Active Learning Activities

Active learning activities are tailored to specific learning outcomes and content. They incorporate one or more of the evidence-based strategies. Structured to expose their theoretical underpinnings, the activities can be used by practitioners and researchers alike.

Active Learning Activities

26 Results

Photo by Dana Andreea Gheorghe on Unsplash
Applied arts

Take it Outside: A Field Trip in Three Acts

This activity serves as a field trip template to engage students with pre, during, and post-visit observations and analysis.

Environmental science Geography Biology

Earth History Walk

A self-guided walk exploring how – and why – Earth changed over its 4.6 billion year history.

Photo by Mira Kireeva from Unsplash
Languages and Literature

Peer Review for Beginners

This peer-review activity for English 101 aims to help students improve their essays, but also to develop evaluation skills.

Campaign Creators photo from Unsplash
Psychology Social sciences

Dragon’s Den – Brain Exploration Techniques

Students engage in a gamified activity mimicking the popular tv show the Dragon's Den.

Humanities Social sciences

Group Work Project Contracting

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

Mathematics STEM

Two-stage Testing for Second-year Math Students

Students are given four 2-stage tests throughout a semester; 1st stage written individually, 2nd students work in groups.

Collaborative Meeting - Photo by Redd F from
Psychology Social sciences

Learning in Everyday Life

In this integrative assignment, students analyze their everyday activities through the lens of various learning theories.

Photo by NASA on Unsplash
Applied arts

From Bauhaus to Britney: A Catchall Timeline

Students map key movements in Architecture and Design alongside social, political, artistic, economic, and tech milestones.

Young university students studying with computer in cafe. Group of people in campus library. College teenager using laptop at table. Group study for school assignment.
Psychology

Sensation and Perception Lab

The lab explores the senses of taste, smell, touch, proprioception and vision.

Health science Interdisciplinary

Role Reveal 201: Exploring Interdisciplinary Collaboration

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

Mathematics STEM

An Abundance of Bells

The aim of this activity is to demonstrate that many continuous data of nature and psychology follow a normal distribution.

STEM Physics Interdisciplinary

How to Write Reading Annotations

This activity helps students improve their quality of reading annotations using platforms like Perusall.

Humanities

5 Senses Lab

The aim of this activity is to help students understand the rationalist concerns about the use of our experience and senses.

Interdisciplinary

Yeas and Nays: Using Smartphones for Gathering Data

The overall aim of this activity is to help students learn new, efficient and flexible ways to collect a variety of datasets.

Languages and Literature

Projet Specific: Webzine

Social sciences

Summative Assessment: My Diagnosis Assignment

In this activity, students analyze 5 characters from a film in order to diagnose them using techniques learned in the course.

Environmental science

Sustainability Development Plan (Part 1 and Part 2)

In this activity, students learn to define sustainability and apply this to a single Montreal neighbourhood. 

Languages and Literature

Three-Tiered Writing

Languages and Literature

Homophones Talent Show

Languages and Literature

Activité sur les Homophones

Students pick a homophone out of a hat and are asked to first analyze and prepare a short 2 minute teaching lesson.

History Social sciences

Family HiStories of Migration

Students interview two members of their family to collect information about their family history and present it in class.

Languages and Literature

Cercles de Lecture (Reading Circles)

Applied arts

Biomimicry Pin-ups

Humanities Social sciences

Ctrl + Alt + Del: PTSD and Neuroplasticity