Elements Of Active Learning Research Articles

Active learning in neuroscience: a manipulative to simulate visual field defects.

prevalent in 20–57% of stroke patients, visual field defects have been shown to impact quality of life. Studies ([8][1]) have shown increased risk of falling, ambulatory difficulties, impaired reading ability, and feelings of panic in crowded or unfamiliar places in patients with visual field

Online library tutorials in Mexican universities: presence and characteristics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the presence of online library tutorials in the library websites of public universities in Mexico and to analyze the main characteristics of these materials. Design/methodology/approach Through October and November, 2015, the number of online library tutorials was quantified in 230 public universities in Mexico and their characteristics were analyzed based on an 18-item template grouped into four categories: general information, presentation, content and active learning. Findings Only 81 (29.2 percent) of the 279 libraries evaluated offer some type of instructional material to their users. A great variability was found regarding the quantity of tutorials presented by each library and its origin (elaborated by the library vs third party materials). The majority of tutorials deal with the use of library services or the management of a specific information resource. The most usual formats are pdf and video, and generally have few elements of active learning. Practical implications Results obtained in this study provide a useful diagnosis for decision-making regarding the creation, improvement and diffusion policies of online library tutorials in university libraries. Originality/value This is the first study carried out about the presence and characteristics of online library tutorials in university libraries in Mexico.

The importance of active learning elements in the design of online courses

The purpose of this study was to investigate learners' perceived views about the importance of including active learning elements in the design of online courses giving attention to three selected variables: age, gender, and college status. The subjects participated in the study were undergraduate and graduate students taking online courses at a medium-sized University in the Midwest, USA. ANOVA was used to analyze the collected data. Significant mean differences were reported for all three selected variables. Conclusion, implications, and recommendations for future research are made.

Lifeguard Final Exam-Encouraging the Use of Active Learning.

To anyone familiar with the extensive literature on teaching and learning, there is little question that active learning is more effective than passive learning. Thus, we are not directing this letter to that particular audience. Instead, we are attempting to address the question of the best way to convince instructors who have not tried to incorporate elements of active learning into their courses to make such an attempt. There are numerous examples where it becomes immediately clear that active learning is preferable to a lecture/note-taking approach. Here, we provide a question for group discussion that can be used as one such illustration.

On flipping first-semester calculus: a case study

High failure rates in calculus have plagued students, teachers, and administrators for decades, while science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programmes continue to suffer from low enrollments and high attrition. In an effort to affect this reality, some educators are ‘flipping’ (or inverting) their classrooms. By flipping, we mean administering course content outside of the classroom and replacing the traditional in-class lectures with discussion, practice, group work, and other elements of active learning. This paper presents the major results from a three-year study of a flipped, first-semester calculus course at a small, comprehensive, American university with a well-known engineering programme. The data we have collected help quantify the positive and substantial effects of our flipped calculus course on failure rates, scores on the common final exam, student opinion of calculus, teacher impact on measurable outcomes, and success in second-semester calculus. While flipping may not be suitable for every teacher, every student, and in every situation, this report provides some evidence that it may be a viable option for those seeking an alternative to the traditional lecture model.

Why No Difference? A Controlled Flipped Classroom Study for an Introductory Differential Equations Course

Flipped classrooms have the potential to improve student learning and metacognitive skills as a result of increased time for active learning and group work and student control over pacing, when compared with traditional lecture-based courses. We are currently running a 4-year controlled study to examine the impact of flipping an Introductory Differential Equations course at Harvey Mudd College. In particular, we compare flipped instruction with an interactive lecture with elements of active learning rather than a traditional lecture. The first two years of this study showed no differences in learning, metacognitive, or affective gains between the control and flipped sections. We believe that contextual factors, such as a strong group-work culture at Harvey Mudd College, contribute to the similar performance of both sections. Additionally, to maintain a rigorous experimental design, we maintained identical content across the control and flipped section; relaxing this requirement in a non-study setting would allow us to take further advantage of educational opportunities afforded by flipping, and may therefore improve student learning.

Image interpretation-guided supervised classification using nested segmentation

We present a new binary (two-class) supervised non-parametric classification approach that is based on iterative partitioning of multidimensional feature space into variably-sized and nested hyper-cubes (partitions). The proposed method contains elements of active learning and includes classifier to analyst queries. The spectral transition zone between two thematic classes (i.e., where training labels of different classes overlap in feature space) is targeted through iterative training derivation. Three partition categories are defined: pure, indivisible and unlabeled. Pure partitions contain training labels from only one class, indivisible partitions contain training data from different classes, and unlabeled partitions do not contain training data. A minimum spectral tolerance threshold defines the smallest partition volume to avoid over-fitting. In this way the transition zones between class distributions are minimized, thereby maximizing both the spectral volume of pure partitions in the feature space and the number of pure pixels in the classified image. The classification results are displayed to show each classified pixel's partition category (pure, unlabeled and indivisible). Mapping pixels belonging to unlabeled partitions serves as a query from the classifier to the analyst, targeting spectral regions absent of training data. The classification process is repeated until significant improvement of the classification is no longer realized or when no classification errors and unlabeled pixels are left. Variably-sized partitions lead to intensive training data derivation in the spectral transition zones between the target classes. The methodology is demonstrated for surface water and permanent snow and ice classifications using 30m conterminous United States Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data time series from 2006 to 2010. The surface water result was compared with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) water body and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) open water classes with an overall agreement greater than 99% and Kappa coefficient greater than 0.9 in both of cases. In addition, the surface water result was compared with a classification generated using the same input data and a standard bagged Classification and Regression Tree (CART) classifier. The nested segmentation and CART-generated products had an overall agreement of 99.9 and Kappa coefficient of 0.99.

The College Fed Challenge: An Innovation in Cooperative Learning

This paper documents and provides a framework for implementing the key elements of cooperative learning in a course on the College Fed Challenge and gives instructors a framework for introducing and enhancing elements of active learning in their classes. The College Fed Challenge is a competition at the district and national level where students present an update on current economic conditions, make forecasts, and provide a monetary policy recommendation. Advising College Fed Challenge teams provides a unique opportunity to implement and develop the five key elements of cooperative learning. Specifically, summer and in-class preparations focus on individual accountability and small group social skills. Conducting mock presentations and mock question and answer sessions encourages positive interdependence, promotive interaction and group processing. This paper finds that Fed Challenge students learn more economics, enjoy learning more, and develop skills transferable to the workplace.

Grass Seed Structure and Seedling Emergence

When growing native perennial grasses for traditional range and pasture or for advanced biomass energy systems, it is helpful to understand the role seed structure plays in its establishment. This activity discusses both seed structure and seedling emergence in monocots. Through active learning elements, photos, and text, students will discover the basic anatomy of seeds and the function of each structure. The process of seedling emergence is presented in detail including the difference between emergence in cool and warm season grasses. Questions to test student understanding are placed throughout the activity.The education material is designed for introductory level college students and is also useful for extension education.

Science Information Literacy Tutorials and Pedagogy

This study aims at finding out which information literacy standards science and technology libraries have been trying to instruct through Web-based tutorials and the extent to which pedagogical elements are incorporated. The research results are expected to be helpful to the future designing of tutorials for information literacy instruction purpose.Cette étude a pour objectif d'identifier les normes de maîtrise de l'information utilisées par les bibliothèques de sciences et technologies dans le cadre de tutoriels en ligne et la mesure dans laquelle des éléments pédagogiques y sont intégrés. Les résultats devraient être utiles au développement de futurs tutoriels consacrés à la maîtrise de l'information.

The Launch of a Joint Library/Writing Centre Online Course on Academic Integrity

Objective – To outline the collaborative development of an online course addressing academic integrity by a university’s library system and writing centre.
 
 Design – Case study.
 
 Setting – A public research university in the Midwestern United States.
 
 Subjects – 1650 students who completed the online module.
 
 Methods – Oakland University (OU) Libraries and the Writing Centre began to collaborate on the development of a new online course on academic integrity in 2011. It was felt that an existing online library tutorial on plagiarism no longer met the needs of students and faculty. The development of the course was informed by the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (2000) as well as a research study investigating students’ use of sources in their scholarly writing across several institutions. Moodle, the institution’s learning management system (LMS), was used to develop the learning object.
 
 Main Results – OU Libraries and the Writing Centre launched the six-part online course entitled “Using and Citing Sources” in January 2012. They developed modules around learning outcomes in five broad categories: defining academic integrity and plagiarism; the use of sources in academic writing; paraphrasing; quoting; and citation. The final module provided students with an opportunity to practise lessons learned in the first five modules. The use of the LMS to design and host the course limited the tutorial to registered students, but provided developers with access to additional course functionality without labour-intensive coding. It also allowed Writing Centre staff to access students’ performance data on the modules prior to their appointments. Improvements over the previous online tutorial included expanded content on academic ethics and referencing, more active learning elements, video content, and the opportunity for students to choose discipline-specific examples. In the first four months of its availability, 1650 students completed the course, with 3330 attempts overall.
 
 Conclusion – The diverse perspectives and expertise that individuals from OU Libraries and the Writing Center brought to their collaboration greatly informed the development of the course. The time and effort saved by using the university’s existing LMS to develop interactive content and the focus on providing students with opportunities for active learning within the course contributed to the project’s success.

Guided and Team-Based Learning for Chemical Information Literacy

This case study recounts a process of course design, conduct, and evaluation for a single-session chemical information literacy class using guided and team-based learning. This approach incorporates active learning, worked examples, process worksheets, and POGIL elements. The instruction followed an iterative cycle of learning exercises whereby (1) the instructor introduces an information problem or task through a short presentation, (2) student teams collaboratively work through process worksheets that guide them through the technical and analytical tasks of resolving the information problem or task, (3) the instructor serves as a facilitator to address learning needs that arise during the exercise, while student teams analyze and reflect upon the learning activity and concepts, and afterwards, (4) the class engages in a discussion as an opportunity for evaluation, further exploration, and peer instruction. Overall, the guided and team-based learning approach offers opportunities to observe student progress closely and forges a collaborative spirit between students and the instructor for an engaging and rewarding experience.

Using continuous assessment to promote student engagement in a large class

The authors have developed a first-year fluids course for a class of around 230 aerospace, civil and mechanical engineering students. This paper aims to show how the teaching and assessment methodology was applied to the challenge of a large class. The lectures featured formal teaching interspersed with active learning elements. Smaller group (about 25–30 students) tutorial classes involved student practice. A 10-minute test occurred in each tutorial during weeks 3–11. Each test was based on the previous week's lecture material and the marks contributed towards 20% of the course mark. A condition for passing the course was that a student must pass at least six of the nine tests. The assessment promoted student involvement with the course – tutorial attendance was greater and more uniform than previously and exam performance improved significantly. Students recognised that the assessment system was useful in encouraging continuous learning over the semester and building confidence.

An e-learning approach to informed problem-solving

When taking into account individualized learning processes not only content and interaction facilities need to be re-considered, but also the design of learning processes per se. Besides explicitness of learning objectives, interactive means of education need to enable intertwining content and communication elements as basic elements of active learning in a flexible way while preserving a certain structure of the learning process. Intelligibility Catchers are a theoretically grounded framework to enable such individualized processes. It allows learners and teachers agreeing and determining a desired learning outcome in written form. This type of e-learning contract enables students to individually explore content and participate in social interactions, while being guided by a transparent learning process structure. The developed implementation empowers learners in terms of creative problem-solving capabilities, and requires adaptation of classroom situations. The framework and its supporting semantic e-learning environment not only enables diverse learning and problem solving processes, but also supports the collaborative construction of e-learning contracts.

Learning & Development: How Children Learn: Part 2 - Active duty

The defining elements of active learning, the second characteristic of effective learning and teaching identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage review, are set out by Jan Dubiel, national development manager of training and resource centre Early Excellence.

Science Information Literacy Tutorials and Pedagogy

Objective – This study examined information literacy tutorials in science. The goals of the research were to identify which of the information literacy standards for science, engineering and technology were addressed in the tutorials, and the extent that the tutorials incorporated good pedagogical elements.
 
 Methods – The researcher chose for review 31 of the tutorials selected by members of the ACRL Science & Technology Section (STS) Information Literacy Committee. She carefully analyzed the tutorials and developed a database with codes for the topic of each tutorial, the STS information literacy standard(s) addressed by the tutorial, and whether good pedagogical elements were incorporated. The entire analysis and coding procedure was repeated three times to ensure consistency.
 
 Results – The tutorials analyzed in this study covered various subjects and addressed all the (STS) information literacy standards. The tutorials presented information clearly and allowed users to select their own learning paths. The incorporation of good pedagogical elements was limited, especially in relation to active learning elements. 
 
 Conclusions – Web tutorials have been accepted as effective information literacy instruction tools and have been used to teach all elements of the STS information literacy standards. Yet, ensuring they provide a real learning experience for students remains a challenge. More serious thought needs to be given to integrating good pedagogy into these instructional tools in order to attain deep learning.

Gender Differences In Academic Ethics With Recommendations For Curricular Change

An extensive study has been performed on the importance of building ethical principles into secondary school and college curricula. In published surveys, females are almost universally found to be more ethical, but experience tells us females lag behind males in their ability to maintain and act upon their convictions in the workplace. We examined these issues by administering a survey on academic ethics to an undergraduate business school population, focusing heavily on gender differences. Careful analysis of survey results using one-way ANOVA, the Tukey-Kramer procedure, and two-way ANOVA procedures provided an understanding of differences in ethical beliefs and ethical behaviors based on gender and other demographic characterizations. Predictive analysis was completed using logistic regression and discrete choice modeling to determine the likelihood of ethical behavior in the future and evolution of ethical beliefs. The accumulated results of the analyses were used to guide the authors in the development of a strong and pervasive ethics-based curriculum for secondary schools and universities. We have combined elements of classroom instruction, technology, active learning, games and extracurricular activities to embed ethical concepts and particularly encourage strength in convictions across the entire curricula.

Developing and providing an online (web-based) clinical research design course in Japan: Lessons learned

This article reports on the lessons learned while teaching an 8-week-long online course about the principles of clinical research design in Japan. Student activity data and how it relates to performance in the course are presented. As prolog, this article focuses on the barriers and solutions to creating and delivering a web-based course and it lists and discusses the most common concerns that educators often have about this process, namely, cost of the system and time requirement of the faculty. Options that must be considered when selecting the support software and hardware needed to conduct live streaming lecture, online video-based conference course are presented. The ancillary role of e-mail based distribution lists as an essential instruction tool within an interactive, instructor-supervised online course is discussed. This article then discusses the inclusion of active learning elements within an online course as well as the pros and cons regarding open-book versus closed book, proctored testing. Lastly, copyright issues the online instructor should know about are discussed. The student tracking data show that as the course progresses, students will reduce the number for page viewings. We speculate that this reduction is due to a combination of conflicting priorities plus increasing efficiency of the students at extracting the critical information. The article also concludes that software and hardware costs to deliver an online course are relatively minor but the faculty's time requirement is initially substantially higher than teaching in a conventional face-to-face course.

Strategies to Enhance Discussion and Cooperative Learning Among Economics and Business Undergraduate Students

Many universities are recently favouring the introduction of active learning elements inside the teaching-learning process. This research presents a joint strategy of intervention aimed at improving students’ class participation and discussion. The suggested active learning instruments’ design has consisted of a selection of different alternatives of practice lectures and seminars, adapted to the characteristics of the destiny group. In relation to the obtained results, practice exercise use has improved students’ grades. Although participation in class and on-line seminars seem to have no influence on learning outcomes, the redesign of the traditional assignment presentation has permitted an increase in discussion among students. An analysis of the satisfaction of students shows a slightly higher preference for the active learning instruments in comparison with traditional chalk-and-talk lectures.

IFRS within the Multi‐GAAP Canadian Reality: A Teaching and Learning Imperative for Intermediate Financial Accounting

AbstractIntermediate accounting instructors need to be engaged in the specific complexities and challenges of the new international financial reporting standards (IFRS) reality within the Canadian multi‐GAAP environment. Intermediate accounting courses are directly affected because they represent substantive coverage of the corporate reporting environment. In this article I make the case that these courses should primarily reflect IFRS standards in order to entrench IFRS competencies in students who wish to pursue a professional designation, to prepare students for the global environment, and to concentrate IFRS expertise issues in a robust instructor group. The competency maps of each of the three Canadian professional accounting bodies clearly reflect IFRS. Students can analyze the implications of major areas of policy differences between IFRS and private enterprise GAAP (PEGAAP) through specific targeted course coverage, but also through active learning elements, particularly research elements. This commentary reflects some of the active debate occurring regarding postsecondary curriculum as Canada adapts to IFRS and PEGAAP, and encourages action.