The Central Role of Active Learning in University Education: With Special Reference to Content Courses

This paper raises the question of why university graduates lack higher order intellectual skills, and ascribes this to the teaching approach adopted for content courses. It argues that the lack of critical thinking and problem solving as well as research skills is due to the widespread use of the direct approach to instruction for university content courses. It thus argues that the solution is in adopting teaching approaches that promote active learning, like the discussion approach and the problem-based approach. The recommended approaches aim at arousing students’ curiosity about the material through assigning readings and presenting problems, which prompts the students to make observations and ask questions, therefore assuming the active role of ‘learner’, rather than the passive role of ‘recipient’. The paper justifies recommending these two approaches by linking them to the children’s learning style and scholars’ discovery process, which are essentially based on ‘making observations’, ‘asking questions’, and ‘pursuing answers’.