The University of Washington recently published a new study
about active learning in classrooms in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, which shows that students performance improves in STEM courses
through an active teaching style. According to the study, the students improve
their grades by an impressive 6%--the difference between a B+ and an A.
Compared to the standard lectures that many teachers use, the study suggests
that employing a change every 10 minutes with active teaching and learning
techniques will allow more students to succeed. By using methods like groups,
open questions, calling random students, and using clickers, the teacher
engages the students and encourages them to actively participate and learn
while they are in class.
To support these findings, the group responsible for the
study at the University of Washington, Freeman and his colleagues, analyzed 225
studies on undergraduates in STEM classes and the teaching methods used in
those classes. After culling the data from these studies, the group learned
that making students participate rather than just listen improved their exam
scores and reduced their failure rates.
This study is great news for the STEM Gateway since we have
been promoting the benefits of active learning in classrooms and helping with
course reforms to allow active learning!
For a link to the article: Click
here!
For a link to the study: Click
here!
