Active Learning and “Busyness”

Active learning is defined “The process of having students engage in some activity that forces them to reflect upon ideas and how they are using those ideas. Requiring students to regularly assess their own degree of understanding and skill at handling concepts or problems in a particular discipline. The attainment of knowledge by participating or contributing. The process of keeping students mentally, and often physically, active in their learning through activities that involves them in gathering information, thinking and problem solving.”(Defining Active Learning, By Maryellen Weimer, PhD, February 9, 2011) Now I must admit there are professors who mistake active learning as simply keeping students busy. Because of the emphasis on outcomes based learning, professors tend to bombard students with activities that force them to apply the lessons. I use the word “force” because the ways the lessons are being implemented are “dictated” by the professor. The students are not given the freedom on how to implement the lesson. I must admit, as teacher of financial management and production and operations, I have to set parameters to my students when they apply the lessons in their operations. But what I do not limit is their creativity in meeting their objectives related to the subject. I set the parameters of a gross sales target of X amount and a positive net income, and I will measure this based on accounting rules, but how they reach this is what I give them as freedom. I won’t tell them how to make money, but I will show them and facilitate how they should measure their money. I must admit a number of professors would tell their students this and that, but the students do not understand the relevance of the activity. For example majority of students I encountered know how to compute the breakeven point but do not know how to implement it in their company’s financials or production and operations. They are kept busy being asked to compute so many matters that they don’t know when to use in their company operations. They know how to compute. But do not know when to use it, and why they should use it. An effective active learning activity does not only teach students “how”, but “why” and “when”. The challenge for me as instructor of financial management is to make sure my activities reach “how”, “why” and “when”.