Active Learning in Class
Whether a student is listening to lectures virtually or back in the classroom, how they engage and listen in class has a large impact on their comprehension and performance. Academic researchers and institutions have emphasized the importance of active learning to allow students to shift their attention from passive listening to critically thinking about information as they receive it. If your student finds it difficult to engage in class, they should consider using the “Learn, Unlearn, Relearn” technique.
LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN TECHNIQUE
Active learners employ various techniques that allow them to think critically and analytically. There is no single path to becoming an active learner. Your student should use strategies that work best for their habits and learning styles. Consistently practicing these techniques helps students shift their thinking and learning from passive to active.
One technique students should try is the “Learn, Unlearn, Relearn” or LUR technique because it encourages them to “think about thinking” and become open to the process of further developing their current understanding of a topic. Encouraging your student to think about their own thinking and learning processes, also known as metacognition, brings a higher level of awareness to their learning in the classroom.
The LUR technique helps students remember information more quickly and clearly. While listening to a lecture in class, your student should ask themselves if the information they are learning is new, if it contradicts their previous understanding, or if it presents old information in a new way.
The mental dialogue that occurs as students take in and categorize information allows them to figure out how the information fits with what they previously knew. Overall, this approach encourages students to not only think more deeply about the lesson but also to update their understanding and previous knowledge on a given topic.
Here are the three categories of the LUR technique and questions students can ask themselves:
Learn: Gaining or acquiring new knowledge. Is this information I am learning for the first time? What are the main ideas I should be taking away from this discussion? How does this fit in with what I already know about the topic?
Unlearn: Discarding information that is previously learned from memory (usually something that is outdated or false). Does this information contradict what I thought I knew about the topic? What did I think before, and how does this new information provide more value or increase the accuracy of my understanding?
Relearn: Learning something again. Am I revisiting this information? How does the presentation of the material differ from how I learned it the first time? Is it exactly what I learned before?
To practice this technique, students can create these three distinct categories on their note page and write down information from the lecture in each applicable section. We encourage students to do this activity while they are listening to a lecture, but the exercise can also be continued afterward by marking the categories in their notes as a reflective exercise.
Beyond the context of this activity, the LUR approach is an incredibly useful tool for identifying previously learned information and discarding/reforming one’s understanding of it. This classroom activity trains a thought process that will be helpful throughout a student’s academic career and professional life.
Student Action: Try out the “Learn, Unlearn, Relearn” strategy at least once this week while you are taking notes. Reflect on how it worked for you.
Parent Action: Ask your students to tell you what they have learned, unlearned, and relearned in one class this week.
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES
“Active Learning.” The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning (Harvard University): Discusses the benefits of active learning for students and instructors, and provides example activities for individual and group applications.
“Encouraging Metacognition in the Classroom.” Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning (Yale University): Details the research behind “thinking about thinking” and offers examples and recommendations to incorporate into a student’s active learning process.
“Active Learning.” The Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning (Brown University): Characterizes active learning research from an educator’s perspective and discusses how educators can use this approach to enrich student learning.