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

21 Results

Languages and Literature

Editing Exercise: Mock Academic Conference

Research, writing & editing activity that builds interpretive skills and the ability to incorporate research.

Photo by Richard Horvath from Unsplash.
STEM Biology

Biologist Says: Mini-Game for Recalling Biology Terms

A familiar and easy to implement game to help students with recall of biological terms.

Photo by National cancer institute from Unsplash
STEM Biology

BioQuest: Mini-Game for Categorizing Biology Terms

A fun consolidating activity at the end of a topic or unit to help students categorize and consolidate biological terms.

STEM Biology

Hemoglobin Hustle: An Adaptation of Race for the Hat

Used the Race for the Hat activity to create a Jeopardy-style session on blood & blood disorders for a pathophysiology class.

Social sciences Humanities

Group Work Project Contracting

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

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.

Interdisciplinary

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.

Health science

The Heart of the Matter: Exploring Exercise in Cardiac Disease

Before class, students read an article and gather 5 elements. In class, they "pool" findings and sort into categories.

Interdisciplinary Health science

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

STEM Health science

Harvard Implicit Bias Test

Languages and Literature General

Vénus d’Ille: Police Enquiry

This activity has students challenge the literal meaning of a text (ie. the supernatural explanation for a murder).

STEM Biology

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard

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. 

Photo by Luca Laurence on Unsplash
Languages and Literature

Rédaction d’un Paragraphe de Texte Expressif

In this multiple-class activity, students write a “texte expressif”, applying theory & grammatical lessons learned in class.

STEM Biology

Darwin’s Finches: Natural Selection

In this game-based activity, students learn about natural selection, evolution of traits, and data collection and analysis.  

Languages and Literature

Poetic Literary Jeopardy

Students learn literary and poetic elements that will be part of their fundamental 'toolbox' for the rest of the course.

Languages and Literature

Short Stories and Social Realism: Building an Essay Toolkit

In this multiple-class activity, students build a toolkit of essay-writing skills through analyzing a short story text.

Applied arts

National Building Code Jeopardy

Applied arts

Concept Map: Furniture Design Time Ripple

Environmental science

Geography Video Test

The aim of this project is to get students thinking about facts and concepts related to rivers in the field (in real life!).

STEM Biology

Nucleic Acids

This is an application-based activity that draws upon lesson material students have seen in previous classes.