Getting Active in the Large Lecture

The benefits of active learning are well documented; nonetheless, the implementation of active learning strategies can be challenging in large lecture environments. The project will examine the research supporting active learning, present the implementation of simple active learning techniques in large lecture classes, and provide evidence to test the effectiveness of the techniques on both student learning outcomes and student attitudes. The purpose is to investigate the concern that adding active learning to large lecture classes reduces the amount of time available to teach content in class, resulting in less student learning. The expectation is that incorporating active learning techniques will not harm student learning and will lead to positive student attitudes. The active learning techniques of question-based outlines, discussion-question prompts, small group discussions, and exam preparation will be investigated using exam grade comparisons, pre- and posttest analyses, and student surveys. The findings demonstrate that active learning does not lead to less student learning and instead that it can have a positive impact. Keywords: active learninglarge lecturestudent learning Notes ∗ = .05 significance in difference of means compared to Spring 2003. ∗∗ = .01 significance in difference of means compared to Spring 2003. ∗∗ = .01 significance. ∗∗ = .01 significance. The largest political science classes have 275 students. Unfortunately, the largest classes are not part of this study. PowerPoint has a feature that allows the presenter to reveal items in a list by clicking the mouse. Brookfield and Preskill's (Citation1999) Discussion as a Way of Teaching is a valuable resource with numerous examples for using discussion techniques. The only exam with a writing component option is exam 1, spring 2003. During that semester another professor taught the classes for exam 1 and wrote exam 1. The spring 2003 exam 1 included multiple-choice questions and also an optional written component. The textbooks remained the same during the period of study. The edition for the two books did change once. These are the same sections defined as "active" in the exam grade comparison and are the author's sections. The likelihood of my recommending this instructor to other students is… The learning opportunities in this class were… Not applicable responses are coded as missing and not included in the calculation.