{"id":64563,"date":"2023-03-28T12:40:48","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T18:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/ctl\/?p=64563"},"modified":"2024-08-02T09:11:09","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T15:11:09","slug":"correcting-student-misconceptions-about-active-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/ctl\/blog\/2023\/03\/28\/correcting-student-misconceptions-about-active-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Correcting Student Misconceptions about Active Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three<\/figure>

Hi, colleagues. Below, I share highlights from a 2019 study about how students \u201cfeel\u201d during learning.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014Nancy<\/em><\/p>\n

Nugget<\/h2>\n

Students may think that the discomfort and struggle of hard thinking is actually not learning, so they perceive active learning as inferior because the \u201cfeeling of learning\u201d isn\u2019t positive.<\/p>\n

What they did<\/h2>\n

One class was taught via \u201cactive instruction (following best practices in the discipline)\u201d and another via \u201cpassive instruction (lectures by experienced and highly rated instructors).\u201d They measured students\u2019 \u201cfeeling of learning<\/em>\u201d and actual<\/em> learning, using a variety of measured listed in the article.<\/p>\n

What they found<\/h2>\n

\u201cstudents in the active classroom learn more, but they feel like they learn less.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why<\/h2>\n

The researchers aren\u2019t sure, but they suspect it\u2019s because \u201cnovice students are poor at judging their actual learning and thus rely on inaccurate metacognitive cues such as fluency of instruction [i.e., clarity of explanations, organization of presentation, and smooth flow of instruction] when they attempt to assess their own learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/h2>\n

The lesson isn\u2019t to stop using active learning in the class but instead to correct students\u2019 misconceptions about active learning<\/strong>.\u00a0 Here are some options from the study:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A second part of this study involved an early intervention in the active learning course: the professor offered a brief presentation on active learning and its effectiveness, along with the mentioned findings about students\u2019 misperceptions about active learning and struggle as \u201cpoor learning.\u201d Student attitudes toward active learning improved.<\/li>\n
  2. The researchers also recommend assessing students\u2019 learning early in the semester, so students know if they\u2019re actually learning\u2026or not\u2014rather than relying on their own potentially flawed sense of what they know. For the same reason, the researchers recommend giving small formative assessments like the minute paper<\/a> or muddiest point<\/a> throughout the course. Again, the idea is to improve their metacognition and self-regulation, or their abilities to accurately identify what they know and don\u2019t know, and then what to do about it.<\/li>\n
  3. They also recommend \u201cadopt[ing] research-based explanation and facilitation strategies\u201d (they point to this article Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning<\/a> for examples) and \u201cencourage[ing] students to work hard\u201d while reminding them that struggle is \u201cincreased cognitive effort\u201d (aka, learning).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why we should care<\/h2>\n

    I see at least 3 specific reasons, related to student evaluations, students\u2019 experiences of learning, and first-year courses in particular.<\/p>\n