| Active Learning |Teaching Principles | | Why Use Active Learning? |

Active Learning

Active learning is a term used in educational literature to refer to learning that involves more activity on the part of the learner than simply listening and watching. Without active learning your students may not be engaging in your content and material beyond simple memorization.

Active learning principles are based on the premise that simply delivering information doesn't mean that learning has occurred. Rather, students need to work and apply the information in ways that are meaningful to them. Active learning often emphasizes students working in cooperative and collaborative groups and requires students to take increased responsibility for their learning.

[Return to top]

Active Learning and Teaching Principles

The term 'active learning' relates to other current teaching principles such as constructivism. The constructivist approach states that students build, or construct, their own knowledge based on connections they make with what they already know and with how they apply the new knowledge.

Active learning helps students construct their knowledge by applying it to situations that are meaningful to them.

[Return to top]

Why Use Active Learning

Without incorporating active learning into your online delivery, your students may not be engaged in your content beyond memorization.

The challenge, for you as an online instructor, is knowing which active learning activities and strategies will best achieve your goals and how can you use the Web to enhance active learning for your students.

Our active learning web pages will provide you with some strategies and ideas on how you can use the Web and online communication tools to help your students become active learners.

[Return to top]

Check out our "Tips and Strategies: Active Learning Samples" page to get some ideas of active learning activities you could incorporate into your online teaching practice.