Active Learning Institute (ALI)
Overview
CELT’s Active Learning Institute (ALI) has four one-hour face-to-face sessions and four asynchronous online sessions. These interactive workshops offer instructors the opportunity to practice techniques and design strategies that faculty can implement in the courses they teach. This hybrid format allows for an authentic focus on active learning strategies facilitated in face-to-face and online classrooms.
The National Survey of Student Engagement defines active learning as
“students’ efforts to actively construct their knowledge.”
From an instructor’s point of view, active learning could take the form of a one-minute paper, group work, in-class debates, concept mapping, role play, and many other instructional approaches.
For additional examples, review CELT’s active learning page and CELT’s Teaching Tools: Active learning in multimodalities (PDF)
After participating in the ALI, participants will be able to successfully integrate active learning strategies into their courses.
Benefits include:
- The ALI covers course planning and learning objectives, active learning strategies, and the use of technology.
- In addition, an important part of the ALI allows for participants’ classes to be observed for the use of active learning techniques.
- Participants who engage in the ALI program and offer feedback when the program concludes will receive $500 in professional development funds.*
- Participants receive an Active Learning Certification from CELT.
* Participants work with their departmental fiscal officer to obtain a General University (GU) worktag (account #) for CELT to transfer the $500 stipend to the person’s campus professional development account once all the required components are completed.
The Active Learning Institute is open to instructors at Iowa State University (tenured faculty, tenure-eligible faculty, term faculty, or a staff member with a teaching appointment) and post docs.
🗓️ 2022 Scheduled Activities
The 2022 ALI participants will:
- Attend four 60-minute sessions held on Tuesdays (9–10 a.m., 2030 Morrill Hall): Nov. 15, 29, Dec. 6 & 13
- Engage in the online asynchronous course from Nov. 15-Dec. 13.
Special event: ALI Abridged: Active Learning Mixer, Dec. 7 (12–1 p.m., Morrill Hall 2030). Join CELT Faculty Fellow for active learning, Megan Myers, current and past ALI participants, and active learning advocates on campus to talk about active learning in your classroom. What works for you? What doesn’t work for you? Do you have a favorite, go-to active learning activity? Grab a cookie and some coffee and engage in conversation with your peers centered around active learning and student engagement.
Registering and Contact Information
- To participate, complete the 2022 CELT Active Learning Institute Registration form (Qualtrics) by Nov. 9.
- Questions? Please contact Dr. Megan Myers, CELT Faculty Fellow, via email at mjmyers@iastate.edu or celt@iastate.edu.
- If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in CELT’s events or training programs, please reach out to us at celt@iastate.edu. For employees who may need a reasonable accommodation, you may find more information on the University Human Resources Disability Accommodation page.
Previous participants
Fall 2022
The inaugural Active Learning Institute (ALI) with CELT took place during the Fall 2021 semester. Congratulations to the inaugural ALI cohort graduates:
- Katie Dentzman, Sociology and Criminal Justice
- Fabiana DePaula, World Languages and Cultures
- Samuel Mindes, Sociology and Criminal Justice
- Margaret Mook, World Languages and Cultures
- Corinna Most, Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biol
- Alissa Stoehr, Womens and Gender Studies
- Maria Vorozhbit, World Languages and Cultures
- Shenglan Zhang, World Languages and Cultures