Active Learning in the Online Environment
What is Active Learning?
Active learning is a general term that describes an approach to teaching, rather than a specific methodology, which engages students in the learning process. There are a variety of strategies to promote this engagement such as group work, inquiry exercises, and brainstorming activities. All of these strategies share the common trait of shifting the responsibility for learning from the instructor to the student by encouraging the student to be an active participant in the exploration of learning objectives.
In most definitions, active learning is posited against passive learning - learning where the student is merely a receptacle for knowledge and does not actively participate in instruction. The most often cited passive learning environment is the traditional lecture, although other environments, from viewing a video to some reading assignments also encourage passive learning. Research demonstrates that instructors who identify those areas of a course that are reliant on passive learning environments and redesign them with active learning elements have quantifiably better learning outcomes among their students.
The online environment is commonly considered to be an inherently interactive environment that engages students in learning. However, like any other teaching environment, web-based applications do not necessarily encourage active learning. Indeed, “online” can be as passive a learning environment as any traditional classroom. Instructors who are interested in promoting active learning in their classes need to consider any online technologies they use with the same vigor as other parts of a course.
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