The Active Learning Classroom: Strategies for Practical Educators

The goal of the book is simple: To improve student achievement by helping teachers implement active learning strategies in the classroom. To begin, consider the following two questions in relation to your own classroom: 1. Are your students actively engaged throughout the entirety of your daily lessons? 2. Are students meeting your highest expectations regarding achievement? If you answered ‘no’ to either or both of these questions, you are not alone. Classroom teachers at all levels are challenged with low student engagement, resulting in low student achievement. Numerous studies indicate a positive correlation between engagement and achievement. For this reason, the teacher is the most important component of the learning process, as he/she is ultimately responsible for creating an atmosphere conducive to student achievement. Active Learning has proven to be one of the most important tools for engaging students, promoting skills in motivation, higher-order thinking, communication, creative thinking, and problem-solving. Most teachers agree that these skills are essential for increasing student achievement; however, these skills are difficult to foster in the traditional ‘sage on a stage’ model. Educators must learn to adopt a new ‘guide on the side’ teaching paradigm whereby traditional instruction is supplemented by active learning strategies.