Add active learning to large classes

Table of Contents: Add active learning to large classes Using the Web to teach science TA resources Teaching links Biology links Writing links Tips for designing a WIM course Course syllabi Writing assignment ideas Peer review Responses to student writing Tips on leading stimulating discussions Alternatives to large group discussions Reading lists Study questions Exam questions General Ecology- UNH

Lectures are a great way to spread lots of information to a large group of people. But, are lectures an ideal format to learn how to think about a subject? No! Students are too busy ingesting ideas to get the opportunity to learn how to think about the information they are receiving. With a little creativity, active learning can take place in large classes!   Consider starting lecture by having students solve a problem from the previous lecture or their reading assignment. Read about this and other techniques to engage your students in lecture at : Active Learning: Getting Students to Work and Think in the Classroom from the National Teaching and Lecturing Forum. If you are not convinced that active learning can or should happen in a large lecture class, read Implementing Active Learning in the Classroom for a discussion on the nature and challenge of active learning as well as suggestions on how to incorporate active learning in your classroom. When you ask students questions during your lecture, do they just stare at you blankly? If so, read Questioning in the Classroom to learn how to use questions to engage your students in lecture. Check out Teaching Tips: suggestions and ideas on teaching for ways to supplement your lectures with activities that will engage your students. Do you feel that teaching a class of over 100 students has to have a lecture format that is dull and tedious? Read Clicking with Large Classes by Karen Kelsky, University of Oregon - for ways to make your large class come alive for both you and your students. Dr. Kelsky's enthusiasm for teaching large classes is contagious! Can students really learn to think in a large class? Yes! For some ideas read Active Learning: Getting students to Work and Think in the Classroom in Stanford University's newsletter Speaking of Teaching. "If we talk 6 minutes less, students learn more." Read summaries gathered by The Active Learning Site on research findings that show that less "teaching" can result in more learning. Do you want to modify your lectures but you don't know where to start? Read From Teaching to Learning: Part III. Lectures and Approaches to Active Learning, from the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, for ideas on how to design informative and interactive lectures. If you would like to read up on how to incorporate active learning in your classroom consult "Active Learning in Lecture" for a bibliography of book titles and journal articles. One simple way to engage students during lecture is to ask students a question, but instead of calling on individual students for the answer, have the students discuss the answer with a partner. Read Promote Active Learning During Lectures by Judith Liebman for details on this simple, but effective way to make your lectures more interactive. If you would like to locate web resources on active learning try visiting Active Learning and the Internet.     Last updated September 5, 2001 Comments, questions or new links? Contact Anne at astork@cisunix.unh.edu