Professor Shinichi Mizogami, Graduate School of Education, Center for Promotion of Higher Education, Research and Development, Kyoto University
Why Active Learning (AL)
"Listening to the opinions of other people makes the lesson more enjoyable and positive for studying." "The horizons are broadened and my thoughts are deepened." "I think more myself and deepen my understanding of the lesson." "By explaining to others, my thoughts became clear." "It's easy to remember what my friends taught me." "I think I'll be able to communicate and make good presentations."These are the impressions of the students who participated in the AL class at a private junior high school and high school * XNUMX in the metropolitan area, which I have been involved in as an advisor since last spring.
There are various forms of AL and AL type lessons, but basically, instead of listening to the lecture one-sidedly, we also incorporate pair work and group work to understand the knowledge learned and to have our own personality. It is a class format that encourages students to deepen their understanding by presenting their opinions and listening to the other person's understanding and way of thinking * XNUMX.From the perspective of the protagonist of the lesson, from individual learning to social learning and collaborative learning, it involves a shift from the teaching side to the learning side and a shift to the learning paradigm.
One of the reasons why such AL has been attracting attention in recent years is that the progress of information technology has made it possible for non-specialists to access various knowledge through the Internet and other means.As Professor Toshiya Yoshimi of the University of Tokyo calls it a "search-type knowledge-based society," it is still important to accumulate knowledge here, but not only that, but also how to utilize that knowledge. The question is how much you can work in others and groups, whether you can integrate and manage knowledge-to-knowledge, or, to put it a little harder, whether you have "information / knowledge literacy".
AL also responds to the growing social functioning of education in recent years, that is, the growing momentum that schools and universities should focus more on developing the power that society demands.Schools and universities, which were originally preparatory education for going out to society, are aimed at learning as they mature, the educational power of communities and families declines, and the centripetal force of society due to affluence, << structural Due to the decline of "centripetal force", it has deviated from the needs of society.In particular, the transition from school to work / society, such as employment, turnover / work style, and social life, has become a serious problem, so the educational functions of universities and high schools have been revised and reconstructed. Has come to be required.
In this regard, AL's methods and methods of communicating by listening to people's opinions while communicating by themselves are the skills required by society in the future, such as the ability to utilize knowledge and understand others with different backgrounds. It is a powerful approach to acquire attitudes (abilities), and the method itself is what is done in society.
