Active vs. Passive Learning
In a face-to-face class you are not only a subject matter expert (SME) but you are the center of the class. It is through you that students (learners) know what to do and how to do it. You are the gate keeper of information and you guide your learners through the material.
In contrast, in an online class, the subject matter and how it is disseminated are at the center of the course. It is as if you are a facilitatior.
The question is: "Is this a bad thing?"
By creating a Learner/Student centered course, you empower, give confidence, and motivate students to be independent thinkers and life long learners. This also makes your job easier, because you can direct your energies into students who need a little more help and guidance, and even find time to do some grading.
Over the course of this module, you will read different accounts of Teacher Centered and Student/Learner Centered courses.
Although they reflect face-to-face classes, it can be said that they were tailor-made for online courses.
An "old school" way of thinking about this is Active vs. Passive Learning: Students just sitting back and absorbing what you are dishing out vs. students engaging and contributing to the learning process.
ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE LEARNING
Advice to college students! Source: http://dept.ju.edu/psychology/activel.htm Links to an external site. (broken link at the moment)
Adopt the attitude that your college teachers are responsible for no more than presenting ideas and information to you. Assume that it is your responsibility to learn. Students are often conditioned by magazines, television, and movies to be passive learners, and therefore they expect to be entertained by their textbooks and instructors. The only instructors or assignments students pay attention to are those that catch their attention just as professional entertainers do.
College teachers are not encouraged to be entertainers; being an entertainer in the classroom is viewed as unprofessional at most schools. How much time and money do you think your teachers are given to prepare jokes, create witty sayings, and go through all the other preparations that professional comedians and entertainers do? The answer is "None at all." You will be lucky to find a teacher who not only knows his/her material completely, but who can also add wit and charm to its presentation. Most teachers have a great deal of information to present to you for your consideration; ask no more of them. College teachers are simply not in the entertainment business.
Consider developing the attitude that you are going to become an active learner, and that you are going to get the most out of every class. You have paid your money, so get what you paid for. You can make even the most boring class interesting by assuming that every teacher has useful information for you. Be an active learner. Be determined to learn everything that you can from each of your teachers and textbooks. Realize that the best investment that you will ever make is in yourself. You may lose your job or your money, but no one can ever take your education away from you.
While this clearly suggest that attending class helps students to increase their performance, their are many other ways in which assuming an active strategy towards your education can enable you to achieve academic success. Consider the following pairs of active vs. passive strategies and, whenever possible, choose the active approach.
Passive: Just sit in lectures because you have to be there.
Active: Come to lectures prepared, pay attention, take notes, and ask questions.
Passive: Buy used books that already have the important points underlined.
Active: Buy new books and do the underlining yourself.
Passive: Borrow and use lectures notes from someone who has already taken the class.
Active: Take you own lecture notes.
Passive: Read assignments just to get them over with.
Active: Skim assignments first, make up a list of questions that you would like to answer, and then read the assignments to answer the questions.
Passive: Pay attention only to the grades you earned on tests when they are returned.
Active: Study returned tests carefully so that you don't make the same mistakes again.
Passive: Don't work any harder than you have to in any class.
Active: Volunteer to help someone in your class who is having a tough time.
Link Links to an external site.