Active learning techniques, including team-based learning (TBL), are revolutionizing the higher ed classroom by creating peer-to-peer networks that enhance student engagement and success. By replacing the “sage on the stage” with the “guide on the side,” these strategies transform passive listeners into empowered learners by emphasizing collaboration and teamwork.

 

Bringing TBL and active learning into an online setting allows instructors to deploy their pedagogical benefits at scale and, more importantly, creates a 24/7 immersive learning ecosystem in which students can work together in a structured setting outside of standard classroom hours. CIRC’s synchronous online learning environment is an end-to-end teaching and learning system that features audio/video live streaming, an event-driven white board, and instructor tools for assigning polls, quizzes, and homework, as well as robust functions for measuring student-participation and generating analytics. The system can be used for online lectures, workshops, recitations, active learning sessions, and office hours.

 

Specialized active learning tools allow for online breakout sessions, study groups, group discussions, and team-based activities. To facilitate collaborative learning, students can be assigned to “smart groups” determined by their individual strengths and weaknesses, creating  a working dynamic  that allows for shared discovery.