Instructional Strategies for Active Learning

EDUCAUSE LEARNING INITIATIVE | FEBRUARY 2015

The resources below explore the role and the potential for active learning in higher education. Examples of active learning are expanding, and a growing body of research describes the benefits of engagement and learning from this approach. For many instructors, active learning represents a departure from traditional teaching, requiring new roles, tools, and strategies to be successful.

Re-visioning Learning Spaces:
Evolving faculty roles and emerging learning spaces (2013)

This paper argues that when learning spaces are built or renovated, institutions should ensure that the goals of those spaces should be closely and explicitly aligned with the learning that will take place there. This process will likely involve support for new faculty roles in such spaces.

New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Special Issue: Active Learning Spaces (2014)

This special issue includes nine articles that address the history of learning spaces devoted to active learning. The collection makes the case for research into the effects of such spaces and presents findings from some such research.

Teaching and Learning Experiences in Active Learning Classrooms at McGill: Highlights (2015)

This web page includes a short video and other resources describing how active learning classrooms at McGill University have been used in several disciplines to deepen the engagement with students and promote collaborative learning.

Teaching and Learning in Active Learning Classrooms (2014)

This paper provides an in-depth look at active learning spaces at Central Michigan University, including definitions, recommendations for teaching and assessment, and links to related resources.

University of Minnesota: Scenes from
a Classroom: Active Learning (2014)

This online workshop uses a series of videos to describe how instructors can incorporate active learning in their courses. The workshop includes strategies and recommendations for getting started with active learning.

Stanford Teaching Commons: Learning Activities (2014)

This resource describes a wide range of learning activities that can support active learning, including links to examples and other tools.

University of Michigan, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching: Active Learning (2015)

This resource provides links to resources that explain active learning, describe how to implement it, and discuss research about the effectiveness of active learning.

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