In a post of Tomorrow’s Professor Mailing List, Richard Felder answers a letter in which the person indicates that their teaching evaluations by students when active learning strategies are used and that the students want to be taught using passive techniques such as lecturing.
Felder explains that "An important part of our job as teachers is equipping as many of our students as possible with high-level problem-solving and thinking skills, including critical and creative thinking" and that "well-implemented student-centered instruction is much more effective than traditional lecture-based instruction at promoting those skills."
It’s important that the students know why you are using the active learning techniques. Felder states, "If you tell them you’re doing it because research has shown that it leads to improved learning, greater acquisition of skills that potential employers consider valuable, and higher grades, most will set aside their objections long enough to find that you’re telling the truth." (See Felder, R.M. (2007). Sermons for grumpy campers. Chem. Engr. Education, 41(3), 183-184, http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Columns/Sermons.pdf.
Additional questions that he asks are:
- "Did you use the new method long enough to overcome the learning curve associated with it? It can take most of a semester to become comfortable with and adept at active learning, and if you’re using a more complex technique such as cooperative or problem-based learning and you’re not being mentored by an expert, it might take several years."
- "If you got unsatisfactory student ratings, did you check references on the method to see if you were doing something wrong? For example, did you assign small-group activities in class that lasted for more than 2–3 minutes or call for volunteers to respond every time? (See Reference 4 to find out how both practices can kill the effectiveness of active learning.) The bibliography suggests references you might consult for each of the most common student-centered methods."
- "In your midterm evaluations, did you specifically ask the students whether they thought active learning (or whatever you were doing) was (a) helping their learning, (b) hindering their learning, or (c) neither helping nor hindering? If you do this, you may find that the students objecting vigorously to the method are only a small minority of the class. If that’s so, announce the survey results in the next class session. Students who complain about student-centered methods often imagine that they are speaking for most of their classmates. Once they find out that very few others feel the way they do, the grumbling tends to disappear immediately."
Here are some references provided by Felder:
- Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (2007). Cooperative learning. In P.A. Mabrouk, ed., Active Learning: Models from the Analytical Sciences. ACS Symposium Series 970, Chapter 4, pp. 34–53. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/CLChapter.pdf
- Felder, R.M., and Brent, R. (2009). Active learning: An introduction. ASQ Higher Education Brief, 2(4). http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/ALpaper(ASQ).pdf
- Prince, M.J. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. J. Engr. Education, 93(3), 223-231, http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Prince_AL.pdf
- Prince, M.J., and Felder, R.M. (2006). Inductive teaching and learning methods: Definitions, comparisons, and research bases. J. Engr. Education, 95(2), 123–138, http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/InductiveTeaching.pdfTags: learning, resistance, lecturing, passive, active. (Inductive methods include inquiry-based, problem-based, and project-based learning.)