It is well documented that students sometimes resist active learning techniques.1 A recent study showed how students believed that they learned less in active learning classrooms (as measured by a brief survey) than they learned in lectures, even though they learned more (as measured by a zero-stakes multiple-choice unit quiz).2,3 In this article, we describe a method for introducing active learning methods to college students that is based on a “preparation for future learning” approach.4 The students who received this introduction to active learning appeared to be more receptive to group work in the classroom than students who started the course with an explanation of the reasons and values of active learning.
The target course was introductory mechanics for scientists and engineers (calculus based) at a large public university. It was taught using a productive failure-style active learning approach course in a large lecture hall. Students struggle...