Active Learning's Effects on Knowledge Acquisition in STEM

            The acquisition of knowledge and expertise on a particular subject is a continuous process that requires a great amount of time sunk in order to learn said concepts. When it comes to learning concepts in fields such as STEM, there is heavy debate on the most effective methods to teach the difficult concepts that are often found in STEM professions. The default and most common method in teaching we see today is that of the standard lecture, where a teacher, an expert on the topic, lectures information to the student, who listens passively and writes down the information presented. While this has been the most common method used thus far in teaching, researchers have looked for other ways to promote better quality of learning best effectively. As seen by a study, even utilizing simple things such as gestures was shown to promote learning (Wakefield et al. 2017). In this article, the researchers attempted to look for new teaching ways that utilize an active learning approach rather than the passive learning approach mainly used today.

            To first start off, the researchers wanted to clearly define what they considered active learning to be. As it is usually used today, we tend to think of active learning as learning that doesn’t fit into the usual lecture style learning we see today. It is quite important to distinguish what can be considered active and not, as it was found that active learning tests increased performances on tests and decreased failure rates (Freeman et al., 2014).   Due to this, the researchers found it difficult to pinpoint what could and could not be considered active learning. For example, they had to analyze learning styles such as the flipped classroom method, the use of computerized interactive tasks, and the use of clickers to name a few of these methods. From their analysis, they surmised that active learning could be considered a classroom situation where the learning method allows for student agency within their learning.

            Dissimilar to lectures, active learning is all about students actively reflecting on the material with themselves, peers and their teachers. Instead of a one-way output of scientific concepts from teacher to student, the attempt is instead placed on receiving information, processing it, and reflecting on it back to teachers and peers. The process of learning essentially becomes much more externalized. While it is great to have a working definition and framework for active learning, this research is still in its infancy, as improvements on how we actively see improvement in students is also needed. They also point out that active learning is simply one dimension of learning and changing to a more active learning style is only one dimension on how to improve learning in STEM overall.

            In order to get the most out of active learning however, it is up to the student to understand that they have agency in their learning. When students are encouraged by instructors, reinforcing the confidence in their knowledge and reflection capabilities, active learning can occur. As seen with other studies, such as the one conducted by Dr. Wakefield, the active follow through participants did with the gestures helped them learn concepts better. However, this was only able to be accomplished with the active participation of the participants, as they followed along with the presented gestures. I hope further research is done into the topic, as this particular topic does not simply only matter to the cognitive psychologists, but to educators and students around the world.

Lombardi, D., Shipley, T. F., Bailey, J. M., Bretones, P. S., Prather, E. E., Ballen, C. J., Knight, J. K., Smith, M. K., Stowe, R. L., Cooper, M. M., Prince, M., Atit, K., Uttal, D. H., LaDue, N. D., McNeal, P. M., Ryker, K., St. John, K., van der Hoeven Kraft, K. J., & Docktor, J. L. (2021). The curious construct of active learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 22(1), 8–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100620973974

Wakefield, E., Novack, M. A., Congdon, E. L., Franconeri, S., & Goldin‐Meadow, S. (2017). Gesture helps learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention. Developmental Science, 21(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12664