Confronting barriers to active learning in computer science through technology, community and culture: tutorial presentation

Active learning is a pedagogical practice that places the student at the center of the construction of his or her knowledge and utilizes instructional activities that position students to create knowledge and reflect on their experiences in a course [5]. Active learning stands in contrast to more passive modes of delivery such as lecture or demonstration and while passive modes of instruction can be effective and more efficient in many situations, faculty are reporting displeasure with lecture [7]. This displeasure along with growing evidence of the effectiveness of active learning [2] has arguably lead to increased interest in the use of active learning pedagogy.