Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.

Area of Science:

• STEM Education Research
• Higher Education Pedagogy

Background:

• Traditional lecturing is a common undergraduate teaching method.
• The effectiveness of lecturing versus active learning strategies requires rigorous evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To meta-analyze existing studies comparing traditional lecturing with active learning in undergraduate STEM courses.
• To quantify the impact of each teaching method on student learning and course performance.

Main Methods:

• Meta-analysis of 225 studies comparing lecturing and active learning in undergraduate STEM.
• Analysis of examination scores and failure rates as outcome measures.
• Heterogeneity and publication bias analyses were conducted.

Main Results:

• Active learning improved student performance by 0.47 standard deviations and reduced failure rates by 1.95 odds ratio compared to lecturing.
• Students in active learning sections scored approximately 6% higher and were 1.5 times less likely to fail.
• Results were consistent across STEM disciplines, class sizes, and study rigor.

Conclusions:

• Active learning is an empirically validated and preferred teaching practice over traditional lecturing in undergraduate STEM classrooms.
• The findings challenge the use of traditional lecturing as a control in educational research.
• Active learning demonstrates broad effectiveness, particularly in smaller class sizes.