Active Learning Exercises Research Articles

Escritório modelo de engenharia civil: relato de experiência na Amazônia oriental

Este artigo sintetiza o relato de experiência da implantação de um Escritório Modelo de Engenharia Civil em uma universidade no interior da Amazônia. Os fluxos migratórios incentivados por políticas públicas, como também, os espontâneos, dentre várias consequências positivas e negativas para as urbes amazônidas, acarretaram em um uso e ocupação do solo desordenado e com elevados índices de autoconstruções e habitações precárias na região. Nesse sentido, os Escritório Modelos de Engenharia se apresentam como uma possibilidade de fornecer serviços técnicos especializados, para populações com hipossuficiência econômica, por meio dos recursos técnicos e científicos disponíveis nas Universidades. Além disso, a prática desenvolvida pelos discentes participantes de um Escritório Modelo, pode configurar o exercício de aprendizagem com método ativo, conforme solicita as Diretrizes para os cursos de Engenharia, aprovadas em 2019. Com base no relato de experiência, esse artigo apresenta a possibilidade de o Escritório Modelo figurar como uma ferramenta que permita institucionalizar a aprendizagem baseada em projetos, que é um método ativo de aprendizagem, em um curso de Engenharia Civil. Através da técnica de grupo focal de análise, sintetizando as informações por meio de método etnográfico, é possível confirmar a hipótese de o Escritório Modelo figurar como meio condutor para a implantação de metodologias ativas de aprendizagem, sendo um recurso adicional para o ensino de temas transversais no curso de Engenharia Civil, como Educação Ambiental, Cidadania, Gênero e Diversidade, Acessibilidade e Direitos Humanos.

Using Seafood Traceability to Teach the Complexities of Natural Resource Management and Sustainability

This lesson plan addresses the challenge of conveying to students the globalized nature and complexity of natural resource management. Specifically, it uses seafood traceability, or the ability to track seafood as it moves through the global seafood supply chain, as a theme for understanding the potential for science and technological innovations to enable traceability as well as the different roles that various stakeholders play in ensuring fisheries sustainability. The lesson plan conveys several themes related to environmental sustainability including: the role of consumer empowerment, the importance of data and information sharing, the need to coordinate multiple stakeholders, and the intersection of science, technology, and policy-making. In one classroom activity, students are guided through a small-group, active-learning exercise that challenges them to make sustainable seafood choices from a restaurant menu. In another activity, students are asked to role-play and consider the information needs of various stakeholders in the seafood supply chain. Overall, the lesson plan is designed to demonstrate that there is no one single solution to realize seafood traceability and ensure fisheries sustainability. Instead, fisheries and natural resource management require multifaceted solutions and the involvement of multiple sectors of society.

The Means and the End Teaching Digital Literacy to Nonprofit Students

For their future career, nonprofit students need to attain the necessary skills and knowledge to leverage the power of technology appropriately to serve their communities. As faculty, we need to design our courses to improve the digital literacy of our students and therefore improve their ability to effectively communicate, manage, and lead public service organizations. This article examines an undergraduate course called Community Organizations in a Digital World that responds to the new demands for innovations in nonprofit organizations. We present the overall course design, including assignments, and the findings of a pretest and a posttest of individual student digital literacy and student reflections on their digital literacy. Based on the two-stage survey, students’ digital literacy significantly improved when they completed the course. Moreover, students appreciated the importance and the difficulty of using social media in their future career. They also recognized the effect of algorithms and social justice issues of accessing technology. This evidence demonstrates the active learning exercises used in this course successfully improved students’ digital literacy.

Do low-tech active-learning exercises influence biomechanics student’s epistemology of learning?

ABSTRACT Some students have negative perceptions of group work common in several active learning (AL) pedagogies. This study documented the potential change in student beliefs (epistemology) of learning biomechanical concepts over an introductory biomechanics course implementing low-tech AL exercises. Fifty-eight students in two biomechanics courses agreed to participate and completed a pre- and post-test consisting of the Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI3) version 3 and additional questions on their perceptions about group work and the nature of learning in biomechanics. Low-tech AL exercises resulted in a large (d > 0.8) mean improvement in student learning compared previous data on lecture alone. This improvement in learning of biomechanical concepts with AL may be unrelated to student perceptions of working with other students, the nature of biomechanical knowledge or learning. There was inconsistent evidence that student perceptions can be changed over a biomechanics course implementing low-tech AL exercises, with significant reductions in positive attitudes on one question and no difference on another from pre- to post-test. While the majority of students had positive perceptions about working with other students, some had negative perceptions, and how these perceptions changed over the term was not systematic with addition of low-tech AL exercises.

Applying Cognitive Learning Strategies to Enhance Learning and Retention in Clinical Teaching Settings

Cognitive learning strategies are strategies that improve a learner's ability to process information more deeply, transfer and apply information to new situations, and result in enhanced and better-retained learning. We developed an interactive workshop for a national conference of pediatric educators to teach five cognitive learning strategies. The specific strategies were (1) spaced retrieval practice, (2) interleaving, (3) elaboration, (4) generation, and (5) reflection. Each strategy was taught using an active learning exercise. We evaluated the effectiveness of the workshop through a commitment-to-change exercise in which we asked participants to commit to making a change in their teaching as it related to the workshop and then queried them 6 weeks later about their implementation successes and barriers. Of the 161 participants registered for the workshop, 52 completed the voluntary workshop evaluation. All 52 participants committed to making a change in their teaching as a result of the workshop. Of those 52 participants, 24 completed the 6-week follow-up survey. Eighty-two percent of those respondents (n = 18) reported implementing a change based on the workshop, with 77% of respondents implementing a change that they had committed to directly after the workshop and 55% implementing a change that they had not originally committed to at the end of the workshop. This workshop successfully led to behavioral change in the teaching of cognitive learning strategies. We anticipate that this will lead to improved learning among the trainees whom participants teach.

Choosing Wisely in Pre-clinical Medical Education: a Direct Comparison of Active Learning Methods for Teaching Metabolic Liver Disease.

With the movement away from lectures and towards active learning sessions, medical school faculty must choose a format that fits the learning objectives and is achievable with available resources. Small groups bring organizational challenges including additional faculty and classrooms. Large groups are an opportunity to conduct case-based active learning exercises with fewer faculty. Our study compares the learning effectiveness of an active learning session on metabolic liver disease conducted in both the small group and large group formats. All MS1 students at University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) (n = 120) were randomized to participate in either the small or large group session. The same pre-learning videos and computer-based active learning module were used for all students in both session types. A post-session questionnaire was administered, and student exam performance was analyzed to evaluate each session type on the following criteria: (1) student preparedness for the session, (2) student perceptions of the session's learning effectiveness, (3) learner knowledge upon completion of the session, and (4) knowledge retention at 10days. No statistically significant differences were found between the large and small group cohorts on student perceptions of learning effectiveness or knowledge assessment, both immediate and delayed. Students assigned to the large group did choose their collaborators differently than those in the small group, tending more often to work with their friends. When organized well, a large group active learning format may be used in place of a small group without diminishing the learning effectiveness of the activity.

How to distinguish ligand-binding mechanisms: an example of conformational selection disguised as an induced fit

ABSTRACT This report describes the implementation of a laboratory exercise for an advanced biochemistry or enzyme kinetics class at the undergraduate or graduate level, designed to improve understanding of protein conformational changes associated with the binding of a ligand. Students measure the fluorescence changes induced by the conformational transition of a glycoprotein (the Na,K-ATPase) upon addition of different ligands (Pi and BeF3 −) and analyse the results in order to determine the mechanism of the process. The results show that Pi and BeF3 − present opposite effects on the observed rate constants (kobs ) with ligand concentration: kobs decreases with [Pi] and increases with [BeF3 −]. This observation, together with the frequently used assumption that binding occurs under rapid equilibrium, led to propose different models for ligand-induced conformational transitions: a conformational selection for Pi and an induced fit for BeF3 −. In this paper, we show that if the rapid-equilibrium approximation for ligand binding is not assumed, a conformational selection mechanism can account for the effects of both ligands. This active-learning exercise serves as the basis for discussing the consequences of not being extremely cautious when invoking approximations about not-very-well-known systems and the importance of a correct understanding of models assigned to chemical processes.

Newsvendor Game: A Behavioral Exercise in Decision Making under Risk

ABSTRACTThe newsvendor problem is a classic problem of decision making under risk that is taught in traditional Operations and Supply Chain Management classes as a single‐period inventory problem. We discuss the following three pedagogical points of interest to any instructor tasked with teaching this topic: a) why the newsvendor model is relevant in this day and age; b) how to make better sense of the newsvendor problem for students; and c) how to easily implement and administer an active learning exercise in either a traditional classroom, or an online setting. This active learning exercise is a quick, effective, and meaningful way of demonstrating a variety of concepts related to the newsvendor problem that include: a) the rational economic method of calculating optimal order quantity, b) the inherent risk in forecasting and ordering decisions as they relate to surpluses and shortages; and c) the cognitive limitations in decision making that often result in irrational but predictable decision‐making behavior as demonstrated by empirical research on newsvendor behavior. This exercise can help instructors and students transition into broader discussions on human behavior, cognitive limitations, and perceptions of risk. Overall, it should provide the student with an improved understanding of the operational and behavioral issues associated with decision making under risk.

Integrating the Principles and Practice of Scholarly Activity Into Undergraduate Medical Education: A Narrative Review and Proposed Model for Implementation.

The osteopathic undergraduate medical education standards have evolved over the past 2 decades to require undergraduate medical student participation in research and scholarly activity. The authors' objective was to review those evolving standards and develop a model for introducing the principles and practice of research that combines core content with experiential learning. They identified fundamental topics pertinent to the research process and herein provide their recommendations for incorporating these topics into the curriculum as self-study, online modules, and team-based and active learning exercises. The authors' proposed educational model would provide an avenue for osteopathic medical schools to meet the requirements for scholarly activity. Increasing students' and residents' knowledge of the research process will lay the foundation for their engagement is research and scholarly activity and their practice of evidence-based medicine.

Training Student Pharmacists to Perform Point-of-Care Testing

Objective. To implement training in point-of-care testing (POCT) for student pharmacists and to assess students' comfort with performing and recommending POCT for Group A streptococcus (GAS), influenza, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after completion of training. Methods. The POCT training was provided to students via a 3.5-hour module imbedded in an intensive, week-long course. The module included a lecture with active-learning exercises and time dedicated to practicing performing nasal and throat swabs. Student performance of swab procedures was evaluated via a rubric-based skills assessment graded by a faculty member. Student pharmacists completed a pre- and post-training Likert scale survey regarding their comfort with performing and recommending POCT, and initiating appropriate treatment. Student knowledge of POCT material was evaluated via a multiple-choice examination. Results. Most students performed proficiently on the POCT skills assessment on the first attempt (86% achieved proficiency in performing throat swabs and 88% in performing nasal swabs), and all students were proficient by the third attempt. Student comfort and interest in performing POCT and willingness to implement POCT in their future practice significantly increased from the pre- to the post-training survey. All students achieved competency as demonstrated by achieving a score of 80% or higher on the knowledge examination on the first or second attempt. Conclusion. Following a POCT training module, student pharmacists displayed increased willingness to perform and recommend POCT for GAS, influenza, and HIV. Expanding this training to other pharmacy schools and colleges could increase patient access to POCT.

Exploring Biased Probability Using Loaded Dice: An Active Learning Exercise with Analogy to Entropic and Energetic Determinants of Equilibria in Chemical Systems

The equilibrium position of a chemical system is based on two distinct considerations, namely, the entropy and enthalpy differences between the states. Loaded dice provide a physical system for exploring the probability of observing different interconverting states on the basis of two distinct factors: the number of sides of the die (entropy) and the asymmetric distribution of mass in the die (gravitational potential energy). Although potential energy analogies such as pushing a rock up a hill have often been used for teaching differences in energy in chemistry, and dice have likewise often been used to explain entropy, such analogies can be unsatisfactory when entropic and enthalpic considerations favor different states. We present an activity that allows students to explore how potential energy and entropy together contribute to observed probability and then draw parallels to chemical systems. Students collect statistics for observed rolls of loaded dice, rationalize the different patterns as distinct states, and determine the difference in entropy between the states. These observations are then related to chemical reactions and to the definition of entropy. The effect of varying the loaded mass within the dice is related to the role enthalpy plays in determining equilibrium. This analogy and associated active learning exercises are applicable to a wide variety of college chemistry and physics courses; provide a hands-on approach to introducing concepts such as probability, entropy, and energy differences; and can be used to draw parallels to chemical reactions, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy.

Introducing Bayesian Analysis With m&m's®: An Active-Learning Exercise for Undergraduates

We present an active-learning strategy for undergraduates that applies Bayesian analysis to candy-covered chocolate m&m’s®. The exercise is best suited for small class sizes and tutorial settings, after students have been introduced to the concepts of Bayesian statistics. The exercise takes advantage of the nonuniform distribution of m&m’s® colors, and the difference in distributions made at two different factories. In this paper, we provide the intended learning outcomes, lesson plan and step-by-step guide for instruction, and open-source teaching materials. We also suggest an extension to the exercise for the graduate level, which incorporates hierarchical Bayesian analysis.

Mapping Policy Issues: A Simple, Active-Learning Exercise for Critical Thinking

ABSTRACTMany students in my undergraduate American politics courses struggle to see policy issues as complex. Too often, they get stuck making surface-level observations or jumping straight to personal opinions, falling far short of critical thinking. This article introduces an active-learning exercise—situational mapping—that provokes students to recognize and think critically about the complexities of policy issues such as immigration, abortion, campaign financing, and guns. Adapted from a grounded-theory research technique, the goals of this mapping exercise are to (1) help students see policy issues as messy, (2) encourage them to “wallow in complexity” rather than oversimplify, and (3) provoke them to think through complexities before forming conclusions. The learning exercise actively engages every student, is simple to prepare and implement, can be completed during a 50-minute class, and is flexible in its application. It also involves teamwork, informal presentations, moving around the classroom, and opportunities for creativity.

Modeling the Effects of Intracellular Anions on Membrane Potential: An Active-Learning Exercise

In biological membranes that are permeable to water and ions but impermeable to other solutes, the diffusible ions cannot reach a concentration equilibrium. Instead, a state of electroneutrality is achieved on each side of the membrane, which requires that the diffusible ions be found in different concentrations on either side of the membrane. The Donnan equilibrium is a major contributing factor to the polarized state of cells, and appreciating it is vital to the understanding of neuronal physiology. This article presents a nonmathematical active-learning exercise that will help AP and college biology students understand how the Donnan equilibrium is achieved.

A Multimodal Approach to Teaching Cultural Competency in the Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum

Objective. To assess first-year pharmacy students' grades and preferred teaching styles within a multimodal teaching approach for developing cultural competency during a required Pharmaceutical Care I course. Methods. A lecture, two active-learning exercises (global bead and trading places), and an in-class quiz were used to teach students about cultural competency in preparation for a practicum. A four-hour practicum consisting of videos, structured discussion, counseling, and a survey were used in this multimodal approach. Student quiz and practicum grades and survey results were analyzed. Reflection responses were collected. Results. Students scored an average of 86.1% on the in-class quiz and 92.6% on the practicum. Average rankings on the Trading Places exercise demonstrated a change in students' individual biases. Students perceived the practicum, lecture, and Worlds Apart videos to be the most useful elements of the cultural competency curriculum. Conclusion. The practicum and lecture were the teaching methods most preferred by students for conveying cultural competency; however, students agreed that all of the teaching methods used helped them to achieve the desired learning objectives. Students' grades improved from the quiz to the practicum, which may indicate enhanced cultural knowledge via a multimodal teaching approach.

Active learning in accounting classes with technology and communication skills: A two-semester study of student perceptions

Students’ perceptions of the learning process are important because they are stakeholders in their education. The authors measured student perceptions on active learning exercises that promote comfort with technology and oral communication skills. The findings noted that there was a significant difference in the mean of certain survey questions between students who participated in the study once versus those students who participated in the study for two consecutive semesters.

Using information literacy to teach medical entrepreneurship and health care economics.

ObjectiveEntrepreneurship and innovative product design in health care requires expertise in finding and evaluating diverse types of information from a multitude of sources to accomplish a number of tasks, such as securing regulatory approval, developing a reimbursement strategy, and navigating intellectual property. The authors sought to determine whether an intensive, specialized information literacy training program that introduced undergraduate biomedical engineering students to these concepts would improve the quality of the students’ design projects. We also sought to test whether information literacy training that included active learning exercises would offer increased benefits over training delivered via lectures and if this specialized information literacy training would increase the extent of students’ information use.MethodsA three-arm cohort study was conducted with a control group and two experimental groups. Mixed methods assessment, including a rubric and citation analysis, was used to evaluate program outcomes by examining authentic artifacts of student learning.ResultsStudent design teams that received information literacy training on topics related to medical entrepreneurship and health care economics showed significantly improved performance on aspects of project performance relevant to health care economics over student design teams that did not receive this training. There were no significant differences between teams that engaged in active learning exercises and those that only received training via lectures. Also, there were no significant differences in citation patterns between student teams that did or did not receive specialized information literacy training.ConclusionsInformation literacy training can be used as a method for introducing undergraduate health sciences students to the health care economics aspects of the medical entrepreneurship life cycle, including the US Food and Drug Administration regulatory environment, intellectual property, and medical billing and reimbursement structures.

Classroom exercises with technology and communication skills: students’ perceptions

PurposeSelecting the appropriate type of technology to incorporate in the classroom to promote comfort with professional uses of technology is important. In addition, the use of technology and good oral communication skills are valued by prospective employers. Students are stakeholders in their education, so it is important to obtain their perceptions. The purpose of this study was to obtain students’ perceptions about active learning exercises which were created to promote comfort with professional uses of technology and oral communication skills.Design/methodology/approachSix accounting classes were asked to complete a survey which assessed various classroom exercises that included the use of technology and oral communication skills while learning course content.FindingsOverall, the students had a positive perception about the classroom exercises.Originality/valueFew studies have evaluated the students’ perception of using the iternet to assist in the learning process. None have assessed the students’ perceptions as to whether those exercises have improved their comfort with technology. In addition, past studies are greater than 15 years old, and much has changed in technology and the internet. The literature has provided studies on the communications skills required of accounting students but does not study the students’ perceptions of exercises trying to improve their skills. In addition, the exercises included in this study are generalizable and can be applied to other subject matter.

Student perceptions of low-tech active learning and mastery of introductory biomechanics concepts

ABSTRACT This study documented student perceptions of five low-tech active learning exercises, their epistemology of learning, and examined the association between these variables and mastery of biomechanics concepts. Students (N = 152) in four introductory biomechanics courses at two universities completed the Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI) at the beginning and the end of the course. An additional 10-question survey was used at the end of the course to determine student perceptions of the active learning exercises and their epistemology of learning. Student learning of biomechanical concepts improved over levels reported in previous studies of traditional lecture instruction, but not as much as seen in other studies of active learning pedagogy in biomechanics and physics. Student perceptions of active learning were positive, particularly in individual rather than group exercises. A minority (12—16%) of these students had negative perceptions of group-based active learning exercises. Student perception of epistemology of learning was primarily constructivist; however, there was no evidence of these perceptions had associations with learning biomechanical concepts. Biomechanics instructors planning to use low-tech active learning exercises should communicate their philosophy of learning, expectations for the course, and progressively implement individual-based and group-based active learning experiences early in the course.

Teaching Ethics Using Simulations: Active Learning Exercises in Political Theory

Simulations are an excellent tool for teaching and have been used in many disciplines including in various subfields of political science, notably in international relations. We focus on the value of employing simulations in the classroom to complement the pedagogy surrounding political theory and related fields such as professional ethics and moral philosophy. Simulations, we believe, provide a unique educational benefit to the teaching of these subjects by supplying a concrete context for students to engage in ethical decision making, encouraging them to relate theory to practice. Simulations can achieve this goal, we argue, if they provide students with an immersive experience that confronts them with ethically significant choices. Further, we claim, game design theory and practices offer a useful tool set for designing simulations that can do exactly that. In this article, we discuss the educational benefits of using simulation to teach normative theory and present the principles that guide us in designing these simulations, drawing on some ideas in game design theory. Finally, we present a primaries campaign management simulation we have written and ran.