What is active learning?

Active learning is experiential, mindful, and engaging.
Through it you can explore a set of learning experiences that can be more effective and interesting, and take more responsibility for your education. This is especially critical in an online environment where you may not even meet your teacher or fellow students.

Begin by defining content (what to study) and establishing your objectives (what to learn). Next read! Do your research. Then build a foundation of activities that can help you learn, and communicate what you have learned. Some may not be interesting to you; some a nice fit with your preferred learning style(s).

You can engage in these first activities as an individual:

Active listening:
Active listening intentionally focuses on who you are listening to, whether in a lecture, in a conversation, or a group, in order to understand what is said. As the listener, you should then be able to “replay” or repeat back in your own words what they have said to their satisfaction. This does not mean you agree with, but rather understand, what they are saying. See our guide on active listening.

Looking/seeing
Look at images, such as pictures and graphs and maps (for example, the Cone of Learning below).
Try to understand the use and importance of each image: enter key words that come to mind.
Verbal cues, such as titles and authors, and visual cues such as line, color, visual organization, etc. will help you interpret information and understand its story without the words.
Often the context of the image is vital to understanding it, as illustrations in a text book, examples in a catalogue, graphs in a financial statement.
So also a painting can be better understood by its time, art movement, etc.

Seeing and hearing:
In and outside classroom PowerPoint lectures, multimedia and movies have the advantage of illustrating reading and lecture content in new (engaging) formats
Demonstrations and field trips build on classroom experiences
Provide an individual or shared learning experience on a topic
Enable you as learner to witness how concepts are practiced or exemplified in real life processes or situations
Remember: you don’t need a classroom trip to visit locations that will help you understand your studies! Brainstorm organizations, factories, etc. and send an email or phone to set up a visit. Don’t just go and expect professionals to stop their work.

Cone of Learning adapted from Edgar Dale (1946)

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!

Guides referenced in Active Learning:

A+ = 6.7 % – Cemerlang

A = 12.7 % – Cemerlang

A- = 6.4 % – Cemerlang

B+ = 7.0 % – Kepujian

B = 7.7 % – Kepujian

C+ = 9.6 % – Kepujian

C = 8.9 % – Kepujian

D = 11.4 % – Lulus

E = 10.4 % – Lulus

LULUS = 81.0 %

GAGAL = 19.0%

Jumlah Calon = 85,382 orang

Gred Purata MP = 5.14

You can prepare yourself to succeed in your studies.
Try to develop and appreciate the following habits:

• Take responsibility for yourself
  Recognize that in order to succeed you need to make decisions about your priorities,
  your time, and your resources

• Center yourself around your values and principles
  Don't let friends and acquaintances dictate what you consider important

• Put first things first
  Follow up on the priorities you have set for yourself, and don't let others, or other interests, distract you from your goals

• Discover your key productivity periods and places
  Morning, afternoon, or evening?
  Find spaces where you can be the most focused and productive.
  Prioritize these for your most difficult study challenges

• Consider yourself in a win-win situation
  When you contribute your best to a class, you, your fellow students,
  and even your teacher will benefit.
  Your grade can then be one additional check on your performance

• First understand others, then attempt to be understood
  When you have an issue with an instructor (a questionable grade, an assignment deadline, etc.) put yourself in the instructor's place.
  Now ask yourself how you can best make your argument given his/her situation

• Look for better solutions to problems
  For example, if you don't understand the course material, don't just re-read it.
  Try something else! Consult with the professor, a tutor, an academic advisor, a classmate, a study group, or your school's study skills center

• Look to continually challenge yourself

The best book is not the book I like best.
The best book is the book
that takes you where you want to go.

Characteristics of Critical Thinkers

• They are honest with themselves
• They resist manipulation
• They overcome confusion
• They ask questions
• They base judgments on evidence
• They look for connections between subjects
• They are intellectually independent

Ask yourself the following questions as you read:

• What is the topic of the book or reading?
  What issues are addressed?
• What conclusion does the author reach about the issue(s)?
• What are the author's reasons for his or her statements or belief?
  Is the author using facts, theory, or faith?

Facts can be proven
Theory is to be proved and should not be confused with fact
Opinions may or may not be based on sound reasoning
Faith is not subject to proof by its nature

• Has the author used neutral words or emotional words?
  Critical readers look beyond the language to see if the reasons are clear
• Be aware of why you do, or do not, accept arguments of the author