Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education: Teaching for Leadership, Innovation, and Creativity

In the era of the 21st century knowledge society, higher education can play an important role as a driver for innovation, leadership and creativity, as it helps develop not only well informed and knowledgeable citizens but also responsible and creative individuals. The challenges of globalization, tightly linked with rapid developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the need to address issues of quality and inclusiveness for a better quality of life and a sustainable future, have become drivers of change in higher education institutions. We are experiencing a shift towards more interdisciplinary curricula and a more integrated and student-centred approach to teaching. Instructors increasingly use active learning and other pedagogies of engagement as a means to increase learning and improve student attitudes. This book explores best practices for effective active learning in higher education. Experienced instructors from different disciplines and countries share their experiences and reflect on best practices, as well as on the theoretical underpinnings of active learning. Contributors share their thinking on strategies based on different active learning methods such as the use of ICTs, collaborative learning and experiential learning, as well as their implications for teaching, assessment, curriculum design and higher education administration. Active learning provides skills for real life problem solving and prepares students to become responsible and active citizens. This book will be a very significant resource for educators who are interested in making a difference in students' lives.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Section I: Active Learning in Higher Education: A Theoretical Background  1. Towards an Epistemology of Active Learning in Higher Education and its Promise; Lorayne Robertson  2. Designing for Active Learning: A Problem Centered Approach; Susan Stetson-Tiligadas Section II: Active Learning Strategies in Higher Education: "Stories" and Lessons Learnt  3. Active Learning Stories in Higher Education: Lessons Learned and Good Practices in STEM Education; Anastasia Misseyanni, Paraskevi Papadopoulou, Christina Marouli and Miltiadis Lytras   4. Concepts and communication in the early stages of an environmental science degree: a case study of formative activities and tasks; Peter J. Shaw   5. Active Learning Strategies: Stories and Lessons Learnt - Studying Environment in the Field; Daniel Moscovici and Emma Witt   6. Online Learning as the Catalyst for more Deliberate Pedagogies: A Canadian University Experience; Lorayne Robertson, Wendy Barber and William Muirhead  7. Active, Cooperative Learning in Online Higher Education: The Learning Design for "Change Management" at the Universitat Obierta de Catalunya; Eva Rimbau-Gilabert  8. Engaging the non-Art History Student: A Tale of Five Football Players (and others) in Roman Art; Gretchen Kreahling McKay   9. Pre-service Teachers and Active Learning in Technology Enhanced Learning: The Case of the University of West Bohemia in the Czech Republic; Zbyněk Filipi and Lucie Rohlíková  10. Intercultural Talent Management Model and its Application as an Active Teaching and Learning Strategy: Pre-Service Teachers in a New Time and Space Dimension: Virtuality; Eileen Sepúlveda Valenzuela, Marcelo Careaga Butter and María Graciela Badilla Quintana  11. Active Learning in Practice: Techniques and Experiences in Information Systems Courses in Brazil; Ronney Moreira de Castro, Sean W. M. Siqueira, César Augusto R. Bastos, Maria Cristina Pfeiffer Fernandes   12. Using Socrative App for Accounting Students in Higher Education; Ines González-González, Cristina Alcaide-Muñoz, and A.I. Jimenez-Zarco  13. Enhancing Learner Autonomy and Active Learning Using Digital Portfolio; Linda Pospisilova  Section III: A Vision for Humanity Through Higher Education  14. Pedagogical Legacies of Dorothy Lee and Paulo Freire; Azril Bacal Roij   15. A New Vision for Higher Education: Lessons from Education for the Environment and Sustainability; Christina Marouli, Anastasia Misseyanni, Paraskevi Papadopoulou and Miltiadis Lytras