Active Learning Tips

As we progress into ?active? learning , a group can make the task more effective.
Within the group, you share responsibility to participate and collaborate, take advantage of each participant?s strengths, and rely on each other for good project management and effective learning.

Classroom, online and public presentations:
Develop, produce, practice and deliver speeches and presentations;
multi-media and interactive programs; newsletters, Websites and blogs, etc.

Stages to develop these include:
Defining objectives; developing your ?voice? and point of view;
identifying and writing for an audience; mapping out program content;
identifying presentation tools/resources and communication technologies; scripting/developing the piece; practice and presenting;
documenting your message, and evaluating how you could have done better.

As an exercise, this is not static but rather a dynamic learning process.
Build on, apply and reinforce what you have learned.
In the process of translating content into message,
you refine what you think you know, and uncover more that you will need to understand since communicating relies on developing your message for a specific audience.
If in a collaborative project, you have the advantage of sharing perspectives as well as skills;
each should be open to personalized feedback that includes
questioning, listening and evaluating answers.

Saying and doing:
The more you work with the content of what is learned, the more confidently you will recall it.

Examples include interviewing and developing oral histories;
role playing, performing, debating through opposing points of view;
case studies and problem-based learning, gaming and simulations;
research projects and symposiums; developing models;
student teaching including developing evaluation instruments (test questions);
leading discussions and review sessions.
There is no better way to learn a language than to live in its environment.

Where?s writing?
Writing is communicating/expressing what you learned, a method of evaluating what you know,
as well as an active learning exercise

In pairs or a group, online or in person, you can read and react to what other learners post/write, and respond to and provide feedback in a collaborative environment, even collaborate on the development of an exercise.
Understand writing as a process
rather than a simple exercise of drafting and editing.
The goal is to refine its message value for an audience, and for that you need an audience!
Learn how to exchange feedback on an assignment.
Learn to listen to comments about content as if peers are the audience of the piece.
How they understand it, or expect to understand it:
What are the strengths and weaknesses, point of view, etc.
What is the role of grammar and vocabulary you are using?
Collaborating on the writing of an assignment, either in groups or online,
can be practice for employment situations