Active learning centres on the process of learning through active participation in the classroom, field, in the workplace, in the community and in laboratories. Through activities which are as real as possible to the actual application of the ideas, learners are encouraged to come up with their own theoretical models and interpretations. Another definition of active learning is ‘involving students in practising important skills and applying new knowledge’

Knowledge bank

Research suggests that active participation in learning as against passive listening is more enjoyable, more memorable and more effectively understood.

Active approaches to learning stimulate the brain to make neural connections (build synaptic links between brain cells) and it is this connection which constitutes learning. It seems that passive listening approaches to learning are less effective at assisting us to make connections.

Active learning lessons usually contain a number of similar features:

• reviewing prior knowledge and understanding
• demonstration by the teacher of how to do something or verbal introduction to important ideas
• monitored practice where learners try the new skill or work with the new knowledge, with reflection on process as well as content
• learners having opportunities to practise the skills or use the knowledge again on their own
• extension assignments, e.g. for homework
• further review to consolidate.

Studies using control groups and test groups carried out by John Hattie showed that learners involved in an active learning process performed, on average, one and a half grades better than those taught with didactic, passive, teacher talk methods. In these studies, both groups were taught for the same amount of time.

Active learning is based on a constructivist view of learning, that is, it sees learning as a building process where new meaning is made by reflecting on experience and relating this to existing meaning. Reflection is stimulated through meaningful practical experiences close to the application of the knowledge or skill. This means that concepts are not understood until it has been related to existing ideas, contexts, knowledge and skills.

Active learning supports the ‘making of meaning’ and in this sense it enables learners to ‘transform what is fragmentary or in separate compartments into a coherent whole’.

The activities involved in the active learning process must stimulate individuals to question their existing constructs, that is they need to encourage learners to question the concepts and connections they make between them. There is also a need for a period of reflection, where the ideas and experiences are explained to others, to themselves and to their teachers, so that new thinking can be affirmed and improved. Teaching others their new knowledge would seem to be the most effective method of ensuring recall over time.

Ask yourself

• To what extent are your lessons active learning experiences?
• How do you structure a learning period currently and what might you consider changing in the light of reading this briefing?
• How are learners given opportunities for active reflection and interpersonal communication in your lessons?
• Where does active learning happen and where does it not happen? What are the reasons for this?

To do list

• Set up an audit of active learning in your classroom. Invite learners to score their levels of satisfaction from 1-10 in your lessons, comparing active lessons versus more didactic lessons. Ask them also to rate their understanding on the same 1-10 scale. Compare the results over a half term.
• Set up your own control study between different groups of learners and explore the differences over a module. Note that if you see key differences in performance, ethically you should cease your studies and go with the findings!
• Collect ideas from colleagues for active learning activities at the start of staff meetings or in informal discussions.
• Make reflection on active learning approaches a focus of lesson observations for professional development.

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