Ben's Active Learning Resources

Ben Hayes collected the following resources as part of a Dine & Design workshop.

• Definitions of Active Learning (with brief examples, and a list of online resources from the University of California at Davis).
• The Active Learning Site, Charles Bonwell. Bibliographies of active learning articles in disciplinary areas, for large classes, and to promote critical thinking; research summaries and Internet links.
• "Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom," Charles C. Bonwell & James A. Eison. Discusses the value of active learning and ways it can be incorporated into the classroom.
• Active and Cooperative Learning, R.M. Felder. Links to active/cooperative learning journal articles and websites.
• Active Learning for the College Classroom, Donald R. Paulson & Jennifer L. Faust: Describes 29 active learning techniques.
• Active Teaching and Learning Rationale and strategies for active learning in the college classroom, including teaching and learning in the lab. (Module 3 of Getting Results, an online course for instructors on course development, funded by the National Science Foundation, produced by WGBH in Boston and The League for Innovation).
• Scenes from a Classroom: Making Active Learning Work (University of Minnesota, Center for Teaching and Learning Services). A tutorial with guidelines and keys to success for planning active learning activities. Includes scenarios depicting typical problems and their solutions.
• Active Learning in Large Classes: Video Resource (University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Center for Instructional and Professional Development). This site provides an interactive tutorial. Seven video clips, each accompanied by a Word document, demonstrate: clickers, learning teams, discussions, and other in-class activities
• Active Learning with PowerPoint University of Minnesota, Center for Teaching and Learning Services). A tutorial on ways to use active learning strategies with PowerPoint presentations; includes 12 active learning strategies.
• "Active Learning on the Web," Bernie Dodge (San Diego State University). Ways to use the Internet for active learning.
• "Student Diversity Requires Different Approaches to College Teaching, Even in Math and Science," Craig Nelson, Indiana University (In American Behavioral Scientist, V. 40, No. 2, 1996, 165-175). Research by Triesman and others demonstrates the positive effect of using collaborative small groups with students from non-traditional backgrounds, (ie Blacks, Hispanics, and rural whites), who struggle with college coursework. Argues that traditional approaches are biased, while active learning strategies can lead to “massive differences in overall student achievement.”