Active Learning strategies for lectures
Activating your students in larger groups such as lectures can feel challenging. However, there are many different pedagogical strategies you can apply to support Active Learning and assist in keeping all students actively involved, regardless of group size. Below you will find some strategies for incorporating Active Learning in your lectures.
1. Break up your lecture
Students’ attention spans decline after 15 minutes of being a passive recipient of information (Miller et al., 2013). Structuring your lecture in shorter blocks will help keep students engaged and provide opportunities for periodic, active involvement rather than being a passive receiver of information for the duration of your lecture. After each 15-minute block you can incorporate a task that encourages students to actively use and engage with the content you have just provided them.
- One minute thinking/paper
Let students individually think or write down the answer. You can incorporate this as a small break, use it to align prerequisite knowledge or use it to finish your lecture and give students a take home message (Frederick, 1987; Van Petegem, 2014; Bok Center; Active Learning Bok Center; UMC Utrecht; Brame, 2016). - Brainstorm
Ask a question and write down everything that is offered by students on the board. Variations: ask students to call out one concrete visual image or ask students to suggest statements they think are true about an issue (Frederick, 1987). For large student numbers, online tools such as Wooclap can support this process. - Use short videos or audiotapes
Have a clear purpose for including the video/audiotapes that you communicate to the students: is there a question that the students need to answer, or do they need to form an opinion about some aspect of the media you’re using? You could also let the students watch it before the lecture and let students practice with exam level problems that will be discussed in the lecture. (Snell, 1999). - Incorporate a realistic task/case from their (possible) future workplace
This might trigger their motivation when they realize how relevant the topic is, or that they struggle with this task (Edumundo; Bok Center; Snell, 1999). You can also invite guests to your lectures (e.g. former students or experts), which can give students a better picture of future workplace situations and capture their attention (Snell, 1999). - Exit ticket
At the end of a lecture, ask students to write their answers to these two questions: a) “What is the most significant thing you learned in this lecture?” and b) “What remains unclear or confusing?”. The students hand the answers in on the way out. The teacher responds to the issues raised at the beginning of the following lecture (Marzano, 2012). The ‘minute paper’ is a similar technique (Stead, 2005). For large classes consider collecting the answers electronically eg WooClap or Canvas. - Slide fill in
Present the slides with open spaces on Canvas so your students can ‘fill in the gaps’ during the lecture. - Opinions
Ask students about their opinions and invite them to challenge yours (Bok Center).
2. Structure your lecture around a problem
Help students understand the relevance and application of their learning experiences in their personal lives and future careers. By connecting concepts to real-world examples, you can enhance motivation and engagement, as it demonstrates the application of abstract concepts into practice. Pairing these problems with some of the general Active Learning strategies below will encourage students to engage more deeply with the content.
- Draw on Experiences
Connect new concepts to students’ experiences, fostering meaningful understanding. Using relevant experiences for students enables them to connect the material to the real-world. Using real-world examples that relate to the topic makes the topic familiar to students.
For example, when discussing supply and demand, ask them to consider what they experienced either themselves or via friends, when Taylor Swift Era’s tour tickets are released. - Reverse Example Approach
Start with real-world examples or problems before introducing and linking abstract concepts to the real-world example. This will help students connect the abstract concepts to the real-world or help them visualize the concepts. For example, beginning the lecture by introducing a natural disaster such as the Black Saturday bushfires in Australia, and using it to contextualize the concepts of post-traumatic stress disorder and post traumatic growth.
- Case Studies
Analyze and dissect real-world case studies relevant to the subject, allowing students to witness the manifestation of theoretical concepts in practical scenarios. For example, you can choose a case study from the perspective of a third party/client/patient, an explanatory case study where you look at the impact of a phenomenon, tactic or strategy or an implementation case study where you look at the “how”, as well as the impact.
Start of lecture
Begin the lecture with a (real-world) problem that aligns with the learning outcomes. This can be anything from a dilemma, an issue or debate topic. It is especially helpful to incorporate current events in these problems.
Middle of lecture
Build in moments throughout the lecture where students can bring the content together with the real-world problem eg discuss how specific parts of the lecture content helps to solve the problem, quiz them on which features of the event align with the features of the content, brainstorm (using Wooclap) the impact of an effective/ineffective solution.
End
Finish your lecture with a provocative question/one-question quiz or minute paper about the content, the initial problem posed and proposed solutions that were discussed during the lecture (Bok; Universiteit Gent).
3. Divide students into smaller groups to work on an activity
When dividing your students into smaller groups, try to limit the amount of transition time by making sure the instruction is clear, simple and task oriented; give the groups a sense of how much time they have to do their work and provide ways of reporting back and debriefing the process (Frederick, 1987; Snell, 1999; Universiteit Gent).
- ‘Buzz’ session
Ask students to discuss a question/statement with their neighbor (them discussing makes a buzzing sound). Ask students to report back what they have discussed (Frederick, 1987; Van Petegem, 2014; UMC Utrecht). - Think-pair-share
First, let students think individually. Then let them share their thoughts in pairs and after that share with the whole group. Make sure to give the students very concrete short things to discuss to keep their focus (Van Petegem, 2014; Brame, 2016). In larger lectures you can consider getting students to share their findings in a Wooclap which allows you to pick out the common themes for discussion. With some adjustments, this activity can also be used in the classroom. - Summary
Have students summarize what they learned and what questions they still have which they then share with each other (Active Learning Bok Center). In smaller lectures, you can also have students sit in bigger groups and then report back on all the common topics/questions they had in their group. - Statement correction or intentional mistakes
Present information that contains errors, let the students find them. This is particularly helpful when teaching statistics, processes, and academic writing. It is important that you draw attention to the errors and explain them before moving forward (Active Learning Bok Center). In pairs or groups, students can come up with improvements to the error or formulate explanations as to why the error was made and how to fix it. - Peer-instruction
In smaller lectures, you can first explain a theory or concept, then give them an exercise or case/scenario in which opinions are divided. Let them vote on their opinion. Students can then discuss their opinions in small groups and strategize a way to convince others of their opinion. Do another vote to see if students changed their opinions (Van Petegem, 2014). This is also a nice activity to run before a debate. - Role play
With an appropriate structure, this can be applied in lectures with either large or small student numbers. Make sure that the timespan of the activity is clear to everyone. You can ask students to role play for other students or make all the students form groups/pairs and do the role play. Give clear instructions about the situation and the students’ role in this situation. You can assign some students to observe. Make sure to give the other students enough time to prepare for their role. During the role play, you can provide new information that the students will need to incorporate. When it is finished, do a quick plenary recap of the role play, making sure the literature is connected to the exercise. (Edumundo; UMC Utrecht).
4. Asking questions
The most common activity for an (inter)active break is to ask questions. Asking questions draws the students’ attention towards the content. There are numerous approaches to asking questions and collecting responses, which can vary depending on the number of students in your lecture. This can also determine how you choose to utilize the information from the responses.
Asking the right questions can improve the students’ learning experience. It can help them connect concepts and think creatively and critically. It can also help you get an idea of what your students already know and what needs more explaining. You can use Blooms or SOLO taxonomies to ensure that the questions are tailored to match the level required of your course learning outcomes.
Open-ended questions often start with “Why?” or “How?” and encourage a full answer, rather than the simple single word response that is given to closed-ended questions. By asking an open-ended question, students can provide more elaborate responses, practice answering questions that may appear in assessments and engage in higher order thinking that is not possible with closed ended questions.
Open-ended questions can also develop students’ thinking and reasoning. For example: ‘What are the key factors that contribute to the success or failure of democratic transitions in authoritarian regimes?’ or ‘How do global trade policies affect emerging economies differently than developed economies?”. In bigger groups you can gather their responses electronically, create a word cloud to see trends in the responses, or ask them to pair up and summarise their responses into 2 key points they can share. You could take this a step further; after collecting the different answers, ask students to categorise or critically analyse the various arguments (Frederick, 1987). In this way, the students get to see a variety of perspectives and learn to think critically about the different viewpoints.
Students can also come up with different questions that arise in response to the original question, which borrows from the Socratic Method. The goal is to convey substantive content and raise further questions which you can then collect on the board, online, or just let students mention them. You can read more about this method here.
Closed ended questions are questions that can only be answered by selecting from a limited number of options and are an excellent way to determine the thoughts of a large group such as a lecture, quickly. When you ask a close ended question, you have a variety of options for how students can answer, such as letting them vote on statements or multiple-choice questions. You can use tools, colored paper, just let students raise their hands, etc.
Asking these questions is efficient, but extending on these simple questions, either individually or in small groups, is important to encourage deeper thinking and engagement with the content.
Some ways you can extend upon closed ended questions are:
- If you are asking an agree/disagree question, let at least one person from each side speak.
- If you are asking multiple choice questions, ask students with different answers to justify their answers.
- You can let students discuss the different answer options in small groups or let them explain why the wrong answer options are incorrect.
These questions are a great way to check-in on your students’ learning progress and help them understand what they already know and still need to learn. Maybe you notice that they did not understand certain topics, so you can adjust your teaching and pay some more attention to these topics or ask follow up questions to get to the root of their misunderstanding.
If you are looking for more inspiration when designing these kinds of activities for either in the class or during a lecture, then check out the Additional Resources to see some examples of strategies you can use, and related Teacher Stories.
- Astrachan, O. L., Duvall, R. C., Forbes, J., & Rodger, S. H. (2002, November). Active learning in small to large courses. In 32nd Annual Frontiers in Education (Vol. 1, pp. T2A-T2A). IEEE.
- Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. Jossey-Bass.
- Brame, C. (2016). Active learning. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved May 1, 2024
- Centre for Teaching, Vanderbilt University. (2016). Active learning | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University.
- Edumundo. (n.d.). 5 tips voor activerend onderwijs.
- Finelli, C. J., Carroll, L., Prince, M., & Husman, J. (2001). Promoting adoption of active learning and use of strategies to reduce student resistance to active learning. In Research in Engineering Education Symposium.
- Frederick, P. J. (1987). Student involvement: Active learning in large classes. In New directions for teaching and learning (1987(32), 45-56).
- Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(23), 8410–8415.
- Kinchin, I. M. (2014). Concept mapping as a learning tool in higher education: A critical analysis of recent reviews. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 62(1), 39-49.
- Marzano, R. (2012). Art and science of teaching: The many uses of exit tickets. Educational Leadership, 70(2), 80-81.
- Michael, J. (2006). Where’s the evidence that active learning works? Advances in physiology education.
- Miller, C. J., McNear, J., & Metz, M. J. (2013). A comparison of traditional and engaging lecture methods in a large, professional-level course. Advances in physiology education, 37(4), 347-355.
- O’Neal, C., & Pinder-Grover, T. (2021). Introduction to active learning. Centre for Research on Learning and Teaching.
- Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education, 93(3), 223-231.
- Rajapriya, M., & Kumar, N. (2017). Effectiveness of mind mapping in higher education. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(4), 975-98.
- Snell, Y. S. L. S. (1999). Interactive lecturing: strategies for increasing participation in large group presentations. Medical Teacher, 21(1), 37-42.
- Stead, D. R. (2005). A review of the one-minute paper. Active Learning in Higher Education, 6(2), 118–131.
- The Bok Center. (n.d.). 20 ways to make lectures more participatory.
- Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., … & Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6476-6483.
- University of Gent. (n.d.). Hoorcollege: hoe activeer je studenten?
- University of Twente. (n.d.). Actief leren
- Actief leren met Moodle – Based on the book ‘Wijze lessen: 12 bouwstenen voor effectieve didactiek’.
- UMC Utrecht. (n.d.). Activerende werkvormen – een praktische gids voor je onderwijs.
- Van Petegem, P. (2014). Praktijkboek activerend hoger onderwijs – University of Antwerp.