My Experience in Active Learning The document discusses the author's experience with active learning methods over the past 3 years. It acknowledges Prof. Eric Mazur and Dr. Kelly Miller as influences. It describes traditional "sage on the stage" teaching versus active learning project and team-based approaches. It outlines backward design principles for course structure with enduring understanding, essential questions, and formative assessments like pre-class reading, peer instruction, and projects as key elements. Data from a study by Kelly Miller et al. on feeling-of-learning (FOL) versus actual learning shows FOL is anti-correlated with learning outcomes in active learning environments. Personal remarks advocate the Socratic method and reducing barriers between teacher and student.

1. My Experience in Active Learning
Federico Capasso
School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences
Harvard University
Acknowledgements: Prof. Eric Mazur; Dr. Kelly Miller for material
I have been learning from them new teaching methods for the last 3 years:
Still far from being an expert!

2. “Sage on the Stage”

3. An Alternative Approach –
Active Learning: project and team based

4. Teach, Test, Hope for the Best
Traditional Course Design
Content, Lesson Plans
Activities, Assignments
Assessments
Enduring
Understanding
Backward Design

5. Content
Lesson plans
Enduring Understanding = Learning
Activities,
assignments
Assessments
Essential Questions
Backward Course Design
Backward Design

6. AP50: Project & Team Based Learning
Backward Design
Prof. Eric Mazur, Pioneer of Active Learning Methods

7. Formative vs. Outcome focused
Backward Design & AP50 Types of Assessment
1. pre-class reading
• Read text online (http://perusall.com)
• Annotate text (enter questions); chatroom for discussion of questions
• Virtually all students read text: over 20,000 annotations at the end of one semester course!

8. Formative vs. Outcome focused
Backward Design & AP50 Types of Assessment
2. Peer Instruction
Learning catalytics
• Students receive question on line, think about individually for ~ 1 minute, enter answer
• Students then discuss question and re-enter answer. 8 to 10 questions
• Instructor explain correct answer, often supplemented by in class experimental demo

9. Formative vs. Outcome focused
Backward Design & AP50 Types of Assessment
3. Readiness Assurance Assessment

10. Formative vs. Outcome focused
Backward Design & AP50 Types of Assessment
4. Projects
• This semester we are doing these Hands-on Projects: design and build
an electrostatic machine, an “unbreakable safe”, a spectrometer
• Projects are demonstrated and judged at a “science fair” by a panel of colleagues

11. How does Feeling-of-Learning correlate
with Actual Learning for physics majors?
Kelly Miller, Louis Deslauriers, Logan McCarty, Harvard University

12. Feeling-of-Learning (FOL)
Why is it important?
strongest pushback from students in active
learning environments is that they do not feel like
they are learning anything
“Souchay, C., & Isingrini, M. (2012). Are feeling-of-knowing and judgment-of-learning different?
Evidence from older adults. Acta Psychologica, 139(3), 458-464.

13. Active PassiveStatics class
Fluids class
Group A Group B
Instructor A Instructor B
1 hr
ActivePassive 1 hr
FOL + TOL (25 mins)
FOL + TOL (25 mins)
Conducted study in 1st year course for
physics majors (Physics 15)
Repeated the study twice, with two
different student populations (Spring 2016
and Fall 2016)

14. FOL anti-correlated to actual learning (TOL)

15. FOL anti-correlated to actual learning (TOL)

16. Personal Remarks
• Active learning goes back to the Socratic method: it greatly reduces the barriers between
the teacher and the student
• J. Krishnamurti: “All authority is a hindrance, and it is essential that the educator should
not become an authority for the student”
• Be aware of the “imprinting” syndrome: I have heard Profs say: “ I want my
best students become professors (meaning following in my footprints; yes
the imprinting of Konrad Lorentz (little ducks following the big Duck or something
resembling it )
• We should communicate to students some “healthy disrespect” for authorities in our field
• The barriers between disciplines are gradually crumbling: a new synthesis and
renaissance is needed.
• Disciplines are convenient constructs to organize knowledge and teach, but Nature does
know what is physics, chemistry, biology, etc.
• Therefore teaching should be focused more on problem solving than disciplines: Active
Learning is ideally suited for this
• In this way we will train people more capable of tackling big societal challenges