Faculty and Student Perceptions of Active Learning

Abstract

A wonderful product still needs a capable seller and a willing buyer. Similarly, with active learning pedagogy, the mere fact that it is effective is for naught without students willing to engage and faculty willing to try it in the classroom. Acknowledging that, we must focus on faculty and student perceptions of active learning, with the goal of minimizing barriers and leveraging these views to increase adoption of evidence-based teaching practices. In this chapter, I explore faculty perceptions of active learning and the barriers preventing them from implementing these pedagogies. I then investigate undergraduate perceptions and their reasons for resisting or refusing to participate in these activities. Next, I explore perceptions of active learning in the dual roles held by graduate students as both students and instructors. Finally, I discuss the lingering gaps in our knowledge and the future directions discipline-based education research might take to close them.