Active learning, constructive alignment, and research methods: toward a programme level approach

Active learning can come in a variety of forms and under many different headings. These include: collaborative learning, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and even service-based learning. What all these forms emphasise, however, is an approach to learning that is both research-led, student-focussed, and grounded in activity. Shaped around the needs and interests of the learner, active learning is designed to be theoretically informed in scope and practice based in outcome. Of course, active learning is not new to the social sciences, but it does have many recognised benefits, particularly where activities are constructively aligned at a programme level. This chapter articulates a vision for active learning in the context of the teaching and learning of research methods, offers a broad overview of the advantages of taking a programme level approach, and discusses opportunities for its implementation across quantitative and qualitative curricula.