Creating effective learning environments

This ability focuses on strategies that promote questioning, comparison of ideas, problem solving, participation and communication skills. This competency involves integrating active learning techniques, such as group work, applications of concepts to real life problems, small and large group discussions and interactive lectures.

Description

Learning is the action of gaining knowledge or a skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught. One way of learning is active learning, where the knowledge or the skill is gained by engaging actions. This way of learning is intended to:

  • Create better understanding.
  • Make fun and easy the learning process.
  • Encourage questioning and the comparison of ideas.
  • Promote the application of concepts to real life problems.
  • Foster communication skills.

There are different strategies for active learning that can be ordered in a spectrum that ranges from simple to complex tasks. Complex tasks are not inherently better. The choice of strategy depends on the content, context and time. See the artifact below to know the spectrum of active-learning activities.

It has been proved that active learning can increase student performance in STEM courses (Freeman et al., 2014) and several calls for incorporating active-learning instruction in the field courses have increased over the years. However, it is important to recall that active learning activities are not efficacious on their on, they should be accompanied by effective and inclusive teaching strategies, that is why instructors should be supported such that they gain the ability and the knowledge to create inclusive and active learning supporting environments for students (Auerbach et al, 2018).

Reflection

As educators, the promotion of active learning practices is fundamental to achieving effective and engaging instruction. I developed this competency by attending the Infusing Active Learning with Inclusive Practices workshop and the class Teaching College Mathematics. I recognized that I was already using inclusive teaching strategies like:

  • Introducing myself in the first class and creating an introduction activity to get to know my students.
  • Making nametags with the students such that we all know our names.
  • Presenting the classroom and group work guidelines on the first day of class.
  • Asking engaging and leading questions during lecture time.
  • Promoting self and group problem solving.

At the same time I have recognized different areas of improvement. These are some I implemented for the fall semester of 2024 and spring semester of 2025 being an instructor of College Algebra:

  • Brought copies of the blank notes to ensure every student has the opportunity to take notes in class.
  • Created interactive lectures: I interweave moments of lecture with individual and group problem-solving exercises, ensuring students actively engage with the material and strengthen their understanding.
  • With the help of my undergraduate assistants, every other week we reached out the students that were struggling in the class based on their attendance and performance in the class.
  • Organized exam reviews based on working in groups solving practice problems.
  • I wrote on the board the most important ideas of the lectures while saying them out loud because "Students are more likely to record what is written on the blackboard than what is stated only verbally" (Lew et al., 2016) .

As I have gained more experience implementing these strategies, I have become better at planning lessons more effectively, both in terms of timing and subject matter, and I have increased my confidence in applying them. Challenges remain—such as determining the optimal number of activities in the classroom or finding ways to engage students who are less motivated by these methods, but I remain committed to further developing my skills in active and inclusive teaching practices.

Artifacts & materials

Below you can find the slides of Dr. Goldberg and Dr. Hokanson in the workshop Infusing Active Learning with Inclusive Practices These slides define active learning and highlight its purpose in the classroom. One take away is that no learning strategy is not inherently better than another but their use depends on the goal and the learning context. We can order such strategies in a continuum , starting from short and unstructured task to more elaborated and complex tasks.

Next, we watched a video of an embodied case study on group work in the classroom. From this, we concluded that as instructors, to create an effective learning, we should we establish clear guidelines to work in groups. For example, all members should have equal participation and support each other, specially if someone is struggling with the material. Finally, in small groups we reflected on the broader value of embodied case studies.