Active versus Passive Teaching: Students’ Perceptions and Thinking Skills

Most studies show that active teaching approaches positively affect student development when compared to passive teaching approaches. However, the literature is still unclear if an active teaching approach is more effective in all circumstances. This is because some studies find no differences in learning gains between the two approaches. Therefore, this study looks at how different levels of knowledge from Bloom’s taxonomy are affected by the active versus passive teaching approach. The research was conducted with a group of students of economics and management. A validated standardized instrument to assess microeconomic and macroeconomic competencies (TUCE Test) allows us to model added value to the following cognitive levels: knowledge and understanding, explicit application, and implicit application. The cognitive levels are constructed in accordance with a revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy. The results show that the active teaching approach is positively linked to academic performance at two cognitive levels: recognition and understanding and explicit understanding, with no significant relationship at the level of implicit understanding. On the other hand, a passive teaching approach has a negative relationship with academic outcomes at all the three cognitive levels.