S3E6 - Strategies for Active, Interactive and Collaborative Learning

Overview

Teaching: 10 min
Exercises: 10 min

Questions

• What strategies can a trainer apply?

Slides

Learning outcomes

• Know how to apply strategies that induce engagement.

Active learning

Learners who actively engage with course materials will end up retaining it for much longer than they would have otherwise, and they will be better able to apply their knowledge broadly.

Waldrop, Nature 2015

Interactive learning

• Participatory engagement
• Promotes retention
• Develops critical thinking
• Allows you to assess learners
• Learners immediately apply content

Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College (SERC): https://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/interactive/

Strategies for active, interactive, collaborative learning

• Brief question-and-answer sessions
• Think, pair, share
• Shared notes
• Work in groups
• Peer instruction
• Discussions (may be integrated into lectures)
• Brainstorming
• Impromptu writing assignments
• Hands-on activities
• Experiential learning events
• Establish teamwork by agreement
• Introduce blended multimedia materials
• Instant feedback
• Let learners do recaps
• Introduce physical exercises
• Introduce short, relaxing breaks
• Assign tasks/problems to groups/pairs, giving them time to present their results
• Introduce challenges or games

Activities and attitudes the instructor should promote

• Listening
• Questions asking
• Group discussions/brainstorming
• Peer instruction
• Participants’ interaction/networking
• Presentations by participants
• Mode/pace/activity frequent change

Activities and attitudes the instructor should avoid or keep to a minimum

• Unidirectional lecturing
• Individual work out with no feedback
• Providing answers before letting participants doing it
• Keeping the same pace for long time
• Using a monotone modality of content delivery (including the tone of the voice)
• Showing no enthusiasm

Technique - Wrap-up

Allow time for wrap up and feedback

Challenge 9

On the GDoc

One or more new things that you have learned today and could be useful for your future teaching/training

Challenge 10 - your vote counts

Add a + sign next to the point you agree the most

:D - Great I feel I’m learning new things
:] - I feel neutral, maybe I need more time to reflect
:S - I am more confused then ever

Technique - Short feedback

• Sticky notes: red and green
• Minute cards: positive and negative (anonymous)
• One up, one down: positive and negative (no repetition)

Challenge 11 - One up one down

1. Something you liked about what you did (do this again!)
2. Something you would like to change (avoid next time)

Key Points

• Active learning.

• Interactive learning.

• Strategies.

• Activities and attitudes to promote.

• Activities and attitudes to minimize.

• Wrap-up technique.

• Short feecback technique.