Why Active Learning?

More and more, educators at all levels, from Kindergarten to adult training, are drawing a distinction between two fundamentally different approaches to teaching.

In one, the goal is to transfer, as effectively and efficiently as possible, a concise and coherent block of information from the teacher or computer into the minds of the learners. Most existing computer-based training for adults has been designed with knowledge transfer in mind. Extraneous information is left out. The content is simplified. The emphasis is on individual learning and learners have a limited number of paths through the lesson.

This approach works well for the training of basic skills in areas of knowledge that are well defined and stable. For most of us, though, the world just isn't that way. As adults we face one ill-defined problem after another. The specific facts that we have to know change so quickly that some knowledge becomes obsolete almost as soon as we master it. The knowledge-transfer approach doesn't prepare us well for a messy world in constant motion.

An alternative way to think about teaching and learning is called constructivism. A constructivist trainer doesn't strip away the natural complexity of a subject. Instead, multiple perspectives are brought to bear. The goal of a constructivist learning environment is not the accurate transfer of content from the instructor to the learner. Instead, the learner is given tasks and opportunities, information resources and support, and is encouraged to construct their own version of the content, subject to revision through feedback. Many paths through the lesson are allowed and collaboration with other learners is stressed over lonely individual learning. A constructivist use of technology presents information to the learner in multiple forms from multiple sources and invites the learner to make sense of it.

The learner can acquire the information needed from several sources via the computer, and from off-line sources including his or her own prior experience, from information gathered while collaborating with other learners, and from references and other sources of expertise found somewhere far away from the computer screen.

In general, a constructivist approach is more learner-focused, and less teacher-focused. The emphasis is on making a set of tasks and resources available to learners, and creating an environment in which the learners can actively create their own meaning in that context, rather than to passively absorb knowledge structures created by the instructor. In this approach, the instructor's role moves toward being a coach and orchestrator of resources, and moves away from being the sole source of information. The emphasis is on cases studies, problem solving, and the creation of meaning.

In the last two years, a new technology has grown enormously in importance and accessibility. This technology, the World Wide Web, lends itself beautifully to constructivist, active learning.