Not simply “active”: identifying types of active-learning tasks in introductory biology

Active learning is a phrase that lacks clear definition, which has hampered researchers' efforts to investigate the nuances of effectiveness and instructors' efforts to capitalize on potential benefits for students. One way to advance our understanding of "active learning" is assessing by the type of intellectual work that in-class activities require of students. We systematically analyzed in-class work opportunities created for students in 55 introductory biology courses around the United States, each of which used active learning. We did so by adapting an observation approach grounded in the ICAP framework and analyzing classroom videos in 15-s segments. Instructors devoted about a quarter of class time to student work time, on average, but this varied widely. About half of these student work opportunities focused on recall, and half required students to generate answers beyond what had been presented to them, which can foster deeper learning and better transfer than recall alone. The ratio of these levels of intellectual work varied considerably across courses. We also tested whether course- and instructor-level factors predicted the amount and level of active-learning opportunities and found no significant relationships. This work provides a striated definition of active learning that will be useful to researchers studying active-learning outcomes and instructors aiming to harness learning benefits for their students.