byDr. Sripadma Satyan

I have always adhered to the traditional approach to teaching, even though I have been watching the evolution of new techniques in active learning. In the last couple of years I have come across articles and research showing the importance of engaging the students during the class. I was cautious about this because:

1. I felt like I was already doing that by solving numericals and working out some calculations on the board while engaging students. My assumption was that the students were actively thinking of ways to solve these numericals on their own. Even though I knew that some of them may have merely been copying exactly what I was writing, my thinking was that it was probably a small number.
2. Many of the active learning approaches appeared to suggest giving up control of the course goals and schedule in order to put the students at the center of class activities. This seemed like a bad idea in a course that is aimed at imparting clear scientific skills, and is a prerequisite for other courses. In the end, if students wanted to be prepared for future courses and get a good grade, then it was their responsibility to understand and learn in this class.

At the end of the semester when I would reflect on the course that I had just finished teaching, I always felt like I could have done a better job of preparing the students. But then again, I had completed the syllabus on time, graded homeworks and exams on time, and I had been available during my office hours to meet my students. I would always take the time to answer their questions and provide clarifications. So what was I missing? I was doing my job perfectly well as an instructor but I still felt I needed to see more evidence that I was in fact making a difference. When I saw the ACC-Faculty Fellow program opportunity, I decided that I wanted to change my approach to teaching. I wanted to engage my students, I wanted to change the class environment to make it fun for the students and myself.

This semester, as a part of the Project ACC Faculty Fellow program, I am implementing active learning into my lectures, but with some important caveats. I still lecture to present the concepts – which helps me retain some level of control on goals and schedules. However, I reinforce the lectures by using student-centric class activities. For example, I take the solution to a numerical and cut it up into pieces. I then scatter the pieces on several desks. Students work in groups to collect the pieces and reassemble them to solve the problem. They are not solving the numerical using paper and pencil. They are using their critical thinking skills to logically place the pieces in the right order, which engages the students in a very positive manner. I also obtain real time feedback using Plickers App. Plickers is inexpensive, yet a very effective tool that helps survey students for their understanding right then and there.

Early Course feedback: One student said, “I would like the lectures to be shorter with activities at the beginning of the class. I can’t pay attention for 1hour and 20 minutes of continuous lecture.” Another student said “the most positive aspect of the class is that the instructor is not just reading off of the power point slides. There is emphasis on student participation and group activities”.

Throughout the semester, I tried to incorporate at least one activity per chapter. I would have liked to do more, but in the interest of maintaining consistent progress towards my syllabus goals, I had to somewhat limit myself. As this semester draws to a close, I am assimilating all the feedback, both the real-time data from Plickers and the student suggestions, to see how I can continually improve my approach to active learning. I can confidently say that watching students learn actively and, from my perspective, “active teaching” were both stimulating. Rather than adhering only to traditional teaching methods or fully committing to active learning, I am finding that there are innumerable ways to find the right mix between them.

Finally, I am finding that active learning sessions make the students take the center stage, allowing me to be a mentor guiding them through their journey. While this is a new role for me, it seems to make perfect sense.