scholarly journals Learning by Doing: Twenty Successful Active Learning Exercises for Information Systems Courses

10.28945/3643 ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 021-046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanah Mitchell ◽  
Stacie Petter ◽  
Al Harris
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Passive Learning ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Definition Of

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a review of previously published work related to active learning in information systems (IS) courses. Background: There are a rising number of strategies in higher education that offer promise in regards to getting students’ attention and helping them learn, such as flipped classrooms and offering courses online. These learning strategies are part of the pedagogical technique known as active learning. Active learning is a strategy that became popular in the early 1990s and has proven itself as a valid tool for helping students to be engaged with learning. Methodology: This work follows a systematic method for identifying and coding previous research based on an aspect of interest. The authors identified and assessed research through a search of ABI/Inform scholarly journal abstracts and keywords, as well as additional research databases, using the search terms “active learning” and “information systems” from 2000 through June 2016. Contribution: This synthesis of active learning exercises provides guidance for information technology faculty looking to implement active learning strategies in their classroom by demonstrating how IS faculty might begin to introduce more active learning techniques in their teaching as well as by presenting a sample teaching agenda for a class that uses a mix of active and passive learning techniques to engage student learning. Findings: Twenty successful types of active learning exercises in IS courses are presented. Recommendations for Practitioners : This paper offers a “how to” resource of successful active learning strategies for IS faculty interested in implementing active learning in the classroom. Recommendation for Researchers: This work provides an example of a systematic literature review as a means to assess successful implementations of active learning in IS. Impact on Society: An updated definition of active learning is presented as well as a meaningful list of exercises that encourage active learning both inside and outside of the IS classroom. Future Research: In relation to future research, this study highlights a number of opportunities for IS faculty in regards to new active learning activities or trends to study further.

Active Learning Strategies for Online College Classrooms

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Marina Kamenetskiy
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
College Classrooms ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Online Classrooms ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Interest And Motivation

The term active learning is also known as “learning by doing”; it is where students are presented with a variety of learning activities that encourages thinking and reflection. Educational leaders recognize the value of promoting active learning in the educational setting and encourage their faculty to apply active learning techniques in their online classrooms to increase learner interest and motivation. This chapter identifies various active learning strategies that can be applied to any discipline in any online course, as well as presents different examples of active learning activities. Active learning strategies can include group work, simulations (role play), and games, in order to build learners' critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills.

Assessment of Active Learning

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay Gibson ◽  
Carolyn M. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Traditional Teaching Methods ◽  
Measurement Tools ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Assessment Techniques

With the shift in learning objectives that were more focused on the development of skills and processes, new assessment techniques were required to be developed to determine the effectiveness of new active-learning techniques for teaching these skills. In order for assessment to be done well, instructors must consider what learning objective they are assessing, clarify why they are assessing and what benefits will derive from the process, consider whether they will conduct assessments during or after the learning process, and specifically address how they will design solid assessments of active learning best suited to their needs. The various types of assessment for active-learning strategies include written and oral debriefing, observations, peer- and self-assessment, and presentations and demonstrations. In addition, there are several different measurement tools for recording the assessment data, including checklists and student surveys. A final aspect to consider when examining assessment techniques and measurement tools is the construction of an effective rubric. Ultimately, further research is warranted in the learning that occurs through the use of active-learning techniques in contrast with traditional teaching methods, the “portability” of active-learning exercises across cultures, and the use of newer media—such as internet and video content—as it is increasingly incorporated into the classroom.

Active learning interventions and student perceptions

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Joseph Lobo
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Student Evaluation ◽  
Authentic Learning ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Traditional Lecture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Favorable Evaluation ◽  
Active Learning Strategies

Purpose Engaging students through active learning is the gold standard of teaching especially in higher education; however, it is not clear whether students appreciate being so engaged. The purpose of this paper is to recount an attempt to redesign a lecture-based course, applying research-supported active learning strategies, and to report on student perceptions of the attempt. Design/methodology/approach The author attempted to innovate a standard lecture-based introductory social science class to engage students and facilitate authentic learning. The active learning innovations were learning by doing, collaboration, reading with a method, and increased autonomy. Student perceptions were measured over two iterations of the course (each one lasting one semester) using electronically distributed surveys. Findings The results have shown that most students strongly agreed that the innovations facilitated their learning; however, overall, the course received a lower student evaluation than versions given in the traditional lecture-based format. Originality/value The results suggest that students appreciate active learning strategies and that such strategies do indeed promote authentic learning; nonetheless, further research needs to be done to explain the paradox of specific student appreciation of active learning strategies combined with an overall less favorable evaluation of the class rooted in such strategies as compared to evaluations of the traditional lecture-based class.

scholarly journals Are the Sequential Interactive Effects of Two Active Learning Strategies Synergistic? The Use of the Socratic Method of Questioning and Ability Based Learning Techniques to Enhance Student Learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
La Shun L. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Gainful Employment ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Enhance Student Learning

If students do not fully apply themselves, then they may be considered responsible for the result of being inadequately prepared. +- Nevertheless, student outcomes are more likely to reflect a combination of both effort and systematic problems with overall course architecture. Deficiencies in course design result in inadequate preparation that adversely and directly impacts students’ productivity upon entering the workforce.  Such an impact negatively influences students' ability to maintain gainful employment and provide for their families, which inevitably contributes to the development of issues concerning their psychological well-being.  It is well-documented that incorporating active learning strategies in course design and delivery can enhance student learning outcomes.  Despite the benefit of implementing active learning techniques, rarely in the real world will it be possible for techniques to be used in isolation of one another.  Therefore, the purpose of this proposed study is to determine the interactive effects of two active learning strategies because, at a minimum, technique-pairs more accurately represent the application of active learning in the natural educational setting.  There is a paucity of evidence in the literature directed toward investigating the interactive effects of multiple active learning techniques that this study is aimed at filling.  The significance of this research is that, by determining the interactive effects of paired active learning strategies, other research studies on the beneficial effects of using particular active learning technique-pairs will be documented contributing to the literature so that ultimately classroom instruction may be customized according to the determination of optimal sequencing of strategy-pairs for particular courses, subjects, and desired outcomes that maximize student learning.

scholarly journals Deep Active Learning for Classifying Cancer Pathology Reports

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin De Angeli ◽  
Shang Gao ◽  
Mohammed Alawad ◽  
Hong-Jun Yoon ◽  
Noah Schaefferkoetter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Text Classification ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Classification Model ◽  
Cancer Pathology ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Pathology Reports

Abstract Background: Automated text classification has many important applications in the clinical setting; however, obtaining labelled data for training machine learning and deep learning models is often difficult and expensive. Active learning techniques may mitigate this challenge by reducing the amount of labelled data required to effectively train a model. In this study, we analyze the effectiveness of eleven active learning algorithms on classifying subsite and histology from cancer pathology reports using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) as the text classification model. Results: We compare the performance of each active learning strategy using two differently sized datasets and two different classification tasks. Our results show that on all tasks and dataset sizes, all active learning strategies except diversity-sampling strategies outperformed random sampling, i.e., no active learning. On our large dataset (15K initial labelled samples, adding 15K additional labelled samples each iteration of active learning), there was no clear winner between the different active learning strategies. On our small dataset (1K initial labelled samples, adding 1K additional labelled samples each iteration of active learning), marginal and ratio uncertainty sampling performed better than all other active learning techniques. We found that compared to random sampling, active learning strongly helps performance on rare classes by focusing on underrepresented classes. Conclusions: Active learning can save annotation cost by helping human annotators efficiently and intelligently select which samples to label. Our results show that a dataset constructed using effective active learning techniques requires less than half the amount of labelled data to achieve the same performance as a dataset that constructed using random sampling.

scholarly journals A model of peer effects on instructor innovation adoption

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody McConnell ◽  
Lisa Montplaisir ◽  
Erika G Offerdahl
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Reform Initiatives ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Teaching Innovation ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Departmental Climate ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Instructional Decision

Abstract A considerable body of evidence demonstrates that active, student-centered instructional practices are more effective than lecture-based, transmissionist approaches in improving undergraduate STEM learning. Despite this evidence and extensive reform initiatives, the majority of STEM instructors continue to teach didactically. Awareness of teaching innovations is widespread in some STEM disciplines, and instructors report trying new instructional approaches, yet the majority of them fail to continue using active learning strategies. Recent work suggests that the decision to experiment with and persist in using a teaching innovation is influenced more by instructors’ perceived supports (e.g., access to curricular resources, supportive colleagues, positive departmental climate toward teaching) than perceived barriers. This commentary expands on the notion that the instructional decision-making process is personal and influenced by both individual and contextual factors to explicitly model the potential mechanisms by which peers encourage or discourage adoption of teaching innovations. We also discuss implications of this work for future research. We hope that this model will be helpful for work related to increasing the prevalence of active, student-centered instruction in undergraduate STEM.

scholarly journals A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Clicker Implementation Styles in STEM

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. ar30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin D. Solomon ◽  
Michelle D. Repice ◽  
Jacinta M. Mutambuki ◽  
Denise A. Leonard ◽  
Cheryl A. Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Faculty Goals ◽  
And Mathematics

Active learning with clickers is a common approach in high-enrollment, lecture-based courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In this study, we describe the procedures that faculty at one institution used when implementing clicker-based active learning, and how they situated these activities in their class sessions. Using a mixed-methods approach, we categorized faculty into four implementation styles based on quantitative observation data and conducted qualitative interviews to further understand why faculty used these styles. We found that faculty tended to use similar procedures when implementing a clicker activity, but differed on how they situated the clicker-based active learning into their courses. These variations were attributed to different faculty goals for using clicker-based active learning, with some using it to engage students at specific time points throughout their class sessions and others who selected it as the best way to teach a concept from several possible teaching techniques. Future research should continue to investigate and describe how active-learning strategies from literature may differ from what is being implemented.

scholarly journals Active Learning Strategies and Instructor Presence in An Online Research Methods Course: Can we Decrease Anxiety and Enhance Knowledge?

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Ann Rapp-McCall ◽  
Victoria Anyikwa
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Active Learning Strategies

Research methods courses elicit more anxiety than usual for graduate social work students, and the online environment may pose an even greater challenge as the personal interaction between instructor and student is reduced or absent. It is therefore incumbent on research instructors to creatively engage students, reduce anxiety, and foster learning. There is a dearth of evidence, particularly regarding online education, explicating specific teaching strategies. This exploratory study sought to provide some answers. First-semester MSW students were invited to participate in a voluntary, anonymous, online survey at the end of a research methods course to determine which online teaching strategies were most effective in decreasing anxiety and increasing perception of knowledge. Strategies used in the class include asynchronous activities such as discussion questions, PowerPoint lectures, and email and telephone contact with instructors in addition to synchronous class sessions. Three tactics were rated by the 43 respondents as being most helpful for both decreasing anxiety and enhancing the perception of knowledge: personal contact with the instructor either via email, phone, and/or online meetings; the instructor’s synchronous class sessions; and active learning strategies employed during the synchronous class sessions. Implications for teaching and future research are discussed. 

scholarly journals The “State” of Active Learning in the Atmospheric Sciences: Strategies Instructors Use and Directions for Future Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Handlos ◽  
Casey Davenport ◽  
Dawn Kopacz
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Atmospheric Science ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Atmospheric Sciences ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
Science Instructors

AbstractExtensive research within STEM fields has demonstrated that active learning leads to greater educational success for students relative to traditional lecture methods. While studies have explored active learning use across various STEM fields, minimal research has focused specifically on the atmospheric sciences. A baseline knowledge of the use of active learning in this field is vital for determining instructional effectiveness and can identify areas for improvement.The goal of this study is to provide a baseline regarding the state of active learning within the atmospheric sciences, including understanding what active learning strategies are most widely used, their frequency of use, and who is using them. Atmospheric science instructors were invited to participate in an online survey to provide information about their active learning use in the classroom and resources used to learn more about active learning strategies. Survey results indicate that case studies are the most popular high-use active learning strategy across all levels of instruction, though how they are implemented within the classroom is not clear. New atmospheric science instructors, instructors beyond the typical 5 year tenure mark, and female instructors exhibit the highest number of unique active learning strategies. Future work stresses the need for a larger sample size and more direct classroom observation of instructors using active learning.

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