Active learning is not limited to the traditional classroom. Active learning can also be applied in the online classroom. Below are some active-learning strategies to try in the online courses you teach.
What is Active Learning?
Arrange for students to experience applications of theories and concepts first-hand in authentic contexts
Examples: Volunteering, internships, portfolios, site visits, museums
Design simulated experiences that allow students to participate in situations unavailable to them in the real world
Examples: Games, role play, scenarios, debate, VR, online tours
Apply learning to a project that requires synthesis of information and skills, collaboration with peers, and creative media components.
Examples: Brochures, commercials, videos, charts, infographics
Use an investigative process including questions, hypotheses, observations, and conclusions to discover concepts
Examples: Webquests, enduring questions, complex/unscripted problems
Incorporate real-life stories that illustrate a concept to prompt students to integrate their learning with the real world.
Examples: Historical/current events, legal cases, documentaries
Challenge students to put course content to the test through experimental design and reporting the results
Examples: Home experiments, research studies, applied practice
Delegate students to take responsibility for instruction and become the teacher for a small group or partner
Examples: Jigsaw discussion, slideshow, screen share, peer coaching
Assign students to conduct interviews with individuals or organizations that work in the field they are learning about.
Examples: Interviews, observations, job shadow, surveys
Engage students in metacognitive practices to capture learning and publish their insights to an online audience
Examples: Journals, curating, social media, blogs, vlogs