Table 1.

Contemporary approaches to learning and classroom instruction

Approach	Brief description	Example activities	Select references
Active learning	Instructors actively engage students in the  learning process by assigning guided activities  and exercises that require students to articulate  and communicate ideas, explore attitudes and  values, and utilize higher-order cognitive strategies  such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation	One minute paper Debating topics Role-playing Daily journal Think-pair-share Analyzing/reacting  to videos  Collaborative learning group  Class discussion	Bonwell and Eison 1991; Johnson et al. 2006; Meyers and Jones 1993;  Moeller 1985; Richmond and Kindelberger Hagan 2011; Yoder and Hochevar 2005
Student-centered learning	Instructors assign primacy to students’ needs,  abilities, interests, and learning styles by making  them active learners and  giving them autonomy and control over choice of subject matter, learning  methods, and pace of study, which in turn increases  students’ responsibility for learning and helps them  develop skills to actively choose and manage their  educational goals	Self-initiated assignments Self-paced teaching  booklets Self-directed learning kits School-based action  research projects Learning logs Role-playing Class activities and  fieldwork	Brandes and Ginnis 1986; Brown 2008; Brown Wright 2011; Estes 2004; Hannafin et al. 1997; Kilic 2010; O’Neill and McMahon 2005; Tärnvik 2007; Weimer 2002
Collaborative learning	Students learn best when they tackle problems and  questions with peers—especially more knowledgeable  peers—insofar as such experiences provide students  with opportunities to learn new problem-solving  strategies and to debate ideas in a way that  challenges their understanding of concepts	Jigsaw classroom Group roundtables Paired annotations Send-a-problem Think-pair-share Three-step interview Team pair solo Circle the sage	Aronson and Patnoe 1997;  Barkley et al. 2005; Johnson and Johnson 1974; Millis 2010; O’Donnell et al. 2006; Slavin 1977, 1995; Smith et al. 2009;  Svinivki and McKeachie 2011
Experiential learning	Instructors promote learning by having students  directly engage in, and reflect on, personal experiences  that takes place in four stages (concrete experience, reflection, abstract conceptualization, and active  experimentation), leading to increased knowledge,  skill development, and values clarification	Keeping a reflective journal Observing phenomena  or behavior Conducting interviews  or experiments Participating in discussion  boards Playing games or  simulations Taking field trips Role playing Building a model	Beard and Wilson 2006; Cantor 1995; Clements 1995; Kayes et al. 2005; Kolb 1984; Kolb and Fry 1975; Kolb and Kolb 2005;  Maudsley and Strivens 2000;  Miettinen 2000; Moon 2004;  Svinivki and McKeachie 2011
Problem-based learning	Instructors (called “tutors” or “facilitators”) facilitate  learning by having students tackle complex, multifaceted  problems in small groups while providing scaffolding,  modeling experiences, and opportunities for self-directed  learning, which enhances students’ content knowledge,  and increases their academic self-efficacy, problem-  solving skills, collaboration skills, and self-directed  learning skills	Small-group teams Clarifying concepts and  terms Developing and testing  hypotheses Delegating research workload Studying privately Synthesizing and reporting  new information	Amador et al. 2006; Barrows 1996; Barrett 2010; Boud and Feletti 1997; Duch et al. 2001; Gasser 2011; Hmelo-Silver 2004; Karpiak 2011; Loyens et al. 2008; Schmidt 1983; Svinicki 2007