorporate active learning into your future teaching

3. da Vinci and the Renaissance
Embodies essence of the Renaissance
‘Rebirth’ of learning
Thinking outside the box
Ideas
Discovery
Experiment
Change is good

4. Write down ways that your professors taught you
Brainstorm Activity
Write down ways that your professors taught you
Effective methods
Ineffective methods

5. Brainstorm Activity II
What are some ways you learn best now as a scientist?

6. What is Active Learning?
100
active learning
lecture
% Retained 50 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time of class (min)
From: McKeachie, Teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for for college and university teachers, Houghton-Mifflin (1998)

7. What is Active Learning?

8. What is Active Learning?
students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class
Problem-Based Learning
Cooperative Learning
Learn By Doing
Inquiry-based learning
Active Learning

9. What is the purpose? Increase student participation
Increase student engagement
Increase student retention
More student ownership in course
Less lecturing by instructor
More exciting classroom experience
Higher level thinking

10. Improving Lectures Plan objectives
Include graphics, charts, graphs, etc
Plan what you want to annotate
Learn students’ names
Cue important points
Give short activities
Give students time to generate questions
Have students summarize major points

11. Examples of Active Learning
Dr. Robert Beichner – NCSU
SCALE-UP – researching effectiveness of active learning in physics and chemistry
Example of SCALE-UP Activity

12. Active Techniques Think-pair-share (pair-share)
Role playing, simulations
Muddiest point/clearest point
Group quizzing
Generate lists
Cooperative learning
Minute papers and writing assignments
PBL and case studies
Concept maps

14. Reading Primary Literature
Provide one figure/table to each student group
Propose a title for the paper
Delete abstract and have students write a summary

15. Case Studies

16. Case Studies

17. Concerns & Issues
What are your concerns about using active learning activities & techniques?

18. Suggestions Describe to the students what is happening and why
State expectations
Incorporate assessments with activities
Start off simple (low risk)
Ask questions, walk around classroom, be attentive to student questions
Have students rely on each other

19. Resources
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (case study collection):
Problem Based Learning (U of Delaware):
MERLOT – (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
Journals of Interest:
Innovate:
CBE Life Science Education –
Journal of College Science Teaching –
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education –

20. Brian Rybarczyk, Ph.D.