Student Engagement

Active Learning and Student Engagement

Insung Jung (Professor of Education) & Siaw Eng Tan (Doctoral Student, Education)

*This article was written in 2017. The academic titles stated above are those held at the time of writing.

[日本語]

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“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves (Chickering & Gamson, 1987, p.4).”

Numerous studies have revealed that active learning engages students, increases their motivation to learn, provides meaningful learning experiences, and promotes such higher order thinking processes such as analytical, critical and creative skills. This section covers the nuts and bolts of active learning and student engagement.

What is Active Learning?

Definition

Active learning is a student-centered approach in which students can engage and participate in the process of learning, an approach that is in stark contrast to the traditional teacher-centered approach in which students are passively sitting in the class listening to the lecture and taking notes. It refers to any instructional method that engages students actively and experientially in the learning process. Examples of activities that promote active learning are discussion, writing, problem solving and reading, among others. Instructors can employ these activities in the classroom in order to enable students to engage in higher order thinking skills such as synthesis, analysis and evaluation of the lecture content.

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of active learning has been evidenced in several studies. A review of the literature by Prince (2004) examined the effects of such active learning strategies as collaborative learning, cooperative learning and problem-based learning in the context of engineering education. All these strategies were found to be effective in promoting student engagement and positively influencing student attitudes and study habits. Compared to traditional methods such as rote learning, students in the active learning class showed longer retention of information and developed enhanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In a meta-analysis conducted on 225 studies on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses (Freeman et al., 2014), it was revealed that active learning produced an increase of 6% in average examination scores while the traditional lecturing increased failure rate by 55%.

Importance in relation to liberal arts education

Through active learning, students are able to acquire transferable skills that act in accordance with liberal arts educational values.

Liberal arts institutions, including ICU, aim to develop well-rounded individuals equipped with transferable skills that enable them to become dynamic individuals in the community of the future. The survey of CEOs by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) in 2013 found that 74% said that a 21st-century liberal arts education would be their highest recommendation to create a more dynamic worker. Students with a liberal arts education background are found to be the preferred choice of employers to help the company grow and succeed. They are perceived to be better prepared for success in the global economy. According to the survey, the seven skills listed below are highly valued by employers when making hiring decisions.

    • Analytical, logical and critical thinking skills

    • Creativity and innovative skills

    • Oral and communication skills

    • Problem-solving skills

    • Moral and civic character

    • Ethical decision-making skills

    • Intercultural skills

To realize the mission of a liberal arts institution and produce global citizens with the skills mentioned above, instructors should design lessons integrated with active learning activities that suit the needs of the lesson content, students and classroom setting.

How Can We Promote Active Learning?

Active learning can be incorporated into any classroom environment with the proper planning. Students in a large classroom do not need to go unnoticed or play a passive role in learning. Students who are shy or quiet to speak up in large classes can be encouraged to participate actively and engage in active learning activities. At the end of the class, students will realize that their presence matters in participation, contribution and reflection regardless of the size of the class.

Planning

Instructors must firstly consider which part of the lesson content is the core topic or issue to be highlighted for a learning activity and design the active learning activity that is manageable within the timeframe and suitable for the content, class size and setting.

An active learning activity usually follows a general flow of events, which is before, during and after sessions as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: A general flow of events in an active learning environment

Active learning strategies to promote problem-solving and critical thinking skills

Strategies such as discussion, questioning, debate, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, case studies and group projects are often used by instructors within liberal arts institutions to promote active learning and help students become critical thinkers and problem solvers. The following strategies are variations of those popular active learning strategies and can be creatively adapted by each instructor.

Think-share-pair

Class size: any

Purpose: This activity engages students actively in sharing their viewpoints, brainstorming ideas or searching for solutions to a problem. Students can learn to state their views, be an effective listener in analyzing other’s opinion and develop cooperation skills in working out solutions to a problem.

Description: Firstly, the instructor asks each student to pair up with another student. A question regarding the topic taught in class is given. The instructor asks students to spend a few minutes sharing with each other about the question.

POGIL (Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Based Learning)

Class size: any

Purpose: Using guided inquiry to guide students in exploration, construction and application of new knowledge. The POGIL method emphasizes the process of inquiry learning that enables students to think analytically and take ownership of their learning.

Description: The instructor divides students into small groups of 3-4 people. Each student is assigned a specific role in the group. A task of guided inquiry is given to each group. Students are to work out the solution or concept understanding through solving each inquiry. The instructor functions as a facilitator and provides support as and when needed. After the students have answered the guided inquiries, each group presents their findings. The instructor provides feedback and debriefs the lessons learned after the presentation. For more details on POGIL, click HERE.

Group work

Class size: any

Purpose: Group work ensures every participant engages in discussion, planning and working towards a purposeful goal.

Description: In this activity, the instructor divides the class into groups. Each student is assigned a role in the group to ensure that everyone participates actively. A task is given to each group to complete. From time to time, the instructor should ensure that the group is moving in the right direction. Assigning students to group work brings many advantages to learning. Students consolidate the ideas or opinions or each other, learn to work collaboratively on each assigned tasks and sometimes even learn to let go of their perceptions to embrace a new idea.

Three-step interview

Class size: any

Purpose: This activity involves the interview, an approach of questioning and answering that provokes deeper thinking, rationalization and reasoning which is different from random sharing of thoughts. The instructor can observe students’ thinking at the conclusion of their interview.

Description: The instructor groups the students in pairs. Firstly, the instructor presents a question for the interview activity. The first student interviews the second one on the discussion question. Then the second student interviews the first student in return. Moving on to the next step, two dyads then group together and one person from the first dyad summarizes the conclusion of their discussion followed by the second dyad to summarize the results of their discussion to the first dyad.

Small group discussion

Class size: any

Purpose: Discussion in small groups is also a channel for the quiet or shy students to feel more comfortable to participate.

Description: The instructor divides the students into small groups of about 3 to 4 people. The reason for having a small group is to have a focused and in-depth discussion in a more intimate and personal setting. The instructor should ensure that the discussion is purposeful and specific roles are allocated to the members of the group. Everyone feels important and needed in the team through contributions to the group. After the discussion, the instructor can ask each group to share at least one idea from the discussion. The instructor can further comment on the ideas so that students can reflect more deeply. Lastly, the instructor asks each group to summarize their points. At this juncture, the quieter or shy students can be called to summarize their group’s discussion as reporting the work of others might be less intimidating during public speaking.

Writing

Class size: any, work on an individual basis

Purpose: Writing is a way to express opinions, thoughts and emotions to communicate with the reader. Writing can also be a form of reflection on what has been discussed, read, experienced or learned. The instructor can use writing as a method for active learning in the class. The process of writing involves higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation before one can tell a story, argue a statement or voice an opinion. It helps students experience deeper learning and understand the topic before they start writing.

Description: The instructor gives a topic at the end of the class to let students write their reflection, opinion or summary. The length of the desired writing task should also be stated clearly so that students know how much is expected of them. The instructor can identify the student’s thinking process, misconceptions or understanding of a particular topic through writing. In the process of writing, students work through a series of planning, thinking and choosing the right words and expressions to express their thoughts.

Minute paper/ Quick write

Class size: any, work on an individual basis

Purpose: The instructor can quickly identify which student has understood correctly and who has not. Instructors can then go on to explain the areas which caused the most misconceptions.

Description: At the end of a class, ask each student to take out a piece of blank paper and give them a question to answer. This is not a quiz but is rather a way to seek feedback from students about a topic they have learned. Students are given a short time, usually one minute (or more if needed) to answer the question. Examples of questions that can be asked are: What have you learnt in today’s lesson? Or What are the differences between a bacteria and a virus?

Whole class debate

Class size: 10-20, max 50

Purpose: This activity can develop students' critical and analytical thinking skills, communication skills and cooperative skills.

Description: The instructor can pose 2 to 3 statements about an issue and separate the large lecture hall according to their differing opinions. The instructor asks each group to produce five to ten statements supporting their side of the argument. Give each group an allotted amount of time to prepare their case. The instructor takes control in managing the flow of the debate and the process may be repeated with rebuttals. Students from each group then present their arguments. The instructor can request that each student only speaks once so that the debate can involve as many as possible. In closure, each group sends a representative to summarize their point and the instructor debriefs the issue again.

Case study

Class size: any

Purpose: Case study is an approach to developing students’ thinking skills. This activity helps them to think critically, comprehensively and practically in a real life scenario.

Description: The instructor divides the students into groups or lets them work through the case study individually. Students work through a case study that depicts a real-life scenario to find causes, solutions or improvement plans. Students will find themselves engaged deeply in the scenario to solve the realistic case study.

Affinity mapping

Class size: more than 15

Purpose: Affinity mapping is an approach in brainstorming ideas, categorizing and re-combining ideas into new ones. This activity involves everyone’s participation, and even the shy or quiet students feel comfortable contributing their thoughts.

Description: The instructor gives each student a sticky note and poses a question such as What were the possible future impacts of Brexit? All the students then write one answer on the sticky note and paste them on the whiteboard in front of the classroom. After lots of ideas have been generated, the instructor then gets the students to group them into categories (eg. economy, education, politics). Students who contributed to these ideas then gather in their groups and start discussing the topic in greater detail. If a particular group is too large, ithe nstructor can break the group into a smaller number to discuss a subtopic that is relevant to that category.

Concentric circles

Class size: 10-20, max 50

Purpose: This activity is a quick way of engaging every student to discuss and share with many students in a short time. It encourages student-student interaction and develops their interpersonal skills.

Description: This activity is also known as ‘speed dating’ where two circles are formed, with students of the inner circle facing students of the outer circle. Students can also line up facing one another. The instructor gives one question, and students discuss with their partner. After a short time, the instructor then says ‘change’ and students from the inner circle will move one step clockwise while the outer circle moves anticlockwise. The new pairs then discuss on a new topic again. The process is repeated once the instructor poses a new question.

You can find more active learning strategies at:

How Can We Apply a Flipped Classroom Model to Promote Active Learning?

Definition

A flipped classroom model is typically known as a pedagogy model where the traditional lecture and homework session are reversed - students are expected to listen to the lecture at home and do their homework in the class instead. This model is found to shift the focus of learning from the traditional teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. Since Aaron Sams and Bergmann Smith popularized the flipped classroom model, several studies found the positive effect of the flipped classroom model on students’ engagement, motivation and even achievement in examination scores in some cases.

The flipped classroom model leaves no room for students to sit passively in class to listen. As students are expected to listen or read the lecture material before coming to the class, they have to actively participate in the activities as there will be little to no lecture during class time. The flipped classroom model can better ensure that students come to the class well prepared, engage deeply in in-class activities and apply higher order thinking skills in learning. Students are developed into independent and self-directed learners who stay motivated throughout the process.

For more details on flipped learning, visit:

Planning for a flipped classroom

Proper planning is crucial for effective flipped learning. First, the instructor must decide on a topic or topics that are suitable for flipped learning. That is, the instructor must customize the extent of lessons flipped according to the needs and levels of the students. Some topics are best to have full flip, while others partial flip or no flip. Then, the instructor needs to devise the pre-class learning activities students have to complete before coming to the class. Finally, the instructor needs to consider and plan carefully the in-class activities that are useful to engage students in applying what they have learned during the pre-class lesson. A general flow of the flipped classroom model is shown in Figure 2 below.

For more details on the preparation of the flipped classroom, visit:

Figure 2: The flow for the flipped classroom model

Pre-Class Lesson

    • Decide on a topic for flipped learning: Not all lessons or topics are suitable for flipped learning. The instructor first needs to choose a topic or lesson that can be effectively taught in the flipped classroom. A topic or lesson that can be learned in a self-directed environment via already available (or instructor-created) lesson materials would be effective for flipped learning.

    • Prepare the pre-class lesson: The instructor prepares lesson materials to facilitate learning of the selected topic before students participate in the in-class activities. The lesson materials can be created by the instructor or selected from the available resources. Video clips, PowerPoint materials with voice-over, written materials and audio lectures are often used for pre-class activities.

Free online materials you can use for your flipped classroom

        • OER Commons offers open education resources across various disciplines for educators.

        • Merlot II (Multimedia Education Resource for Learning and Online Teaching II) offers available existing online learning resources in a range of academic disciplines for use by higher education faculty and students.

        • Class Central makes it easy for educators to locate thousands of free online courses and MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) from top universities and companies

        • Japan OpenCourseWare lists open courses offered by Japanese universities.

        • JMOOC offers MOOCs created by Japanese universities.

    • Share the lesson materials with students: The instructor chooses a platform for sharing the lessons with students. At ICU, MOODLE or Google apps can be used as the platform or links to the online materials can be sent to the students.

    • Engage students in pre-class discussion: To ensure that students do their pre-class learning activities – watching videos, reading materials etc., the instructor can create discussion forums in Moodle where every student is required to post questions raised during the pre-class learning or lessons learned. Students’ participation in the discussion link is a good avenue for the instructor to gauge students’ understanding or misconceptions about the lesson. The instructor can allocate participation points so that students are obliged to view the lesson material before the class.

In-Class Activities

    • Prepare in-class activities: To engage students in applying what they have learned through the pre-classroom lesson, various active learning strategies discussed above can be used during class hours.

    • Provide individual or group guidance: In accordance with the needs of the students, instructors can reteach a portion of the lesson where most of the students are confused or provide tutorial help to those students in need.

    • Implement active learning activities: Then the instructor can proceed with active learning activities such as problem solving, group discussion, group projects, presentations or case studies as planned. During the activities, the instructor plays the role of a facilitator and students are the center of learning activities. While the activities are carried out, the instructor should go around to each student or group to address their queries. The flipped classroom model enables the instructor to give individual attention or assistance according to the needs of each student, an advantage that the traditional lecture model could not provide as the class time is mostly consumed by lecture.

    • Evaluate and improve the flipped classroom: The instructor should plan for evaluation to monitor the learning process and outcomes and improve the flipped classroom activities and strategies. For more details on evaluation and improvement, see The Process for Creating a Continuous Assessment/Improvement Plan.

References

Chickering, A., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice. AAHE Bulletin, 39, 3-7.

Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P., (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 111(23), 8410-8415.

Philip, J. G., Kim, J., Seaton, D. T., Mitros, P., Gajos, K. Z., & Miller, R. C., (2014). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. Proceedings of The First Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Learning @ Scale Conference.

Prince M., (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223-231.

Samples from ICU Faculty Members