Promoting Active Learning in Psychology Courses

FORWARD

The Task Force for the Development of National High School Psychology Standards gratefully recognizes the impressive work done for the Active Learning Committee from APA’s 1991 St. Mary’s Conference on Enhancing the Quality of Undergraduate Education in Psychology. We adopted many of the ideas they expressed in the chapter written for the National Standards for the Teaching of High School Psychology. We have modified the chapter to reflect our emphasis on the high school psychology course.

What takes place in the classroom is determined by many variables. The nature of the discipline; characteristics and goals of the teacher, students, and the school; and contemporary needs and expectations of society interact to influence what is taught, how it is taught, and how it is received. Increasingly, we evaluate the quality of education in terms of responsiveness to the characteristics and needs of students in the classroom environment. In the classroom of the next century, teachers will continue to deal with a student population that is diverse in terms of ethnicity, educational goals, background, learning styles, and socioeconomic status. In response to this diverse student population, changes in the structure of the learning environment and the teaching strategies used in the classroom are needed (American Association of Community and Junior Colleges [AACJC], 1988; Cheney, 1989; Chickering, 1981; Kolb, 1984).

Teachers must help students develop skills for adapting to a rapidly changing, interdependent world. This world will demand that students think critically and synthesize large quantities of new information, show sensitivity to diversity, and develop attitudes and skills that promote lifelong learning (National Institute of Education [NIE], 1984). However, reports on the quality of education in the United States (Association of American Colleges [AAC], 1985; Baker, Roueche, & Gillett-Karam, 1990; McKeachie, Pintrich, Lin, Smith, & Sharma, 1990; NIE, 1984, 1988) point out that there is too much information being offered to students with too little attention paid to the strategies for learning, inquiry, and problem solving. To enhance the quality of education, we must use strategies that foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills and instill a willingness and motivation to continue learning beyond the classroom (AAC, 1985). As McKeachie et al. (1990) stated, "When one takes lifelong learning and thinking as a major goal of education, knowledge becomes a means rather than an end…A course that dulls the student’s curiosity and interest must be a failure no matter how solid the content" (p. 1).

To meet these challenges, advocates for educational reform have included among their recommendations the need for teaching that stimulates active learning. The National Institute of Education’s (NIE) 1984 report, Involvement in Learning: Realizing the Potential of American Higher Education, promoted active learning as the number one priority in American education, noting that it is crucial for the development of higher cognitive abilities.

We hope that this position statement will be an impetus to teachers who have, as yet, made little use of active learning in their courses. After identifying the principles of active learning and discussing its rationale, we describe how it can be incorporated into psychology courses. We also respond to concerns and problems that discourage its use. We describe the principal teaching practices that increase active learning and suggest additional resources detailing such methods.

Active learning connotes an array of learning situations in and out of the classroom in which students enjoy "hands-on" and "minds-on" experiences (e.g., Benjamin, 1991; Brothen, 1986; Frederick, 1987). Students learn through active participation in simulations, demonstrations, discussions, debates, games, problem solving, experiments, writing exercises, and interactive lectures (Schomberg, 1986).

This chapter identifies several design principles of active learning activities. Active participation by students is a key component of active learning, but other features must be present as well.

1. Active learning should involve the entire class. Demonstrations, for example, that involve a few students may be active learning for students doing the activity but not for the class as a whole.

2. Active learning is most effective when students understand the relevance of the exercise to the subject matter at hand, to the content of their other course work, or to the events of the students’ everyday life.

3. Active learning stimulates learning at higher cognitive levels (Wittrock, 1984). These methods require students not only to know and comprehend, but prompt them to apply, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate (Bloom, 1956).

4. Active learning methods vary in the time they require in class and out of class. An instructor can design short activities for a few minutes of class time or design an entire course with active learning as the sole learning practice.

5. Active learning exercises involve feedback to students (but not necessarily graded feedback). Such feedback may come from the instructor or from other students in the class, but it should be planned into the activity, ideally at the time of or soon after the learning experience. Out-of-class activities should involve feedback in a later class.

6. Active learning approaches must take into account student reluctance to participate. Teachers must respect students’ right to privacy and not compel them to participate in activities that would have negative social consequences.

Effective teachers care passionately about their subject matter and their students. They are concerned with getting their students to hone their skills in writing and speaking; to extend their abilities in critical thinking and analysis; and to develop their capacities to synthesize, imagine, and create. These capacities and skills are the truly enduring effects of education (NIE, 1984, p. 28).

Active learning activities are opportunities to develop these capacities and skills. "The lecture has many advantages, particularly in communicating to large numbers of students, but research suggests that a mix of teaching styles can be an effective device for increasing [student] involvement" (NIE, 1984, p. 27). Furthermore, using a variety of teaching styles can accommodate the diverse learning styles students bring to the classroom (Kolb, 1984). Therefore, we are not proposing that faculty stop giving lectures. Rather, we are encouraging faculty to broaden their pedagogical techniques by replacing some lecture time with active learning techniques.

Student-generated learning activities have been shown to enhance student interest in courses, to foster intrinsic motivation for learning, and to create an interest in lifelong learning (Weimer, 1987). Authors of the NIE (1984) report concluded:

There is now a good deal of research evidence to suggest that the more time and effort students invest in the learning process and the more intensely they engage in their own education, the greater will be their growth and achievement, their satisfaction with their educational experiences, and their persistence in college, and the more likely they are to continue their learning. (p. 17)

Active learning exercises increase the cognitive demands on students. They produce intellectual discrepancies that motivate the development of improved cognitive abilities such as critical thinking (Gorman, Law, & Lindegren, 1981; Halonen, 1986). Active learning involves elaboration of meaning, enhancement of context, and information processing at different levels. These are cognitive practices that facilitate learning and retention (Birch, 1986; DiVesta & Peverly, 1984; Hamil & Janssen, 1987; Hutchings & Wutzdorff, 1988; Slate & Charlesworth, 1989).

Students benefit in other ways as well. Active learning has also been shown to improve interpersonal communication and human relations skills (Neer, 1987) and self-esteem (Johnson & Johnson, 1987). Because active learning exercises encourage students to talk with and learn from one another, students are exposed to different ideas and perspectives that offer social and cultural breadth (Bouton & Garth, 1983; Slavin, 1983). By encouraging student responses, active learning exercises engage their interests, thereby accommodating different learning styles and cultural backgrounds (Kolb, 1984; Lee, 1986). In the next section, we discuss some of the issues teachers should consider before incorporating active learning strategies into their courses.

Like any pedagogical technique, active learning requires planning. Teachers must consider their students’ reactions to this style of teaching and set the stage for its use. Instructors must determine the types of activities to use and when and how to integrate the activities with the course content.

Providing an overview. At the beginning of the course, teachers should give students a detailed description of the active learning processes that will be used and how active learning fits into the goals of the course. We should be telling students what is expected of them (participation, written work, discussion, etc.) during the semester and what can be expected of the teacher. Because students will be concerned about the grading process, we should provide information about evaluation criteria for these activities.

Motivating participation. The importance of motivation to the success of active learning is an overriding consideration (Lowman, 1990). We must motivate students to participate in discussions, exercises, and written assignments that are intellectually challenging and require commitment and personal investment on the part of students. Because we involve ourselves more fully in those activities we choose to pursue as opposed to those activities we are made to do, giving students a choice of the types of activities in which they engage and the degree to which they do so should increase students’ willingness and motivation to participate (Deci & Ryan, 1985). They may believe that school-related choices are not truly their own, and they may prefer to avoid making such choices.

Fostering a positive climate. A learning environment must be carefully built; it does not automatically exist. Teachers should create a climate of trust if they hope for students to ask questions and participate in discussions. Faculty can build a rapport by interacting informally with students, working with them on common concerns, and communicating a passion for learning.

Fostering a positive classroom climate may be more difficult in psychology than in other academic topics. Psychology challenges some commonsense beliefs that are central to students’ self-perceptions. Hence, the need to foster a positive climate needs to be balanced with the need for students to question their own most deeply held beliefs.

Setting limits. Instructors must be sensitive to issues of privacy (Matthews, 1991). In some cases, teachers must establish guidelines on the type and amount of disclosure that is appropriate. The potential problem is that for some activities, some students could disclose issues that may be inappropriate in a classroom setting (e.g., family dysfunctions, psychological disorders). Any student who wishes to discuss personal issues or problems in more depth should be encouraged to see the teacher for guidance and referrals.

Sensitivity to individual differences in learning and participation must be taken into account when considering limits to be placed on students. Some active learning procedures may be discomforting to those who are shy or who are not attuned to active discourse with teachers and fear to take such a risk (Neer, 1987). Individual differences arise from culture, gender, ethnicity, physical make-up, sexual orientation, personal history, and personality. These differences affect the type and amount of interaction in class. This is not to say that students should be excused from participation, but rather that teachers must be sensitive to the boundaries these students may bring to class (Bronstein & Quina, 1988).

Integrating activities. Active learning is not "do-it-yourself" learning; it must be thoroughly planned by an instructor. There is a salient and important active teaching component to active learning that calls for preparation of materials suited to the students and the course objectives. Instructors must review activities before selecting the most appropriate for the particular objectives to be met and for the level of students. Teachers must design active learning activities or modify existing ones to fit specific course situations and outcome expectations. Teachers must plan when to use an activity in class and consider how it will be integrated with the other activities and content of that class period. Instructors must think about the degree of structure to provide in the instructions, in carrying out the activity itself, and in the evaluation criteria. The type and amount of feedback to students and the criteria for evaluation should be determined in advance.

Evaluating activities. After teachers add active learning activities to their courses, teachers and students should have an opportunity to evaluate those activities. The easiest and most obvious evaluation is to determine whether the activity was successful in producing the general results the instructor wanted. Was the demonstration carried out smoothly and effectively? Did the discussion or writing assignments elicit the concepts, viewpoints, or principles the instructor had hoped would emerge? Was sufficient time allocated for the activity? With careful planning, procedural problems, if they occur, can be remedied without too much difficulty. We should give students instruction in how to provide nonjudgmental self- and peer evaluation and feedback for particular exercises. Students should be encouraged to analyze and synthesize information in a constructive and appropriate manner.

Outcome evaluation determines whether students learned what the instructor intended. This type of evaluation is more problematic. What processes ultimately occur in the student’s "black box" are difficult to assess. However, a student’s understanding of a concept taught by an active learning exercise must be assessed. Self- and peer reflection, which are often overlooked, are major elements in the process of analyzing the student’s learning. Teacher assessment can include written or oral responses about what students learned, analysis of reasons for unexpected results, and tests of long-term retention and understanding of the exercises at the end of the course. Teachers might also include questions on the course evaluation instrument that assess students’ perceptions of how the active learning activities engaged them in the learning process, facilitated learning of various concepts, and stimulated further thought or reading. Based on the outcome evaluations, teachers can revise active learning activities or delete them when other pedagogical techniques would be more useful.

Active learning in note taking. Active learning can be applied in situations frequently regarded as passive. For example, students can be taught systems of note taking (see Pauk, 1984) that will engage them with the material in lectures. This approach can facilitate a dialogue between students and the teacher in the form of questions or comments for the teacher or even in comments that go no further than the students’ notes.

Demonstrations and exercises. A chief method for active learning in the classroom involves demonstrations and exercises. Many suggestions are found in publications such as the Activities Handbook for the Teaching of Psychology (Benjamin & Lowman, 1981; Makosky, Sileo, Whittemore, Landry, & Skutley, 1990; Makosky, Whittemore, & Rogers, 1987), Handbook for Teaching Introductory Psychology (Benjamin, Daniel, & Brewer, 1985), Teaching of Psychology (the journal of American Psychological Association [APA] Society for the Teaching of Psychology), Psychology Teacher Network (APA’s newsletter for psychology teachers from high school through college level), Handbook of Demonstrations and Activities in the Teaching of Psychology, Volumes I, II, III (edited by Mark E. Ware and David E. Johnson (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996)), and the instructor’s manuals in most textbook packages. There is also a growing number of books describing exercises designed specifically to develop critical-thinking skills (Bell, 1991; Chaffee, 1991) and exercises for laboratories to accompany advanced courses (Abramson, 1990; Bennett, Hausfeld, Reeve, & Smith, 1981; Ewing, 1992; Power, Hausfeld, & Gorta, 1981).

Writing. Writing assignments are traditional techniques for active learning. Writing involves analysis and presentation of ideas, deliberate shaping and elaboration of one’s thoughts, and considered feedback from the reader (Fulwiler & Young, 1990; Nodine, 1990). Writing assignments can range from modest in-class paragraphs and weekly self-reflection logs to extensive research papers (Tchudi, 1986). Although some may be graded, Maimon, Nodine, Hearn, and Haney-Peritz (1990) provided examples of several ungraded writing exercises. Even if not graded, however, all writing assignments should receive feedback from the teacher or other students.

Group activities. Group projects, exercises, or discussion groups are excellent opportunities for active learning. Dividing the class into small groups can be particularly helpful for fostering active learning in large classes. For example, Benjamin (1991) described several small-group and dyadic activities used in large classes.

Computer usage. Growing access to computers presents new possibilities for active learning. Stoloff and Couch (1992) compiled a directory of software for psychology courses, and Kahn and Brookshire (1991) described how to use computer bulletin boards and electronic mail as fast interactive ways to engage students in a course. In their search for software that promotes active learning, teachers can profit from critical reviews (see Teaching of Psychology as well as reviews such as Anderson & Hornby, (1988); Beins, 1988, 1990; Hornby & Anderson, 1990) and testing the packages themselves to determine whether they meet specific active learning criteria.

Research. Student research is an important tradition in psychology training. It can involve varying levels of skill, commitment, independence, accountability, and active learning. Active learning in research can range from serving as a subject in an experiment and critically analyzing the experience to engaging in research activities incorporated into classes and laboratory courses. It can also involve working in a lab to learn laboratory techniques or conducting independent research to be presented as an honor’s thesis, reported at a research conference, or prepared for publication. These activities help students become independent learners, formulating their own questions and seeking the answers to them (Beins, 1988; Ewing, 1991a, l991b; Hovancik, 1984; Kierniesky, 1984; Palladino, Carsrud, Hulicka, & Benjamin, 1982).

Community-based activities. Active learning may occur when students work in an applied community setting. Volunteer service projects provide opportunities for students to observe real problems and to use personal and academic knowledge and skills to solve them (Fernald et. al., 1982; Hutchings & Wutzdorff, 1988; Lestina, 1990; Sherman, 1982; VandeCreek & Fleischer, 1984; Ware & Millard, 1987).

Psychology clubs. Another active learning opportunity comes when students take initiative through their own organizations. Psychology clubs offer social, informational, and academic programs for psychology students. Students can generate program ideas, recruit speakers from among faculty or from the community, arrange field trips, evaluate the quality of their events, and so forth. These activities let students learn firsthand about organizational and group dynamics. Interaction with peers and faculty in student clubs promotes social and affective development through the sharing of different views and cultural perspectives in an informal and less evaluative context.

Although the benefits of active learning are supported by research, teachers may still not engage their students actively. Instructors advance numerous reasons for their reluctance to include active learning strategies.

Instructors believe they are already using active learning in their classes. Many faculty members have a basic misunderstanding of what active learning is, claiming that they are using such approaches just because they do not lecture constantly. Films, videotapes, and outside speakers do not constitute active learning simply because they are substituted for lectures, nor do classroom demonstrations. A rat that presses a bar in front of the students is a valuable demonstration, but it is active learning only for the rat. Active learning is not busywork (e.g., study guides or workbooks) meant to occupy students when teachers have extra time to fill. We believe active learning activities should involve the entire class, stimulate students to think critically about issues, and provide feedback about or evaluation of the activities.

Instructors believe that things are likely to go wrong. Fear of failure and evaluation apprehension are powerful motivators for using lectures instead of more active methods. Teachers fear that a failed demonstration will not make the point they wished or, worse, may leave a mistaken notion in students’ minds. Instructors may make an implicit assumption that things do not go wrong in a lecture. They believe they have more control over what is presented in lectures. Evidence of a failed active learning activity is typically visible, because the activity requires evaluation or feedback. However, lectures may also go badly, but the evidence is less immediate or dramatic. Feedback during or after lectures is rarely requested; teachers simply assume that students understood and learned everything presented.

To decrease the chances of something going wrong, instructors can use active learning activities with published evaluative information (e.g., see Teaching of Psychology) or ones they have seen demonstrated. Even if an activity turns out differently from what was expected, instructors can evaluate what was good and what was bad and make appropriate adjustments for the future.

Active learning strategies require too much time to prepare, during the class period and for evaluation. Teachers take considerable time, energy, and commitment to organize activities, integrate them into the course, prepare materials, provide students with appropriate background, and conduct the evaluation. Preparation for classes is time-consuming. Developing good lectures can be as time-consuming as creating active learning activities. One can argue that once a lecture is written, it can be given repeatedly; unfortunately, that is one of the possible drawbacks of lectures—they can lose their spontaneity and currency. Active learning strategies may also be used more than once, but because they are new for the students who are doing them, spontaneity will always be present. Some instructors are concerned about the time needed during class to conduct active learning exercises. They fear that limited learning will emerge from a single demonstration that may take half a class period. Another fear is that details of an activity will obscure the point being made in an exercise or that the activity may destroy the flow of information during the lecture so that the relevance of connected, consecutive ideas may be lost to students. There is also the concern that the class will not have enough time during the semester to cover all essential material.

Such concerns have a logical basis, but the assumption that underlies them may be questionable. Teachers assume that students leave lectures knowing the main points that were covered; however, students’ answers on tests often surprise even the most optimistic and supportive teachers (Barnette, 1947). Ericksen (1983) found that meaningful material was retained longer than a myriad of facts learned by rote. The goal of active learning strategies is to put the focal points in a meaningful context so that students understand them and know how they relate to other information and to their own experience. The personalized learning that can result from active learning exercises may help students remember better what they learn. "We learn more, and more deeply, when learning touches on things that we care about" (Hutchings & Wutzdorff, 1988, p. 12).

Instructors concerned about time constraints should keep in mind that they do not have to cover in class everything in the textbook. As Benjamin (1991) pointed out, class time can be used to clarify material that is not explained well in the textbook and to present material that is not in the textbook.

With respect to evaluation, every exercise does not have to be graded, but feedback is absolutely crucial to point out to students their strengths and weaknesses and to document that they have learned what they need to know. To reduce the time commitment to evaluation without sacrificing feedback, students can provide self-evaluation, or peer evaluations can provide feedback. Instructors should present clear and concrete criteria for student performance.

Instructors believe that an active learning approach does not fit their teaching styles. Although some instructors believe active learning techniques are important teaching techniques, they resist using them because this approach does not fit their own teaching and learning styles. Their own experiences may lead instructors to believe that the only way to learn material is to hear it directly from an instructor’s mouth (Svinicki & Dixon, 1987). The faculty member’s job is to present knowledge; the students’ job is to acquire knowledge.

We are not recommending wholesale change in educational philosophy and practice. We are encouraging faculty to move gradually from solely lecture to a style that incorporates active learning strategies along with lectures. Pedagogical diversity should broaden the appeal of courses and improve our ability to reach students with different learning styles.

Active learning and teaching are insufficiently rewarded. There are few external rewards for teaching. Teachers think that they have too little time, and they believe that time spent on improving teaching may not be highly regarded by their colleagues.

There are rewards for using active learning within the classroom itself. Students’ attitudes are often more positive; they tend to be more receptive to and willing to work at exercises that actively engage them in the learning process (Hutchings & Wutzdorff, 1988; Kolb, 1984; NIE, 1984). Instructors gain satisfaction from knowing that students are better prepared for later courses, not only in mastery of content but also in students’ critical-thinking skills and greater sophistication in psychological investigation.

Active learning strategies bring intrinsic rewards to instructors. Examining the content of a course from a new perspective, learning more about the intellectual and social development of students, and developing and honing new teaching skills are exciting challenges.

Conclusion & Recommendations