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.

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.

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 Learner-Centric Technologies to Support Active Learning Activity Design in New Education Normal: Exploring the Disadvantageous Educational Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nehal Hasnine ◽  
Mahmoud Mohamed Hussien Ahmed ◽  
Hiroshi Ueda
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
New Education ◽  
Activity Design

Active learning is a learner-centric instructional method that uses discussion, role play, collaborative problem-solving based approaches to engage students with the course materials. However, due to the pandemic, active learning activities take place over multiple learner-centric technologies, as classroom-centered activity design is no longer possible. This study explored the success stories of active learning in disadvantageous educational contexts, particularly in Arab regions. After examining the theory, models, various learner-centric technologies of pre-pandemic active learning de-signs, this study proposes 25 emerging technologies to support active learn-ing 19 active learning strategies in terms of activity design in new education normal. The three-fold findings are related to designing active learning activities in new education normal, enhancing less practiced active learning strategies, and bridging the gaps in pre-and post-pandemic active learning activity design using learner-centric technologies.

scholarly journals Redesigning first year anatomy and physiology subjects for allied health students: Introducing active learning experiences for physiology in a first semester subject

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pam Lee Megaw ◽  
Monika Andrea Zimanyi
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
First Year ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Allied Health Students ◽  
Active Learning Strategies

In this paper we describe the initial development of flipped classroom learning activities for the physiology component of a first year anatomy and physiology class for allied health students, and the subsequent transformation to focus on active learning strategies over a period of three years. The learning activities incorporated included the use of audience response systems for in-class quizzing, mini case studies, role plays, and simulations. Results of on-course assessment items, consisting of on-line quizzes, was compared in order to determine whether active learning approaches improved academic performance. We found that academic performance increased across the cohorts when first implemented as flipped classroom, and the increase was maintained in the subsequent years focussing on the active learning strategies alone. We conclude that the introduction of active learning experiences to this class enhanced engagement and academic performance across the student cohorts.

scholarly journals Deep active learning for classifying cancer pathology reports

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
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 11 active learning algorithms on classifying subsite and histology from cancer pathology reports using a Convolutional Neural Network 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 constructed using random sampling.

scholarly journals Higher Perceived Design Thinking Traits and Active Learning in Design Courses Motivate Engineering Students to Tackle Energy Sustainability in Their Careers

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12570
Author(s):  
Julie Milovanovic ◽  
Tripp Shealy ◽  
Andrew Katz
Keyword(s):  
Active Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
The United States ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Energy Sustainability ◽  
Active Learning Strategies ◽  
The Impact

Engineers play an important role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, which aim to provide a more sustainable environment for future generations. Through design thinking, creativity, and innovation, sustainable engineering solutions can be developed. Future engineers need to acquire skills in their engineering curriculum to feel equipped to address sustainable design challenges in their career. This paper focuses on the impact of perceived design thinking traits and active learning strategies in design courses to increase senior engineering students’ motivation to engage in energy sustainability in their career. A national survey was distributed to senior engineering students in the United States (n = 4364). The survey asked students about their motivation to engage in sustainable design, their perceived design thinking traits (i.e., integrative feedback, collaboration), and if they experienced active learning strategies in design courses (i.e., learning by doing). The results highlight that higher perceived design thinking ability increases senior engineering students’ interests in designing solutions related to energy sustainability. Active learning experiences positively influence senior engineering students’ interests in designing solutions related to energy sustainability. These findings show the importance of teaching design thinking in engineering courses to empower future engineers to address sustainable challenges through design and innovation.

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