I hear, and I forget;I see, and I remember;I do, and I understand.

- Confucious

Active Learning:Keeping Minds and

Bodies Engaged

[it is] when students are engaged in more activities than just listening. They are involved in dialog, debate, writing, and problem solving, as well as higher-order thinking.

(Bonwell, C., and Eison, J., 1991)

"Children can complete assignments successfully, submit work that satisfies all requirements, and even test well, without really engaging with their learning. How many of us can look back on a foreign language, or an area of science or math, or some aspect of history or geography, and say, 'I studied that in high school, and I did OK in the course, but I barely remember any of it.' We complied, but we didn't engage, and so our learning didn't stick." Anderson argues that teachers can attain true academic engagement in their classrooms using techniques that are readily learned and implemented, and that become even more effective the more they are used. Responsive Classroom Program Developer Mike Anderson

• Presentations• Small group work• Journaling• Role playing• Learning Games• Class Discussions

Anderson names several key elements of academic engagement:

Learning must be active, interactive, and purposefulIt must draw on students' strengths and interestsIt must be appropriately challenging, andIt must give students some control and ownership over their work.

1. Positive interdependence (each individual depends on and is accountable to the others);

2. Individual accountability (each person in the group learns the material);

3. Promotive interaction (group members help one another, share information, clarify);

4. Social skills (emphasis on interpersonal skills);

5. Group processing (assessing how effectively they are working with one another).

The person who does the work also does the learning.

Retention levels are enhanced when active learning methods are used

Active learning produces: higher achievement, more positive relationships among students, healthier psychological adjustment.

Behaviorism (B.F. Skinner) – learning built on conditioning

Constructivism (J. Dewey, J. Piaget, L. Vygotsky, others) – learning built on prior knowledge

John Dewey (1916): 1) individual experience & 2) collaboration w/others are important for learning

“School is primarily a social institution. Education is a social process….therefore [it] is a process of living, not preparation for living.”

Jean Piaget: we come to know the world by building new experiences on old experiences

Lev Vygotsky: students learn better by engaging with “more capable others”

Knowledge is constructed from experience;Learning results from personal interpretation

of knowledge;Learning is an active process;Learning is a collaborative process.

Viewed education as goal attainment, not competition;

Acknowledged individual differences and environment as crucial

• Cognitive: mental skills • Affective: growth regarding feelings, emotions• Psychomotor: manual, physicality, environment

Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

Visual learners have two subchannels visual-linguistic visual-spatialAuditory learnersKinesthetic learners have two

subchannels kinesthetic (movement) tactile (touch)

And now some more ideas (until we run out of time)

Numbered Heads TogetherTeacher on a Popsicle Stick

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