Students do not learn much just by sitting in classes listening to teachers, memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. A mple research has been done on the best ways students learn and amidst all of this research, active learning figures very prominently. Just as the name suggests, active learning seeks to actively engage students in the learning process. It is a participatory approach in which students can directly apply what they are learning. In order to achieve this, professors must first design the active learning exercises and then facilitate the learning as these exercises are implemented into the classroom.
Research indicates that active learning increases motivation and attendance.
Due to the highly interactive nature of this kind of learning, students are constantly giving and receiving immediate feedback. It is also very effective at developing higher-order thinking skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation. There have been many quantitative studies which support these findings. First we need to identify the teaching strategies we currently use and are comfortable with. Next, we could select new techniques that are suitable for our class based on its particular course objectives.