A classroom observation instrument to assess student response to active learning

Student resistance is often cited as a major barrier to faculty´s use of active learning, but there are few research-based strategies for reducing this barrier. To address the need for such strategies, we have initiated a project to identify specific, research-based strategies to significantly reduce student resistance to faculty´s use of active learning practices. In this work-in-progress paper, we describe the first phase of our research - the development and pilot testing of a classroom observation instrument to assess student responses to faculty´s use of active learning. This instrument, which draws upon other published observation protocols, will allow us to capture data about faculty´s use of and students´ response to active learning as we undertake our larger research project.