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

22 Results

Languages and Literature

Editing Exercise: Mock Academic Conference

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

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.

Social sciences Humanities

Group Work Project Contracting

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

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.

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.

Health science

Navigating the Grey: Ethics in Nursing

In this card sorting activity, students create categories with words related to ethics in nursing.

Languages and Literature

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.

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.

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.

Physics

Nature of Science Ice-Breaker

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

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 Biology

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

STEM Biology

Feeling Feverish: Homeostasis of Pyrexia

STEM Health science

Harvard Implicit Bias Test

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.

History

Let’s Role Play the French Revolution!

Languages and Literature

Rhetorical Strategies

Languages and Literature

Projects on Junot Diaz: “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”

Social sciences

Understanding Terminology Using Jigsaw

STEM Biology

How to Read a Research Article

Students learn how to read a research article and what information is contained in each section of the article.

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.