Active Learning/Student Engagement

Active learning is the process of involving all students in activities that encourage them to develop a deeper understanding of content by working with and reflecting upon the material being presented.   With the active learning process, students transition from being mere recipients of information to being participants actively engaged with new information in a learning environment. Simply stated, active learning is anything students do during a class session other than passively listen to a lecture.  There is no one “correct” way to achieve active learning in the classroom. Within the class the instructor selects suitable active learning strategies, dependent upon the lesson objectives and classroom situation. Such activities may take minutes or the entire class period and may involve the students as individuals or in groups. This section provides links to articles and sites that describe the benefits of active learning and provide examples of student engagement techniques.