What is active learning?

Active learning is experiential, mindful, and engaging.

Through it you can explore a set of learning experiences that can be more effective and interesting, and take more responsibility for
your education. This is especially critical in an online environment where you may not even meet your teacher or fellow students.

Begin by defining content (what to study) and establishing your objectives (what to learn). Next read! Do your research. Then build a
foundation of activities that can help you learn, and communicate what you have learned. Some may not be interesting to you; some a
nice fit with your preferred learning style(s).

You can engage in these first activities as an individual:

Active listening:
Active listening intentionally focuses on who you are listening to, whether in a lecture, in a conversation, or a group, in order to
understand what is said. As the listener, you should then be able to “replay” or repeat back in your own words what they have said to
their satisfaction. This does not mean you agree with, but rather understand, what they are saying. See our guide on active listening.

Looking/seeing
Look at images, such as pictures and graphs and maps (for example, the Cone of Learning below).
Try to understand the use and importance of each image: enter key words that come to mind.
Verbal cues, such as titles and authors, and visual cues such as line, color, visual organization, etc. will help you interpret information
and understand its story without the words.
Often the context of the image is vital to understanding it, as illustrations in a text book, examples in a catalogue, graphs in a financial
statement.
So also a painting can be better understood by its time, art movement, etc.

Seeing and hearing:

In and outside classroom PowerPoint lectures, multimedia and movies have the advantage of illustrating reading and lecture content in
new (engaging) formats
Demonstrations and field trips build on classroom experiences
Provide an individual or shared learning experience on a topic
Enable you as learner to witness how concepts are practiced or exemplified in real life processes or situations
Remember: you don’t need a classroom trip to visit locations that will help you understand your studies! Brainstorm organizations,
factories, etc. and send an email or phone to set up a visit. Don’t just go and expect professionals to stop their work.

Cone of Learning adapted from Edgar Dale (1946)

As we progress into “active” learning , a group can make the task more effective.
Within the group, you share responsibility to participate and collaborate, take advantage of each participant’s strengths, and rely on
each other for good project management and effective learning.

Classroom, online and public presentations:

Develop, produce, practice and deliver speeches and presentations;
multi-media and interactive programs; newsletters, Websites and blogs, etc.

Stages to develop these include:

Defining objectives; developing your “voice” and point of view;
identifying and writing for an audience; mapping out program content;
identifying presentation tools/resources and communication technologies; scripting/developing the piece; practice and presenting;
documenting your message, and evaluating how you could have done better.

As an exercise, this is not static but rather a dynamic learning process.

Build on, apply and reinforce what you have learned.
In the process of translating content into message,
you refine what you think you know, and uncover more that you will need to understand since communicating relies on developing
your message for a specific audience.
If in a collaborative project, you have the advantage of sharing perspectives as well as skills;
each should be open to personalized feedback that includes
questioning, listening and evaluating answers.

Saying and doing:

The more you work with the content of what is learned, the more confidently you will recall it.

Examples include interviewing and developing oral histories;

role playing, performing, debating through opposing points of view;
case studies and problem-based learning, gaming and simulations;
research projects and symposiums; developing models;
student teaching including developing evaluation instruments (test questions);
leading discussions and review sessions.
There is no better way to learn a language than to live in its environment.

Where’s writing?
Writing is communicating/expressing what you learned, a method of evaluating what you know,
as well as an active learning exercise

In pairs or a group, online or in person, you can read and react to what other learners post/write, and respond to and provide feedback
in a collaborative environment, even collaborate on the development of an exercise.

Understand writing as a process

rather than a simple exercise of drafting and editing.
The goal is to refine its message value for an audience, and for that you need an audience!

• Learn how to exchange feedback on an assignment.

Learn to listen to comments about content as if peers are the audience of the piece.
How they understand it, or expect to understand it:
What are the strengths and weaknesses, point of view, etc.
What is the role of grammar and vocabulary you are using?
• Collaborating on the writing of an assignment, either in groups or online,
can be practice for employment situations!
Time management
• Time Management
• Scheduling and setting goals
• Creating a to-do list
• Prioritizing tasks
• Avoiding procrastination
• Developing self-discipline
Meeting challenges
• Problem solving
• Finding creative solutions
• Adaptive decision making
• Managing by exception
• Managing stress
• Motivating yourself
• Problem based learning
Learning
• Learning to learn
• Succeeding in continuing education
• Visual/spatial learning
• Learning as a student-athlete
or student-performer
• Learning as an adult
• Learning with ADHD
• Active learning
• Action learning
• Language learning strategies
Learning with others
• Collaborative/cooperative learning
• Group projects
• Active Listening
• Conflict resolution
• Case study:: conflict resolution
• Peer mediation
• Tutoring guidelines
• Using feedback with tutors
Studying
• Effective study habits
Assessing study skills
• A.S.P.I.R.E. - a study system
• Index - a study system
• Create, & study with, flashcards
• Studying with multiple sources
• Finding the right study space
Classroom participation
• Preparing for the classroom
• Class "prep"/paying attention
• Classroom discussions
• Taking notes in lectures
• Using guided notes
• Influencing teachers
• Interviewing for class projects
o Consent form
Online learning/ communicating
• Online learning: questions to ask
• Distance learning: types and preparation
• Taking online tests
• Netiquette
E-guides on social interaction
• Basics: Website development
• Basics: Website design
• Making your website popular
Search engine optimization
Thinking (1)
• Concentrating
• Thinking critically
• Thinking creatively
• Radical thinking
• Thinking aloud/private speech
Thinking (2)
• Mapping explanation
• Make your own map
• Thinking like a genius:
creative solutions
• Thinking like a genius:
famous thinkers
• Thinking like a genius:
selected thoughts
Memorizing
• Acronyms
• Acrostics
• Rhymes
• Loci
• Keywords
• Image-naming
• Chaining
Reading (1)
• Reading critically
• Prereading strategies
• SQ3R reading method
• KWL reading method
• Marking & underlining
• Taking notes from a text book
Reading (2)
• Reading difficult material
• Interpretive reading
• Reading essays
• Reading fiction
 • Fiction: narrator &
character types
• Speed & comprehension
Research
• Writing research papers
• Researching on the Internet
• Evaluating website content
• Organizing research with computers
& avoiding plagiarism
• Organizing research with note cards
• Citing websites
Project management
• Completing a class assignment
• Organizing challenging projects
• Developing case studies
• Spreadsheets and budgets
• Setting your (school) budget
Presenting projects
• Presenting projects/speeches
• Presenting your positive image/brand
• Public speaking
• Public speaking match game
• Spelling rules & exercises
• Common misspelled words
• Essay terms/directives
• Prefixes and root words
• Using analogies for creative problem solving
• Picturing vocabulary
• American alphabet recited
Test preparation
• Mastering one test
• General test preparation
• Anticipating test content
• Review tools for tests
• Overcoming test anxiety
• Organizing for test taking
• Cramming
• Emergency test preparation
Taking tests
• Ten tips for terrific test taking
• Taking online tests
• True/false tests
• Multiple choice tests
• Short answer tests
• Open book exams
• Oral exams
• Essay Exams

Writing Basics
• Seven stages of writing assignments
• Develop your topic (1)
• Identify your audience (2)
• Research (3)
• Organize and prewrite (4)
• Draft/write (5)
• Revise (6)
• Proofread (7)
• Writing under deadline
• Modifiers & commas
Resources
• Learning Exercises & Games
• Exploring your own learning style- outside links
• Study skills web sites
- outside links
• Free digitized texts, books, services- outside links
• Cross language resources including digital
translators
http://www.studygs.net/activelearn.htm

Writing Types

• Writing for the "Web"

• The five-paragraph essay
• Essays for a literature class
• Expository essays
• Persuasive essays
• Position papers
• Writing Strategies Learned
by Stephen Wilbers

Vocabulary/spelling
(American)

• Transitional words & phrases

• Spelling strategies