The effect of active techniques combined with didactic lecture on student achievement

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of active teaching methods combined with didactic lecture versus lecture alone. This project compared two sections of physical science at a community college. The study was conducted for two 15-week semesters. The control groups were taught by didactic lecture alone and the experimental groups were instructed using active techniques combined with the traditional didactic lecture. The hypothesis for this study is that the active learning sections will achieve higher scores than the passive learning sections. Data was collected from pre/post test results, chapter exams, and end-of-course final grades. The data was then analyzed using statistical hypothesis t-tests. The results indicate there is no significant difference in teaching methods based on students' academic achievement.