Cultivating Active learning outside the classroom

The need for Active learning

Active Learning methods have become extremely popular over the last decade. With a focus on a student-centric approach to learning, many educational institutions, both at the school and higher-ed level are now completely married to the idea of active learning and see this as a key differentiator that sets them apart from the other institutions. The growth seen in technology over the last few years has not only helped aid the use of active learning methods but even educate parents about their advantages.

There have been plenty of studies that explain the need for active learning practices and even advocate its needs. One study even compared the brain waves for students across various activities they performed during the day and the results were astounding. They were able to conclude that the only time students had brain less than attending a class classroom was when they were sleeping!! This makes it extremely clear that there is a need to engage students during their learning and with ‘active learning’ being such a broad term, instructors can (and have) found multiple ways to incorporate it into their course structures.

The pandemic was a litmus test for institutes using active learning practices and they passed with flying colours. As other institutions were struggling to have students pay attention to a teacher over a video call, instructors who already had lesson plans in place to engage students were able to almost seamlessly shift to an online mode of learning.

Why limit learning to a class environment?

The resumption of physical classes came at a time when it had already been proven that effective learning can take place remotely. So why do instructors still rely on that 40-minute class to deliver almost all of their learning breakdowns?

Students have access to a great quality of education inside the classroom. They are taught by instructors who are not only extremely skilled at the subject matter but are extensively trained and highly experienced in the art of teaching. No matter how great a teacher is, they only have access to their students for a maximum of 4-5 hours a week. With frequent updates in the curriculum level, it has become extremely hard for instructors to balance the need of quality education along with the need to complete the syllabus where unfortunately, it’s more often than not the quality that pays the price

Now if remote learning has been validated, why not leverage it along with in-class learning? Why not have students complete short quizzes daily based on what they covered inside a class? What not to share small interactive videos about the topics you covered today? Why not have group projects that students can work on outside of class. The presence of technology in our daily life has ensured that all this isn’t a pipe dream anymore and is definitely feasible.

Students live most of their life online. Allowing them to study by incorporating technology into the lesson plan is simply meeting them where they are. This flexibility that is provided to them is something that is available to them in every other aspect of their lives. Feedback from students has broken the myth that students prioritize the quality of education over flexibility. Over 80% of the students were happy that physical class had resumed after the lockdown. This was simply because the students were concerned about the fact that what they were learning wasn’t reaching them properly and as physically proctored tests weren’t possible, students were also not able to validate their understanding.

Gone are the days where if a student needed to understand something, they would open their textbooks or lecture notes. They have so much information already available to them in multiple forms which they can choose based on their learner personas. If students are allowed to just try and navigate the learning outside the classroom themselves, it can cause a lot of issues ranging from notational inconsistencies to a different teaching method.

Ways to incorporate active learning outside the classroom

1. Low stake assessments – It is now extremely easy to provide students with daily quizzes on what they learnt inside the class that day. This makes them more receptive to going over their mistakes and also gives them confidence with each correct response with just an improved understanding. Not incorporating these marks into their final grades takes the pressure off students and they can then primarily focus on learning as compared to scoring high grades.
2. Case Studies – No matter if you are teaching social sciences, math, economics, or science, with plenty of resources readily available for the student to access, case studies can be a very effective tool to use what they learned in real-life scenarios. These don’t take as long to create or complete as they did 10 years ago.
3. Game-based learning – Gaming is a very integral part of a student’s life. Creating learning practices where you introduce some healthy competition will easily give students more motivation to study outside the classroom.
4. Plug-in technology – Computer simulations, educational programs, Games like kahoot or short videos are a few examples of how using pre-built technological resources can enhance student engagement both inside and outside the classroom
5. Group projects – With students being connected like never before, working on group projects outside the class has become extremely easy. Instructors should try to use that to inculcate teamwork in students.
6. Self-paced learning modules – Students like doing things at their own pace. They watch their favorite shows when they want, they record live TV and they even want the same flexibility with learning. Self-paced modules give students of all learning personas the chance to cover things at their own pace outside the class and also get guided by their instructors.

It falls on the instructor to make sure that they are as involved in a student’s learning outside the classroom as they are inside the classroom. This will not only provide the student with much-needed support and flexibility but even allow instructors just more time to create different learning breakdowns that would increase the student’s learning.