Active Versus Passive Course Designs: The Impact on Student Outcomes

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of course design on both actual and self-reported student outcomes. The authors examined data gathered from three courses, each with a different design, during one semester at a major university in the Southwest. One passive design was used and was patterned after the traditional method of lecture, notetaking, and multiple-choice exams. Two active designs were used. One active design was a participative course where students helped plan the course by developing the syllabus and deciding what criteria should be graded. The other active design was experiential in nature where students were exposed to assignments and activities designed to simulate real-world tasks and experiences. Results indicated that students perceived active course designs to be more useful to their future than passive designs. However, course design appeared to have no impact on student grades, satisfaction, or perceptions of how a course was conducted.