What constitutes active learning? How can you tell if a teaching technique qualifies as active? “A simple way to distinguish active learning,” says Dr. Maxine Atkinson, “is to ask the question: Who is doing the intellectual work?”

Among the top-ranked liberal arts schools, all but one offer sociology courses that include active learning experiences. The same is not true for AASCU schools with only 1/3 having these courses. The good news is that now all instructors—no matter the size of their classes or their school’s endowment—can find ways to incorporate active learning into their courses.

The third post from our new Sociology in Action series! Ever wonder what your online students have retained at the end of the course? Professor Kathleen Odell Korgen did also and she used “extra credit” to find out.