Whether adults or children, learning audiences risk stagnancy both in cognitive and physical function if held hostage by a chair all day (Lu, Akinola, & Mason, 2017). When you have only so much time to teach an audience something, you'll hardly feel compelled to lose time to something not in your curriculum. However, studies have shown that even having your audience stand up for at least two minutes every 20 minutes can have vast benefits on pancreatic health (Reynolds, 2012).
The key is to provide as many Active Learning opportunities--"Active" here meaning both physically an mentally engaging (University of Minnesota, Center for Educational Innovation, 2018)--as possible; activities which require your audience to move about the room and keep on their feet.
Below, you will find some strategies for Active Learning and plain old activity in the general classroom.
The key is to provide as many Active Learning opportunities--"Active" here meaning both physically an mentally engaging (University of Minnesota, Center for Educational Innovation, 2018)--as possible; activities which require your audience to move about the room and keep on their feet.
Below, you will find some strategies for Active Learning and plain old activity in the general classroom.
Activity Strategies
Active Learning does not entirely encompass physical activity (University of Minnesota, Center for Educational Innovation, 2018). Here are some strategies for getting learners on their feet throughout the day:
- Set timers for breaks - Scheduling concrete times to break a lesson (or even just subject matter) has shown important benefits to people's creativity (Lu, Akinola, & Mason, 2017). In my experience, it's easy to start talking and lose track of time. But just because I'm absorbed in teaching a lesson, that doesn't guarantee my audience feels the same way. That's why it's important to set a timer on a phone to ensure that I don't carry on too long and fail to notice a fidgety group compulsively checking the clock. To compliment this, practice is key to figure out pacing of a lecture, so that I don't get to a crucial point in the lesson just as the alarm goes off.
- Walking lectures - Though this strategy will likely suit smaller learning groups better, a Stanford study (Wong, 2014) found that people found a boost in creative output by as much as 60% while in movement versus sitting at a desk. Taking your class for a stroll, perhaps during times where brainstorming is necessary, will help increase blood-flow to the brain and trigger neural activity necessary for ideation and subject permanence (Collins, 2016).
- Gamified Learning - Creating gamified lessons with physically active components has shown empirical evidence of health benefits, particularly targeted outcomes of behavior benefits, and physical activity in particular (Johnson, Deterding, Kuhna, Staneva, Stoyanova, & Hides, 2016). Worried about the time it takes to create the game? Why not have your students take an active role in its creation? This will not only engage them physically, but it supports the Learner Led component of the LEAP Framework (LEAP Innovations, 2019).
- Simulations/Gallery Walks-When applicable, I try to incorporate simulations, gallery walks or simply learning stations to get students moving around the room.
- Learning Stations- Groups work in pods of 4 on a part of an assignment, discuss and write answers as a group and then they must switch to other tables, finding entirely new people to work with each time. This not only requires them to move around, but to collaborate with all students in the class, ensuring that no one gets left out (ASCD, n.d).
- Find Your Partner-At the beginning of a quarter, I have them fill out a Quarter Partner sheet that when we need to get into groups, I can say “Find your Vampire/Zombie/Voltron” partner and they have to go around to find that individual. This is great way to get students comfortable with all members of the class as well as get movement around for a brain break.
Download the Find Your Partner Template from the button below and change the images to fit your needs!
This book encourages Active Learning for anchoring information, and offers strategies for large and small classes alike. Though some of its topics may seem geared toward K-12 education, all are adaptable for the adult learning classroom as well.