The push to produce STEM teachers and graduates as a means of improving innovative capacity in the United States has raised the question of what constitutes effective STEM education. To investigate the success of different teaching methods, Scott Freeman et al. (pp. 8410-8415) compared undergraduate performance in STEM courses that employed either active learning, defined as methods of instruction that engage students through activities and discussion, or passive lecturing. The authors analyzed data from 225 studies conducted between 1942 and 2010 that compared course exam results or failure rate for students trained by one of the two methods. Despite differences in the type and degree of active learning incorporated in the courses examined, the analyses revealed 6 higher average exam scores for students in courses that included some degree of active learning, compared with courses that included only passive lecturing. Further, failure rates for students in passive lecture courses were 55 higher than in active learning courses. The benefits of active learning were effective across all class sizes, but greatest for classes smaller than 50 students. According to the authors, the results suggest that effective STEM undergraduate education should include a degree of active learning. - J.P.J.
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