This abridged article describes research done on active versus passive learning. The article would be useful to share with students as part of a discussion around ways of teaching and learning.

Researchers compared students’ self-reported perception of learning with their actual learning in large introductory college physics courses taught using:

Active Instruction (Students work in small groups to discover and develop concepts and solve challenging problems.)

Passive Instruction (Lectures and demonstrations are given by Instructors     while students listen, take notes, and are told how-to solve problems.)

You might start with a discussion around these questions: Which type of instruction have students experienced? Which do they prefer? Which do they think leads to more learning? What do they predict that the research shows?

Then follow up with a graph reading activity…

followed by reading of the article (link at the top of the page).

Thank you to Ramon Garcia from the Borough of Manhattan Community College Adult Basic Education Program for abridging and sharing this article.