Active learning through active teaching

Dal's Provost and Vice-President Academic Teri Balser delivered a keynote lecture at the 2019 Dalhousie Conference on University Teaching and Learning this week, discussing how instructors can better encourage active learning in students by setting a precedent themselves through "active teaching."

Dr. Balser's talk was one of two keynotes and more than 50 sessions featured during the two-day conference for university instructors, which centred this year on the important role active learning plays in ensuring different types of students are able to reach their full academic potential.

She provided insights on creating an engaging academic environment that can help ensure information is being absorbed by students of all learning styles.

“Active learning is more than the techniques,” said Dr. Balser during her talk Thursday morning. “The techniques are a valuable means to an end, but if we get too caught up in the procedural aspect of trying to get the technique perfect, we might miss some of the really valuable stuff.”

She encouraged instructors to be mindful of the ways in which students can apply knowledge gained in the classroom to the workplace and consider what students can take away from the course.

Managing risk in the classroom

Students perceive risk differently than instructors and, as Dr. Balser suggested, that could be one of the reasons some students are not able to reach their full potential.

She discussed the importance of risk management in the world of academia as a certain level of perceived risk associated with an activity may hamper students’ learning.

A collective “Oh…” could be heard from the audience as Basler shared that students consider in-class discussions and group work to be high-risk whereas independent work outside of the classroom is considered to be relatively low-risk.

Dr. Balser admitted that there is a trial-and-error aspect to encouraging active learning through risk management and emphasized the value of student feedback on the instructor’s teaching methods following the conclusion of a course.

Never underestimate the power of passion

Active learning does not have to break the mold in terms of creativity though Balser encouraged instructors to be as innovative as possible with their teaching styles.

She said that when she asked students how they were best able to learn, the majority of the students stated that they were best able to absorb and store information when their instructors were passionate about the subjects they were teaching.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time,' she said. "Just about anything that focuses the students’ attention and generates thought is effective.”

Organized by the Dalhousie Centre for Learning and Teaching, and sponsored bythe Office of the Provost and VP Academic, the conference's full program included sesssions on topics such as Mi’kmaw pedagogy, group tests, simulation learning, LGTBQ+ inclusion and more. Its other keynote was from Dr. Sara Harris, professor of teaching in the department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and associate dean academic for the Faculty of Science at the University of British Columbia (UBC).