Active Learning Activities

Group Work Project Contracting

For instructors planning student group work projects over many weeks or months.

Taskmaster: Diction Icebreakers

These gamified activities will help sensitize students to the nuances of diction and allow them to work together.

Find Someone Who… An Icebreaker With Purpose

In this activity, students try to find someone for each list item. Items highlight key issues explored in the course.

Silent Discussion

Conduct a discussion in your class without students ever speaking a word!

Reimagining the Reading Quiz: Peer Instruction in English

Students do a reading quiz in class and revise their answers after developing and sharing a rationale for their choice.

Snowball Starter: Goals of Science Education

In this activity, the snowball strategy links students' prior beliefs to a deeper inquiry of science education goals.

Role Reveal 201: Exploring Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In teams, students from each discipline complete a patient interview then contrast their approaches.

Cross-Disciplinary Synergy 101: Uniting Expertise for Success

In teams, students interact, share information on their profession, and create cases where each discipline is needed

It’s All in the Delivery: 6 Rounds to Effective Presentation

Groups of students orally present a poem six times, focusing on six key aspect of effective oral presentations

Crash Course: Collision Theory

Students use PhET simulation to learn how factors affect reaction rate (collision theory) through hands-on activities

To Pass or Not to Pass: Acting out membrane transport

Aim of the activity is to increase students’ understanding of molecules’ movement through the cell membrane.

How to Write Reading Annotations

Yeas and Nays: Using Smartphones for Gathering Data

Vénus d’Ille: Police Enquiry

Building Effective Teams

Rédaction d’un Paragraphe de Texte Expressif

Homophones Talent Show

The Index of Hydrogen Deficiency

Rhetorical Strategies

Projects on Junot Diaz: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”

Putting the “You” in education: Using self-reflections for learning

Having Students Read and Apply Essay Feedback

Poetic Literary Jeopardy

Short Stories and Social Realism: Building an Essay Toolkit