Active Learning Activities

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.

Finding Catharsis in Film and Media

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

Dragon’s Den – Brain Exploration Techniques

Students engage in a gamified activity mimicking the popular tv show the Dragon's Den.

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.

Put Your Thesis on Trial

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

Taskmaster: Diction Icebreakers

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

Learning in Everyday Life

In this integrative assignment, students analyze their everyday activities through the lens of various learning theories.

Crossing Dimensions: A Math Odyssey into Cross Products

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

Snowball Starter: Goals of Science Education

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

Sensation and Perception Lab

The lab explores the senses of taste, smell, touch, proprioception and vision.

Nature of Science Ice-Breaker

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

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace

In groups, students explore Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in its application to workplace scenarios

Crash Course: Collision Theory

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

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.

An Abundance of Bells

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

Peerwise Assignment: Human Body

this activity is for students to design high level questions related to course material as a review and application exercise.

Low Stakes Debate

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

How to Write Reading Annotations

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

Categorizing for Review

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

5 Senses Lab

The aim of this activity is to help students understand the rationalist concerns about the use of our experience and senses.

Two Stage Quiz

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

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Crystallization of Borax

CLAW At-Home Experiment: Organic Chemistry Introduction to Solubility

Live Demonstrations of Beats and Interference of Sound

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