What does active learning look like?

The literature which tries to define active learning ranges from that which suggests it is the incorporation of discussion groups and activities into the classrooms (Baker and Clark, 2010; Bonwell and Eison, 1991; Dillenbourg, 1999 and Prince, 2004) to those who argue it is about students building, testing and repairing their mental model of what is being learned, students taking

responsibility for their learning and the development of critical thinking (Denicolo et al., 1992; Berry, 2008 and Michael and Modell, 2003). I asked the interviewees what they thought active learning might look like, there were different interpretations and responses varied from one teacher to another and from one discipline to another.

My observation of an archaeology class at Glasgow explains how the lecturer used his skills to alter the traditional lecture format . He encouraged his students to participate and constructed the lecture around what the students already knew:

'The lecturer takes the student responses to his first question ‘what is a castle’

and types them up onto the PowerPoint. Student responses (military fortress, power status symbol etc.) are then displayed on the screen. The PowerPoint is blank at the start and the students are the ones who are setting the agenda and what they want to find out. The lecturer finds out student knowledge first before he begins his teaching. The PowerPoint was not already produced; the students are part of the production and construction of the knowledge…The lecturer returns to the original Power Point slide which was made up using the students’ responses to the first question ‘what is a castle?’. He asks the

students if they want to add or change anything. They readily want to add their

new knowledge and expand on original concepts.' (Observer notes, archaeology lecture, Glasgow)

Furthermore, during another of my observations I noted that the lecturer was also starting from what the students knew, therefore incorporating their prior existing knowledge into his lesson plan:

‘The lecturer tried to draw the teaching points and the answers out from the students themselves. He used the students’ initial thoughts and contributions as a 12 point lesson plan, going through each point and addressing it/discussing it with the students … I really liked how the lecturer structured the lesson around the answers that the students gave at the beginning of the lesson. He used their 12 points to make a list of issues they would discuss regarding which aspects may affect the treatment of an orthodontics patient (i.e. age, cooperation, income, gum disease etc.). This seemed a very student-centred approach.' (Observer notes in dentistry lecture, Iraq)

To a certain extent, these two examples echo some of the principles which guide critical pedagogy; placing the learner’s experiences and prior knowledge at the centre. From my reflections in these observations, active learning seemed to be happening and the students appeared to be engaged in the learning, however I was aware that the voices I heard the most were the lecturers’.

During my interviews, some lecturers also used teaching in a lecture as a context to describe what active learning looked like. The physics lecturer said that using EVS, doing demonstrations or using quizzes during a lecture which stimulates student participation is what active learning looks like. The dentistry lecturer also said something similar to this. Her example of what active learning looks like referred to her posing questions during lectures and encouraging students to talk to the person sitting next to them. With reference to lectures, Bligh (2000) suggests that changing direction or pace in a lecture can help stimulate the learners. Bligh talks about factors which affect students’ attention, arguing that including breaks or introducing a variety of audio or visual stimuli will increase student attention and then hopefully create a better learning environment.

These responses from the physics and dentistry lecturers mostly focused on how active learning is implemented in a lecture environment, which is discussed in

length in some of the earlier literature on active learning (Adler, 1982; Bonwell and Eison, 1991; Ericksen, 1984; Chickering and Gamson, 1987). Furthermore it appears that both these lecturers seem to concentrate on what they are doing to promote active learning and their focus is on their actions and not so much the students’.

Moving away from describing what active learning looks like in a lecture, other participants gave more general responses such as active learning is “… quite chaotic and noisy” (Interview with biology lecturer, Glasgow). Two lecturers from Glasgow suggested that active learning is a social thing and it can be seen when students are working together and bonding with each other. In particular one said it “would involve discussion. You are taking the information and engaging with it, you test your theories your reactions with other people”.

(Interview with Spanish and adult education lecturer, Glasgow).

In archaeology, active learning was equated with the outdoor experiences which make up the field work part of the curriculum. The lecturer spoke about

students being able to make connections between what they learn in the

classroom and how that relates to the outside or ‘real’ world. Parallels might be drawn between what the archaeology lecturer said about field work and what some of the other lecturers said about the clinical and practical side of

vocational degrees and what I saw during my observations. Field work, clinical work and practical work link theory to practice for students in a very overt way and therefore may look more like active learning. In the dentistry observation, the gap between theory and practice appeared to be narrower:

'This observation highlighted the ease with which the vocational subjects lend themselves to the general conception of active learning. Theory is very much put into practice and the students can make the transition from one to the other in just one morning session.' (Observer notes, dentistry, Glasgow)

In my observation of an open studies Spanish class, active learning looked like:

the use of humour, participation, discussion, interaction and activities:

‘ … The teacher, along with a guest tutor, acted out humorous/satirical drama sketch based on the life of ‘Guy Fawkes II’ introducing the past tense which was aided by the displaying of vocabulary on the board ... Teacher and guest tutor (staying in character) interacted with the students and asked their advice about the fictional dilemmas they were facing … This class was very ‘active’ in the sense that there was a lot of moving around, changing learning partners and interaction between the students and the tutor. Students seemed quite used to the interaction and the pace of the class.' (Observer notes in Spanish class, Glasgow)

The observation of this class felt different from some of the other classes I observed because it was held in the evening and was part of the open programme for adults at the University of Glasgow. Having spoken to the

lecturer, I found out that most of the learners came to the class after working in their various jobs during the day. The lecturer said he felt it was his duty to always provide a stimulating and active class, especially when the learners had done a full day’s work beforehand. This observation was really fun and I felt very engaged with what was going on. There was very little didactic teaching; almost everything that went on solicited student participation.

4.2.3.1 Responsibility

Active learning is often viewed as an approach which relinquishes teacher

control and encourages learners to take more responsibility over their learning.

Berry (2008) and Denicolo et al.(1992) suggest that students taking responsibility for their learning is one of the guiding principles of active learning and some of the data from this project supports this claim. For example, the urban planning lecturer said active learning happens when students take responsibility for their learning, when they ask their own questions and figure out ways in which to answer those questions. Another lecturer said something similar: “… by and large I could have gone in there [the classroom], written a question on the board, and walked out for two hours and they wouldn’t stop for a break. People are engaged and active learners”. (Interview with Spanish and adult education lecturer, Glasgow). The idea that active learning happens when students take responsibility for their learning was also mentioned in a student focus group: “ I think you have to actively learn and that’s when you take ownership and take

on further reading. Active learning hurts; no pain no gain. The effort and the time needed, effort from yourself.” (Student focus group, physics students, Glasgow). In the observation of the physics class I noted that the students were in control of their learning and they more or less ran the session:

'The entire session was led and facilitated by the students. They discussed their impending group project … The session was facilitated by a member of the student group who acted as the chairperson. The lecturer’s role was very interesting to me, he really did not say much until 11.30 which was half way through the session. I was amazed at this! The students had so much to say that there was little need for him to intervene … At the very end of the session the lecturer negotiated with students when they will present their film. I felt this was very democratic and highlighted that the students truly have ownership over what they are doing. The session gave the impression that there was real autonomy on the part of the learners.' (Observer notes, physics tutorial, Glasgow)

Drawing on the literature which discusses assessment in higher education (Entwistle, 1997; Entwistle et al., 2003; Entwistle and Ramsden, 1983; Kain 2003) and the constructive alignment of learning and assessment(Biggs, 1999;

Biggs and Tang 2011) it may be possible to suggest that what I witnessed in the physics tutorial was perfect alignment. The physics lecturer seemed to have overcome what Kain (2003: p. 104) suggested was the theoretical implications and difficulty in aligning ‘classroom issues, theories of composition, and teaching strategies’.

Learner autonomy appears to be one of the defining characteristics of active learning; however, are students really free to learn how they wish? In the end they are all assessed in the same way. The biology students said that having freedom was important but students ultimately have to “fit in to that pattern.

We are still learning to be marked …you still feel you are learning to get that number on the paper rather than for your own gain. It may change later on, playing the game” (Student focus group, biology students, Glasgow). ‘Playing the game’, which was also mentioned by a lecturer in my interviews, suggests that these students are aware of the rules of engagement within university, they know that ultimately they will be graded and these grades will either lead to a

degree or not. This response from the biology students possibly gives a new insight to the term ‘freedom in learning’; how can students have freedom in their learning if in the end they are all examined using the same set of criteria?

The classics student said that “freedom is a very tricky concept, you think you want it, but you don’t actually. I think it’s good that you are guided and have rules otherwise you would be lost” (Interview with classics student, Glasgow).

There seems to be a balance between freedom and guidance which this student feels is delicate; if students are not given appropriate support and guidance then they may easily falter. The film and TV studies lecturer said that he liked to give his students “freedom to explore” (Interview with film and TV studies lecturer, Ghana) in what they choose to study in assignments because otherwise they would be restricted. However he also said that it is his job to provide appropriate help and support.

I observed in the biology lab that some more informed/capable students chose to work on their own:

‘Some students chose to discuss the skulls with other students around them and approached the lesson as a group problem-solving exercise, others worked on their own. The demonstrators acknowledged this and told me that those with previous biology experience (i.e. Advanced Highers) often prefer to work through the tasks at their own pace… I was unsure about this and wondered if their expertise could have been put to better use by assisting those with less knowledge? (Peer assisted learning?)' (Observer notes, biology lab, Glasgow)

The lecturers and graduate teaching assistants left the more able students to work on their own and I did think there seemed to be a divide in the class by the

‘can do-ers’ and the ‘need helpers’. This gap might have been narrowed a little if all the students were involved in peer group activities with the more

knowledgeable taking a leading role. But it is also true that by giving learners choice over how they learn, it opens up the possibility that they will choose not to work together.

Participants mentioned that there may be tension over who is actually

responsible for learning in an active learning environment, especially if the roles of teacher and student are changed or challenged. The physics lecturer said that it is the responsibility of the learner to ensure they are learning well:

“My view is that there may be some distant cultural influence. The

responsibility is on the learner ... because in [my] culture learning is good no matter what you are learning ... a big part of it is a selfish act because you are gaining is betterment of yourself so what you are actually doing is developing yourself so why should anyone else take responsibility?” (Interview with physics lecturer, Glasgow)

However, during our interview, the same lecturer said that although it is the student’s responsibility to learn well, it is the teacher’s responsibility to provide the best environment and conditions for the students to learn. He said that a teacher’s remit is about “adding value, adding entertainment and making that process slightly more enticing, those are the areas that I think is my

responsibility. It’s our responsibility to make them [students] be engaged and do something productive” (Interview with physics lecturer, Glasgow). Both of these responses are from the same lecturer, demonstrating that the issue of

‘responsibility for learning’ is not straightforward. There appears to be a sharing of responsibility with the teacher providing the optimum conditions for learning and the student taking full advantage of what is provided.

The archaeology lecturer also believed that lecturers must provide help and guidance, but he said “ … how far along the line do you have to relinquish responsibility? ... sometimes this can be frustrating ... I think you do have to draw a line and say 'guys it’s your responsibility'”(Interview with archaeology lecturer, Glasgow). The biology students had a very interesting insight relating to this split between learner responsibility and teacher responsibility. At first they said that learning at university is the student's responsibility, however, the same students also mentioned that the lecturer has a huge influence on what level of responsibility or ownership a student takes over their own learning. They said that if a lecturer is enthusiastic and passionate, then learning does not feel like an obligation and they feel like they are choosing to take the reins of their own learning. From what students and the lecturers said, arguably there should

be shared responsibility from both parties because if lecturers do not assume any real responsibility or show that they are committed to what they are doing, then this will have a knock-on effect on how the students proceed with their learning.

In summary, active learning can mean several things; students taking responsibility for their learning, incorporation of student participation in lectures and students having choice and freedom over some aspects of their learning. Freedom in learning may, at best, be a utopian ideal of education and of course it all depends on what is meant by freedom; freedom to choose

subjects and modules, freedom to learn independently or as part of a group, or freedom to choose how and what is learnt. The film and TV studies lecturer commented that his understanding of ‘learner freedom’ was students being given a choice in what film they chose to focus on for their assignment. This is very different from the kind of ‘learner freedom’ I observed in the physics class.

Although comments from some participants agreed with the principle put forward by Berry (2008) and Denicolo et al. (1992) that learner responsibility, freedom and ownership are important characteristics of active learning, it is also the case that participants’ conceptions of what ‘learner freedom’ varied

significantly.