ACTIVE LEARNING

D O M I N I Q U E A B R A MS O E 1 1 5 P S Y C H O L O G Y O F T E A C H I N G A N D L E A R N I N G

K E N D A L L C O L L E G E

Active Learning

HYPOTHESIS

I think that active learning is very influential in the learning and understanding in child development. It may be one of the most important, most effective ways a child learns because it incorporates many different aspects of teaching.

WHAT IS ACTIVE LEARNING?

• Pekdogan (2016) states that active learning refers to a learning process in which the learner bears the responsibility of the learning process, is provided with tan opportunity to make decisions and to make self-regulations about various aspects of the learning process ,and is forced to use his mental skills through complicated instructional tasks during learning.

• “Active learning refers to a student-centered instruction method which focuses on having students actively participate in the learning process” Lisa Shamchuck(2012).

• The reason I chose this method is because this seems like the perfect way to present my curriculum /lesson to my future students , so that that they will stay more engaged and really be a part of the learning experience.

SOURCE 1When I think of l think back to my days of grade school and even college courses. I remember how boring class was because all the teacher did was talk and all we did was read and listen. We were not allowed to get out of our seats or o speak or raise our hand until the teacher got done talking for about an hour.Edwards(2015) explains, we want students to be intellectually active rather than passively receiving information and just accepting the authority’s delivery whether the authority is the teacher or the textbook…Active learning strategies require students to go beyond memorization or basic comprehension and understand.

Source 2• According to

Zayapragassarazan(2012), The basic concept is that students will be able to learn better if they are subjected to active learning environments which also encourages learners to take responsibility for their learning…

• Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers , memorizing prepackaged assignments, and giving out answers…

• They must talk about what they are learning , write, reflectively about it, relate it to past experiences, engage themselves in learning by doing and apply it to their daily lives…

• The basic elements through which all students learn are talking and listening, writing, doing, reading and reflecting, and specific active learning strategies use one or more of theses strategies…

• Today’s classroom is more diverse than ever, I feel that the elements of active learning when incorporated into a good curriculum will reach every student in the class…

SOURCE 3

Pekdogan(2016) explains that Children participate in the active learning process by interacting with their environment rather than remaining passive during learning…The study goes on to say In the active learning process, there is a sharing-based and cooperative relationship between the learner and the teacher in which the teacher is guiding and improving the learners skill…Active learning is theoretically based on constructivism and cognitivism, the learner should be provided with an opportunity to construct his knowledge…

Analysis

• Each of my sources were pretty much in agreement about what active learning is.

• My sources all state that students should share active roles in their learning experience and share in the responsibility of what they learn.

• The agreement among my sources also states that students be less passive but more active in learning.

• Active learning is a strategy that should be incorporated into all classrooms because there are better outcomes for what children learn and know rather than memorizing and not actually learning anything.

Connecting the dots

• Within my research I came across two familiar words, constructivism and cognitivism and how theoretically they relate to active learning.

• I would say that I automatically related and thought about Lev Vygotsky as I learned more about active learning.

• I remember learning that his belief is that we learn through communication and our interactions with others.

• He also said that language promotes thinking and supports reading and writing.• Active learning supports all these thing Vygotsky says because in active learning,

students are learning through many forms of communication, whether it be orally, bodily, or written.Students are actively using their minds and incorporating different cultural aspects to understand and relate information presented to them.

Conclusion

• By the end of my research and through my sources I have found my hypothesis to be correct.

• This strategy would have been very helpful for me throughout school in my classes besides kindergarten ,which is one of the few classes that I remember this strategy being used.

• I plan to incorporate this strategy in my future classroom because I feel that this strategy will be very effective for the classroom today which is so diverse in all aspects.

Reference

Edwards,Susan.(2015).Active learning in the middle grades. Retrieved from

http://www.eric.ed.gov

Pekdogan, S,& Kanak, M.(2016). A qualitative research on active learning practices in pre-

school education. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov

Shamchuck, L & Plouffe,L. (2012). Get Active! Using Active Learning Activities During First

Year Infor... Retrieved February 18, 2017, from http://www.slideshare.net/lshamchuk/get-active-

using-active-learning-activities-during-first-year-information-literacy-sessions

Zayapragassarazan, Z. &Kumar, S.(2012).Active learning methods. Retrieved from

http://www.eric.ed.gov