March 16, 2020

We all want to make learning active, but it is not always clear how. In this talk, Dr. Fiorella from UGA’s College of Education will distinguish between behavioral activity (what students do) and cognitive activity (what students think). He will argue active teaching should focus on supporting productive cognitive activity rather than behavioral activity per se. Meaningful learning depends on selecting important information, organizing it into a coherent structure, and integrating it with prior knowledge. Dr. Fiorella focuses on the unique benefits and boundary conditions of two types of “generative” strategies that support productive cognitive activity: explaining (to oneself or others) and spatializing (drawing or concept mapping). This approach provides practical guidelines for how to emphasize active thinking in active learning.

Watch the full forum here