Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

What Is Meant By the Term Active Learning?

  • By Lisa Schmidt
  • 10/01/18

In general, active learning means students engage with the material, participate in the class, and collaborate with each other. Rather than sitting passively while listening to an instructor, or doing independent heads-down work, the student may work with his or her peers, follow an interactive project-based curriculum, participate in robust discussions, or a variety of other activities, which ensure the student is immersed in the subject at hand.

Researchers have found that the more students are engaged, the greater their progress and retention. When teachers utilize active learning, they often find their pupils display a deeper understanding of the course material. What’s more, today’s Millennial and Generation Z students prefer the more dynamic environment which active learning provides.

In active learning spaces, the teacher may choose to engage the students further by allowing them choices: the choice of tasks to focus on, peers to work with, or where to work within the classroom, and even outside of the classroom, such as in a corridor or other space in the building.

In addition to providing choices, active learning classrooms are most effective when the furnishings are flexible, mobile, and able to support whatever activity is taking place in the space at that time. Ideally, the teacher or students can rearrange the room without help from the custodial staff.

Consider using classroom furniture that can be reconfigured easily. Also, choose chairs that enable students to interact with each other, and with the instructor. This increases the opportunity to build personal connections and social skills. Utilizing a variety of furniture types also supports personal choice and ownership, while providing a space that resonates with students at all levels.

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Lisa Schmidt, LEED-AP is the director of Strategic Initiatives at National Office Furniture. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Carnegie Mellon University Receives $3B Gift to Launch New Campus

    Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., recently announced that it has received $3 billion—the largest individual gift in higher education history—from Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin, according to a news release.

  • Esports are Growing in Popularity

    Video games and esports are a popular social hobby, and it’s one that’s accessible to a wide variety of physical ability levels. Some esport student-athletes have started to earn scholarship opportunities, and high schools are beginning to form teams equipped with the same degree of resources as their physical sports teams. However, the two have very different needs.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.