Let’s be honest—keeping students engaged isn’t always easy. Some days, you get a class that’s buzzing with discussion and ideas. On other days, you’re met with a sea of blank stares and the occasional phone hidden under a desk. Engagement isn’t just about keeping students awake (though that’s a bonus); it’s about motivating them t o think, participate, and truly connect in the course and with the material.
ACUE’s Promoting Active Learning and Promoting Active Learning Online pathway courses equip educators with practical, research-backed teaching practices to ensure students are actively engaged. Whether you teach in person or online, these courses are designed to help faculty create a classroom where students engage, learn, and succeed … instead of zoning out.
Student engagement isn’t just a nice bonus—it’s essential for learning. When actively involved, students retain information longer, think more critically, and are more likely to persist through challenges. Engagement is essential for learning. The challenge? Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentional teaching strategies that invite students to be part of the learning process rather than just spectators. That’s where Promoting Active Learning comes in.
Active learning isn’t just for in-person courses. ACUE offers Promoting Active Learning in two versions—one for in-person instruction and another tailored for online teaching. The online version includes engagement strategies for digital spaces such as incorporating activities in-between microlecture sections, increasing interaction in discussion forums, and effectively using groups to keep students connected and involved. Whether you’re teaching face-to-face or online, you’ll walk away with proven strategies that work.
ACUE’s entirely online, high-quality, video-rich courses give instructors the tools to create dynamic active learning environments. The Promoting Active Learning courses guide you through six modules, each focusing on a different aspect of active learning, where you’ll experiment with new teaching practices, reflect on your experiences, and collaborate with colleagues. You’ll see real classroom demonstrations, hear from teaching and learning experts, and access implementation guides to help you seamlessly integrate these evidence-based practices into your teaching toolkit.
We’ve all sat through a lecture that felt like it lasted a decade. This module teaches you new practices for developing well-organized, effectively paced lectures interspersed with activities to keep students engaged and learning.
Ever feel like you’re talking but no one is really listening? This module teaches practices aligned to an active learning cycle that begins by piquing student interest, builds foundational knowledge, and ultimately ensures students apply what they've learned.
A good discussion isn’t just about asking, “Any questions?” In this module, you will learn how to write well-sequenced, thought-provoking questions to increase student engagement during class discussions.
Once the conversation starts, how do you keep it going? This module helps you maintain engaging course discussions by learning practices to encourage quiet students to speak, manage those who dominate the conversations, and use various activities to increase engagement.
Yes, note-taking is a skill, and no, students don’t always know how to do it well. It’s something you learn! This module introduces strategies for sharing research on effective note-taking skills that inspire and motivate students. You also learn how to effectively support your students’ note-taking by sharing pointers, providing skeletal outlines, allowing processing time, and using cues to signal important points.
Group work has a bad reputation—mainly because we’ve all been in groups where one person does all the work. This module helps you guide your students in avoiding common pitfalls while still gaining the tremendous benefits of group work. You'll also explore how to use group activities like Think-Pair-Share and Jigsaw to keep students actively engaged and collaborating effectively.
Student engagement doesn’t happen by accident, but it can become second nature with the right tools. ACUE’s Promoting Active Learning and Promoting Active Learning Online courses help you move beyond the “sage on the stage” model to create a classroom where students think, participate, and thrive. Along the way, you’ll receive expert guidance, peer feedback, and plenty of opportunities to test and reflect on new approaches you implement in your courses.
Transform your teaching today! ACUE’s Promoting Active Learning or Promoting Active Learning Online pathway course is your next step.
Your students—and your future self—will thank you!