Current Students The Learning Centre During the study period Active learning, note taking, and effective reading

Active learning, note taking, and effective reading

Active Learning

Active Learning Pyramid

Active learning is an approach where you participate in activities that make you engage with information, rather than sitting passively and receiving information only. It promotes deeper learning, retention of knowledge, and better academic performance.

Some tips for actively engaging your brain are:

  1. Summarise your lecture notes and readings in your own words
  2. Explain theories you learn about to friends in your own words
  3. Set up a study group where you ‘teach’ each other weekly content and discuss theories
  4. Apply the theories to real world contexts
  5. Make mind maps and explanatory drawings
  6. Make flash cards and other memory aids
  7. If using a text book, use the end of chapter questions to guide your reading
  8. Practice self-tests such as past exams, or make your own questions from the course material
  9. Write a one minute summary of the key points from each week’s lecture material
  10. Test yourself on the last lesson’s content at the start of every week
  11. Muddy concepts – write down what confuses you the most and ask your tutor to clarify in the following week

Active Learning Strategies

Visual diagram

Active Learning means keeping the brain engaged when learning new information. One way of thinking about this is input + thinking + output = Active Learning.

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