The Active Learning Group at Berry College is an interdisciplinary group of faculty who are exploring active learning strategies for teaching college courses. Most members of the group have been using some form of active learning (or inquiry-based learning, or problem-based learning, etc.) in the classroom for a few years. Some members of the group are just getting started in trying to incorporate active learning into their courses. Although the group was initially composed of faculty from the sciences (including Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Psychology) it has expanded to include faculty from a much wider range of disciplines (Philosophy, Education, Marketing, etc.). The goal of the Active Learning Group is to promote a culture of active learning at Berry College, so that instructors feel comfortable using active learning methods and students feel comfortable taking courses that are taught using these methods. We have seen first-hand how active learning strategies can improve student learning in our classes.
ALaB initially received funding from the Educational Advancement Foundation. This funding enabled the initial members of the group to travel to conferences and workshops to receive training in active learning strategies, as well as to build a library of print resources related to active learning. In addition, this funding provided the initial group of faculty the time to develop active learning components for their courses. The ALaB group meets periodically to discuss reading assignments selected from our active learning library, as well as to discuss our own experiences in the classroom. So far the results have been very positive. Our work has been presented at a variety of national conferences, including Legacy of R. L. Moore Conferences, the POGIL National Meeting, and meetings of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for ALaB participants to post information about the active learning strategies they have used in their courses. In addition, ALaB members will be encouraged to post discussions about the challenges and benefits of using active learning. It is our hope that this blog will serve as a resource not only for ALaB participants but also for other faculty who are considering or already using active learning methods in their courses. Please feel free to comment on the posts. We would be delighted to hear from others who are interested in using or promoting active learning!
3 comments:
Allow me to agree with Todd about his perception that we principly use active-learning methods of instruction rather than inquiry-based learning. (There are some people who have given us grief because we likely do NOT allow our students to learn through "pure inquiry" -- rather if we use inquiry in our classroom it is heavily GUIDED.) YES, some of what we who practice POGIL (i.e., Process-Oriented Guided-Inquiry Learning -- please, visit www.pogil.org) methods do in the classroom is have the students (1) explore a "model" or data and then (2) invent for themselves a concept before they go on to (3) apply the concept to specific problems. But not all things (e.g., Quantum Mechanics) that the student will learn in the classroom can be invented through inquiry! Rather, many times it is more appropriate that they are presented a concept and then they formulate their understanding through critical thinking questions and carefully designed exercises and problems.
The important this is that our classrooms require that students be engaged in the material and take a personal investment in their own education -- and some of us feel that we can best ensure that students are doing that by not using lecture as our primary method of instruction.
In short, if no one else minds changing the acronym from IBL to ALaB, I'm all for it.
Hi - I am really delighted to discover this. cool job!
POGIL/ALaB techniques are suitable for understanding basic principles and laws of physics. When student tries to explain his/her findings and express to others he/she gets a boost in self-assertion. Quantum mechanics, on the other hand, is a complete radical thinking and this method may not work (@KenM). As said critical thinking is encouraged. Innovation relieves boredom of teaching/learning process.
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