There are many different types of active learning activities that require students to participate in their education in a dynamic and energetic manner. Students are given more responsibility in active learning than in traditional, more passive educational assignments. Reenacting historical events, observing insects in their natural habitats, solving math problems in a group using manipulatives, and creating a presentation about a work of fiction or nonfiction are examples of active learning activities based on hands-on assignments and activity-based learning. Many of these educational activities are designed to encourage students to learn more requiring them to actively participate in the learning objectives for which they are responsible, with the theory that the more they are required to interact with the information, the more deeply they will think about and learn it.
Reenacting historical events and holding debates are common active learning activities in social studies classes. Students may be required to read primary and secondary documents from history as well as contemporary accounts of an event, synthesize that information, and then write and act out the event in a group setting if they are given the task of reenacting historical events. After groups have acted out their interpretations of a historical event, the class can dig deeper into the event and debate in groups about contentious issues or positions related to the historical event.
Teachers in science classes may have students participate in active learning activities such as studying the characteristics of various insects and then observing these insects, their behavior, and the conditions in which they live in the wild. A class could study ants, their living environment, the types of work they do, and the foods they consume. They could then go into the woods and look for ant colonies, which they could observe and record in groups. These groups could then meet to finalize their observations in the form of charts, drawings, or narrative writing, and present their findings to their classmates, along with any remaining questions. Returning to the ant habitats for more observation and attempts to answer any remaining questions about ant life could be a follow-up activity.
Students in mathematics classes may participate in active learning activities such as breaking down a complex geometry problem into groups and solving it with manipulatives. To come up with a viable solution to their problem, the students could use manipulatives — or plastic geometric shapes — their mathematics textbook, calculators, and each other. These students could present their work to the entire class once they’ve solved their assigned problem. These types of activities allow students to teach one another and can be more effective than simply listening to a lecture on how to solve a similar problem. When it comes to active learning activities, teachers serve more as facilitators and coaches than as leaders.
Students in language arts and English classes may be able to actively learn and improve their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills reading and completing a project on a challenging nonfiction or fiction book. Students read carefully, write journal entries, answer essay questions, create an in-depth model or detailed visual about the book, and then develop a presentation for the class. Before answering questions from their teacher and classmates about the book, students could present their visual and information about it and how it related to them.