Being an active learner means that you need to do more than just showing up to get your credit by attending the class. Some might compare being an active learner to the old saying "you get out of a class what you put into it". There are several steps you should take if you want to be an active learner and get your money's worth from your class along with the credits.

1. Prepare ahead of time- Make sure you do any reading, assignments and prep work before attending the class. Don't just do the minimum, but come prepared to be part of the class discussion that night. Along with the other preparation, come prepared with 3-5 questions you would like to have answered during the class session. If they are not answered through normal discussion, that leads to step two.

2. Be Proactive- Don't just sit in your chair hoping that the information you want to learn is handed to you on a silver platter. If you sit there quietly, hoping that someone will ask a question which provides a response with the information you need, you will be dissapointed more often than not. This is why bringing questions with you to class, and having them ready to ask is important. The class will go by much quicker and be more interesting if you participate instead of just "attend the class".

3. Follow up, and don't be afraid to admit you don't understand something. Remember, it is your money that you are paying to attend the class. Who is most interested in you getting your money's worth? It's not the instructor, it is you. Don't be afraid to ask questions to have a topic clarified. Do not worry about appearing "dumb", remember the chances of you seeing the people in your class outside of the classroom is very slim, don't worry about what they think about your questions.

The key to being an active learner is making sure you participate. You need to make sure you get everything you can out of the class, and the only way to do that is to be prepared and participate.

Learn more about this author, Chris Kirk.
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