What is the Effect of Active versus Passive Learning on Short-Term Information Retention in High School Students and College Students? : Shradhaa Amrith
What is the Effect of Active versus Passive Learning on Short-Term Information Retention in High School Students and College Students?
By Shradhaa Amrith | 03 July 2026
Do you often find yourself re-reading your notes and actually understanding the topic you learned, but when it comes to quiz or test day, your scores don’t reflect your preparation time? This is often caused by 2 things, the 1st one being a poor lifestyle routine, ex) diet, sleep cycle, fitness, mental wellbeing, stress levels, etc. The 2nd being, you are revising your notes and materials passively instead of actively. This causes a significant decline in your overall retention and creates large knowledge gaps along the way, which leads to less information retained.
Active vs. Passive Learning with Examples
To start off, there are typically two ways of learning and revising in high school and college classes; passive learning and active learning. “Passive Learning is a [teacher-centered] process where students receive information from the learning environment and internalize it” (Paul 1). This includes rereading and highlighting notes from a teacher’s lecture. On the other hand, active learning involves “students learn[ing] through reading, writing, talking, listening, and reflecting [their own thoughts and ideas]” (Paul 1). Examples of active learning include socratic seminars, worksheet problems, and using flashcards to study, and many more. While passive learning is good for familiarity, it gives the person a false sense of understanding, unlike active learning which forces the student to recall the information learned, which can help them bridge their knowledge gaps and grasp a more rounded understanding of the concepts they learn.
Real World Data in High School and College
According to the Journal of Linguistic Studies, the Multivariate Analysis of Variance, also known as the MANOVA test, was used to “investigate the effect of the active learning teaching method on students’ academic achievement, attitude towards mathematics, and motivation” (Nurbavliyev 703). It helped to answer questions that influenced the student’s motivation, achievements, and attitude towards math. To understand the true effects, tenth grade students were split into two groups, one experimental and one control after taking a math pretest in order to see which group showed a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. The control group used PowerPoints that included answers and questions to learn the subject. However, the experimental group used varied educational platforms such as Nearpod, Kahoot, etc. after every lesson to check for self-understanding. The result of this study was that the experimental group had higher scores in the test, the motivation, and the attitude aspects of the study.
Another Harvard Study on Active Learning
On September 4, 2019, another study done by Peter Reuell, a Harvard Staff Writer, shows how active learning results in improved educational outcomes. The study was authored by five professors: Louis Deslauriers, Logan McCarty, Kelly Miller, Greg Kestin, and Kristina Callaghan. The students participating were enrolled in an introductory physics class for 15 weeks. During the first 11 weeks, the students were taught passively by the professor. In the 12th week, however, one-half of the class continued learning with polished lectures while the other half learned through active recall methods. After each class, students responded to a series of statements about their learning experience and completed a set of 12 multiple-choice questions to measure what they remembered. After the results were gathered, "the authors found that students felt as if they learned more from the lectures, but in fact scored higher on tests following the active learning sessions." (Reuell, 2019).
Results and Effects Explained
These results not only prove that active learning increases retention and comprehension, but they also encourage educators to reconsider their teaching methods. While lectures and PowerPoint presentations can explain topics thoroughly, students may still develop a false sense of understanding if they are not actively engaging with the material. Eventually, learners must apply their knowledge in real-world situations, and this becomes far more difficult when retention does not match perceived understanding.
That is why active learning is such an important skill to implement in classrooms. It requires students to directly use what they have learned and apply their thinking to solve meaningful problems. This process encourages deeper awareness and helps develop valuable qualities such as persistence, observation, problem-solving, and the ability to contribute thoughtfully in conversations and academic settings both inside and outside the classroom.
Conclusion
All in all, being able to apply your knowledge through tests, practical problems, and real-life situations is one of the most important aspects of learning. Through active learning, students engage with the learning process by speaking, reading, discussing, presenting, solving problems, and participating in many other interactive methods. This demonstrates that true understanding cannot be achieved without opportunities to practice and apply knowledge.
That is the joy of learning: the ability to transform retained information into meaningful real-world applications. If there is one piece of advice to remember from this paper, let it be this: "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." (Aristotle).
Works Cited
Nurbavliyev, Omarbek, et al. "The Effect of Active Learning Method on Students’ Academic Success, Motivation and Attitude towards Mathematics." Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 2022, pp. 701–713.
Reuell, Peter. "Lessons in Learning." Harvard Gazette, Harvard University, 4 Sept. 2019.
Paul, Shubhendu, and Shreyasi. "Active and Passive Learning: A Comparison." GRD Journals, Aug. 2017.
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