Generally, learning has always been a one-way street where teachers and instructors have the task to present in a lecture, and learners are expected to listen and absorb the incoming information to complete their understanding of the subject. This type of learning is known as passive learning. In active learning however, learners will be introduced to situations where they are required to take action and have more responsibility in their learning.
Active learning, even though it has been around for centuries, has only gained momentum in recent years after studies were conducted and showed that, learners should not only listen passively in lectures but also contribute to discussions and solve problems to develop their own understanding of a subject.
For the learning to be effective, learners should be engaged properly and be able to contribute to discussions as a way to demonstrate their competency in a topic. Active learning is constructed around the learner and calls for their participation. Therefore, to be an effective learner, you should be motivated to complete a course and be ready for a highly engaging lesson.
More commonly for self-paced e-learning courses, active learning requires the learner to take more responsibility in their own learning journey. In turn, these active learning courses will allow learners to enhance their own set of soft skills that are unrelated to the course itself, some examples would be, critical thinking skills, prioritising and problem decision making.
For our e-Learning courses, apart from Gagne’s nine events of instruction, we will structure it around the Bloom’s Taxonomy, where we introduce different types of engagements that is relevant and dependant to the order thinking level. According to active learning philosophy, learners should employ skills that go beyond the entry-level skills of knowledge and comprehension. Active learning courses will follow a set of 6 core principles in their designs, which are:
- Purpose
- Reflection
- Goal setting
- Applicability
- Context
- Engagement
Learner-centred courses will be structured in a way that it is able to motivate the learner from the beginning, either by presenting the overall goal of the course, or provide the benefits learners will obtain with completion. E-learning courses can go one step further by providing contextualised content, relevant real-world examples and personalised learning paths to capture the interests of their learners. Similar to other learning techniques, reflective exercises are also necessary for learners to internalise the new information and test their understanding.
One widely used strategy to introduce active learning elements is by promoting collaborative group activities. Collaborative activities can come in the form of online discussions, debates, brainstorming sessions, or even participation in online forums. Collaboration amongst peers is a good opportunity for learners to share their personal view and exchange feedback between one another. Collaboration can help learners bridge the gaps in their knowledge and expand their understanding of the subject, as well as enhance their soft skills such as, problem-solving and adaptiveness to opposing views.
One thing to note is that active learning is still a means of teaching, teachers and trainers still play an important role in the learners’ education. Learners shouldn’t be left to progress independently but should have regular communication with their trainer for guidance and support in their learning journey.