Survey of Active Learning in Science in Saudi Arabian Universities

Abstract

This dissertation examines Saudi Arabian faculty attitudes toward active learning and their usage of it in STEM classrooms. The objective of this study is to see if there is a relationship between the preexisting beliefs and the implementation of active learning techniques by Saudi instructors in university science subjects. This study was conducted using two pen and paper surveys to determine the pre-existing beliefs of Saudi faculty about active learning practices and their usage of these practices. The first survey, called “Attitudes Toward Active Learning” focuses on examining four separate constructs about the use of active learning techniques, including: institutional support, personal attitudes about the usefulness of active learning, personal attitudes about the ease of use, and instructor ability. The second survey, called “Usage of Active Learning”, consists of two parts that focus on the teaching practices commonly used in the active classroom. The first part of the second survey asks faculty about the frequency of usage of certain active learning techniques. The second part had an open-ended question, which asks faculty to describe their teaching style. The findings reveal that the four constructs, “support,” “attitude of usefulness,” “attitude of ease of use,” and “skill” all have a positive and high correlation with the usage of active learning practices, and all significantly predict the use of active learning techniques. Finally, the results of this study could help generate further discussions about the development of and changes in the higher education system in Saudi Arabia.