Promoting active learning: the role of the faculty as agent provocateur

An experiment in promoting active learning was conducted in a junior level required Electrical Engineering class, Electromagnetic Engineering I. The class was not large, numbering only 35. Students were asked to prepare prior to lecture and queried in a general way (no specific names were called) during the lecture. An effort was made to provoke interaction and response on a wide range of topics (including extracurricular topics) as a motivational tool. Class rules were designed to break passive learning habits. Results were mixed: in-class response did improve during the semester; however, class test scores were usually strongly bimodal. Student reaction was generally strongly positive