As research continues, we predict that course designs inspired
by second-generation studies will result in additional gains in
student achievement, especially when the types of active learning
interventions analyzed here—which focused solely on in-class
innovations—are combined with required exercises that are
completed outside of formal class sessions (26).
Finally, the data suggest that STEM instructors may begin to
question the continued use of traditional lecturing in everyday
practice, especially in light of recent work indicating that active
learning confers disproportionate benefits for STEM students
from disadvantaged backgrounds and for female students in
male-dominated fields (27, 28). Although traditional lecturing
has dominated undergraduate instruction for most of a millennium
and continues to have strong advocates (29), current evidence
suggests that a constructivist “ask, don’t tell” approach
may lead to strong increases in student performance—amplifying
recent calls from policy makers and researchers to support faculty
who are transforming their undergraduate STEM courses (5, 30).