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

67 Results

Photo by Andrew Stutesman on Unsplash
Environmental science Geography

Spinning the Data? Thinking Critically about Maps

Students create choropleth maps to explore how maps can inform, persuade and mislead.

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.

Applied arts

Let Me Draw You a Picture…

Students use visual thinking to diagram / illustrate a subject with the only criteria being they have expert knowledge of it.

Biology Environmental science Geography

Earth History Walk

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

100 years of work (Public Domain)
Applied arts

100 Years of Work

This is a jigsaw activity where students map key developments in workplace design over 100 years.

STEM Chemistry

Keeping Up With the Trends

This activity is aimed at getting students to write sound, scientific rationales for observed phenomena.

STEM Mathematics

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.

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.

Mathematics

Crossing Dimensions: A Math Odyssey into Cross Products

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

Cell Phone and tablet with programming code
Mathematics

Decoding Decimal, Binary & Octal: Number System Adventures

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

Chemistry

Crash Course: Collision Theory

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

Biology Chemistry

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.

STEM Mathematics

An Abundance of Bells

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

Environmental science

Instructional Survey

The aim of this activity is to provide students with an overview of survey design and execution.

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Crystallization of Borax

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Organic Chemistry Introduction to Solubility

STEM Chemistry

Acid Base Equilibrium

Students learn how to problem solve and review their peers in a low stakes situation (no grades).

STEM Engineering

Interrupted Case Study in Material Engineering

This activity uses real life case study examples to give students a more in-depth look at analytics.

General STEM Physics

Group Problem Solving with Show and Tell

Students learn to build a conceptual model describing a Mechanics-based situation and practice mathematical problem-solving.

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Spectrophotometry Using Gatorade

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Volumetric Analysis of Household Acid with Cabbage Juice

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Paper Chromatography of Food Dyes and Ink

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Colligative Properties

STEM Chemistry

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Activation Energy in Chemical Kinetics