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

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STEM Physics

Mystery Tube Challenge: The Nature & Process of Science

Students model the hidden structure of a sealed tube as a metaphor for how scientists explore the unseen.

Photo by Noom Peerapong from Unsplash
Social sciences Humanities

Finding Catharsis in Film and Media

Students analyze a film or piece of media watched in the course using two concepts: climax and catharsis.

Social sciences Humanities

Group Work Project Contracting

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

Photo by Conny Schneider from Unsplash
Social sciences Humanities

Put Your Thesis on Trial

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

Photo by Priscilla du Preez from Unsplash
STEM Physics

Running on Water: Activating Prior Knowledge of Static Equilibrium

Students watch, discuss, then analyze the veracity of a video in which hydrophobic shoes allow people to run on water.

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.

Gray scale photo of gears
STEM Physics

Mechanics in Motion: Iterative GIF Creation

In groups, students create GIFs to demonstrate and explain how mechanic principles apply in real-life scenarios.

Physics

Nature of Science Ice-Breaker

A first class ice-breaker activity introducing the nature of science.

STEM Physics

Card Sorting Activities for Mechanics

This activity encourages students to classify cards according to various criteria to make concept connections.

STEM Physics

Real-World Physics: Mini Video Projects

These mini-video projects require students to engage with course concepts and make connections to the world in which we live.

STEM Physics

Controversy in the Science Classroom: Nature of Science Quiz

This activity aims to bring about conceptual change by making explicit common misconceptions about the nature of science.

Social sciences Humanities

Can I Use the Internet?

Students learn to evaluate the credibility of online sources by evaluating the credibility of their research sources.

STEM Physics

Physics Worksheet Based Activity

The aim of the activity is the application of concepts and math to solve complex problems.

STEM Physics

Preparation for Future Learning: Electric Flux

In this worksheet activity, students are introduced to the concept of flux and the relation between field lines and area.

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.

Humanities

Low Stakes Debate

Students learn to see an issue from multiple perspectives and think critically about arguments from different perspectives.

Interdisciplinary STEM Physics

How to Write Reading Annotations

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

Humanities

Categorizing for Review

The aim of this single-class activity is to help students consolidate their knowledge and review concepts seen in class.

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.

STEM Physics

Two Stage Quiz

This activity gives the students the opportunity to talk about the concepts seen in class and to discuss with their peers.

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 Physics

Live Demonstrations of Beats and Interference of Sound

In this activity, students learn to apply the principal of superposition to two new sound contexts.

STEM Physics

Model Building

Students learn to build a conceptual model describing a situation involving an accelerating charged particle.