Active Learning - setting a fire

There is sometimes solace in community.  A kind word to a discouraged friend can go far in helping them push ahead against opposition.  Water is most precious to a thirsty man.  But I digress...this word comes just at the right time to encourage us in our ongoing work of course redesign.  Thanks to Dr. Mark C. Carnes, a professor of history at Barnard College, for this excellent word of encouragement about the power of engaging students and igniting the fires of learning.

Setting Students' Minds on Fire - Commentary - The Chronicle of Higher Education

When absorbed in intellectual games of this nature, students find the customary diversions of college—beer pong, World of Warcraft, Facebook, fraternity hijinks—less compelling. The ideas, texts, and historical moments on which academic discourse depends become a part of their lives, and the friendships they forge in the heat of prolonged competition can transform their class into a community.

Active learning is one of those academic buzzwords whose meaning has been dulled from overuse. (Some professors even regard taking notes as active learning.) But research shows that the strongest gains come from pedagogies that feature teamwork and problem solving. Experience also suggests that teams work harder when they're competing against one another, and that students learn more when they're obliged to think in unfamiliar ways. Money alone won't improve graduation rates. After students make it past the bursar, they need to attend classes that set their minds on fire.