Lesson plan What is active learning?

3. 'Active learning means taking away the teacher’s influence'
Active learning does not mean reducing the role of the teacher. The teacher is still the director of their students’ learning. Skilful planning is very important. For example, you need to consider: what your students are going to get from an activity, what resources you need to provide and how you are going to assess your students’ progress.

4. 'Active learning means a complete change of teaching style and classroom layout'
Active learning does not have to mean a complete change to classroom practice. You should think about how your students will learn in each activity. Occasionally, you might need to design a completely new activity or major classroom change. However, the changes required will often only be small ones. You might even realise that you are already promoting active learning but you did not recognise it.

5. 'Active learning will cause bad behaviour'
If students are actively engaged in a group discussion, the classroom will be noisier than if you are the only one talking. However, as with any activity, you will still be in charge of the class. You will need to decide what levels of noise you are happy with.

One of the exciting things about active learning is that students will want to engage with you in discussion. Sometimes they will want to discuss your interpretations and ideas. Healthy discussion is beneficial for students and teachers. However, you are still in charge of the class, and need to decide when things are available for discussion, and when the class needs to move onto the next topic or task.

6. 'Students have to be physically active'
Active learning is about making the brain active, not the person. Active learning does not mean that students have to move around the room. While students can move around the classroom if appropriate, they can also remain seated at their desks.

7. 'Active learning makes students less respectful'
A student who is engaged in thinking for themselves might not always agree with their teacher. However, healthy discussion in a respectful environment does not mean that the students will respect their teacher less. Healthy discussion means that students are engaging with their teacher as a partner in their learning.

Which of these seven misconceptions do you think you will hear from parents, students or colleagues? What will you say to them?