An ACM Celebration

Active learning is a learner-centered, activity-driven teaching approach that fosters student engagement through critical thinking, discussion, exploration, and creativity. Several research studies indicate that active learning can substantially reduce achievement gaps, promote greater diversity and equity in higher education, and foster the development of key competencies such as communication, collaboration, self-motivation, and social skills (Ballen et al., 2017; Johnson, 2019; Theobald et al., 2020). Additionally, it significantly enhances students’ overall learning experiences (Beard & Wilson, 2006). Building on prior research (McKinney et al., 2023), this study implemented an active learning crowd polling exercise in an introductory one-credit-hour computer science course. The exercise was designed to teach students various topics, including algorithms, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the exercise’s design, grading methodology, outcomes, challenges, and lessons learned.