Building an active learning environment for university students

Abstract

Active learning requires greater learner autonomy in developing knowledge and applying theory to practice. Several studies have highlighted considerable benefits of active learning and introduced a variety of activities to promote student agency, but few researchers, especially in Vietnam, have established a comprehensive framework for creating an active learning environment with detailed descriptions. Using the thematic analysis, this article is an attempt to fill in this gap by analyzing, coding, synthesizing, and systemizing the data from 57 review and research articles to set up a framework of the active learning environment. This framework has provided a theoretical foundation for establishing the criteria for evaluating the quality of university students’ learning environment and specifying objectives for training institutions in the process of building a learning environment to promote learners’ self-reliance, initiative and creativity.