Materials and Methods
To create a working definition of active learning, we collected written definitions
from 338 audience members, before biology departmental seminars
on active learning, at universities throughout the United States and Canada.
We then coded elements in the responses to create the following consensus
definition:
Active learning engages students in the process of learning through
activities and/or discussion in class, as opposed to passively listening to an expert. It emphasizes higher-order thinking and often involves
group work. (See also ref. 31, p. iii).
Following Bligh (32), we defined traditional lecturing as “. . .continuous exposition
by the teacher.” Under this definition, student activity was assumed
to be limited to taking notes and/or asking occasional and unprompted
questions of the instructor.