March 16, 2010

Engaging Students through Problem-Based and Collaborative Learning Activities

Activities that actively engage students with course content, provide opportunities to practice and apply discipline-based skills, and enable students to collaborate with one another to encourage peer instruction are effective methods for improving student learning and connecting students with one another and their institution.

The Center for Teaching & Learning at Brigham Young University hosts a web page on collaborative learning in which 5 faculty members describe collaborative learning activities they use in their courses, discuss their rationale for using these strategies, and share their observations of the benefits for student learning.  Individual videos are short (the longest is about 7 minutes long) and include videos of students engaged in the activities described.

Topics discussed in these videos include:

William Baker, Management Communication
Video describes collaborative learning strategies in a Business Communication course, including the use of teams, peer instruction, peer review, and a capstone project.

Deborah Hines, Nursing
Video describes problem-based learning activities with peer coaching in a clinical setting.

Matthew Mason, History
Video describes active learning strategies that engage students with primary resources and develop communication skills.

Janet Young
Video describes the use of a short writing activity at the beginning of class to promote student preparation for class and support in-class discussion.

Center for Teaching & Learning, Brigham Young University
Videos of faculty discussing their use of a collaborative learning strategy
http://ctl.byu.edu/teaching-tips/collaborative-learning

 

Updated 02/23/12 cdw