Active Learning Vs Passive Learning

Active Learning
According to 1.umn (2008), An umbrella that refers to ultimate responsibility for learning rests with the students, good teaching encourages to put forth more effort, gives opportunities for practice, and provides feedback on performance is known as  active learning. Cooperative learning, problem-based learning, and use of case methods and simulations are some approaches that promote active learning characteristics (District287, 2012). Active learning requires the students to take liability for learning, not just the teacher. The challenge of active learning is to expect the generalization performance of a learning machine before training data is gathered. 

Edutor (2011)

There are many ways to achieve active learning in the classroom. Within the class the teacher selects suitable active learning strategies which takes few minutes to cover the activities/ the entire class period, and involve the students as individuals/ in groups. The learning strategies selected will be determined by :

• teaching style of the teacher
• specific discipline
• course level
• experience and knowledge of the students
• preparation time of the teacher
• objectives of the teacher                                                                                (District287, 2012)

Value of Active Learning to the Students

According to fctl.ucff (2012), most important value is that active learning increases students' retention and comprehension of the course material because of the tasks to be accomplished become clear, utilizes the students knowledge, students have an opportunity to provide personal insights to develop their own answers, allow students to experiment with ideas, to develop and integrate concepts into larger systems. Active learning develops social experiences between students and between teacher and students too. It can build students and teacher within the classroom.

Value of Active Learning to the Teacher

Active learning concentrates on teaching function which helps teacher to select objectives at the correct level of student needs in order to meet them correctly (fctl.ucff , 2012). The teacher encourages students to be responsible for their own learning.

Risks of Trying Active Learning Strategies in the Classroom

Teachers give up the role where they act as an expert, group leader. Many teachers, giving up authority and control of the teaching in the current society  (District287, 2012). When the author attend school also teachers give up the responsibility of teaching to the students because that the students are responsible for active learning.

Getting started with Active Learning

• Low risk but highly effective is the modified lecture.

This technique will enhance student retention and comprehension. Students work in pairs to discuss and  to answer a question or solve a problem. Since each person in the class encourages participation, active learning is promoted (Bonwell, 1991)

Ite (2004)

Techniques of active learning

- For Individuals
These are not interrupting the flow of the class as its easy for individuals. These are useful to provide the instructor with feedback concerning student understanding and retention of the task. 

1. The One Minute Paper- A highly effective technique for checking student progress in understanding,  reacting to course material by giving  few questions which is  needed to be answer with one/ two minites.
    
2. Clearest Point - Students are provided some questions with a little longer time period to answer.
    
3. Affective Response -Teacher is asking students to report their reactions to some aspects of the course material. This is limited to the subject areas which is useful at starting point for courses.
    
4. Daily Journal - Allows for more in-depth discussion of or reaction to course material. Only disadvantage to this approach is that the feedback will not be give at once. as it's assigned for homework.
    
5. Response to a teacher centered activity - The students are asked to write a paragraph that begins with: I was surprised that ... I learned that ... I wonder about ... This allows the students to reflect on what they actually got out of the teachers’ presentation.                                                  

(Calstatela, 2012)

Allsaintshayward (2012)

Techniques of active learning

1. The One Minute Paper- A highly effective technique for checking student progress in understanding,  reacting to course material by giving  few questions which is  needed to be answer with one/ two minites.   
2. Clearest Point - Students are provided some questions with a little longer time period to answer.  
3. Affective Response -Teacher is asking students to report their reactions to some aspects of the course material. This is limited to the subject areas which is useful at starting point for courses. 
4. Daily Journal - Allows for more in-depth discussion of or reaction to course material. Only disadvantage to this approach is that the feedback will not be give at once. as it's assigned for homework. 
5. Response to a teacher centered activity - The students are asked to write a paragraph that begins with: I was surprised that ... I learned that ... I wonder about ... This allows the students to reflect on what they actually got out of the teachers’ presentation.      
6. Collaborative listing and ranking -  A group process by which members determine the individual aspects and prioritize them in a hierarchical order.   
7. Role-playing - The instructor provides imaginary contexts along with roles. students are encouraged to research on those contexts and dramatically present to the during class period. 
8. Debate - A formal discussion in which an issue or topic is approached from two, completely opposite points of view.  

                                                                                  (Indiana , 2012 and Calstatela, 2012)


The above techniques are used by most of the lecturers in APIIT, to build interest in the lecture to the students as students are responsible for active learning. So that students gets the exact idea of the topic and understand the work. Even the lecturer gives homework to do the students will do it in an interesting manner.                                           

For more details refer to this:-http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/document/active_learning_techniques.pdf

Passive Learning

Students will enter the course which they want to study with open minds, which are like empty vessels and the teachers will fill the minds of the students with knowledge, simply for the sake of securing better results in the examination (Blurtit, 2012). This concept is taking place in the traditional classes which mainly focus on the role of the instructor in the classroom. (Think that the students have the same level of knowledge as the teacher.)

Finally after each session the students usually remember only about 10% of the content which was taught during the class session. The lecturer in passive learning is basically a verbal textbook whose lectures are usually dull.(Blurtit, 2012)

Burcuakyol (2009)

According to authors opinion, today, in the school and in universities most of the students are passive learning as if the student raise the question the instructor/ lecturer is blaming. Passive learning is boring than the active learning which is elaborating in the below section of the topic. In some lectures students are listening and lecturer is teaching standing in front of the class without making humor. So that students are bored and dull.When  the lecturer give homework the students cannot understand the aspects taught in the lecture and the students are giving the work to do to another guy. This is specially happening in each and every batch of the school and universities. So that the teachers should be responsible for the future of the students life.....

Edutor (2011)

Difference Between Passive And Active Learning?

According to Blurtit (2012), Passive learning is the traditional lecture approach where students sit in the seats listening to a person standing at the front talking about something. Where as an Active learning involves students mentally, physically in learning the content because engagement improves their ability to remember and understand content (Blurtit, 2012).