Active learning asks students to do something with course material: explain it, apply it, debate it, or create something new with it. Decades of research show that it works. In a review of 225 studies, students in active learning courses scored higher on exams and were less likely to fail than students in lecture-only courses (Freeman et al., 2014).
You don’t need to redesign your whole course. Start with one short activity in your next class, and build from there.
What Makes Learning Active
Not all activities lead to the same depth of learning. The ICAP framework, developed by Michelene Chi, describes four levels of student engagement. Learning generally increases as students move up the levels (Chi & Wylie, 2014).
| Level | What students do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive | Build on each other’s ideas through discussion | Partners take turns explaining a concept and questioning each other’s reasoning |
| Constructive | Create something that goes beyond the material | Explaining a concept in their own words, drawing a concept map, or making a prediction |
| Active | Do something with the material, without adding new ideas | Highlighting a reading or copying notes from a slide |
| Passive | Receive information | Listening to a lecture or watching a video |
When you plan an activity, aim for constructive or interactive. For example, “highlight the key terms” is active, but “explain how these two terms are related” is constructive. Connect each activity to a learning outcome. See Course Design and Alignment.
Set Up Activities for Success
How you structure an activity matters as much as the activity itself. These practices help students take part:
- Give everyone time to think. Pause after you ask a question, or have students write an answer before anyone speaks.
- Have students talk to a partner first. Students are more willing to share with the class after they’ve tested their ideas with a peer.
- Ask for many voices. Invite responses from different parts of the room, or ask, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t shared yet.”
- Give clear directions and a time limit. Display the task and the time so students know exactly what to do.
- Make it low stakes. Use activities for practice and feedback, not points.
Explain Why
Students sometimes feel they learn less in active classes, even when tests show they learn more. Effortful thinking can feel harder than listening to a clear lecture (Deslauriers et al., 2019). Early in the semester, tell students why you use active learning and what the research shows. Remind them that struggle is part of learning.
Active Lecture
Lecture is still a good way to explain complex ideas and model expert thinking. An active lecture keeps those strengths and adds short breaks where students process what they heard.
- Open with a question or problem that gives students a reason to listen.
- Teach in short segments, each focused on one key idea.
- Pause for a brief activity between segments. For example, stop for about two minutes so students can compare notes with a partner and fill in gaps. Short pauses like these help students remember more of the lecture (Ruhl et al., 1987).
- Close with a check, such as a one-minute paper, to see what students took away.
Choose a Technique
| Technique | What students do | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Think-pair-share | Think about a question alone, discuss it with a partner, then share with the class | Any class, any size |
| Peer instruction | Answer a conceptual question, discuss with a neighbor, then answer again | Catching misconceptions in large classes |
| One-minute paper | Write the most important thing they learned today | Checking understanding at the end of class |
| Muddiest point | Write what was most confusing | Planning what to review next time |
| Background knowledge probe | Answer a few ungraded questions before a new topic | Finding out what students already know |
| Make a prediction | Predict an outcome and explain why, then see the result | Building curiosity and surfacing misconceptions |
| Jigsaw | Become an expert on one part of a topic, then teach it to a new group | Covering a lot of material and solving complex cases |
| Case study | Apply course concepts to a real situation | Applying knowledge and making decisions |
| Gallery walk | Rotate in small groups, responding to prompts posted around the room | Discussion and getting students moving |
| Concept map | Draw how key ideas connect | Reviewing a unit and seeing the big picture |
| Retrieval practice | Recall key ideas from memory without notes | Strengthening long-term memory |
| Ethical dilemma | Analyze a short scenario and defend a decision | Ethical reasoning and leadership |
Thinking Routines
Thinking routines are short, repeatable activities from Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. They make student thinking visible to you, to classmates, and to the students themselves (Ritchhart et al., 2011). Three good places to start:
- See, Think, Wonder: What do you see? What do you think about that? What does it make you wonder?
- Claim, Support, Question: Make a claim, support it with evidence, and raise a question about it.
- I Used to Think… Now I Think…: Reflect on how your thinking changed during a lesson or unit.
Find step-by-step directions for these and many more in the Project Zero Thinking Routines Toolbox.
Active Learning and AI
When students think, write, and discuss in class, you see their reasoning as it develops. In-class activities give you authentic evidence of learning that is hard to hand off to a generative AI tool. They also give you a chance to talk with students about using AI in ways that support their learning.
Active Learning Online
Many of these techniques work in online and hybrid courses:
- Use Canvas discussions for think-pair-share, muddiest point, and case study responses.
- Use Canvas quizzes for background knowledge probes and retrieval practice.
- Use Zoom breakout rooms for small group work during live sessions.
- Use Canvas groups for jigsaw and other group projects.
Want help adding active learning to your course? Schedule a course design and teaching consultation.
Sources
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Aronson, E., Blaney, N., Stephan, C., Sikes, J., & Snapp, M. (1978). The jigsaw classroom. Sage.
Chi, M. T. H., & Wylie, R. (2014). The ICAP framework: Linking cognitive engagement to active learning outcomes. Educational Psychologist, 49(4), 219–243. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2014.965823
Deslauriers, L., McCarty, L. S., Miller, K., Callaghan, K., & Kestin, G. (2019). Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(39), 19251–19257.
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. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion: The inclusion of all students. In A. S. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming digest. University of Maryland, College of Education.
Mazur, E. (1997). Peer instruction: A user’s manual. Prentice Hall.
Mosteller, F. (1989). The “muddiest point in the lecture” as a feedback device. On Teaching and Learning: The Journal of the Harvard-Danforth Center, 3, 10–21.
Ritchhart, R., Church, M., & Morrison, K. (2011). Making thinking visible: How to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. Jossey-Bass.
Ruhl, K. L., Hughes, C. A., & Schloss, P. J. (1987). Using the pause procedure to enhance lecture recall. Teacher Education and Special Education, 10, 14–18.
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