The advent of technology has not only changed the way we do things but it has a profound impact on how we communicate with one another-the communication has become more open and spontaneous. Almost all kinds of communication; personal or professional has changed and communication between teachers and students is no exception. Students, now, can access teachers 24/7 instead of scheduling meetings or waiting for after-class discussion (Staff, 2013). Moreover, using tablet PCs teachers can enhance student-teacher and student-student interaction inside the classroom (Tront & Prey, 2009). The inside of a traditional classroom comprises of rows of desks lined up and a place, usually at the front of the class reserved for the teacher. The instructor in a traditional classroom setting would read a pre-prepared script and students keep taking notes; with little to no room for class discussion. The education literature reveals that the concentration span of students is 10-20 min when the instruction is delivered using uniform mode and students are the mere passive receiver of information (Gifkins, 2015).
Making learning interactive via active learning strategies is what schools today should focus on. As the name suggests, students do a lot than simple listening to the instruction. They become an active participant in the learning process by carrying out activities such as debates, analysis, and discussions in class. Active learning prompts the learner to trigger his/her higher-order thinking skills and raise questions like how or why a particular phenomenon takes place and gear their thinking towards finding the answers for their curiosity. There are various strategies to implement active learning in the classroom (Schwartz). The table below lists them out:
Verbal Activities:
Non-Verbal Activities
Where active learning strategies have helped to capture student engagement and boost the information retention capabilities of the students, on the other hand, it offers certain apprehensions on the instructor’s part. For instance, student’s resistance to active learning, adequacy of teaching method, preparation time of the activity, the potentiality of covering the syllabus (Finelli, et al., 2014). Weimer argues that (as cited in Finelli, et al., 2014, p.1) students can display resistance to active learning in various forms; such as the deprivation of enthusiasm can lead to the failure to respond to an instruction or participation in class activity, students want to get done with the activity for the sake of completion termed as partial compliance and displaying open resistance in form of complaints and arguments.
Another major bottleneck in active learning strategy is that it subsides the efficacy of other teaching methods (Evans, 2016). For example, when students are continuously engaged in active learning using technology, it becomes irksome to deviate their attention, especially in cases when the instructor has to lecture about the topic in traditional fashion. Also, a big chunk of class time goes misused if technology breakdowns. With traditional learning, if a student misses out on a lecture, he/she has the chance to make-up for the missed lecture by taking lecture notes from the peers. But in active learning scenario, missing a class means missing the activity (it is difficult to be a part of the missed discussion).
Considering a typical Pakistani school scenario, implementing active learning strategies aren’t befitting because teachers are already bound to complete course according to the pre-prepared schedule, they have to check student’s work (where teacher to student ratio in a class is 1:60), there is paucity of adequate material and human resource. The teaching and learning quality are determined by how silent and well-disciplined a class is (Rehmani, 2006). Even in the current era, when a lot of technologies have popped-up and a lot of learning environments have been evolved, teaching in Pakistani schools follow the old method of delivering information via books. Apart from schools, parents also consider active learning as a deviation from studies. Teachers of such schools see active learning as an added responsibility (Rehmani, 2006). In my opinion, the primary reason that holds back teachers from implementing active learning (or any similar strategies) is their fear to accept and cope with change. There aren’t enough teacher training programs that address this issue and provide a roadmap to overcome it. The benefits of the active learning should be communicated with parents and they should be made part of this change.
Active learning if implemented properly can-do wonders in taking student’s learning to higher levels. The purpose of active learning should not be confined to handing over gadgets to students. The aim should be to target and trigger student’s higher order skills through various activities such as problem-based learning, case-based learning creative thinking etc. It should revolve around enhancing teacher’s investment, motivation, and performance. Although its beneficial for students to take charge of their own learning. However, they shouldn’t feel way too independent in doing so that they eliminate the need of the teacher. Also, teachers should be vigilant enough to see and comprehend how each child responds to active learning or for that matter any other counterpart of student-centered learning strategy. Moreover, too challenging and too easy activities can devaluate student’s interest from the active learning. Teachers should effectively manage the class time for the activities-stretching a single activity over multiple units; when it is not needed, belittles the positive impact of active learning.
Evans, M. (2016, May 19). Teaching Out Loud. Retrieved from Dartmouth: https://sites.dartmouth.edu/teachingoutloud/how-active-learning-can-fail/
Finelli, C. J., DeMonbron, M., Shekhar, P., Borrego, M., Prince, M., Henderson, C., & Waters, C. K. (2014). An Observation Instrument to Assess Student Response to Active Learning. IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE) Proceedings (pp. 1-4). Madrid: IEEE.
Gifkins, J. (2015, October 8). Retrieved from E-International Relation: http://www.e-ir.info/2015/10/08/what-is-active-learning-and-why-is-it-important/
Rehmani, A. (2006, February ). Teacher education in Pakistan with particular reference to teachers' conception of teaching. Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Schwartz, M. (n.d.). Active Learning. Toronto , Canada.
Staff, T. (2013). Retrieved from TeachThought: https://www.teachthought.com/technology/how-technology-is-changing-how-teachers-communicate-with-students/
Tront, J. G., & Prey, J. C. (2009). Tablets PCs and Slate Devices Can Improve Active Learning Classroom Experience. 39th IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (pp. 1-6). IEEE.