Active Learning Activities

Peer Review for Beginners

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

Group Work Project Contracting

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

Taskmaster: Diction Icebreakers

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

Snowball Starter: Goals of Science Education

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

Nature of Science Ice-Breaker

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

Crash Course: Collision Theory

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

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

An Abundance of Bells

How to Write Reading Annotations

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

5 Senses Lab

Peer Review, Assessment & Feedback

Sustainability Development Plan (Part 1 and Part 2)

In this activity, students learn to define sustainability and apply this to a single Montreal neighbourhood. 

Photosynthesis: Light Dependent Reactions

From “Yum” to “Yuk”: A Case in Point… Mutation

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

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.

Does X Associate with Y?

Concept Map: Furniture Design Time Ripple

Engineering Poster Presentations with Peer Assessment

Geography Video Test

The aim of this project is to get students thinking about facts and concepts related to rivers in the field (in real life!).

Biological Molecules

Muscle Snowballs