Abstract
Traditional teaching approaches in research methods courses demotivate
students, hindering their ability to learn and apply research conceptsin practical settings. Instructors who are devoted to employing active
learning pedagogy in teaching research courses have observed favorable
outcomes. However, a dearth of literature has focused on students’ percep-tions and evaluation of active learning pedagogy. This study explores how
students perceive active learning approaches via in-person and written-response interviews. Eighteen participants volunteered and self-selected
one of the interview forms. In addition to exploring students’ perspec-tives on active learning pedagogy, we conducted a comparison of those
interviewing modes. Our analysis revealed that regardless of interview
type, participants provided similar results. In-person interviews generated
more information segments; however, the segments from written-response
interviews provided more informative meaning. Combining all data, we
developed three themes and 29 codes about students’ perceptions of active
learning pedagogy. We found that students valued self-exploration as well
as interactive activities that promoted deep learning and knowledge trans-fer. Based on the results, we provide practical recommendations for how
instructors can design active learning-based research courses to facilitatestudents in active and self-regulated learning.