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Show page 18 Fall 2006 Active Learning Active learning is an answer to these theories and research. It has been created to promote this type of learning cycle and give the students more control and responsibility of their learning by giving them time to reflect, solve problems and test hypotheses during class time. Active learning allows us the chance to put the students' brains to work. Active Learning Models The following models give you an indication of the methods and techniques that individuals have created in order to better implement active learning in the classroom. Collaborative and Cooperative Learning Going back to Lewin's information about the importance of group work, we find a basis for this model. Collaborative and cooperative learning are, basically, well-structured group activities and projects that lead people to learn from each other, as well as on an individual basis. The key to success with collaborative and cooperative learning is that the structure be "just right." What I mean by this is that there has to be enough structure so that everyone knows: 1. What they are expected to do, 2. Why they're doing it, and 3. For how long they have to do it. Another important feature of successful collaborative and cooperative learning is that the individual student has to feel a sense of responsibility within the activity or project. If you've ever tried a group activity before, you might have heard your students groaning about it. Often times, students have had bad experiences with group learning where one person has had to take the reins and carry the rest of the students. This idea can become even more burdensome if the students will be graded for the project. For this reason, it is important for the students to understand how they need to be involved individually and the method by which you will know who has contributed what. Some instructors do this by assigning roles (note-taker, team leader, devil's advocate, data gatherer, etc.); others do this by having each group member turn in a personal reflection on the project along with their own viewpoint on the material. And some instructors, using a more controversial tactic, will have group members grade each other and then use this to determine part of the individual's final grade. Team-based Learning Taking collaborative and cooperative learning to an Tips for Group Work Dr. Michaelson, Dr. Fink and Dr. Knight in Designing Effective Group Activities: Lessons for Classroom Teaching and Faculty Development in To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional and Organizational Development, 1997. DeZure, D. [Ed.]. Stillwater, OK: New Forums, postulate that the Readiness Assurance Process (RAP) is the best method for group work. "The Readiness Assurance Process is used at the very beginning of each major instructional unit (i.e., prior to any lectures) to ensure that students master basic course content. It involves four steps: 1. Individual students complete a test over a set of pre-assigned readings and turn in their answers, 2. Groups then re-take the same test and turn in their consensus answers for immediate scoring (group scores are posted on the board to provide immediate cross-group comparisons), 3. Groups are given time to re-study their assigned readings to prepare written appeals for any questions they have missed, and 4. The instructor provides input that is specifically focused on remediating student misunderstandings that have come to light in the previous three steps of the process." For more information on team-based learning, visit Dr. Michaelson's web site: www.teambasedlearning.org. entirely new level, Dr. Larry K. Michaelson has created an instructional model called team-based learning. Realizing that group members often give an unequal amount of effort to most activities, and wanting to get his students more motivated and involved than the typical collaborative grouping, Dr. Michaelson, along with Dr. Dee Fink and Dr. Arietta Knight, devised a method in which the students would feel an innate sense of responsibility and a higher level of critical thinking. They argue that the best activity is one where the groups have a high level of discussion, students are held accountable on an individual basis, groups receive immediate feedback and groups performing at high levels receive explicit rewards. Case-based Learning Case-based learning is a model of active learning that focuses on using problem-solving skills to better understand practical application of theories and strategies. For example, the following might be used to teach a business student how to best manage a situation at work: You are the supervisor of a small telephone-based customer service team in an international nutrition corporation. One of the Chinese-speaking customer service representatives receives a complaint from a Chinese client about another customer service representative. The client demands to speak to the Vice President of the company, knowing that he is the |