The need for active learning in the classroom

In today’s world of teaching, there are many different ways in which teachers approach teaching a class. Pedagogy refers to the method and practices of a teacher and It's how they approach their teaching style, and relates to the different theories they use (Yiatrou, 2009) with the teacher-centered Pedagogue being the most traditional as well as being the most common way in which students are taught by (Lynch, 2017). According to Demirci (2015), teacher-centered pedagogies are those where the teacher creates and makes decisions a what type of lessons the students will complete as well as placing the responsibility for what the students will learn and how they will recall the learned information at a later date. Demirci (2015) also mentions that this style of teaching considers the teacher to be the authority and expert with the students receiving the knowledge from the teacher. This type of teaching is generally delivered to the students via lecture, with minimal student involvement with the students demonstrating some kind of mastery-based intervention based upon a curriculum, specified by the teacher. Traditional teaching styles typically rely on students learning class material passively, however, research examining effective pedagogy tends to support teaching styles that are geared more towards students learning actively(Michel, Cater, & Varela, 200). The student-centered approach according to Lynch (2017) describes student-centered pedagogies in terms of how students take charge of their learning with the teacher acting as a facilitator and the student becoming the experimental learner of knowledge. Demirci (2015) describes the facilitator as someone who creates a learning environment that relies upon and works with the student’s previous knowledge and experiences in an active way. The third type of pedagogy is that of socially-centered pedagogies which has been mentioned by Nichols (2010) as a concept that tales the foundations of a student-centered education but takes it further by having students apply what they learn in class to a project that can cause social reform and changes to society. A key aspect that underpins the student-centered, as well as the social-centered pedagogies, is that of active learning. Active learning is the process in which students engage in and do things and think about what they are doing in the classroom (Bonwell and Eison,1991). Some examples of active learning are Active learning encompasses various practices, such as pausing in lectures for students to consolidate their notes, interspersing short writing exercises in class, facilitating small group discussions within the larger class, incorporating survey instruments, quizzes, and student self-assessment exercises into the course, leading laboratory experiments, taking field trips, using physical movement and using debates, games, and role-play (Sarason & Banbury, 2004). It has also been suggested that Bonwell and Eison (1991) t that active learning provides the following benefits: students are more involved than in passive listening; students are engaged in activities such as reading, discussing, and writing; student motivation is increased; there are greater attention rates, students can receive immediate feedback; as well as engaging in higher-order thinking, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, however for the above to occur teachers must be willing to stop with a teacher-centered approach and embrace the values and principles of the students lead approach. For this to be achieved Auster and Wylie (2006) have suggested that four dimensions are necessary to create a systematic approach to promote active learning in the classroom: context setting, class preparation, class delivery, and continuous improvement. Auster and Wylie (2006) also explained each of the dimensions and stated that Context setting refers to creating an open and relaxed atmosphere for learning in the classroom. Class preparation involves thought, planning, and creativity before the class session. Class delivery refers to the implementation of the planned lesson in the classroom. Continuous improvement entails seeking and using feedback concerning the teaching approach. Finally, Kosslyn (2007) mentions there is a framework for active learning that promotes the best environment for the brain to learn within, these being maxim one "Think it Through", which includes principles related to paying close attention and thinking deeply about new information. The second maxim, "Make and Use Associations", focuses on techniques for organizing, storing, and retrieving information. With the advent of neuroimaging techniques in the 1970s and functional imaging in the 1990s researchers have studied how the brain processes different types of information for several decades, Mueller & Oppenheimer (2014) mention that scientists have had a great interest in studying learning and memory and have stated that multimodal or multisensory learning leads to the most long-term physical changes in the brain, and improves memory retention and recall, something very active within active learning and which is greatly lacking in the passive, teacher lead pedological approach to teaching and learning. Active learning is enhanced when multiple neural pathways are activated at the same time and the greater the student’s brains are activated the more they learn. This means that engaging as many sensory, cognitive, emotional, and social processes in students will increase their learning potential (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). Carrying out active learning activities like problem-based learning activates brain regions involved in executive functions (e.g., prefrontal cortex) that aren’t as active when learning passively (Shah et al., 2013) as well as activation in prefrontal regions involved in executive function through tactile and visual processing (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). This understanding of how from a neurological perceptive, active learning is a stronger way in which to teach and learn has also been highlighted firstly by Markant et al (2014) who suggest that in many interactive environments, active control implies that learners can adjust the pacing of new information to match their attentional state, in contrast, passive observers may experience momentary lapses in coinciding with the presentation of new material. Markant et al (2014) also suggest that this attentional coordination is one reason why active control leads to improved episodic memory formation and retrieval. Finally, according to Estefan et al (2020) Active learning unlike passive learning increases hippocampal theta oscillations that improve the rhythm of neural oscillation in the brain to improve the function of the neurons and the neuronal pathways associated with learning, memory, and spatial navigation