Active Learning Activities

Group Work Project Contracting

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

Electron Odyssey: Journey through the Mitochondria’s Electron Transport Chain

Students play the roles of protein complexes to see how electrons, protons, and energy moves through the ETC to produce ATP.

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.

Put Your Theory on Trial

Scaffolded debate that explores the nuances of a belief that the teacher has introduced.

Taskmaster: Diction Icebreakers

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

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.

Crossing Dimensions: A Math Odyssey into Cross Products

In groups, students learn about orthogonality and cross products by creating geometrical shapes.

Decoding Decimal, Binary & Octal: Number System Adventures

In teams, students explore the binary number system and create parameters for an octal number system.

More Than One Way to Cook an Egg: Exploring Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Teams explore Gardner's Theory, present one component, summarize presentation content, and conduct a self-assessment.

Who Are You? A Multidimensional Examination of Self-Concept

Students investigate their self-concept, compare it to a classmate, assess differences between self- and social perception.

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.

Don’t go NUTS: A Case Study on the Physiology of Stress

Feeling Feverish: Homeostasis of Pyrexia

Can I Use the Internet?

An Abundance of Bells

Peerwise Assignment: Human Body

5 Senses Lab

Peer Review, Assessment & Feedback

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Crystallization of Borax

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Organic Chemistry Introduction to Solubility

Urban Planning Project

Gender Socialization throughout the Life Course

Students complete a grid that illustrates different life periods that reinforce gender narratives.

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Spectrophotometry Using Gatorade