Active Learning
Active Learning is the teaching approach by which students engage in higher order thinking skills by active participation in class activities. These classroom activities include creating learning artifacts, and evaluating and analyzing course materials.
Active learning emphasizes student engagement and participation in the learning process. It is based on the premise that students learn best when they are actively involved in the process of constructing their own understanding by applying knowledge.
Active learning can take place both inside and outside of the traditional classroom, and it can be used in both face-to-face and online settings. Active learning activities can help students to develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration skills, and can promote deeper understanding and retention of course content. Some examples of active learning include collaborative learning, game-based learning, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and self-directed learning.
Collaborative Learning
Collaborative learning is a practice that involves creating thoughtful and meaningful lessons that require students to work in tandem with one another to reach the goals and objectives of the lesson. Moreover, a collaborative learning lesson should be constructed with advanced rigor in mind in order to produce results that stimulate the learning process.
Collaborative learning in higher education promotes higher order thinking and encourages stimulating and didactic conversations. In addition, collaborative learning lessons foster greater communication among students as they find themselves working together in small groups to solve problems, complete projects, or to reach a common goal. This involves students working together in small groups to solve problems, complete projects, or engage in other hands-on activities.
In collaborative learning situations, students also gain the potential to feel more social and engaged with the other students and the course as a whole. For example, discussions and debates encourage students to engage in class discussions and debates on course-related topics can help to promote active learning and critical thinking.