As a lecturer, and I believe that this will be the case for many participants, most of us tend to approach learning from an educator’s point of view. This view of learning is often influenced by the more conventional view of teaching which emphasizes content delivery over active learning (Bajak 2014).

The key differentiating principle of active learning from more conventional forms of teaching is the idea that teaching should be centred around students (Blumberg 2019). Active learning, on this view, is important because engaging students enhances their learning experience, and also enables them to develop key skills such as critical thinking skills (Blumberg 2019). In this respect, active learning and problem-based learning share key tenets: problem-based learning, by getting students to work towards the understanding and resolution of a problem, seeks to develop key skills in students as well as create a more engaging learning environment (Barret and Cashman 2010).

It is from this vantage point that I want to reflect upon the first meeting as educators. It is rare as educators that have the opportunity to understand and reflect upon learning from a learner’s point of view. But to properly engage students, it seems that such reflection is not only beneficial, but necessary.

Some observations that I made:

Learning (initially) can be Dis-orientating

In active learning and problem-based learning, there is an important shift in who takes charge of learning. In conventional classroom or lecture-style teaching, students take on a largely passive role. PBL in contrast seeks to get learners to take responsibility for their learning. This approach has been shown to improve student engagement and learning (Blumberg 2019; Barret and Cashman 2010). And from my own experience, getting students to take charge of the learning experience engages them and also motivates them to pick up specialized skills they might not have a great initial interest in.

At the same time, sometime that I sometimes forget is how disorientating this can be, especially for students who might not be used to this form of teaching. Students who might be more used to the conventional style of teaching might find themselves having difficulties in adapting to this style of teaching, which relies heavily on learner engagement and discussion.

For example, in my own educational context in the National University of Singapore, many educators often comment that students are less forthcoming and willing to engage in discussion. While we do not have clear data to back up these claims, many of us believe that this can be traced back to the fact that education at the per-tertiary level tends to be based much more on conventional teaching methods, although there have been changes in light of some of the challenges these methods face (Ministry of Education 2017).

How then might we aid students in the transition towards PBL? One thing that I believe is very helpful from ONL is to be clear and explicit about the teaching methods that will be employed in the class. The pre-session materials were helpful in setting expectations and also making it clear the kind of classroom environment that students can expect. The key challenge is to be able to pitch this to students at varying levels of understanding, experience, and motivation. I hope to learn more about this throughout the course.

Learning is and should be social

Relatedly, I also observed that much of the disorientation comes from the fact that when we engage in active learning, we not only have to engage with the material, but more often than not, we are learning by working together and discussing with others. That is, unlike the conventional classroom, much, if not most, of the learning takes place through interactions with peers.

From my own personal experience, I believe that this collaborative approach is key to ensuring that students are engaged and motivated. By encountering differing perspectives, students learn to reflect upon their own preconceived notions and revise their own beliefs. They are also motivated to learn from one another when trust is built within the group.

Furthermore, given the nature of the workplace, students will inevitably have to learn to collaborate with others. As such, not only does learning have to be social, it should be social.

Open networks as active social spaces for learning across time and space

Reflecting upon the first session, I am struck by the fact that this learning process has taken place across time and space with a relatively larger number of students. One key tenet amongst proponents of learner-centred teaching as far as I have understood it, is that it is more conducive to smaller-group teaching sizes, this is a foundational principle, for example in my institution in the National University of Singapore (NUS College).

I think that there are definitely significant benefits to small classroom sizes. At the same time, this does not mean that we cannot incorporate learner-centred teaching techniques and models into bigger-size classes. This is an especially important question for me as I have been tasked with taking on bigger classes (ranging from 150 to 250 students).

It seems to me that open networks might provide us with an avenue for creating active learning social spaces that can cut across time and space. Synchronous and asynchronous meetings can help build camaraderie and trust within the group while also enabling learner flexibility. Open network learning also allows individuals to interact across geographies, allowing for a more diverse classroom environment than before. Of course, we might lament the fact that some interactions are better face-to-face, but I think that the promise of open network learning is that it allows us to create more meaningful learning opportunities even within bigger groups. I hope to explore how I might implement these ideas within my teaching.

References

Blumberg, Phyllis (2019) Making Learner-Centered Teaching Work, London: Routledge.

Barrett, T., Cashman, D. (Eds) (2010) A Practitioners’ Guide to Enquiry and Problem-based Learning. Dublin: UCD Teaching and Learning

NUS College (2022) “About NUS College”, Singapore, Singapore

Ministry of Education, Singapore, (2014) “Collaborating and Solving Problems in Teams, Singapore Students Show They Have What It Takes”. Singapore, Singapore