Many education systems use a primarily passive approach to learning. To create a deeper and more meaningful education, educators need to use a different approach: what is commonly called active learning. An active learning approach attempts to engage students at higher levels of thinking so that they are more interested in, better engaged with, and understand better the course material. However, since active learning can be daunting for many people, a more concrete example may help. Critical pedagogy is actually a good example of applying active learning principles in a classroom. Even though it has a specific political goal in mind -- that of empowering students to become agents of social change for greater equity and justice -- the methods they use are very much what is required for active learning. This paper compares the two approaches to assist educators take a more active role in teaching students.

Published in: Canada International Conference on Education, 2017

• Date of Conference: 26-29 June, 2017
• DOI: 10.2053/CICE.2017.0232
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-908320-83-4
• Conference Location: University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada