Whenever experiences stimulate mental activities that lead to meaningful

learning, this is active learning. Mentally active learning of ideas-and-skills can

occur in a wide variety of thought-stimulating activities, ranging from direct learning (of ideas that are explained in a

web-page, book, lecture, video, tv or radio show,...) to learning by discovery (as in doing an experiment and then trying to

discover your own explanations for what has been observed), or in design projects and other kinds of problem solving where

the learning cannot be defined as either direct or discovery.

All of these thought-stimulating activities can produce active

learning, because educationally productive mental activity can occur

— with or without physical activity in which you “do” something — during

a wide variety of mentally-active experiences.

ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE

Explanatory talks involve the teacher lecturing the students. The students

either sit passively or take notes. They are expected to absorb the

information given to them.

ADVANTAGES

Increasing Understanding

According to DJS Research Limited, the principal use of exploratory research is to increase a researcher's understanding of a

subject. It should not be used to draw definite conclusions, due to its lack of

statistical strength, but it can help a researcher begin to determine why and how

things happen.

Flexibility of Sources

Secondary sources, such as published literature or data, are commonly used in exploratory

research. Other sources of information used in exploratory studies include informal

discussions, formal structured interviews, pilot studies or case studies. These might involve

customers, colleagues, patients or clients. Care should be taken to select a range of unbiased

sources to give a broad and well-rounded understanding of the subject.

Better Conclusions

Exploratory research can be very advantageous in directing subsequent

research approaches. A greater understanding of a subject helps hone

subsequent research questions and can greatly increase the usefulness of a

study's conclusions

Strategic Planning

Exploratory research in some cases can save a great deal of time and money by flagging dead ends early. For example,

in drug development, exploratory Phase II clinical trials give the expected

treatment effect and adverse reaction profile of a drug in a small groups of

patients before moving into larger scale trials.

Class Size

Class discussions become less effective with a class size greater than 20 students. As the class size grows beyond this point, individual voices become unheard and the

opportunity for the class to get off topic increases. Skilled teachers begin to notice this problem with fewer than 20 students, but with effective class management you

can hold your class together.

Few DominateThe class discussion environment allows a few

individual students to dominate the class conversation. This tendency benefits your

strongest students, the individuals already most familiar with the subject. Other students

are able to relax into the background and participate less often in the class discussion.

This freedom leads to a relaxation of their student responsibilities. They are free to

assume that they can avoid studying, reading assignments or individual contemplation of the

subject. This problem escalates as the class size increases.

Time Consuming

The nature of class discussion makes the process very time consuming.

The process of exploring a subject, while keeping students on task in the

discussion, requires far more time than classic lecture style instruction.

Off Track

Classroom discussions naturally open avenues for discussion between

instructors and students but also between students and other students.

While these discussions are the focus of the class, they can turn toward areas

you do not intend and even move entirely away from the point of the

discussion.

STEP•Using the guide

Is to be used in interactive, ways to promote in dept conversation and

thinking over a sustained period about the concepts which build he

framework

•BELONGING& BECOMING

Both the framework and he guide are design to engage educators in

critical thinking

•Think about

Explanatory information about the section

•Talk and reflect about

Includes reflective question and suggestion for going deeper

• TRY OUT

Possible entry points

• HEAR ABOUT

Stories and models practice

• FIND MORE ABOUT

Link to other resources. Photos are included to illustrate the link

between the principle practice and learning outcome

Writing Strategies

Objectives

Students willLearn how descriptive words make stories clearer and more interesting.

Write stories using descriptive words

ProceduresHave your students close their eyes and listen as you describe a familiar object in the classroom. Ask students to raise their hands if they think they know what the object is. Ask students to list the descriptive words that helped them identify the object.

Evaluation

Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson.Three points: Students were highly engaged in class discussions and partner readings; demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of using descriptive words in writing; and wrote creative, unique, and descriptive paragraphs that contained no grammatical or spelling errors, and clearly identified a particular item

Two points: Students participated in class discussions and partner readings; demonstrated a general understanding of the importance of using descriptive words in writing; and wrote somewhat creativeOne point: Students participated minimally in class discussions and partner readings; were unable to demonstrate a basic understanding of the importance of using descriptive words in writing; and wrote incomplete or inaccurate paragraphs that contained multiple grammatical or spelling errors and did not clearly identify a particular item or revealed the name of the item.

Academic Standards

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)

McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education addresses 14 content areas