Active Learning Activities

The literature on teaching and learning suggests that designing appropriate learning activities in the classroom can trigger greater student involvement in the learning process. Here are some activities that we have used in our classes, which students have found useful.

Fish Bowl Technique

The fish bowl technique is versatile as a means to encourage questions, student-generated answers, and feedback on your teaching & students' learning. Post-it notes are distributed to students who are asked to write a question about something which they need greater clarification on. A container is then passed around and they will drop their responses into the container. Questions are then picked from the container and either the instructor or the students themselves can be asked to respond to the questions raised.

The fish bowl might also be used to encourage individual accountability in group activities. To use the fish bowl in this manner, fill the container with numbers. Give each student a number. When it is time for students to provide a response to a particular activity, draw a number and the student who was given that number is asked to respond. The benefit of this method is that students will be kept on their toes and will not feel that you are picking on them. However, the flip side is that students might not know how to answer your question, resulting in uncomfortable silence. One way to mitigate this is to use collaborative techniques such as Think-Pair-Share.

Think-Pair-Share

Sometimes students might be hesitant to answer questions posed by instructors because they are uncertain about how to respond. This activity provides students with the opportunity to clarify their answers with a peer before providing a response. The procedure is as follows:

1. Ask your question, either verbally or in text form.
2. Give students a minute to think about the question.
3. Ask them to discuss their answers with a partner.
4. Randomly select students to share the result of their discussion.

Socratic Questioning

Instructors often use questioning in the classroom to test students' level of understanding of the topic or, at times, to keep students on their toes. To encourage deeper thinking and further questioning, you can use the Socratic questioning technique. The section on questioning techniques also provides guidelines on preparing for and using effective questions.

Student Response to Another Student's Answer

To encourage greater participation and to promote active listening, you can consider asking another student for his or her opinion of the response given by the initial respondent. This is regardless of whether the answer is correct or incorrect. Refrain, though, from asking questions that only elicit yes/no, agree/disagree responses. Rather, use Socratic questioning, if necessary, to seek responses that demonstrate deeper thought.

Jigsaw

In the jigsaw technique, you break up a task or reading assignment into discrete parts. Each student in a group is given a part to work on. The various parts are then joined together to form a whole. For example, you might have some readings you would like students to use for a particular task. At the start of the class, each student (initially seated at their 'home' groups) is assigned a particular section of reading. All those with the same section of reading (each from different 'home' groups) will then come together and form a new group, called the 'expert' group. Give students some time to read the material and ask them to share their interpretations or ideas with members of their 'expert' group. Next, have students return to their home groups where they (as the expert) will now share their learning with their home group members. Once this is done, set a task that requires each group to integrate the learning from each of the readings.

Post-It Note Clustering

In this activity, the instructor poses a question or a problem. Students are then given two to three post-it notes and  must write down one idea on each note. Each team then sticks their notes onto a wall and moves them around to sort the ideas into themes or categories which are then used to respond to the question or problem posed.

Making effective use of demonstrations

Demonstrations can be powerful tools in encouraging critical thinking. The following is a suggested format for conducting effective demonstrations:

1. Introduction: Briefly explain how the demonstration relates to the topic being covered.
2. Background: Explain what you are going to do without telling students the expected results.
3. Safety Precautions: Have all safety precautions in place to perform the demonstration without harming anybody. Announce the safety measures to the class.
4. Student Feedback: Ask the class for the probable results or have them make a hypothesis based on what they learned or read in class so far.
5. Perform Demonstration: Carry out the demonstration, explaining each step.
6. Reiteration: Ask students what took place and what they saw.
7. Assessment or Reflection: Provide a brief guided question-and-answer session about the principles behind the demonstration.
8. Critical Thinking Moment: Ask the class to come up with applications of the principle or other ways to demonstrate the principle.

• Yale University Ideas for Teaching
• University of Tasmania Learning Activities
• Stanford University Engaging Online Activities
  
• University of Washington