Measuring actual learning versus feeling of learning in response to being actively engaged in the classroom

Students learn more when they are actively engaged in the classroom than they do in a passive lecture environment. Extensive research supports this observation, especially in college-level science courses (1–6). Research also shows that active teaching strategies increase lecture attendance, engagement, and students’ acquisition of expert attitudes toward the discipline (3, 7–9). Despite this overwhelming evidence, most instructors still use traditional methods, at least in large-enrollment college courses (10–12).