Active Teaching and Learning Methodologies: Some Considerations

Clóvis Luís Konopka,Pedro Henrique Mosele,Martha Bohrer Adaime

doi:10.4236/ce.2015.614154

Abstract

Drawing the students’ attention and keeping them engaged are essential points to the learning process. Active methodologies place the students at the center of this process and make them the protagonists of discovery, rather than just passive information receivers. There are different teaching strategies to create an active learning environment and to engage the students to it. Current evidences indicate that active learning improves understanding and information retention. It is also effective in developing higher-order cognitive skills. Nevertheless, the adoption of active methodologies is still low. The authors of the current paper encourage the reflection on the traditional teaching practices and suggest that the active methodologies are an education option for secondary and higher education level courses as a way to meet nowadays needs in education.

Highlights

It was fully confirmed, by reasoning and by eye experiments, that the pulse of the ventricles forces the blood through the lungs and the heart, and sends it to the whole body
You will tell me the direction and how the blood flows in the veins you can see in your forearms—something the English physician William Harvey (1578-1657) correctly demonstrated, in a very simple way, by eye observation, in 1628
This illustration was extracted from his first book published in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1628, Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus, which clearly demonstrated the unidirectional blood flow in a superficial vein of the human body forearm, which was aided by the presence of venous valves1

Summary

The Cardiovascular System in a Biology Lesson

By reasoning and by eye experiments, that the pulse of the ventricles forces the blood through the lungs and the heart, and sends it to the whole body. The teacher continues the lesson using the original illustration of the classic experiment by William Harvey (Figure 1). This illustration was extracted from his first book published in Frankfurt (Germany) in 1628, Exercitatio anatomica de motu cordis et sanguinis in animalibus (anatomical study on the motion of the heart and blood in animals), which clearly demonstrated the unidirectional blood flow in a superficial vein of the human body forearm, which was aided by the presence of venous valves. Most teachers know the topic and are sometimes advised by experienced colleagues to always use these strategies to supplement their lessons

Initial Considerations

Defining Some Key Terms

What the Literature Say about It

Obstacles Restricting the Use of Active Teaching Instructional Strategies

Findings

Conclusion