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Active learning has taken modern education and corporate learning and development (L&D) by storm. It is a learner-centred approach that emphasises engagement, interaction, and reflection.

This paradigm shift from traditional teaching to active learning underscores the learner's role in constructing knowledge. Rather than being just a recipient of information, the learner becomes an active participant in a two-way process, whereby learning is imprinted through memorable, interactive activities and challenges.

With today's dynamic global environment, active learning has become more critical in L&D than ever before. This teaching approach encourages employees to play an active role in their own education, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability, vital in the ever-evolving world of work.

What is Active Learning and How Does it Work?

First defined in 1991 by educational theorists Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison, the method includes "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing." It's a reciprocal process where cognition and demonstration combine to reinforce key learning points.

A recent study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute concluded that "active learning can put students in the driver's seat of their lessons. Active learning techniques encourage students to produce thoughts and get feedback through interactive settings rather than passively receiving information as is common in pervasive approaches to education like lectures and readings."

Active learning allows students to analyse, synthesise and apply knowledge rather than passively receive information. It fosters learner engagement, interaction, and deeper understanding, moving beyond the memorization of facts to cultivate higher-order thinking skills.

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Key Components of Active Learning Strategies

At the heart of active learning are three fundamental components: Engagement, Reflection, and Application. Learners actively engage with the material, reflect on the content's relevance and meaning, and apply what they've learned in practical, often collaborative, situations.

Here's how those three components work in more detail:

Engagement: This aspect describes a mix of concentration and interest. Students focus on the topic in hand because it is taught in a manner that makes it intrinsically interesting.

Reflection: Students are asked to consciously reflect on the subjects they have been learning. This helps personalise and imprint the knowledge, and the repetition of key points helps fix them in memory.

Application: This aspect focuses on the practical use of key pieces of learning. By making the topic practical, students learn how useful the subject can be, motivating them to remember and focus.

Another key element of active learning is that it's frequently collaborative. Not only do learners benefit from interaction with the educator, but they join forces in team exercises, or share their opinions and experiences in group discussion.

Benefits of Active Learning

Active learning has a plethora of benefits, some of which include:

Boosting Retention

Active learning strategies help learners retain information better. When learners actively engage with content-discussing, debating, teaching, or applying it-they're more likely to remember it. Part of the reason for this is that activities help personalise the learning content, creating appreciation and some of the positive emotions that make an experience memorable. Information Processing Theory explains retention in three stages - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Critical Thinking

Active learning cultivates critical thinking skills. Learners don't just absorb information; they analyse, evaluate, and synthesise it, fostering problem-solving and decision-making skills. Critical thinking is considered a soft skill and is essential to any modern educational programme, from social science to the humanities, hard science, and vocational subjects.

Collaboration

Active learning often involves teamwork and collaboration. Through group activities and discussions, learners develop interpersonal skills and learn to work effectively as a team. This is particularly helpful in workplace settings where learners can support one another in the shared goal of picking up new skills they can use at work.

Increasing Engagement

Active learning increases learner engagement. Interactive activities stimulate interest and motivate learners, contributing to a more enjoyable and effective learning experience. By creating engaging interactive content, you can avoid the glazed eyes or after-lunch slump of less involving courses!

15 Active Learning Examples

Now that we understand active learning and its benefits, let's delve into some practical strategies to implement this learning approach.

1. Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share encourages collaboration and peer learning. Learners think about a question or problem individually, pair up to discuss their thoughts, then share their insights with the larger group. This method combines social learning activities like collaboration and reflection in a way that draws out the strengths of both modalities.

2. Three-Step Interviews

Three-Step interviews allow learners to apply different questioning strategies and reflect on understanding. They take turns acting as the interviewer, interviewee, and observer, promoting active engagement and deep reflection. This kind of active learning works particularly well for courses emphasising social and negotiation skills, including hospitality, politics, journalism, and sales.

3. Case Studies

Using case studies enables learners to apply concepts to real-world scenarios. This strategy fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, linking theoretical learning to practical application. Case studies should be designed to chime with course participants' lives and experiences, allowing them to offer their own personal insights. This allows them to become emotionally and intellectually involved in the subject under discussion, and the learning is likely to stick.

4. Role-Play

Role-play enhances empathy and problem-solving skills. By acting out scenarios, learners gain insights into different perspectives and learn to navigate complex situations. It can be particularly instructive to ask learners to inhabit both sides of an interaction, for instance, a police officer and suspect, or sales professional and buyer. Not all students will be comfortable in such a performative exercise, however.

5. Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom, learners explore content independently before class, freeing up classroom time for active discussions and problem-solving activities. This method works best in a highly motivated educational setting, such as vocational training resulting in professional qualifications. An obvious drawback is that, if students don't prepare, they'll get very little out of the class-based content. It's also important for participants to reflect on in-class discussions after each session.

6. The Muddiest Point

The Muddiest Point requires learners to reflect on challenging areas, providing invaluable feedback for the educator. The educator will typically ask "what didn't you understand?" or "what point did you find most complex?" and then follow up with a focused session exploring that concept. This technique helps identify misconceptions and knowledge gaps, as well as improving future iterations of course content.

7. Problem-Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning cultivates critical thinking and decision-making skills. Learners tackle real-world problems, applying knowledge and skills in a practical context. Rather than the theoretical situations covered in a typical case study, problem-based learning might take a story from the news or social media and explore it under the lens of the topic in hand. This makes the subject feel more relevant to the students, and more useful.

8. Simulations and Gamification

Simulations and gamification create immersive learning experiences. These methods engage learners in an interactive, competitive environment, enhancing motivation and learning outcomes. Such games could involve anything from quizzes to physical games or puzzles to be solved by teams. Some subjects will lend themselves to this better than others, and competitive workplaces, such as sales teams, may prove more comfortable with such challenges.

9. Peer Teaching

Peer teaching reinforces understanding and builds confidence in knowledge. By teaching their peers, learners gain a deeper understanding and consolidate their learning. The classic American "show and tell" in junior school is an example of this, but adult learners can also benefit from sharing their experiences or explaining a point with reference to an example from their own working lives.

10. Debates and Discussions

Debates and discussions encourage active participation and analysis. They foster critical thinking and the ability to articulate and defend viewpoints. Although a little out of favour in modern schools, nevertheless this classic strategy serves to imprint key issues in social, cultural, and political thinking. It's possible to reduce the antagonistic elements of debates by imposing strict discourse rules (such as addressing the chair or avoiding ad hominem attacks).

11. Interactive Quizzes and Polls

Interactive quizzes and polls engage learners and assess knowledge. They make learning fun, while also serving as valuable tools for instant feedback. These can work just as well in-person as they might online, or in blended learning settings. They are essential as part of any eLearning Platform that offers online courses - as both a measurement tool and a method of monitoring progress and content effectiveness.

12. Experiential Learning

Experiential learning involves hands-on activities for practical skill development. Learners gain practical experience, increasing the transfer of learning to real-world situations. For situations in which site visits are impossible, bringing pieces of the subject into the classroom can be highly instructive. First aid lessons require this aspect, and children love this aspect of learning. It's worth not neglecting this for adult learners of any subject, however.

13. Brainstorming Sessions

Brainstorming sessions stimulate creativity and idea generation. They foster open-mindedness, encouraging learners to consider various possibilities and solutions. When brainstorming, it's vital not to make any value judgments on suggestions, but simply to group and list student ideas. Once everyone has had their say, the educator and class can begin to identify common themes and recurring ideas.

14. Field Trips and Site Visits

Field trips and site visits connect learning to real-world situations. They enhance understanding and contextualization of knowledge. Site visits are fun and instructive and add much-needed variety to an in-person course. They often introduce students to hands-on skills they might pursue in greater depth, or to potential workplaces or causes they can become invested in.

15. Learning Circles and Communities

Learning circles and communities help foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. They create a supportive learning environment where learners can learn from one another, share insights, and collaboratively solve problems. With digital courses, it's often important to create a forum for learners where mutual encouragement and support can occur. When classes are held in-person, students can be encouraged to help one another with coursework and collaborative projects.

Implementing Active Learning Strategies

Key Considerations

When incorporating active learning strategies, consider the learning objectives, the learners' characteristics and needs, and the available resources. It's also important to ask what students want to get out of the course (rather than any objective need for certification or qualification).

The right blend of active learning strategies can enhance the learning experience, making it more engaging, meaningful, and effective.

For instance, you'll need a very different approach with a community of language learners from different countries, with varying levels of proficiency, than you would teaching an established workplace group where the main variable is seniority.

Let's break these variables down a little:

Student Objectives: What would each student like to get out of the class, in terms of educational purpose and enhancement of their working or home life?

Student Characteristics: What proficiency and understanding level are your students at? If it's a workplace course, what level of seniority do they have (how easily can the effect change)? If you have shy students, how can you involve them in activities without undue pressure?

Student Needs: What is the practical outcome supposed to be? It could be a qualification, a certificate, or simply a better understanding of a topic. It's also worth asking, going into a class, if anyone has any additional needs, since you may have students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning challenges.

Available Resources: Do you provide paper and pens, devices, calculators? Do you invite guest speakers? Are their physical challenges and hands-on experiences? Do you provide meals? All these ingredients could affect the success of your course.

Challenges of Active Learning Strategies

Active learning strategies, while beneficial, pose certain challenges. They require time, resources, and planning. They also require students to buy into a style of learning that some may not be familiar with.

Let's unpack three more common challenges of active learning in a little more detail:

Student Hesitancy: To make active learning inviting, it's best to design courses so that students come to expect and are prepared for this style of education from day one. Begin with simple exercises like a current knowledge quiz or simple pair exercises, and then progress to more involved exercises.

It's also important to be clear with instructions and allow time for students to get used to being active rather than passive participants. Explain why you're using these methods, rather than more rote methods of learning. If students believe it's in their best interests to participate, they will.

Lack of Collaboration: Before you can expect a group of disparate individuals to work together, they must feel comfortable together. Begin with simple introductory exercises, so students get to know one another before being asked to share more personal experiences. Where students are too shy to choose partners, it's okay to assign partners for them, so long as you attend to any obvious signs of discomfort.

Running out of Time: This is very common. When students are engaged, they can lose track of time. It's often a good sign!

However, to avoid your course running out of control, make sure you do time trials of collaborative exercises, and be very upfront with any timescales you impose. You can even use a bell or whistle to warn students when they have five or two minutes left to finish up an exercise.

All these challenges can be overcome through careful design, strategic planning, scene setting, and the use of technology to streamline and support the learning process.

Remember that active learning is often a process of trial and error. What works well with one group may not prove so successful with another. It's worth having alternative exercises to hand in case it becomes obvious that you need to pivot to a different approach.

Measuring the Impact of Active Learning Strategies

Methods to measure the effectiveness of active learning include surveys, assessments, observation, and feedback. Make sure you incorporate a bit of time for learners to complete satisfaction surveys or training feedback forms and make it as easy as possible to do so anonymously. Don't make these too lengthy but do allow space for comments.

It's essential to evaluate not only engagement and knowledge acquisition but also the development of skills and attitudes and the transfer of learning to real-world scenarios. Ideally, whoever has commissioned the course will have some method for following up and measuring KPIs after some weeks or months have passed. Ask if you can receive a copy of this information too.

Final Insights

Active learning, with its focus on engagement, reflection, and application, offers numerous benefits. It boosts retention, enhances critical thinking, fosters collaboration, and increases engagement.

At Skillshub, we fully commit to active learning, and incorporate many of its strategies into our learning solutions, creating eLearning content which is engaging, active and involving.

Our offerings are designed to facilitate active learning, equipping learners with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to thrive in today's dynamic world.

If you're ready to incorporate active learning into your L&D strategy with the help of an eLearning company, get in touch with us today!

|

Download My Free Copy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
15 Active Learning Strategies (with Examples) | Skillshub

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Uncover what active learning is, the benefits of incorporating it into your training and 15 active learning strategies to consider and implement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Active learning has taken modern education and corporate learning and development (L&D) by storm. It is a learner-centred approach that emphasises engagement, interaction, and reflection.

This paradigm shift from traditional teaching to active learning underscores the learner's role in constructing knowledge. Rather than being just a recipient of information, the learner becomes an active participant in a two-way process, whereby learning is imprinted through memorable, interactive activities and challenges.

With today's dynamic global environment, active learning has become more critical in L&D than ever before. This teaching approach encourages employees to play an active role in their own education, fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptability, vital in the ever-evolving world of work.

What is Active Learning and How Does it Work?

First defined in 1991 by educational theorists Charles C. Bonwell and James A. Eison, the method includes "anything that involves students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing." It's a reciprocal process where cognition and demonstration combine to reinforce key learning points.

A recent study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute concluded that "active learning can put students in the driver's seat of their lessons. Active learning techniques encourage students to produce thoughts and get feedback through interactive settings rather than passively receiving information as is common in pervasive approaches to education like lectures and readings."

Active learning allows students to analyse, synthesise and apply knowledge rather than passively receive information. It fosters learner engagement, interaction, and deeper understanding, moving beyond the memorization of facts to cultivate higher-order thinking skills.

Download My Free Copy

Key Components of Active Learning Strategies

At the heart of active learning are three fundamental components: Engagement, Reflection, and Application. Learners actively engage with the material, reflect on the content's relevance and meaning, and apply what they've learned in practical, often collaborative, situations.

Here's how those three components work in more detail:

Engagement: This aspect describes a mix of concentration and interest. Students focus on the topic in hand because it is taught in a manner that makes it intrinsically interesting.

Reflection: Students are asked to consciously reflect on the subjects they have been learning. This helps personalise and imprint the knowledge, and the repetition of key points helps fix them in memory.

Application: This aspect focuses on the practical use of key pieces of learning. By making the topic practical, students learn how useful the subject can be, motivating them to remember and focus.

Another key element of active learning is that it's frequently collaborative. Not only do learners benefit from interaction with the educator, but they join forces in team exercises, or share their opinions and experiences in group discussion.

Benefits of Active Learning

Active learning has a plethora of benefits, some of which include:

Boosting Retention

Active learning strategies help learners retain information better. When learners actively engage with content-discussing, debating, teaching, or applying it-they're more likely to remember it. Part of the reason for this is that activities help personalise the learning content, creating appreciation and some of the positive emotions that make an experience memorable. Information Processing Theory explains retention in three stages - sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Critical Thinking

Active learning cultivates critical thinking skills. Learners don't just absorb information; they analyse, evaluate, and synthesise it, fostering problem-solving and decision-making skills. Critical thinking is considered a soft skill and is essential to any modern educational programme, from social science to the humanities, hard science, and vocational subjects.

Collaboration

Active learning often involves teamwork and collaboration. Through group activities and discussions, learners develop interpersonal skills and learn to work effectively as a team. This is particularly helpful in workplace settings where learners can support one another in the shared goal of picking up new skills they can use at work.

Increasing Engagement

Active learning increases learner engagement. Interactive activities stimulate interest and motivate learners, contributing to a more enjoyable and effective learning experience. By creating engaging interactive content, you can avoid the glazed eyes or after-lunch slump of less involving courses!

15 Active Learning Examples

Now that we understand active learning and its benefits, let's delve into some practical strategies to implement this learning approach.

1. Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share encourages collaboration and peer learning. Learners think about a question or problem individually, pair up to discuss their thoughts, then share their insights with the larger group. This method combines social learning activities like collaboration and reflection in a way that draws out the strengths of both modalities.

2. Three-Step Interviews

Three-Step interviews allow learners to apply different questioning strategies and reflect on understanding. They take turns acting as the interviewer, interviewee, and observer, promoting active engagement and deep reflection. This kind of active learning works particularly well for courses emphasising social and negotiation skills, including hospitality, politics, journalism, and sales.

3. Case Studies

Using case studies enables learners to apply concepts to real-world scenarios. This strategy fosters critical thinking and problem-solving skills, linking theoretical learning to practical application. Case studies should be designed to chime with course participants' lives and experiences, allowing them to offer their own personal insights. This allows them to become emotionally and intellectually involved in the subject under discussion, and the learning is likely to stick.

4. Role-Play

Role-play enhances empathy and problem-solving skills. By acting out scenarios, learners gain insights into different perspectives and learn to navigate complex situations. It can be particularly instructive to ask learners to inhabit both sides of an interaction, for instance, a police officer and suspect, or sales professional and buyer. Not all students will be comfortable in such a performative exercise, however.

5. Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom, learners explore content independently before class, freeing up classroom time for active discussions and problem-solving activities. This method works best in a highly motivated educational setting, such as vocational training resulting in professional qualifications. An obvious drawback is that, if students don't prepare, they'll get very little out of the class-based content. It's also important for participants to reflect on in-class discussions after each session.

6. The Muddiest Point

The Muddiest Point requires learners to reflect on challenging areas, providing invaluable feedback for the educator. The educator will typically ask "what didn't you understand?" or "what point did you find most complex?" and then follow up with a focused session exploring that concept. This technique helps identify misconceptions and knowledge gaps, as well as improving future iterations of course content.

7. Problem-Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning cultivates critical thinking and decision-making skills. Learners tackle real-world problems, applying knowledge and skills in a practical context. Rather than the theoretical situations covered in a typical case study, problem-based learning might take a story from the news or social media and explore it under the lens of the topic in hand. This makes the subject feel more relevant to the students, and more useful.

8. Simulations and Gamification

Simulations and gamification create immersive learning experiences. These methods engage learners in an interactive, competitive environment, enhancing motivation and learning outcomes. Such games could involve anything from quizzes to physical games or puzzles to be solved by teams. Some subjects will lend themselves to this better than others, and competitive workplaces, such as sales teams, may prove more comfortable with such challenges.

9. Peer Teaching

Peer teaching reinforces understanding and builds confidence in knowledge. By teaching their peers, learners gain a deeper understanding and consolidate their learning. The classic American "show and tell" in junior school is an example of this, but adult learners can also benefit from sharing their experiences or explaining a point with reference to an example from their own working lives.

10. Debates and Discussions

Debates and discussions encourage active participation and analysis. They foster critical thinking and the ability to articulate and defend viewpoints. Although a little out of favour in modern schools, nevertheless this classic strategy serves to imprint key issues in social, cultural, and political thinking. It's possible to reduce the antagonistic elements of debates by imposing strict discourse rules (such as addressing the chair or avoiding ad hominem attacks).

11. Interactive Quizzes and Polls

Interactive quizzes and polls engage learners and assess knowledge. They make learning fun, while also serving as valuable tools for instant feedback. These can work just as well in-person as they might online, or in blended learning settings. They are essential as part of any eLearning Platform that offers online courses - as both a measurement tool and a method of monitoring progress and content effectiveness.

12. Experiential Learning

Experiential learning involves hands-on activities for practical skill development. Learners gain practical experience, increasing the transfer of learning to real-world situations. For situations in which site visits are impossible, bringing pieces of the subject into the classroom can be highly instructive. First aid lessons require this aspect, and children love this aspect of learning. It's worth not neglecting this for adult learners of any subject, however.

13. Brainstorming Sessions

Brainstorming sessions stimulate creativity and idea generation. They foster open-mindedness, encouraging learners to consider various possibilities and solutions. When brainstorming, it's vital not to make any value judgments on suggestions, but simply to group and list student ideas. Once everyone has had their say, the educator and class can begin to identify common themes and recurring ideas.

14. Field Trips and Site Visits

Field trips and site visits connect learning to real-world situations. They enhance understanding and contextualization of knowledge. Site visits are fun and instructive and add much-needed variety to an in-person course. They often introduce students to hands-on skills they might pursue in greater depth, or to potential workplaces or causes they can become invested in.

15. Learning Circles and Communities

Learning circles and communities help foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. They create a supportive learning environment where learners can learn from one another, share insights, and collaboratively solve problems. With digital courses, it's often important to create a forum for learners where mutual encouragement and support can occur. When classes are held in-person, students can be encouraged to help one another with coursework and collaborative projects.

Implementing Active Learning Strategies

Key Considerations

When incorporating active learning strategies, consider the learning objectives, the learners' characteristics and needs, and the available resources. It's also important to ask what students want to get out of the course (rather than any objective need for certification or qualification).

The right blend of active learning strategies can enhance the learning experience, making it more engaging, meaningful, and effective.

For instance, you'll need a very different approach with a community of language learners from different countries, with varying levels of proficiency, than you would teaching an established workplace group where the main variable is seniority.

Let's break these variables down a little:

Student Objectives: What would each student like to get out of the class, in terms of educational purpose and enhancement of their working or home life?

Student Characteristics: What proficiency and understanding level are your students at? If it's a workplace course, what level of seniority do they have (how easily can the effect change)? If you have shy students, how can you involve them in activities without undue pressure?

Student Needs: What is the practical outcome supposed to be? It could be a qualification, a certificate, or simply a better understanding of a topic. It's also worth asking, going into a class, if anyone has any additional needs, since you may have students with dyslexia, ADHD, or other learning challenges.

Available Resources: Do you provide paper and pens, devices, calculators? Do you invite guest speakers? Are their physical challenges and hands-on experiences? Do you provide meals? All these ingredients could affect the success of your course.

Challenges of Active Learning Strategies

Active learning strategies, while beneficial, pose certain challenges. They require time, resources, and planning. They also require students to buy into a style of learning that some may not be familiar with.

Let's unpack three more common challenges of active learning in a little more detail:

Student Hesitancy: To make active learning inviting, it's best to design courses so that students come to expect and are prepared for this style of education from day one. Begin with simple exercises like a current knowledge quiz or simple pair exercises, and then progress to more involved exercises.

It's also important to be clear with instructions and allow time for students to get used to being active rather than passive participants. Explain why you're using these methods, rather than more rote methods of learning. If students believe it's in their best interests to participate, they will.

Lack of Collaboration: Before you can expect a group of disparate individuals to work together, they must feel comfortable together. Begin with simple introductory exercises, so students get to know one another before being asked to share more personal experiences. Where students are too shy to choose partners, it's okay to assign partners for them, so long as you attend to any obvious signs of discomfort.

Running out of Time: This is very common. When students are engaged, they can lose track of time. It's often a good sign!

However, to avoid your course running out of control, make sure you do time trials of collaborative exercises, and be very upfront with any timescales you impose. You can even use a bell or whistle to warn students when they have five or two minutes left to finish up an exercise.

All these challenges can be overcome through careful design, strategic planning, scene setting, and the use of technology to streamline and support the learning process.

Remember that active learning is often a process of trial and error. What works well with one group may not prove so successful with another. It's worth having alternative exercises to hand in case it becomes obvious that you need to pivot to a different approach.

Measuring the Impact of Active Learning Strategies

Methods to measure the effectiveness of active learning include surveys, assessments, observation, and feedback. Make sure you incorporate a bit of time for learners to complete satisfaction surveys or training feedback forms and make it as easy as possible to do so anonymously. Don't make these too lengthy but do allow space for comments.

It's essential to evaluate not only engagement and knowledge acquisition but also the development of skills and attitudes and the transfer of learning to real-world scenarios. Ideally, whoever has commissioned the course will have some method for following up and measuring KPIs after some weeks or months have passed. Ask if you can receive a copy of this information too.

Final Insights

Active learning, with its focus on engagement, reflection, and application, offers numerous benefits. It boosts retention, enhances critical thinking, fosters collaboration, and increases engagement.

At Skillshub, we fully commit to active learning, and incorporate many of its strategies into our learning solutions, creating eLearning content which is engaging, active and involving.

Our offerings are designed to facilitate active learning, equipping learners with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to thrive in today's dynamic world.

If you're ready to incorporate active learning into your L&D strategy with the help of an eLearning company, get in touch with us today!

|

Download My Free Copy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
15 Active Learning Strategies (with Examples) | Skillshub

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Uncover what active learning is, the benefits of incorporating it into your training and 15 active learning strategies to consider and implement.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/english-language-teaching-frameworks-yasmina-zerganipptx/266777853

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
14 Different Kinds of #Claps / Creative Claps

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How to use Quizizz: Full tutorial for teachers!

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Classroom participation is a feature of many course designs. It can result in insightful comments and interesting connections being made by students, and can foster a high level of energy and enthusiasm in the classroom learning environment. However, poorly managed participation can also lead to instructor frustration and student confusion. Below are strategies to consider using to make your classroom participation more effective.

What does "participation" mean?

Be clear with your definition and intention. Participation is often equated with discussion, which typically involves a lengthy conversation with the whole class. However, participation can also include short exchanges between instructors and students, or within small groups of students. If you include participation in your roster of assessments, you need to clearly communicate to your students what it will entail and why you are including a participation component. Do see participation as the outcome of student preparation? Are you interested in the quality of contributions or quantity? Does participation enable students to take risks and make errors as part of their learning? Does it increase their exposure to other ways of thinking? Does it enable them to demonstrate and develop their communication skills? Is it possible for a student to participate too much?

Seek consensus. While you can independently prepare a rubric that explains how you will assess participation, you may find that students will participate more enthusiastically if you ask them to help define what constitutes effective participation and then ask them to develop a rubric with you. Bean & Peterson (1998) suggest asking students to identify features of effective discussions they have experienced in the past, including the behaviours and roles of both the students and the instructor.

How do I encourage participation?

Foster an ethos of participation. Hollander (2002) discusses the need to present participation as a collective responsibility of the class rather than just an individual responsibility. In order to facilitate a conversation where connections are made, students need to view their participation as a contribution to a shared experience. Asking students to respond to a peer's response helps to facilitate a conversation. As well, positively reinforcing such contributions builds this sense of collectivism.

Teach students skills needed to participate. Students may not yet have the skills required to participate effectively. A discussion about characteristics of effective participation can reveal undeveloped areas in your students: ask them how they have participated in previous courses, and whether they could use some assistance.

Devise activities that elicit participation. Discussion-based activities such as case-study analyses, role playing, and jigsaws encourage students to talk with one another and with the instructor. To be effective, however, they typically require clear instructions, including timelines. With one-on-one exchanges, you can adopt a deep questioning approach, probing students about the reasoning behind their responses, sometimes doing so repeatedly to achieve greater depth ("Yes, but why do you think that?"). Participation can also be facilitated by certain learning technologies. For example, you can use clickers to collect students' responses to multiple-choice questions. You can extend the learning with clickers by having students first respond individually and then having them respond again after discussing their ideas with their peers. Some instructors, too, encourage participation via micro-blogging technologies such as Twitter: students have the option of participating verbally or of typing their contributions into a live Twitter feed.

Consider your position in the room. Moving away from the front of the classroom can sometimes promote better participation. If students perceive that all comments must be channeled through you, you become a gatekeeper for participation and it becomes harder to promote a sense collective responsibility. Try moving to the side or even the back of the room and see how students respond.

Ask students to assess their own participation. This strategy begins with having students set one or more goals for their participation at the start of the term. Hollander (2002) suggests that these goals need to be concrete and attainable in one term, and they should submit them to you in written form. At least once during the term, you should ask students to then assess their own participation: What is working well? What could be improved? What progress are they making on their goals? If you have developed a rubric for assessing participation, ask students to assign themselves a grade based on the rubric, a justification for the grade, and their plans to improve it if it falls below their expected level of achievement. Giving students a sense of responsibility for their participation can be very motivating.

Ensure that everyone's contributions are audible. In a large classroom, or even a small one with poor acoustics, it might be difficult for a student making a verbal contribution to be heard by a classmate on the other side of the room. This can detract significantly from the class dynamics, as students will become frustrated or cease to pay attention if they can't hear what is being shared. Frequently, students will need to be encouraged to speak loudly and clearly. Try reminding them that they should be addressing their comments not to you, who might happen to be standing close by, but to the classmate who is sitting farthest away. When a quiet student starts to speak, it's often helpful to resist your natural inclination to move closer, and instead to move to the other side of the room, so that the student is encouraged to speak more loudly. In some cases, you may need to reiterate a student's contribution, to ensure that everyone hears it.

Consider the use of an online poll before the class discussion. Students may be more willing to participate in debates and discussions if they can see that other students share their views. The results from a pre-class anonymous poll can be presented to students as a starting point or to set the stage for their in-class discussion.

How do I assess participation?

Keep written records. You need to develop a system that works for you. Some instructors use class pictures, name tents, seating charts, or attendance lists to keep track of student names so they can record participation each class. Teaching assistants may be needed to help record students' contributions if your class is large. In these large classes, it may be necessary to ask students to state their name before making their comment so that participation can be accurately recorded. A simple check mark system (one check for good contributions and two for outstanding ones) can be enough to record evidence of students' contributions. Such a system can be complemented by having students record their own contributions for submission after every class or as an aggregate every few weeks. Regardless of the system that you choose, you need one that is efficient so that the process of assessing student participation does not become too onerous for you or the students.

Consider the students' self-assessments. You should provide your own written feedback on their self-assessments. You may also want to meet individually with students whose self-assessment of their participation differs markedly from your assessment.

Use peer evaluation. In small classes, where students know one another's names, it is feasible to ask each student to evaluate the participation of everyone in the class; doing so not only gives you, the instructor, useful information, but also encourages each student to consider his or her participation in the context of the class as a whole. Even in large classes, students can reasonably be expected to assess the participation of classmates with whom they have worked closely, for example, in a small group or group-project setting. Having a clear rubric helps students make these peer assessments in an objective and "evidence-based" manner.

Support

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help. View the CTE Support page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

References

Bean, J.C. & Peterson, D. (1998). Grading Classroom Participation. In R.S. Anderson & B.W. Speck (Eds.) New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 74 (Summer), 33-40.

Brookfield, S.D. (1999). Discussion as a Way of Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Davis, B.G. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Hollander, J.A. (2002). Learning to discuss: strategies for improving the quality of class discussion. Teaching Sociology, 30 (July), 317-327.

Resources

Centre for Teaching Excellence teaching tips:

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Promoting Effective Classroom Participation. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

This Creative Commons license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Promoting Effective Classroom Participation. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo.

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Promoting Effective Classroom Participation | Centre for Teaching Excellence

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Classroom participation is a feature of many course designs. It can result in insightful comments and interesting connections being made by students, and can foster a high level of energy and enthusiasm in the classroom learning environment. However, poorly managed participation can also lead to instructor frustration and student confusion.

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Everyone is different, and it is important to be sensitive to that fact. Children look up to their parents and will imitate their behaviour, so the way you act towards others who are different can have a profound impact on them. By making sure you are respectful to everyone, you can ensure your children will do the same. In this week of our parenting tips series, we have 10 ways to respect the differences between yourself and others.

1. Be courteous and friendly to others. You can help your child respect others by the way you greet people, talk with them, and talk about them afterwards. Children learn from our example.

2. Make a family book about similarities and differences: You and your child could work together to make a book about the people in your family.

3. Value difference. Arrange a small get-together with one or two families. Each could make a snack that may be different or new to the others, possibly an ethnic food or one that is special in other ways for their family.

4. Meet new friends. You may want to tell your child about a time when you met someone who seemed different at first but as you got to know the person, you came to appreciate him or her.

5. Use empathy: Can your child remember coming into a group and feeling ignored or left out? Talking about your child's feelings can help your child develop empathy and begin to see things from another person's point of view.

6. We believe that we are all special people.

7. Treat others kindly even if they are different.

8. We show we are listening by what we say.

9. We are concerned about each other's feelings.

10. Use books, the internet and society to introduce your child to difference and in particular all types of families and how they are all unique and special - just like ours.

This week's '10 Ways to' is by One Family's Director of Children and Parenting Services, Geraldine Kelly.

Coming soon: 10 Ways to Prepare Your Child for Preschool; 10 Ways to Improve Your Child's Self Esteem; 10 Ways to Encourage Healthy Eating.

For support and advice on any of these topics, call askonefamily on lo-call 1890 66 22 12 or email support@onefamily.ie.
Image Credit: Pixabay

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Everyone is different, and it is important to be sensitive to that fact. Children look up to their parents and will imitate their behaviour, so the way you act towards others who are different can have a profound impact on them. By making sure you are respectful to everyone, you can ensure your children will do the same.

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View of Investigating EFL Reading Problems and Strategies in Post-Basic Schools and University Foundation Programmes: A Study in the Omani Context

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Return to Article Details Investigating EFL Reading Problems and Strategies in Post-Basic Schools and University Foundation Programmes: A Study in the Omani Context

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group work champion even if one member answered at the end of the period we count for the winner group all members got star on their face. it increases the engagement and group work spirit in my classes   

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for round-up & worm- up .... and activated substitution periods

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Quizizz - The world's most engaging learning platform

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Find and create gamified quizzes, lessons, presentations, and flashcards for students, employees, and everyone else. Get started for free!

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enhancing Ss reading comperhansion through knowing WH-Q use

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drawing our thoughts from the given statement and speak about it 

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hopscotch game stope at red spot and aswer the question around the class

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the best writing about future house grade 5

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I discussed with my fellow trainees how to effectively promote and achieve successful classroom management from my humble experience, and I found its fruits with many of my colleagues. we made a small meeting to exchange experiences, enhance what we learned, and implement effective and active education through the use of different educational methods in various ways, as I have enumerated myself.

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I attended workshops conducted by school teachers:

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translate the statement into a sketch

pick one and solve the riddle(wh-Q use, free speaking, read ti enhance reading flouncy among Ss and encourage them to read, correct use of prepositions)

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I re-use of this maze as a group work reinforcement

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i hope to write m whole experience it was gorgeous and I learned a lot from all teachers and my student