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Active

What Is It?
Simply put, active learning is the process of "doing" or practicing the material during the session. The library instructor serves as a guide (rather than lecturer), leading students through the process of making their own discoveries about the material. The point is to change the focus from teaching to learning.
Why Do It?
• Cognitive research has shown that for a majority of students, lecture alone is not an effective educational strategy. If a student has the opportunity to read, hear, see, do and discuss the material, they will remember MUCH more.
• Activity breaks up the monotony of a session, so students pay attention longer and enjoy the session more.
• Students will more likely be able to repeat the important steps in the research process on their own.
• Active Learning encourages the integration of old and new material or knowledge.
• Higher-level thinking skills are activated, leading to enhanced critical thinking skills.
• Independent activities give students an opportunity to incorporate their own learning patterns into the activity.
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http://www.jcu.edu.au/studying/services/studyskills/notetaking/active.html
Where Do You Start?
Start with what you know! You don't have to design a new instruction session from the ground up. Just take a successful class plan that you have already been using, and build in active learning exercises. Here's an example of how you could proceed:
1. Review your material and determine which 2 or 3 concepts are the most important for your students to learn.
2. Develop simple activities to reinforce each of these concepts.
3. Schedule the activities to take place directly after you've conveyed the related information.
4. Walk through the activity yourself a few times before the session - or run it by a colleague.
5. Schedule time to review and discuss the activity with your students. This will give you an opportunity to evaluate student learning and the...