"Active Learning is not merely a set of activities, but rather an attitude on the part of both students and faculty that makes learning effective The objective of Active Learning is to stimulate lifetime habits of thinking to stimulate students to think about HOW as well as WHAT they are learning and to increasingly take responsibility for their own education." (p 40)
From The Seven principles in Action, Susan Rickey Hatfield, editor, David G. Brown and Curtis W. Ellison.
Dale's Cone of Experience
People learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. People learn better when experiences are concrete rather than abstract.
People generally remember
10% of what they read
20% of what they hear
30% of what they see
50% of what they hear and see
70% of what they say or write
90% of what they say as they do a thing.
If new learning is not recalled or used within 24 hours, recall drops to 75%. If not used within 48 hours, recall drops to 25%.
People cannot learn by having information pressed into their brains. Knowledge has to be sucked into the brain, not pushed in. First, one must create a state of mind that craves knowledge, interest and wonder. You can teach only by creating an urge to know.
Victor Weisskopf, Physics Professor
Much of the learning in traditional systems of imposed instruction is for the purpose of passing the next test. Information is put into the brain’s "closed file" as soon as the test is over because it has already served its purpose. Lynn Stoddard, Redesigning Education
Students whose teachers emphasize higher-order thinking skills and hands-on learning activities outperform their peers significantly. Students who engage in hands-on learning on a weekly basis outperform those who engage in this manner of instruction on a monthly basis. Students whose teachers conduct hands-on learning activities outperform their peers by 72% of a grade level in math and 40% of a grade level in science. This study indicates that the most effective classroom practices involve conveying higher order thinking skills and engaging in hands-on learning activities.
Educational Testing Service 2001
Lectures put participants in a position of sustained, passive listening. Learning, unfortunately is not an automatic consequence of pouring information into another person’s head. It requires the person’s own mental processing. Therefore, lecturing by itself will never lead to real learning.
Dr. Mel Silberman, a professor at Temple University
Fun isn’t always educational and education isn’t always fun, but when the two come together - it just doesn’t get any better.
Tom Jackson, Conducting Group Discussions With Kids
10% of what they read 
