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1.Introduction
One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it-you have no certainty until you try.
-Sophocles, 5th c. B.C.E.
Education has evolved. From Sophists lecturing to their students centuries ago to instructors lecturing to their students a few short decades ago, school learning has largely consisted of passive activity of listening and processing. While that form of pedagogy-transmitting knowledge from the instructor to the student-may have inspired others in the past, modern pedagogy shows that students learn differently and better retain knowledge which they gain actively, rather than passively. This is especially true of today's traditional students.
Bar-Yam, Rhoades, Sweeney, Kaput, and Yam (2002) maintain that teaching takes two forms: convergent and divergent. Convergent teaching refers to highly structured action and focuses the teacher transmitting knowledge (teacher-centered). Divergent teaching makes the students active participants in the knowledge process (student-centered). Research has demonstrated that higher student achievement and engagement stems from active learning (Bunce, Flens, & Neiles, 2010; Carlson & Winquist, 2011; Freeman et al., 2004; McDermott et al., 2014). However, Smith and Valentine (2012) purport that instructors in face-to-face (and often in online) courses still employ didactic teaching methods even though research has determined that active learning provides learners a deeper understanding of the information.
This review takes an in-depth look at active learning. It begins with the guiding definition of active learning, then describes its origins and history. Next, it explores the connection between active learning and authentic learning. Then it discusses action research, followed by evaluating active learning. Next, it describes the context of active learning in the online environment, followed by a look at research activities of active learning through action research and authentic active learning. It continues by exploring active learning in both face-to-face and online classrooms and concludes with recommendations for future research. Overall, this essay will explore and describe the current contours of active learning and their implications for the communication discipline.
2.Defining Active Learning
Active learning scholarship appears as neither a nascent area nor a clearly-defined area. Active learning has many definitions, all related to each other. Machemer and Crawford (2007) define active learning as a process that "provides opportunities for students to reflect, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and communicate on or about...