Addressing the Problem of Faculty Resistance to Using Educational Media in Active Learning instructional Strategies

James L. Morrison
Editor-in-Chief, Innovate and Professor Emeritus of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The 21^st-century workplace will demand a range of skills from workers. To function in this new context, college graduates must be able to access, evaluate, and communicate information; use information technology tools effectively; and work with others across cultural lines. Increasing concern that the traditional lecture method does not support the development of these competencies has led to calls for a change from passive to active (authentic) learning strategies, such as project-based learning, problem-based learning, or inquiry-based learning. In this session Professor Morrison will first argue that technology-enhanced active learning strategies are more effective in developing needed competencies in students and then, in keeping with the spirit of active learning, will ask participants to form small groups to prepare responses to the following questions: (1) why do faculty members resist adopting these strategies and (2) what approaches can institutions take to broaden the instructional repertoires of faculty members to include active-learning instructional strategies. The results of this argument and these deliberations are available via audio and via the instructor slides and notes.