Active Learning Post

Active Learning

This week, I explored active learning and how beneficial it can be to learning. According to an article by the University of Minnesota titled Center for Educational Innovation, "active learning refers to a broad range of teaching strategies which engage students as active participants in their learning during class time with their instructor". Therefore, the students are fully engaged in their learning and interacting with what they are learning. Some activities that promote active learning include journal writing, partner discussions, case studies, role plays or even team-based learning. Any activities that involve the students to show their knowledge in creative ways or interact with others can support active learning. 

The graphic below, also from the article Center for Educational Innovation, offers a way to make time for active learning. While I personally would make the activity's section longer and the lectures shorter for my first graders, I appreciate the example of how you can work in activities to help engage students and promote active learning. If you are looking for a good place to start incorporating active learning, I would check out this graphic.

Image source: Center for Educational Innovation

Greetings from Room 211

As I was exploring active learning, I found an active learning activity titled Greetings from Room 211. Please see the photo below to reference my thoughts on the activity.

Image source: created by the author using Google Jamboard

This activity's purpose was to keep the class connected even though one student (Max) could not physically be at school with his class. The activity allowed the students a way to include Max in the classroom while also hearing about his wonderful movie filming adventure. It also allowed the students ways to practice writing, asking and answering questions and learning about a movie set experience. 

Active learning was involved during this activity because the teacher allowed the students to decide what to write to Max. It was based on a real-life situation and allowed the students to learn from each other, while also continuing a strong classroom community. The students were able to work together, were engaged in learning about Max's experience, and Max was engaged in learning about what was going on at school. This activity also introduced technology with writing in the form of a blog and motivated students to communicate and work together.

Classroom Experience

In my classroom last year, I did a similar activity to Greetings from Room 211. While this was not a blog post style, my students were able to write emails to another school in Madrid, Spain. I was able to keep in contact with some of the teachers from my year in Spain and we were able to help the students create and send emails to each other. This was a super fun pen pals activity and encouraged the students to practice writing, typing, reading, and asking and answering questions in both Spanish and English. We even sent pictures of our class drawings and videos back and forth (with teacher and family approval). It was such a great experience for the students to learn as well as share with others their school experience. The students loved learning new things about their new friends from Spain and were super engaged throughout all the whole activity.

Reflections

Overall, I think active learning is wonderful and can really help our students understand and apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to the outside world. I do think that active learning should be kept in mind because students need to know how to apply their knowledge and be motivated to learn. If an activity is student-centered and allows them to engage with their learning and get excited about learning, they will remember the lesson better and be more motivated in the classroom and in life. 

In the future, I'd love to learn about other ways to incorporate active learning opportunities in the classroom. I can do this by hearing other teacher's stories and activities they plan for their class and modifying it to my class. There are so many great teachers, activities, and classrooms out there! The more we work together and share ideas, the better our students will learn and thrive. 

Sources

Active learning. Center for Educational Innovation. (n.d.). Retrieved September 22, 2021, from httpL//cei.umn.edu/active-learning. 

Greetings from room 211. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from http://parsons211.blogspot.com/2015/10/greetings-from-room-211.html.