Active Learning

 Today’s Learners

The students in front of us today are not the same learners we even had four years ago.  We have all gone through a traumatic experience living through the pandemic and it has changed social norms and how we interact with one another.  This is especially true of the students that sit in our classroom each day.  According to Tim Elmore and the notes from his book Marching off the Map there are seven things we can do to engage our Gen Z students in their learning.  These include but are not limited to keeping a lesson short, making it visual, giving the students ownership over the lesson, and/or making a lesson interactive.  

One of my favorite ways to get students engaged in a topic is being able to take them on a field trip.  As you can see in the image below (also shared in Nicole Zumpano’s Prezi) people remember 90% of what they do as opposed to 10% of what they read or even 20% of what they hear.

Image Source

Just last week, I had the opportunity to take my students to Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg.  We were previewing our study of ecosystems in science.  My students hiked around the prairie for about 2 miles discovering native plants and animals.  The excitement my students felt when they saw a turtle swimming in the pond was something even watching a video online could never spark.  This was a great way to get students away from their devices and experience something hands on.

Personal Image

Active Learning Resources

Obviously, it is simple to get kids engaged when you are out of the classroom and exploring somewhere new, but that is not the everyday reality.  So, how can we support our students' learning, while putting them in the driver’s seat?  Active learning takes the pressure off the educator of being the all knowing giver of facts and information.  It challenges the students to not just regurgitate information, but to explore topics and truly learn, not just remember.  The article, 8 Active Learning Strategies and Examples, lays out strategies that can be implemented in multiple subjects across almost any grade level. Active learning is a must to make the school day exciting and engaging for not only the students but the teacher.  It allows for the learning to happen together.  

Active learning reminds me of one of my favorite third grade read alouds-  Chasing Vermeer.  In the story, the teacher pretends not to know anything and allows the students to choose the topics of learning.  The students’ curiosity drives the instruction all year.  This was set at the lab school at the University of Chicago, so the teacher had a little more flexibility than I do, but her theory is not wrong.  We can find ways to give our students choice in their learning even while staying in the confines of standards and curriculum.  

I created a Padlet to share some activities we can add to our classrooms.  

Padlet

In her blog, Nicole Zumpano shared a project done by Mrs. Malhiot’s class.  The students used Pic Collage and Audioboom to show their understanding of the American Revolution.  This activity seemed like it was used as the culminating activity for a unit of study.  While, not much detail was given about the how this was done, even what was shared I can tell this activity engaged students in active learning.  Students used multiple platforms to share their knowledge of the American Revolution.  It does look like students work independently, and I am not sure if they had choice in the topics they worked on, but based on the final product you can tell the students were engaged in the activity and took pride in their learning.  Even the way the teacher chose to display the projects involved active learning.  She posted QR codes that linked to the students’ podcasts so others could learn about the topic as well.    

Active Learning in My Classroom

After learning more about active learning this week, I realized this is something I have been doing throughout my career without even knowing it.  This is not something I do every lesson or even every day, but I am always trying to find new ways to engage my students in our learning.  

I will say my creative juices flowed a little easier when I was the only third grade teacher at a Catholic school.  I had a lot more flexibility in my schedule and in the way I taught each lesson.  Some of my favorite lessons included students creating structures that could withstand hurricanes, literature circles of Roald Dahl books, and state research projects ending in a state museum.

Even in my new district with stricter guidelines, my teams have found a way to give students choice and engage in active learning.  As a classroom teacher in second grade we create a PBL in which students found ways to save pollinators. Students were able to work with other groups of students and present their final project using Pic Collage, Seesaw, or a poster. This year with my sixth graders, I took a district SEL lesson and added an active learning element. We were discussing the key of integrity as a part of our unit on the 8 Quantum Keys of Excellence. At the end of the lesson students used adobe spark or canva to create an Instagram Story to show how they could use integrity in their lives.  Students then posted their story to a shared Google Slides Deck.  Once posted, students were able add comments to the slides in order to interact with one another. 

Active Learning for All

While there can be more prep and it can be stressful to let go of our old ways of teaching, it is important for us to include active learning in our weekly lesson plans.  Through active learning we can reach students that have found school “boring” (honestly my least favorite word) or inaccessible.  Students that may not shine on common assessments, can find success in showing their knowledge in ways beyond a multiple choice test.  It is our responsibility as educators to not just give knowledge but to encourage students to be active curious learners in our classroom and beyond.

References

8 keys. 8 Keys of Excellence. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://8keys.org/8keys/ 

Balliett, B., & Helquist, B. (2018). Chasing vermeer. Scholastic. 

Dr. Tim Elmore: Millennial expert & founder of growing leaders. Growing Leaders. (2021, September 29). Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://growingleaders.com/tim-elmore/ 

Elmore, T., & McPeak, A. (2017). Marching off the map: Inspire students to navigate a Brand New World. Poet Gardener Publishing. 

Game, P. (2018). 8 active learning strategies and examples [+ downloadable list]. Prodigy Education. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/active-learning-strategies-examples/#download 

NMZumpano. (2015, May 26). The American Revolution...it's like we were there! The American Revolution...It's Like We Were There! Retrieved September 18, 2022, from http://zumpanotechlab.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-american-revolutionits-like-we-were.html 

What is active learning? prezi.com. (2020). Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://prezi.com/vltahpm3b1hn/what-is-active-learning/?token=21acedd662237401cb58486f35352d6fba7d05e6b30cf495979ca34cbf121958&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

  Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, July 8). Edgar Dale. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Dale