My classes aren't as big as yours, but I do all kinds of active learning stuff. Partner, individual, getting them to teach - the biggest issue for me in the Gen Ed class was me letting go of having to cover content. Now, they have to learn the content before they come in, or they are lost. And I have mechanisms to make sure they at least read the text. I switched my Gen Ed focus to learning how to process information - challenging them to learn not only the factoids/theories, etc., but to learn how they themselves learn.
My attrition rate has dropped significantly; student engagement is far higher and more animated.
I heard one prof whose GenEd classes were 1200; he did active learning all the time! So there are ways, we're just not taught to teach when we're learning our discipline. (IMHO)
Amen, sister, and this is such an important reminder at this point in the semester! I find that working out an active learning exercise before I go to class (prepping small group questions that they then compare their answers with other groups; designing peer workshops, etc.) actually makes for an easier day for me---it's one where students are generally engaged and talking amongst each other. I don't feel like I'm responsible for it all.
My new question is how to make active learning kinetic. I would like to see students up and moving around the classroom more. I'd be happy to hear some good ideas about that!!!
Ooh, Belle, I'd love to hear what the prof of 1200 did! I'm still mastering the art of large class management. And I am still pushing myself to let go of all the content I cover; it's better than last year because I'm covering about half of what I covered last time, but I still haven't figured out the right materials for them to read to come prepared into the classroom, so I still "tell" them a lot of stuff before we get to the active stuff.
Kfluff, I really like your first strategy, about having groups compare their work. I have had groups debrief back in the large group, but I think there could be a lot to gain from small groups talking to other small groups. And I like your follow-up question. I wonder if there is a way that you can do something time-sensitive that requires collaboration across groups that would get them darting all over the place. I do simulations where I use students (and usually candy) to demonstrate certain things. Often the playing of the game, which involves acting or moving, is really useful for those students that participate, but not always that helpful for the observers. A step in the right direction I guess!
Yes, yes, yes! I, too, have been trying to use more active learning in my courses--providing problems for small group discussions that lead to larger group discussion, taking polls, assigning problems for homework that require integration, selecting areas of a course where students can use a set of questions to engage in semi-guided inquiry and thus teach themselves content (and then present wikis, blog posts, discussions as evidence of learning)etc. This has been easier to do for my Gen. Ed. course where I have been able to relinquish some degree of control of course content than for my introductory course for majors in my field. My question is this: how do you do this effectively in an introductory course for majors in your field, in which you and your colleagues are depending on a specific subset of information to be passed on as a prerequisite for upper-level courses?
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