Active Learning

The Active Learning theory uses the same concept as the engagement theory (discussed earlier) but rather than looking at the techniques and technologies teachers can use to engage students, it investigates how effective learning and retention takes place in students with a 21st century learning mentality. The concept concludes that a higher level of learning, resulting in retention and transfer, occurs most efficiently through concrete activity-based experiences as oppose to verbal and visual symbols (1). This is evidenced by the concept’s relationship with Dale's Cone Diagrams (shown below).



The diagram illustrates the results of research conducted by Edgar Dale in the 1960s which suggests that the least effective method (the top of the cone) for retention involves learning from information presented through verbal symbols, i.e. listening to spoken words. On the other hand, the most effective method (the bottom of the cone) involves direct, purposeful learning experiences, such as hands-on or field experiences (1).

Given the growing body of evidence supporting the use of the active learning approach over a more traditional passive approach, I would strongly suggest the use of this concept in today's learning environments. Students should be given the opportunity to participate in 'authentic' scenarios where their learning experiences parallel those confronted in the real world. By doing this, students will not only have a greater probability of remembering the core concept through direct, "hands-on" experience but, they may also perceive their learning experience as having more purpose through an identification of where they would use learned skills in life contexts.

1)http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=18262

REFLECTIONS
How do you learn best? Is there contexts in which using experiences as a way of increasing retention may not be appropriate, and is this dependent on whether you require the information for short-term or long-term use?