Inviting Students to Active Learning

Last week I read an interesting article about learner engagement. The author drew a strong distinction between just “showing up” and truly “active” learning. I have to admit this article, like any other on this particular topic, struck a cord with me.

(Allow me a moment on my soapbox…) All too often we mistake simply “showing up and going through the motions” as real engagement. (Okay, stepping down from the soapbox…)The article last week reminded me of a piece I created on inviting students to be “active” learners. You can check out my article here: Inviting Students to the Active Learning Process. I wrote the article to agricultural educators (I must admit… I am one!), but I think the underlying principles “stick” in any classroom. If you’re a skimmer, like me, then you may want to skip the intro (a.k.a. nice academic stuff…) and head over to the third column on the first page. Start reading after the sub-heading in that column and I think you’ll find the useful information on pages 2 and 3. Enjoy!