Do students’ attitudes toward active learning in science affect buy-in?

Abstract

Active learning aims to support students’ construction of knowledge and understanding via their direct engagement with activities that support the learning process. It has been well documented that students benefit from active learning; however, students often report disliking this method of learning and disfavour the student-centered approach as it puts them in charge of their learning. Furthermore, little is known about specific attitudes and attributes that may influence engagement with and adoption of these practices. To explore this knowledge gap, we assessed students’ motivation, self-efficacy, introversion/extroversion, science identity and evaluated their relationships with student buy-in to active learning; measured using the exposure-persuasion-identification-commitment (EPIC) process model (Cavanagh et al., 2016). Undergraduate science students (n=123) at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa had 76% of students report engaging with active learning in their science courses. Students engaged with an average of 11 (M = 11.19, SD = 3.29) out of 16 possible activities. Of the active learning activities, 34% of students liked this way of learning while 20% report only doing it because it was required of them. Motivation, self-efficacy, introversion/extroversion, and science identity were positively correlated with persuasion. In line with previous studies, buy-in was positively correlated with students\u27 engagement in active learning behaviours. The relationships identified will allow us to make recommendations to help shape the pedagogical practices of educators and further improve student buy-in to this type of learning. This research has been approved by the research ethics board at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa