Active Learning Activities

Constructive Commentary

This activity guides students through set steps and strategies to comment on their peers' creative writing.

Editing Exercise: Mock Academic Conference

Students write, present as 'experts', and edit.

Biologist Says: Mini-Game for Recalling Biology Terms

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

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.

Peer Review for Beginners

This peer-review activity for English 101 aims to help students improve their essays, but also to develop evaluation skills.

100 Years of Work

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

Group Work Project Contracting

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

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.

Snowball Starter: Goals of Science Education

In this activity, the snowball strategy links students' prior beliefs to a deeper inquiry of science education goals.

PharmaPuzzle Relay Race: Match the Meds and Win!

In this fast-paced relay, teams match categories of information to finish first and win the game

It’s All in the Delivery: 6 Rounds to Effective Presentation

Groups of students orally present a poem six times, focusing on six key aspect of effective oral presentations

Rough Draft Workshop: Group Peer Assessment Jigsaw Activity for Case Study or Procedural Writing

Students bring a rough draft of a written group project for peer evaluation and feedback

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.

Yeas and Nays: Using Smartphones for Gathering Data

Building Effective Teams

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard

Let’s Role Play the French Revolution!

Rhetorical Strategies

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

Understanding Terminology Using Jigsaw

Why Health & Safety is Essential to Recreation Leadership

Poetic Literary Jeopardy

National Building Code Jeopardy

Protein Separation