Active Learning Initiative
Session #1: An Overview
University of Alabama Arts and Sciences
Active Learner Initiative
History, Philosophy, Theory, and Methodology
Marvin E. Latimer Jr., Ph.D.
Music Education Department Head
University of Alabama

Active Learning Initiative
Session #1
An Overview: History, Philosophy, Theory, and
Methodology
Session #2
Learning Outcomes: Articulating our Expectations
Session #3
Promoting Active Learning: Toward Achieving Balance in the Classroom
Session #4
ALI: Documenting the Process for Departmental
Accountability

Active Learning Initiative
Who are these people and why are they saying these terrible things?
• Patrick Frantom, Ph.D.
, Assistant Professor, Department of
Chemistry
• Jessica Fordham Kidd, MFA, Clinical Professor and Associate
Director of First-year Writing, Department of English
• Rebecca Johnson , Director of Instructional Technology and New
Pedagogies
• Marvin Latimer, Ph.D.
, Associate Professor of Music Education and Head of the Department of Music Education
• Jeffrey Melton, Ph.D.
, Associate Professor of American Studies and Director of Undergraduate Studies
• Darren Surman, Ph.D.
, FTTI, New College

Historical Considerations
Impetus toward increased levels of accountability:
• International
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (1998)
• National
• Joint Commission for Accountability Reporting (1992)
• State
• Accountability legislation in 44 states (2004)
• Local
• University of Alabama Department of Arts and
Sciences Learner Centered Initiative (2004)
Leveille, D. A. (2005), An Emerging View on Accountability in American Education

Historical Considerations
University of Alabama Learner Centered Initiative
• Instituted in 2004 by Dean Olin
• One of six A&S Initiatives
• Dr. Joe Benson and Dr. Beverley Roscos
• 297 participants 2005-2012
• 2008 LCI matrices mandatory for retention
• 2012 LCI matrices mandatory for promotion to
Full Professor
• 2013 renamed Active Learning Initiative

Philosophical Considerations
“Our instructional culture focuses not on teaching, but on learning. Our faculty members seek not to simply deliver information but to expand student understanding through dialog, frequent feedback, and direct involvement in the subject area. Our Learner-Centered
College initiative focuses on the processes by which a student gains knowledge and understanding: active involvement in the learning experience, gathering and synthesizing information, using and developing critical thinking skills, and problem solving.”
University of Alabama A&S Initiatives , http://www.as.ua.edu/home/about_as/as-initiatives/

Theoretical Considerations
A Pragmatic Look at Curricula:
• What do they know (product)?
• What do they need to know (product)?
• How do we get them there (process)?
• What has been the default mode between:
• Product oriented curricular modes
• Process oriented curricular modes
• Why?
Driscoll, A. & Wood, S. (2007), Outcomes-based
Assessment for Learner Centered Education

Theoretical Considerations
What we know about all human beings:
• We are hard-wired to learn.
• We evaluate all sensory experiences, which are then placed into one of two categories.
• Threat reactions include adrenaline related
• Fight, flee, freeze responses
• Benefit reactions include endorphin related
• Integration responses
Thurman, L. & Welch, G. (2000). Bodymind &
Voice, Foundations of Education.

Theoretical Considerations
We are born with capability/ability clusters:
• The three umbrella capability clusters:
• Expressive and interactive
• Imitative
• Exploratory and discovery
• These structures exist in all human beings.
• They do not need to be taught.
• In short, we humans are hardwired to learn.
Thurman, L. & Welch, G. (2000). Bodymind &
Voice, Foundations of Education.

Theoretical Considerations
Research has led psychologists to suggest the following human learning dispositions:
• We learn better in groups than individually.
• We desire to be involved actively in decisions.
• We attempt to connect new knowledge to current and past “ real life ” experiences.
• We benefit from manipulating our environment.
• We require multiple modes of communication.
• We better retain knowledge from nonthreatening environments.
Thurman, L. & Welch, G. (2000). Bodymind &
Voice, Foundations of Education.

Theoretical Considerations
Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences:
• Logical/mathematical
• Spatial
• Linguistic
• Bodily/kinesthetic
• Musical
• Personal (interpersonal and intrapersonal)
• Naturalistic
• Existential
Gardner, H. E. (1983), Frames of Mind: The
Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

Theoretical Considerations
David A. Kolb on experiential learning:
• Converger
• Strong in application of ideas
• Diverger
• Strong in imaginative ability
• Assimilator
• Ability to create theoretical models
• Accomodator
• Ability to be practical and solve problems
• What are you and how do you know?
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the
source of learning and development.

Theoretical Considerations
Recent neuroscience —mapping body/brain pathways and benefits of experiential learning:
• Emotion is the gatekeeper of learning
• Intelligence is a function of experience
• Personal meaning is the key to memory
• Teachers influence input, but only students can derive meaning from sensory information.
• Such findings support earlier learning theorists who advocate for varied delivery systems.
McGeehan J. (2001), Brain Compatible Learning

Theoretical Considerations
An obvious assumption based on these and other findings would be that teachers should structure the design of learning objectives, presentation of material, and assessment of outcomes in a way that engages a broad range of human learning dispositions, intelligences, brain pathways, and learning styles.
Driscoll, A. & Wood, S. (2007), Outcomes-based
Assessment for Learner Centered Education

Methodological Considerations
In the United States, and all over the world for that matter, in spite of opportunities for innovation by changing technology and educational research, decades of surveys suggest remarkably little change among colleges and universities in the dominant use of lecture as the primary teaching method and objective summative assessment as the primary tool for student evaluation.
Bligh, D. A. (2000), What’s the Use of Lectures.

Methodological Considerations
The lecture method is effective for transmitting information. However, it is ineffective for:
• Changing attitudes about a subject
• Teaching values associated with a subject
• Inspiring interest in a subject
• Promoting thought about a subject
• Teaching various behaviors such as:
• Writing skills
• Verbal skills
• Use of technology
• Interpersonal skills
• What else?
Bligh, D. A. (2000), What’s the Use of Lectures.

Methodological Considerations
There are many instructional methods. Some are as follows:
• Lecture
• Lecture/discussion
• Demonstration
• Simulation
• Collaborative/cooperative learning
• Case study investigation
• Role playing
• Inquiry learning
• Debate
• Others?
Driscoll, A. & Wood, S. (2007), Outcomes-based
Assessment for Learner Centered Education

Methodological Considerations
The instructional model will necessarily govern the assessment technique:
• Formative Assessment
• Ongoing assessment that provides information about progress, misunderstandings, and need for clarification (p. 86).
• Summative Assessment
• The final process that follows the sequence of teaching and learning (p. 88).
Driscoll, A. & Wood, S. (2007), Outcomes-based
Assessment for Learner Centered Education

Philosophical Considerations
“Our instructional culture acknowledges the varied processes by which students gain knowledge and encourages active involvement in the learning process. Our faculty members seek not to simply deliver information but to expand student understanding through dialog, frequent feedback, and direct involvement in the subject area. Our active learning initiative provides resources--workshops, technology, peer support, and outreach efforts--to help faculty build learning environments that strengthen the capacity of students to gather and synthesize information and develop robust critical thinking skills.
”
University of Alabama Arts and Sciences Active Learning Initiative, (URL Here)

Group Discussion
• What is my role as teacher?
• What is the role of my students?
• What part of my class fits a particular instructional method?
• What is the percentage of my class devoted to each specific instructional method?
• What concepts in my course(s) currently are not being addressed as well as they could be?
• Could my students benefit from a more varied approach to instruction and assessment?
• What attributes of my class inhibit my ability to use more diverse instructional methods?