Active Learning Strategies: An illustrative approach to bring out better learning outcomes from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students

Teaching in a Teacher centric manner has been the mainframe teaching style in engineering education, however students feel it as a single sided approach and feel they are only passive listeners thus this style has now paved way to a Learner centric style of teaching-learning which is ACTIVE LEARNING, wherein every student is actively involved in one or the other form of learning and thus gets a chance to develop the key aspects of the course either on their own or by being a member of an active-learning group. They thus not only learn and practice the course contents but also learn managerial and team skills which are of much importance in present scenario in regard to Industries and companies where these students will be ultimately hired as employees. Professional education is making one’s students ready for the profession which includes team work, management and technical skills, thus Active learning has emerged as a mainframe tool for cherishing this aim of professional education, especially Science, Technology, Engineering and Management (STEM) education. This paper aims to focus on a few facets of this active learning process and give an overview to the teaching faculty as well as students on what their individual roles must be like in this process for getting the most out of this process. I. PRACTICAL EXAMPLES Using practical examples in the classroom can link theoretical concepts and the thus derived ideas to real world situations and help engage students from many perspectives. Teaching methods such as effective usage of case studies and incorporating brainstorming sessions in lecture classes are found to be of great benefit. A. Connecting theory with real-time applications Students generally express their concern regarding the need for more industry driven and practical examples to reinforce theory in the classroom. The use of practical examples can help one to connect theory with practical applications more effectively the teaching to learning. The introduction of practical examples does not imply; elimination of theory, but rather the extension of theory taught in the classroom. It is important to alongside develop theoretical and practical base for knowledge, since both complement each other and none is useful without the other. The use of practical examples in the classroom is oriented to achieve the following objectives: 1. To illustrate, explain new and novel approaches in a course, making the theoretical base of the material more accessible to the students. Practical examples helps the students understand new concepts being thus introduced. 2. Teach students the methods in applying their knowledge of a course to new situations that are not directly covered in lecture class. The aim here is to demonstrate to the students that not only what they are learning has practical applications but, more importantly, how the concept can be applied by their levels of understanding of the basic principles to such real world problems. Practical examples can and must be included at all levels of the course irrespective of whether it is an entry level one or at higher level. When zeroing in on examples to be used for instruction, it is important that one makes the examples as clear and straightforward as possible. The key is to make the examples as simple as possible, and to make sure that they aptly demonstrate the desired theoretical principle. Whenever possible, the examples should be designed such that the students’ physical senses are brought out. Examples that the students are likely to enjoy include those that require them to use their sense organs of sight, feeling, hearing or smell. The following guidelines are essential, when one is in the process of implementing practical examples: Firstly one (teacher) has to understand the example given and be able to explain it. If one cannot provide a clear explanation for the example, the example will rather confuse the students than what it will help them. Before giving a demonstration or a home assignment, it is essential that one carries out the assignment by themselves. This will ensure that one exactly knows what the students will see. It will also help one to anticipate questions. Giving an assignment or demonstration that doesn‘t work is frustrating to the students and is bad for one’s credibility. Choosing examples that are relevant to the student is a key aspect. Examples that students can observe in their day to day life as opposed to those in a film, online or on television are better. One must try to find examples that the students can observe on campus or at home. Pulling out examples from recent events like, for instance, explaining the cause of a design failure of a fly over bridge that collapsed recently and was in the news. It is essential to explain the basic principles behind a new or commonly used product, like the process design of a disk drive in a iJET ‒ Volume 9, Issue 9: "Blended Learning", 2014 21 PAPER ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES: AN ILLUSTRATIVE APPROACH TO BRING OUT BETTER LEARNING OUTCOMES FROM... computer can be easily linked to Bernoulli’s equations in a Fluid Mechanics course. Using examples that are not familiar to students is another essential feature. Often, such examples will ignite their interest more rapidly because of their novelty. If one chooses a well-known case, they must be careful; in regard to the pre-existing assumptions about the material in the students’, which may or may not be a grounded fact. B. Types of Practical Examples Practical examples can be grouped into the following broad categories: 1. Those that can assist in the explanation of theory and new concepts, 2. Those that illustrate the application of basic principles, 3. Those that can both explain theory and new concepts and illustrate their application. Practical examples can also be broken down into various types based on the format in which they are applied. C. Process of Explaining the Practical Examples