Hashem Mohesein Writes: Active Learning

Every now and then, we read about developing and progress in technology, science even sport. In education and training, we know that there is something that cannot be replaced, by that I mean the teacher, instructor or professor. In the classroom, we cannot replace them but we can develop the strategies of teaching and training.
“Active Learning” is one of the most famous techniques in learning that is used nowadays. Active learning simply means “learning by doing”.
According to (e.g. Freeman et al,. 2014) research has shown that active learning experiences improves students learning.
Here are some Active learning strategies that will help us a lot to improve the classroom environment and learning process:-
Minute Paper.
During the lecture, ask the students to write on a plane paper what they have learned so far, they can do it in pairs, you can collect them and review it with the class or they can read it and share it aloud.
Brain Storming Challenge.
One of the famous active learning tool is brainstorming technique, but why not adding some challenge on it? Bring two six sided dice. Ask the students to roll the two dice, add the total number together, and that is how many ideas they should add to their list. Moreover, you can add time to make it more challenging, for example ten minutes to complete their list of ideas about a specific topic.

Three-step Interview( ice breaker or review)
In this strategy, student A interview student B for one or two minutes, then they switch, student B interviews student A for the same length of time. After that, each pair turn to another pair forming a group of four, once every one has re-introduce themselves, each person take turn highlighting the most interesting points.
At the end, to put a quick conclusion to the topic, active learning has many strategies; it depends on the trainer and the trainee, the subject and the time of the class and other factors. In this article, we reviewed some of them, and for whom interested, can search for more strategies in active learning.

هاشم حيدر محسين
معهد التدريب المهني
E-mail: [email protected]