Active learning is commonly included as a pedagogical strategy to enhance teaching effectiveness and learner engagement. Traditionally, active learning is defined as the opposite of passive learning, where the student is actively involved in the process. I recently attended a professional development workshop on interactive teaching methods, where a quote from Dr. Richard Hake (1998) was shared: Active learning is head’s on (always) and hand’s on (usually). I was struck by this concise description and excited that this session was disseminating the information to college-level professors who could apply it in their teaching. The session co-presenter, Dr. Catharina Laporte, went on to share a variety of strategies she uses in her own classroom (included the Walk and Talk, which she learned from me!).
In reflecting upon this session, I considered an addition to Dr. Hake’s statement on active learning. What if we were to add “…and body’s on“ to encourage incorporation of movement? Given the science that supports movement and cognition, expanding the ‘active’ component of ‘active learning’ has the potential to enhance student achievement. As with any pedagogy, it is important to acknowledge that one size doesn’t fit all, and that one approach is not universal. Active learning without movement can be effective and worthwhile, and classroom movement unrelated to course content can be effective and worthwhile. Offering students an opportunity to think critically about a topic, to apply it to their own lives or connect it to other content, to interact with others to gain diverse perspectives, and to engage in learning experiences not limited to independent seat work has the potential to expand the outcomes of a traditional classroom framework.
So, should we promote active learning? Or active learning? The answer is YES.
For more on active learning from Dr. Laporte:
https://sites.google.com/a/tamu.edu/claporte/active-learning
