Theoretical Perspectives on Active Learning Joel Wiebe, Rubaina Khan, Renato Carvalho, Preeti Raman, Garrick Burron, Ju (Rebecca) Jeong, Allison Van Beek, Susan McCahan, Olivier St-Cyr, James D. Slotta University of Toronto Description: Active learning has expanded into mainstream education, in Canada and internationally. However, there remains a lack of theoretical accounts and formal design frameworks. This symposium presents a set of theoretical perspectives: (1) defining active learning and its relationship with learning community pedagogy, (2) pedagogical approaches for active learning, (3) scripting and orchestration of complex curricular designs, (4) assessing the impacts of active learning on students and teachers, and (5) observation protocols for in-class active learning. “Exploring the Intersections between Active Learning and Learning Communities: A Preliminary Review of Definitions and their Relationships” addresses the ambiguous definition of “active learning” and its relationship with the perspective of learning communities. This unfolding scoping review aims to explore various questions: What characteristics of learning can constitute active learning? What makes students a learning community? What are their distinguishing characteristics? This presentation negotiates preliminary shared definitions of these terms toward establishing a common vocabulary and through understanding their relationships aims to more clearly guide future curriculum designs and implementations. “Pedagogy matters: Critical Pedagogy and Knowledge Building as Theoretical Backgrounds for Active Learning” will hypothesize that active learning and different pedagogical perspectives are compatible, complementary, and mutually contributive. This presentation will discuss how the theoretical frameworks of Knowledge Building (Hmelo-Silver & Barrows, 2008) and Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 2000) can provide relevant conceptual support to educators that adopt the active learning approach. Conversely, we will also discuss some active learning strategies that might facilitate and expand the possibilities for design and implementation of curricula grounded on Knowledge Building and Critical Pedagogy. "Towards Co-orchestration: Technologies supporting teachers in active learning classrooms" will address the challenges of designing, monitoring, and intervening in an active learning environment. With growing evidence suggesting better learning outcomes through increased collaboration, many educators are encouraged to use active learning strategies in their