Active Learning
Annotated Bibliography
Compiled from Multiple Sources
February 2019
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (Second Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Classroom assessment encourages faculty to “become more systematic and sensitive observers of learning as it takes place every day in their classrooms.” This valuable resource introduces readers to an especially exciting way to becoming a more reflective and effective classroom instructor. Further, it offers detailed descriptions of fifty classroom assessment techniques and illustrates nicely their use with brief case studies of how faculty from across the disciplines have employed these techniques. In addition to providing faculty with feedback of their instructional effectiveness, classroom assessment engages students actively in the reflective process of monitoring their comprehension and retention of subject matter. Topics include: “Getting Started in Classroom Assessment,” “Classroom Assessment Techniques,” and “Building On What We Have Learned.”
Bean, J. C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor’s guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
The author, well known for his work in writing across the curriculum, has succeeded in creating “a pragmatic nuts-and bolts guide that will help teachers from any discipline design interest-provoking writing and critical thinking activities and incorporate them smoothly into their disciplinary courses.” While the text clearly devotes greater explicit attention to the writing process than to either critical thinking or active learning, other works cited in this bibliography better address these two important topic areas. Three chapters in this volume examine “Understanding Connections Between Thinking and Writing,” two chapters explore “Designing Problem-based Assignments,” and three chapters discuss “Reading, Commenting On, and Grading Student Writing.” The six remaining chapters describe various aspects of “Coaching Students as Learners, Thinkers, and Writers.”
Bell, B. S. and S. W. Kozlowski (2008). “Active learning: effects of core training design elements on self-regulatory processes, learning, and adaptability.” Journal of Applied Psychology 93(2): 296-316.
This article describes a comprehensive examination of the cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes underlying active learning approaches; their effects on learning and transfer; and the core training design elements (exploration, training frame, emotion control) and individual differences (cognitive ability, trait goal orientation, trait anxiety) that shape these processes. Participants (N = 350) were trained to operate a complex, computer-based simulation. Exploratory learning and error-encouragement framing had a positive effect on adaptive transfer performance and interacted with cognitive ability and dispositional goal orientation to influence trainees’ metacognition and state goal orientation. Trainees who received the emotion-control strategy had lower levels of state anxiety. Implications for development of an integrated theory of active learning, learner-centered design, and research extensions are discussed.
Blumberg, P. (2009). Developing learning-centered teaching: A practical guide for faculty. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
Based on the “five key changes to practice” identified by Maryellen Weimer in “LearnerCentered Teaching,” Blumberg’s handbook offers worksheets and assessments for instructors who want to design (or redesign) a course to meet the goals for learning-centered instruction. The book features a complex rubric to help instructors implement the “five key changes.”
Bollinger, D., & D.D. Armier, (2013). “Active Learning in the Online Environment: The Integration of Student-Generated Audio files. Active Learning in Higher Education. 14(3) 201-2011
This article focuses on one route for active learning: the use of faculty and student generated audio files. It gives details about a specific strategy for an online active learning environment.
Botchwey, N. D., Hobson, S. E., Dannenberg, A. L., Mumford, K. G., Contant, C. K., McMillan, T. E., & … Winkle, C. (2009). A model curriculum for a course on the built environment and public health: Training for an interdisciplinary workforce. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(2), S63-S71. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.10.003
The authors propose a model curriculum for an interdisciplinary program that brings together faculty and students from public health and planning who will be better able to work together to find ways to reduce chronic diseases and increased health risks associated with the built environment and community-level factors. Intended to help professionals interact effectively with colleagues from other fields, these courses take an active learning-centered approach to course design. Assignments meant to foster critical thinking among students include in-class debates and field-based data-collection. Students submit a cumulative learning portfolio.
Bromley, P. (2013). “Active Learning Strategies for Diverse Learning Styles: Simulations Are Only One Method.” Ps-Political Science & Politics, 46(4), 818-822. doi: 10.1017/s1049096513001145
Although political science instructors increasingly recognize the advantages of incorporating active learning activities into their teaching, simulations remain the discipline’s most commonly used active learning method. This article explores six active learning techniques: simulations, case studies, enhanced lectures, large group discussion, small group work, and in-class writing.
Brookfield, S. D., & Preskill, S. (1999). Discussion as a way of teaching: Tools and techniques for democratic classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Stephen Brookfield is the author of three other award winning Jossey-Bass texts of interest to many faculty readers of this bibliography [i.e, Developing critical thinkers: Challenging adults to explore alternative ways of thinking and acting (1987); The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom (1990); On becoming a critically reflective teacher (1995)]. This engaging text, his most recent work done in collaboration with a long-time friend and colleague, offers a compelling look at how discussion helps learning and enlivens classrooms (Chapter 2). As the title promises, subsequent chapters then offer similarly comprehensive practical suggestions for preparing for and starting discussions (Chapters 3 & 4), keeping discussions going (Chapters 5 & 6), understanding and acknowledging cultural and gender differences (Chapters 7 & 8), and keeping students’ voices and teachers’ voices in balance (Chapters 9 & 10). Novice and experienced active learning practitioners will both find fresh and helpful guidance in this recently published text.
Campbell, William E. & Karl A. Smith. (1997). New Paradigms for College Teaching. Interaction Book Company: Edina, Minnesota.
This book is meant for faculty searching for new ways to teach, for alternatives to the traditional lecture method we all learned in graduate school. Chapters on a variety of ways teachers can connect with their students and help them learn are included. Each of these methodologies is described exhaustively elsewhere, in books and journals and at conferences. This book brings brief discussions of them together in one accessible volume, with references to sources where readers can learn more. Chapters include: The Renewal of Community in Higher Education, The Use of Stories in Teaching, The Braiding of Classroom Voices, Cooperative and Active Learning, Writing-Across-The-Curriculum, Student Management Teams, Teaching With Stories, Knowledge Maps, Information Technology and Learning Communities.
Caron, Barbara (1999). Service Matters: The Engaged Campus. Providence, Rhode Island: Campus Compact.
This document provides an update on the state of student service and service learning at the Campus Compact member campuses. It includes The President’s Fourth of July Declaration on the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education, which states that higher education has a responsibility to develop the next generation of active citizens, and campuses must be good citizens in their own community.
Dadach, Z. E. (2013). “Quantifying the Effects of an Active Learning Strategy on the Motivation of Students.” International Journal of Engineering Education, 29(4), 904-913.
The main objective of this paper is to quantify the effects of an active learning strategy on the motivation of students in a process control course. In the first part of the investigation, the relative performance of students was used as a tool to gauge the effects of the active learning strategy on the motivation of students. The results indicate that the active learning strategy enhanced the performance of 38 (69%) students. The author also describes the development of a measure looking at the effects of the active learning strategy on the motivation of students.
Deed, C., & Edwards, A. (2011). Unrestricted student blogging: Implications for active learning in a virtual text-based environment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 12(1), 11–21.
Reports students’ behavioral and cognitive strategies for active learning when using an active blog in an educational context to provide insight into how students are making sense of the incorporation of Web 2.0 technology into higher education. Created an analytic framework to investigate the willingness and competence of students to engage in the social and virtual construction of knowledge. Found that while the students appear to have wanted to complete the task efficiently, the process of critically constructing knowledge was not pursued with vigor. Results indicate that students need to either prepare themselves or be prepared by educators to combine their informal experience of communication technology with academic requirements for actively constructing knowledge in virtual environments.
Eison, J. A., & Bonwell, C. C. (1993, January). Recent works on using active learning strategies across the disciplines. Unpublished manuscript. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 364 135).
This bibliography lists 275 articles and monographs, mostly published in the 1980s, that address the use of active learning teaching methods at the postsecondary education level. Items are selected to produce a large illustrative sampling of published materials that can introduce the literature of active learning to faculty. Articles typically explore practical aspects of this methodology and classroom strategies. The bibliographic references are divided by discipline reflecting the use of specific active learning approaches such as audio-visual aids, case studies, class discussion, computers, debates, field work, games/simulations, groups, library assignments, performance, surveys, visual imaging, or writing assignments. Specific sections are categorized by the following disciplines: business, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. This work was the precursor to the more extensive listing now posted bibliography on the Center’s web page at http://www.cte.usf.edu/bibs/active_learn/intro.html/
Fink, Dee L. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing, ISBN: 0-7879-6055-1
Dee Fink poses a fundamental question for all teachers: “How can I create courses that will provide significant learning experiences for my students?” In the process of addressing this question, he urges teachers to shift from a content-centered approach to a learning-centered approach that asks “What kinds of learning will be significant for students, and how can I create a course that will result in that kind of learning?”
Fink provides several conceptual and procedural tools that will be invaluable for all teachers when designing instruction. He takes important existing ideas in the literature on college teaching (active learning, educative assessment), adds some new ideas (a taxonomy of significant learning, the concept of a teaching strategy), and shows how to systematically combine these in a way that results in powerful learning experiences for students. Acquiring a deeper understanding of the design process will empower teachers to creatively design courses for significant learning in a variety of situations. (Publisher’s Notes)
Ford, M.J. (2010). “Critique in academic disciplines and active learning of academic content.” Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(3), 265-280. doi:10.1080/0305764x.2010.502885
This article argues for increased theoretical specificity in the active learning process. Whereas constructivist learning emphasizes construction of meaning, the process articulated here complements meaning construction with disciplinary critique. This process is an implication of how disciplinary communities generate new knowledge claims, which is comprised by an interaction of roles – authors construct claims and peers critique them. The author’s account of active learning in a science course sheds new light on both historical and contemporary characterizations of active learning in terms of taking a critical stance toward content, in which the learner questions and challenges content. Thus students, rather than teachers, should actively challenge their emerging understanding of content.
Freeman, S., et al. (2007). “Prescribed Active Learning Increases Performance in Introductory Biology.” CBE-Life Sciences Education 6(2): 132-139.
We tested five course designs that varied in the structure of daily and weekly active-learning exercises in an attempt to lower the traditionally high failure rate in a gateway course for biology majors. Students were given daily multiple-choice questions and answered with electronic response devices (clickers) or cards. Card responses were ungraded; clicker responses were graded for right/wrong answers or participation. Weekly practice exams were done as an individual or as part of a study group. Compared with previous versions of the same course taught by the same instructor, students in the new course designs performed better: There were significantly lower failure rates, higher total exam points, and higher scores on an identical midterm. Attendance was higher in the clicker versus cards section; attendance and course grade were positively correlated. Students did better on clicker questions if they were graded for right/wrong answers versus participation, although this improvement did not translate into increased scores on exams. In this course, achievement increases when students get regular practice via prescribed (graded) active-learning exercises
Freeman, S., et al. (2014). “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8319–8320. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1319030111.
An important meta-analysis of studies of active learning.
Hatfield, Susan Rickey ed. (1995). The Seven Principles in Action: Improving Undergraduate Education. Anker Publishing
The first seven chapters of the book focus on the seven principles, one at a time. Each chapter has a short “overview” essay on the principle under review and its ramifications, followed by descriptive examples of programs from institutions that have successfully implemented the principle. The examples include information on how to contact individuals at the specific institutions about their programs and a list of resources in print for further consideration. The seven principles state that Good Practice: 1) encourages student-faculty contact; 2) encourages cooperation among students; 3) encourages active learning; 4) gives prompt feedback; 5) emphasizes time on task; 6) communicates high expectations; and 7) respects diverse talents and ways of learning. The chapters devoted to the implementation of the seven principles are concise but specific and enormously enriched by the inclusion of the addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers of contact persons.
But as valuable as these chapters are, the book gains even more weight from the four concluding chapters that describe assessment inventories for faculty, administrators, and students who want to improve their educational experiences. “Indicators of Educational Effectiveness,” by James Reynolds, suggests that the seven principles can be used “to distinguish quality learning environments,” and he lists specific “indicators” of each of the seven principles.
Finally, Martin Nemko, author of How to Get an Ivy League Education at a State University, adds the final chapters, “How to Choose a College: For College-Bound Students & Families” and “How to Test-Drive A College.” These chapters encourage the high-school graduate to choose a college based in part on its adherence to the seven principles. Giving parents and students specifically probing questions to research and to ask of college recruiters is perhaps the quickest way to bring more accountability to the pursuit of quality undergraduate education. (Terry Nienhuis, Western Carolina University)
Hativa, N. (2000). Teaching for effective learning in higher education. Dordrecht, Holland: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Research on teaching in higher education shows that students who are well taught learn more than students who are poorly taught, and there are some teaching behaviors and strategies that are consistently associated with good teaching. This book identifies these strategies and presents them within a theoretical framework that explains how they promote students’ active and meaningful learning. By presenting teaching as a logical structure of interconnected behaviors whose contribution to student learning is based on theory and research, the book promotes teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and their perception of teaching as scholarly, intellectual work.
The book addresses college and university teachers of all subject domains, faculty developers, and researchers of teaching in higher education. It provides extensive practical advice that is based on the vast experience of the author as an instructional consultant and on research on accomplished teachers, taken from the domains of education, psychology, and speech communication. The practical ideas are separated from the theoretical part in a way that makes them easily identifiable.
The book also puts forth the voice of the students through authentic comments that they wrote in thousands of instructor-evaluation forms that the author collected over many years.
Ke, F., & D. Kwak, (2013). “Constructs of Student-Centered Online Learning on Learning Satisfaction of a Diverse Online Student Body: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach.” Journal of Educational Computing Research, 48(1), 97-122.
This study investigated the relationships between constructs of web-based student-centered learning and the learning satisfaction of a diverse online student body. Hypotheses on the constructs of student-centered learning were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that five key constructs of student-centered learning in online courses–learner relevance, active learning, authentic learning, learner autonomy, and computer technology competence–predicted students’ perceived satisfaction with online courses and web-based distance education at a statistically significant level.
Lewis, J.S., & M.A. Harrison, (2012). “Online Delivery as a Course Adjunct Promotes Active Learning and Student Success.” Teaching of Psychology, 39(1), 72-76. doi:10.1177/0098628311430641
Describes the use of an online lecture to free up time in class for more active learning activities in a psychology course.
Lord, S.M., et al. (2012). “The Effect of Different Active Learning Environments on Student Outcomes Related to Lifelong Learning.” International Journal of Engineering Education, 28(3), 606-620.
This research investigates how instructor choices of active learning pedagogies affect student outcomes related to their development as lifelong learners at four institutions. The results of this mixed-method design suggest that students’ development as self-regulated learners involves a complex interplay between many factors that are influenced by faculty choices in the course design.
McKeachie, W.J. (1994). Teaching tips: Strategies, research, and theory for college and university teachers. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.
Teaching Tips was written to answer the questions posed by new college teachers, to place them at ease in the their jobs and to get them started effectively in the classroom. Because of this intended audience, the book emphasizes “tips.” However, these practical tips are accompanied by a discussion of relevant research and theory. The fact that the book is in its ninth printing speaks well for is usefulness to teachers at all career levels. The book is broken down into 7 parts: Getting Started, Basic Skills for Facilitating Student Learning, Understanding Students, Adding to Your Repertoire of Skills and Strategies for Facilitating Active Learning, Skills for use in Other Teaching Situations, Teaching for Higher-Level Goals, and Lifelong Learning for the Teacher.
Meyers, C. & Jones, T.B. (1993). Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Meyers & Jones provide much practical advice on the implementation of active learning techniques in the classroom. Included in the book are real life examples of the use of such activities as small group exercises, simulations, case studies, and problem solving activities. Chapters include: The Case for Active Learning, What Active Learning Is and How It Works, Creating an Active-Learning Environment, Informal Small Groups, Cooperative Student Projects, Simulations, Case Studies, Integrating Reading Materials and Guest Speakers, Using Technology Effectively, and Developing and Assessing Instructional Expertise.
Michael, J. (2006). “Where’s the Evidence That Active Learning Works?” Advances in Physiology Education 30.4 (2006): 159-167.
In addition to distilling how and why a student-centered, active learning pedagogical approach is effective, this article also notes some of the challenges of conducting educational research that may be unfamiliar to those outside of the field. This is important because it points to the difficulties of measuring learning.
Odom, S., Glen, B., Sanner, S., and Cannella, K. (2013). “Group Peer Review as an Active Learning Strategy in a Research Course.” International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan 2013.
This document is actually a rubric showing how peer review worked within a class project. The students were put into groups of five that had the same general topic, and were told to individually write about a different specific document on the general topic. They were then split into groups with different topics and they had to “submit” their documents to the other groups. Each group was given guidelines on what to look for in the essays and they revised them as a team. They were then graded on how well they revised as well as how well they participated with their group. The professors wanted to encourage higher levels of thinking and also cooperation within a group of students.
Phipps, L.R. (2013). “Creating and Teaching a Web-Based, University-Level Introductory Chemistry Course that Incorporates Laboratory Exercises and Active Learning Pedagogies.” Journal of Chemical Education, 90(5), 568. doi: 10.1021/ed200614r
An introductory, nonscience-majors chemistry course was converted to a Web-based course. The differences in student populations, teaching strategies, laboratory methods, and learning outcomes are described. Practical information is also given on the use of software and other online technology to implement course conversion.
Prince, M, (2004) “Does Active Learning Work? A Review of the Research.” Journal of Engineering Education. 93.3: 223-231.
This study defines and examines a variety of active learning approaches in the teaching of engineering (active learning, collaborative learning, cooperative learning, and problem-based learning). It discusses some of the important issues to consider when reading research about active learning: not all active learning is the same, learning that is identified as “active” can be misleadingly labeled, and the results can be difficult to quantify. However, despite this (and despite the fact that active learning is not an educational panacea), the author finds that interjecting short activities and “check ins” into traditional lectures, collaborative approaches, and the premise that guides cooperative learning generally result in greater learning outcomes (as evidenced by material retention and test scores) for engineering students.
Raghallaigh, M.N., & R. Cunniffe, (2013). “Creating a safe climate for active learning and student engagement: an example from an introductory social work module.” Teaching in Higher Education, 18(1), 93-105. doi:10.1080/13562517.2012.694103
This article explores the experiences of students who participated in a series of seminars that employed active learning methodologies. The research findings suggest that the students were highly engaged and that the mix of doing’, observing’ and reflecting’ contributed to their engagement. However, in addition, the students’ perspectives suggested that the learning environment in which the seminars took place was of particular importance. Overall, the study highlights that while active learning methodologies contribute to student engagement, the atmosphere in which the methodologies are used is also of central importance.
Stanley, Christine A., Porter, M. Erin, eds. (2002). Engaging Large Classes. Anker Publishing Company, ISBN: 1882982517
Experienced teachers of large classes across a wide range of disciplines and institutions offer instructional strategies and advice for both new and experienced faculty members. What many of the contributors have learned is that large classes can be just as stimulating and rewarding as small ones, and that the large size can yield surprisingly positive opportunities.
Engaging Large Classes addresses these and many other questions: With 100 or more students in fixed seating, how does a faculty member structure the class to promote student learning? How does one manage the logistics of such a class? Are there alternatives to the lecture format? Are there actually advantages to the large class?
Contents include: Part I: Twelve chapters that identify and discuss major issues in the teaching of large classes such as course design, planning and assessment, promoting civility, active and collaborative learning, classroom technology, working with TAs, and a review of research. Part II: Seventeen essays—written by teachers of large classes from various institutions—that describe strategies and techniques they have used to successfully promote learning in large classes. Disciplines include agriculture, business, clinical sciences, education, engineering, English, law, math, sciences, and social sciences.
Weimer, M. (1991). Improving College Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
In this much needed resource, Maryellen Weimer-one of the nation’s most highly regarded authorities on effective college teaching-offers a comprehensive work on the topic of learner-centered teaching in the college and university classroom. As the author explains, learner-centered teaching focuses attention on what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning, and how current learning positions the student for future learning. To help educators accomplish the goals of learner-centered teaching, this important book presents the meaning, practice, and ramifications of the learner-centered approach, and how this approach transforms the college classroom environment. Learner-Centered Teaching shows how to tie teaching and curriculum to the process and objectives of learning rather than to the content delivery alone.
Learner-Centered Teaching also offers well researched advice for educators who want to transition to a learner-centered approach in their classrooms and
- Identifies the steps to take to put into place learner-centered policies and practices
- Provides a theoretical foundation for the learner-centered approach
- Outlines a positive way to improve teaching
Throughout the book, Weimer clearly illustrates the difference between teacher-centered and learner-centered instruction and offers practical strategies for creating learner-centered courses.
Walker, J. D., et al. (2008). “A delicate balance: integrating active learning into a large lecture course.” CBE Life Science Education 7(4): 361-367.
A lecture section of introductory biology that historically enrolled more than 500 students was split into two smaller sections of approximately 250 students each. A traditional lecture format was followed in the “traditional” section; lecture time in the “active” section was drastically reduced in favor of a variety of in-class student-centered activities. Students in both sections took unannounced quizzes and multiple-choice exams. Evaluation consisted of comparisons of student survey responses, scores on standardized teaching evaluation forms, section averages and attendance, and open-ended student comments on end-of-term surveys. Results demonstrate that students perform as well, if not better, in an active versus traditional environment. However, student concerns about instructor expectations indicate that a judicious balance of student-centered activities and presentation-style instruction may be the best approach.