Active learning requires deeper planning than simply leading students through a classroom behavior. Marchese (1998) says “Active learning has the ring of a slogan; passive learning is an oxymoron.” All learning is active in the sense of changing long-term memory. Focusing on behavior without cognition ignores “both the structures that constitute human cognitive architecture and evidence from empirical studies over the past half-century” (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006). Proponents of active learning do no favors by offering this definition: “Active learning is, in short, any learning activity engaged in by students in a classroom other than listening passively to an instructor’s lecture” (Faust & Paulson, 1998). It implies the desired activity is observable, while all of us have experience learning by being actively engaged in lectures, though our outward appearance might appear passive. It is often the learner who decides their level of learning activity, through thoughtful consideration or note-taking. Mayer (2004) emphasizes that “learning may be best supported by methods of instruction that involve cognitive activity rather than behavioral activity.” The key to active learning is the learning activity taking place within the student’s brain rather than the observed behavior that is a means to that cognitive work. The animated figure on this page illustrates that the teacher guides students in active learning, triggering those cognitive events consistent with desired learning outcomes. Be sure that your classroom activities have a clearly defined objective and effectively guide the student toward that learning goal.
Just-in-time Teaching
One way to describe Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT), is to say that it lets the students’ questions, misconceptions, and/or knowledge gaps guide classroom instruction. With JiTT, students complete an assignment or assessment on a given topic before the class period. Shortly before the class, the instructor reviews students’ work and adapts the activities and discussions based on the common errors or misunderstandings in the students’ answers. The teacher may use a Web-based assessment package or course management system (such as Blackboard) to facilitate making the assignments and collecting students’ answers.
A variation of JiTT uses in-class response systems (such as i-Clicker) to pose questions to students during the classroom session. The teacher may ask questions prior to discussion to expose existing misconceptions, or ask questions after the discussion to assess understanding. In each case, the subsequent discussion addresses the students’ misunderstandings.
The major effort in using JiTT is in crafting good questions and reviewing student results before each class. For more detailed information, see:
• The JiTT Web site: www.jitt.org.
• Beatty, I. D., Gerace, W. J., Leonard, W. J., and Dufresne, R. J. (2006). Designing Effective Questions for Classroom Response System Teaching. American Journal of Physics, 74(1), 31.
For questions about i-Clickers, contact Nina Lewis (nina_lewis@byu.edu, 422-8328) at the Center for Teaching & Learning.
Interactive Example
This is an example of monitoring student comprehension while lecturing, particularly for a very large class. The professor can observe student readiness, which they indicate by pressing A, B, or C. Press these buttons on the iClicker image to see how the bars change whenever the students signal their comprehension.
Just-in-time Teaching
One way to describe Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT), is to say that it lets the students’ questions, misconceptions, and/or knowledge gaps guide classroom instruction. With JiTT, students complete an assignment or assessment on a given topic before the class period. Shortly before the class, the instructor reviews students’ work and adapts the activities and discussions based on the common errors or misunderstandings in the students’ answers. The teacher may use a Web-based assessment package or course management system (such as Blackboard) to facilitate making the assignments and collecting students’ answers.
A variation of JiTT uses in-class response systems (such as i-Clicker) to pose questions to students during the classroom session. The teacher may ask questions prior to discussion to expose existing misconceptions, or ask questions after the discussion to assess understanding. In each case, the subsequent discussion addresses the students’ misunderstandings.
The major effort in using JiTT is in crafting good questions and reviewing student results before each class. For more detailed information, see:
• The JiTT Web site: www.jitt.org.
• Beatty, I. D., Gerace, W. J., Leonard, W. J., and Dufresne, R. J. (2006). Designing Effective Questions for Classroom Response System Teaching. American Journal of Physics, 74(1), 31.
For questions about i-Clickers, contact Nina Lewis (nina_lewis@byu.edu, 422-8328) at the Center for Teaching & Learning.
Interactive Example
This is an example of monitoring student comprehension while lecturing, particularly for a very large class. The professor can observe student readiness, which they indicate by pressing A, B, or C. Press these buttons on the iClicker image to see how the bars change whenever the students signal their comprehension.
