THE

LEARNING
HANDBOOK
Engagement techniques that work

by philip preville
 3 Introduction: The Pulpit Problem

4 Troubled Times for the University Lecture

6 The Rise of Active Learning

9 Academic Research on Active Learning

11 Best Practices for Active Learning

13 Conclusion: The Engaging Professor

14 Sources

15 About the Author: Philip Preville

The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 2
 INTRODUCTION

THE PULPIT PROBLEM

Enrico Fermi, the great Italian-born physicist and 1938
Nobel Laureate, was also a captivating lecturer who
earned the nickname “The Pope” for his pronouncements
at the classroom pulpit. He also offered, from the
perspective of his students, one of the most insightful and
lasting criticisms of lecturing itself: “Before I came here
I was confused about this subject. Having listened to your
lecture I am still confused. But on a higher level.”
Decades later, Fermi’s words remain apt: lecturing
is not always the best means of transferring knowledge
from teacher to pupil. As a lecture progresses into more
complex areas, students risk losing their bearings. And
once that happens, PowerPoint slides may be of little help.
Today’s lost students, rather than try to find their
way back into the material, often find their way into
Facebook or Amazon instead. The ubiquity of campus
Wi-Fi and laptops provide students with a multitude of
opportunities for distraction and disengagement. These
technologies have only exacerbated the problem that has
been ever-present since long before Fermi’s time: the risk
that students, as passive recipients of complex knowledge,
will fail to fully comprehend the subject matter.
But these same technologies also represent an
opportunity for professors to reach students in ways
Fermi never could: a chance to implement new—and
technologically enabled—teaching techniques for
improved classroom engagement.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 3
TROUBLED
TIMES
FOR THE UNIVERSITY LECTURE

Lecturing is the predominant find postsecondary education to

mode of teaching on college be a steep uphill climb—and that
campuses, largely because of its traditional lecturing is contributing
perceived efficiency: instructors to the problem.
feel they can cover more material According to the 2016 National
if they do all the talking. But Survey of Student Engagement,1
cramming more content into a one in five first-year students had
course syllabus makes it more difficulty learning course material
challenging, especially while and getting help with coursework.
making no teaching adjustments The results prompted NSSE
to ensure students can meet the director Alexander McCormick
challenge. Indeed, recent data to observe that “students don’t
shows that students increasingly necessarily enter college knowing
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 4
 what it takes to be successful Washington, D.C. think tank Third
learners…we need to help students Way, 761 reported graduation rates
crack the code.” of less than 67 percent.
Unfortunately, if students get And the way students are taught
off to a bad start, they may never has a direct impact upon their
reach the finish line. According to outcomes. According to a study
from the University of Washington
in Seattle,3 undergrads in classes
with traditional sage-on-stage
lectures are one-and-a-half times
Undergrads in classes
more likely to fail than those in
with traditional sage- classes that use a wider variety of
teaching techniques.
on-stage lectures are In his seminal book, What’s the
1.5 times more likely to Use of Lectures?, former University
of Exeter professor Donald Bligh
fail than those in classes observed, “the idea that lecturers
that use a wider variety should use the lecture method and
no other for 50 minutes on end is
of teaching techniques absurd; yet it is quite a common
practice.” Bligh also remarked on
the surprising level of student
tolerance for lecturing, given
a 2016 New York Times report,2 less that “the effect of monotonous
than half of all students admitted stimulation”—that is, boredom—
to public universities in America “is common knowledge.”
manage to complete their degree. And if monotony lies at the
The problem is less pronounced, root of the pulpit problem, then
but nonetheless present, the solution is to shake things up
among private schools: of 1,027 and make students more active
private colleges surveyed by the participants in their education.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 5
THE RISE
OF ACTIVE LEARNING

Twenty-five years ago, imparting information to students

two professors from Southeast and more about developing skills,
Missouri State University, historian while also engaging students in
Charles Bonwell and psychologist higher-order thinking, whether by
James Eison, laid out the first reading or writing about the task
academic case for transforming at hand or by discussing it. The
lecture-based learning into central tenet of active learning
something better. Their 1991 is that practice matters, and that
book Active Learning: Creating classroom time is better spent
Excitement in the Classroom defined giving students opportunities
its title concept this way: “In the to work with concepts over and
context of the college classroom, over, in a variety of ways and
active learning involves students with opportunities for immediate
in doing things and thinking about feedback, so that knowledge can
the things they are doing.” take hold in their own minds. This
Bonwell and Eison argued that is as true of the sciences as it is of
teaching should be less about the humanities: molecular biology
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 6
 and philosophical inquiry are both flatscreens that students can
best understood through repeated, use to display their work and
open and social exploration. solicit feedback.
Today, nearly every college in Meanwhile, the same
North America has a teaching-and- developments that have made
learning resource center to support lecturing ever more precarious—
faculty as they diversify their personal technology—are also
serving as a catalyst for the
adoption of active learning
strategies. Smartphone apps, social
Technology makes it media and student engagement
possible for instructors platforms such as Top Hat are
making the transition to active
to design and adopt learning classrooms easier and
new teaching activities more efficient. Minute papers,
quizzes and muddiest-point
and active learning exercises (see “What An Active
techniques without Classroom Looks Like” on the
following page) can all be executed
having to redesign and tabulated online. Debate
the classroom. proceedings can be videotaped
and posted to course websites.
New technologies make it possible
for instructors to design and adopt
classroom activities beyond passive a wide range of new teaching
lecturing. And universities are now activities and collect real-time
redesigning classroom spaces to data on student performance—
promote active learning: instead of without having to redesign the
theatre-style seating focused on a physical classroom itself, which is
pulpit, classrooms feature circular often an unrealistic goal given the
tables that encourage small-group tight budgets imposed on many
discussion, and wall-mounted academic departments.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 7
 WHAT AN ACTIVE
CLASSROOM LOOKS LIKE
In practice, the term “active learning” encompasses a broad array of
tactics and activities, ranging from quick-and-simple interventions to
semester-long redesigns of course structure and delivery. While some are
better suited to specific disciplines, each one can be adapted for use in
any context. Debate, for instance, has its roots in philosophy and politics,
but can easily be used to animate discussion in STEM classrooms.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE QUICK QUIZZES CASE STUDIES

Instructors briefly pause their Administered at the start of AND PROBLEM SOLVING
lecture and ask students to class or during a pause, not Students work in groups,
pair up and discuss the material for a grade, but to assess applying knowledge gained
that was just presented, and comprehension, much like from lectures or reading
to be prepared to ask questions minute papers. materials to a given situation.
or share observations with
the entire class. MUDDIEST POINT PEER INSTRUCTION
Students are asked to write Have students prepare and
MINUTE PAPERS down and submit which part present course material
During a brief pause, students of the course material is least to the class.
alone or in pairs are asked to understood by them.
answer a question in writing FLIPPED CLASSROOMS
about the day’s teaching. The DEBATES Students watch pre-recorded
submitted responses Having students defend lectures as homework, then
can be used to gauge student different viewpoints for the arrive in class prepared to
comprehension of the material. class is a means of structuring spend the time engaged in
class discussion and ensuring any number of the activities
that even those in the back rows described above.
have the opportunity to speak.

The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 8

ACADEMIC
RESEARCH
ON ACTIVE LEARNING

Academics are often classrooms by six percentage

researchers as well as teachers. points on the same exams—which
They leave no aspect of their can mean the difference between
environment free from observation passing and failing.
and experimentation—including And, as laid out by Joel Michael
themselves and their students— of Rush Medical College in Chicago
delving into data on what motivates in his 2006 paper “Where’s the
students and the best ways to engage evidence that active learning
them while tracking metrics such as works?,”4 the research provides
retention and comprehension. instructors with useful principles
At this point the empirical data for the design of active learning
on both topics is voluminous, and activities in the classroom.
the evidence is clear: active learning
is good for students, in terms of Knowledge is created by each
both outcomes and engagement. of us, not transferred from one
One study found that students person to another.
in active learning classrooms Instructors can impart what they
outperform students in lecture know, and students can receive it
Active Learning [Link] 9
 in an alert and engaged state Students learn better when
of mind. But for effective learning they learn with others, and
to occur, students need to link they learn best by talking.
what they’re being taught to what Whether it’s called peer learning,
they already know, to correct their problem-based learning or
misconceptions and to construct collaborative learning, the research
new and lasting meaning in their is emphatic: it works. Even with
own minds. That process requires computer-assisted learning, students
discussion and exchange between learn better when paired. And the
students and instructors, and more they talk to one another,
among students themselves— articulating how they understand
activities that are part of any certain problems, delving deeper
active learning classroom. into their own knowledge and self-
correcting their misconceptions,
Knowing “what” is different the better they learn.
from knowing “how.” Moreover, the research shows
If students are expected to use that active learning improves
the knowledge transferred in a student enthusiasm for learning
lecture to solve problems, they itself. In a 2012 study,5 372
need opportunities to practice— undergraduate students were
and they need feedback on their provided with either passive or
performance. This part of the active instruction on information
learning process, typically taken up literacy from their campus
through homework, is increasingly library. Those who received active
being done during class time, with instruction were more time-
students doing problem-solving or efficient and self-sufficient in their
case-study exercises and sharing information searches, experienced
their work with the professor and less anxiety when using library
the class for discussion. It’s a great resources and reported improved
chance to review and go more in- perceptions of librarians’
depth with challenging material. helpfulness and value.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 10
BEST PRACTICES
FOR ACTIVE LEARNING

The research is clear: active Which core concepts do

learning techniques improve students typically show the
student engagement and learning greatest amount of difficulty
outcomes. And they work best understanding?
when they’re used to deliberately Where do students
target specific objectives. To struggle most, and where
design an effective active learning do they succeed?
program, it helps to assess Which aspects of coursework
your experience in lecturing are best conducted in class,
and identify the strengths and and which would best be
weaknesses of your current completed at home?
approach. Which active learning
techniques would best apply
How is classroom time to the challenges of your
currently spent? How much classroom?
time is devoted to each What have others tried? Have
module or concept? their efforts been successful?
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 11
 Perhaps the most crucial outside the classroom. Classroom
question to ask is: what technology engagement platforms can tabulate
can I adopt to facilitate active quiz results in real time to provide
learning? The tools of active feedback on comprehension and
distraction—laptops, tablets student progress, and do the same
and Wi-Fi—can be turned into for minute papers and muddiest-
tools of active learning. Personal point exercises, while also
providing data on student reading
habits. Interactive textbooks,
with built-in exercises, videos and
quizzes that instructors can edit
Students don’t realize
to adapt for their courses, also
that, as the research facilitate active learning activity.
Finally, when implementing
shows, active learning any active learning program, be
will engage them better, prepared to meet with resistance.
Students are just as accustomed
help them learn, and as instructors to passive learning,
provide them with which demands less of them in the
classroom. Any program of active
greater satisfaction learning requires students to be
more alert, engaged and active in
their education—and often their
first reaction to such obligations
technology is a staple of student is to complain. They don’t realize
life, and incorporating it into an that, as the research shows, active
active learning platform makes learning will engage them better,
it easier for students to engage. help them learn and provide them
Creating course hashtags or pages with greater satisfaction. In the
on social media such as Twitter early going, the persistence of their
and Facebook can facilitate peer- instructor will be a crucial factor
to-peer discussion both inside and in active learning’s success.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 12
 CONCLUSION

THE ENGAGING
PROFESSOR
For nearly two centuries, lecturing has been the
mainstay of higher education, the one-size-fits-all
pedagogy for any course of learning. During that
time the world beyond campus has changed radically,
especially in the way technology has changed how we
interact with others.
Perhaps it is a comfort to students and faculty
that the university classroom has remained constant
throughout these years: everyone knows what to
expect. But it is increasingly clear that lecturing alone
is far from optimal, whether for engaging students
or generating strong learning outcomes. If all that’s
expected of students is to be passive recipients, it should
come as no surprise that they remain passive in the face
of academic challenge.
The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 13
 Active learning techniques make students
participants in their education, raise their grades and
their self-esteem, and better impart knowledge and
skills. Student engagement is not merely a function of
captivating course material or of professorial wit at the
pulpit. Engagement is about how students are invited
to interact with course material, and smart professors
are those who invite them to actively explore new
knowledge until they make it their own.

SOURCES

1 [Link]

2 [Link]
[Link]?_r=1

3 [Link]
theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds

4 [Link]

5 [Link]

The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 14

 THE AUTHOR

PHOTOGRAPHER: ASH NAYLER

PHILIP
PREVILLE
Philip Preville is an award-winning
journalist and a former Canadian
Journalism Fellow at Massey
College at the University of Toronto.
He’s currently a member of the
Professional Advisory Council
with the Department of English at
Ryerson University.

The Active Learning Handbook [Link] 15

 Active Learning Made Easy
Teach with expert-produced, interactive content
from Top Hat’s Marketplace

❶ ❹ ❻
Content can be Provide feedback Fully integrated with
adapted to your course to authors as you use Top Hat, so it’s easy to
in real-time content—the Top Hat access and update
community keeps
❷ content fresh and ❼
Built-in grading and up-to-date Interactive elements—
tracking features built-in video,
❺ moving timelines,
❸ A fraction of the cost of charts and other
Students receive old-school publisher elements—keep
lifetime access to materials students engaged
the content

BRING YOUR COURSE CONTENT TO LIFE

Let us show you how Top Hat revolutionizes active learning

BOOK A DEM O