Active Learning Initiative welcomes new director, says goodbye to longtime leader

The Active Learning Initiative (ALI) is at the start of a new era.

On June 1, Timothy Riley, professor of mathematics in the College of Arts & Sciences, took the helm from longtime director Peter Lepage, the James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Physics (A&S).

Funded by Alex and Laura Hanson '87, deans of participating colleges, and the Office of the Provost, the ALI is also supported by the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and the Center for Teaching Innovation.

"Active learning has become a central feature and trademark of Cornell teaching, and has materially improved large lecture classes across the university," said Steven Jackson, vice provost of academic innovation. "Much of the credit for this transformation goes to Peter's vision, leadership, and hard work. I am excited that Tim is now taking up and continuing this legacy."

Riley is only the second person to serve as the initiative's director. A dedicated practitioner of active learning, Riley's firsthand experience using active learning strategies in his courses inspired him to move into a leadership role with the ALI, as did the initiative's dynamic role in transforming courses across campus.

"I am impressed by the ALI - it elevates teaching across the university," Riley said. "I enjoy teaching with active learning and in an engaged manner. I appreciate that it's a productive force. I saw that in my department, and I think the ALI is taking on an interesting challenge, which is helping departments move toward better teaching."

Riley had previous experience working with the ALI on projects in the mathematics department, - a longtime ALI collaborator - including a three-year term as a principal investigator on a project from 2020-2023. With that experience behind him, he's now looking forward to learning more about what other departments are facing.

"I'm quite familiar with mathematics' challenges, and I want to see what the complementary challenges are elsewhere," Riley added. "I think coming from mathematics might be a useful starting point because while mathematics is a scientific subject, it's also a writing subject - more so than is often appreciated. We want students to express themselves using clear logic. So, our learning goals overlap with both STEM and humanities goals."

Riley is also hoping to reach departments that haven't yet worked with the ALI, as well as to continue collaborating with departments that have benefited from past grants, in order to build on the work they've begun.

Lepage, meanwhile, is enthusiastic about his successor. "I'm excited to have Tim Riley take over - he'll be great. He's a very imaginative and very creative user of active learning. He'll be fantastic - I'm glad they chose him."

A look back

Prior to stepping down in June, Lepage held a leadership role in the Active Learning Initiative since its launch in 2012. He's seen the ALI grow from a pilot program in the College of Arts & Sciences - working with three departments to transform six courses - to its current iteration, which has impacted numerous courses in 21 departments across the colleges, and reaches thousands of students each semester.

"I am impressed that already more than 100 faculty have worked with the ALI to incorporate active learning into their courses. We've had spectacular courses come out of it," Lepage said. "Just the fact that so many people have worked in it and it's affecting thousands of students per semester. That's the biggest plus from it, watching it blossom."

Lepage has incorporated active learning strategies into his teaching since he arrived at Cornell in 1980, when the movement toward implementing these strategies was just beginning. His dedication to these strategies, and the impact they can have on students, has been the ALI's pedagogical guiding light.

"The main thing we're trying to do is spread knowledge of active learning to as many faculty as possible, and to give them the tools that they need to succeed at it, so they can incorporate it into their careers. One of the exciting things is when a department comes back to us for another grant with a new group of faculty. That's when you feel like, 'yes we're getting somewhere," Lepage said, noting that, so far, five departments have been awarded two or more ALI grants.

For those unfamiliar, active learning strategies emphasize giving students time in class to process and discuss what they are learning, and to practice new concepts and problem-solving approaches as they more deeply engage and develop expertise with their subject. Research shows that focused practice with timely feedback can greatly increase what a student absorbs from a lecture.

Feedback plays a critical role in the process. For example, courses often employ an activity known as "think-pair-share" - giving students a moment to think about a question on their own, then having them discuss it with a partner or in a small group before joining the rest of the class in a broader conversation led by the instructor.

"Feedback can come from a faculty member, but it can also come from your neighbors in class when you're talking with them," Lepage said. "And that's important, even if your neighbors are wrong. Trying to discuss something with someone actually creates space in your brain for information about that topic. If it's wrong, students can think about and discuss why it's wrong."

His legacy secure, Lepage is ready to step aside, and looks forward to Riley's tenure as the ALI's leader. When asked what advice he'd offer his successor, Lepage's response leaned into a sense of curiosity, diligence and improvisation that practitioners of active learning will recognize.

"ALI has to be flexible, it has to think big, it has to pay attention to what's needed, and run with it. Because ALI knows how to collaborate with departments. It has a lot of experience doing so," he said.

"But also - don't define 'active' learning too rigidly. Keep an open mind by what you mean by 'active' - and 'learning' for that matter. But no matter what, it will involve students being active, and finding strategies for that. Because that's absolutely crucial for students really performing well."