Learning Activities

In the previous section, we discussed why you should vary your teaching strategies, like sandwiching microlectures between activities or flipping the class entirely.  This section is dedicated to the types of learning activities students could do—what is commonly referred to as “active learning.”  While listening to a lecture or watching a video is considered “passive learning,” active learning gives students a way to apply and use what they learn.

There are many types of activities that promote student cognition, but we will discuss a few strategies that promote deep processing. Deep processing refers to the principle that the more mental processing you perform on information, the more likely it is that you will retain that information. The following strategies allow students to learn material and not just cram content before a major exam.

Classroom Activities

What are you aiming to do?

Give students practive applying knowledge or skills...

is a two-dimensional grid used to organize and illustrate relationships between concepts. Students are given categories in the row and column headings and then they fill in the blank cells.
asks students to analyze and then depict a sequence of events, actions, roles, or decisions graphically. Rather than simply memorizing facts, students begin to apply their knowledge and reasoning to arrange these points in an orderly, coherent progression.
Learners design an example that is purposefully “broken,” defying the concept learned in class. Their classmates can then try to find as many flaws as possible. Creating a flawed example requires a high understanding of the concept, so critical thinking is demonstrated as both the “breakers” and the “fixers.”

Assess what students' takeaways are at the end of class...

is, as the name suggests, a quick, one- or two-minute prompt designed to assess student comprehension of the material just covered. Most often the question is something like, “What was the most important thing you learned during class?” But equally valuable is a pop quiz type question, like “Explain how X occurs under normal circumstances.”
like the Minute Paper, is a quick written assessment done during the last few minutes of class, asking students, “What remains the most confusing or ‘muddiest’ part of today's topic?”
has students analyze an issue by creating a list of pro and con arguments and then weighing each side. You will be able to assess the depth and breadth of their analyses, capacity for objectivity, and the strength of their decision-making skills. This works especially well in small groups

Encourage student reflection and self-awareness of their learning process..

allow students to reflect on their beliefs about course-related topics. As they compare their thoughts with those of their classmates, they can also test their opinions against the experts.
students summarize a short text in a single word. Then, they write a paragraph explaining why they chose that word to summarize the text.
students write a paragraph or page on a single successful learning experience in their past—an experience relevant to this course. This activity is ideal at the start of the semester to help boost growth mindset.

Promote cooperative (group) learninG

is a favorite in-class technique that helps draw out quieter students. You ask students to Think individually about a question that you pose to the class. After giving them a few minutes to organize their thoughts, they turn to a neighbor and compare responses as a Pair and then ultimately Share with a larger group or whole class.
is a collaborative learning technique whereby every group is tackling the same issue.  Within each group, students are assigned a role, representing a specific expertise. In other words, each group has an Expert Q, Expert R, Expert S, Expert T, and an Expert U, as they analyze the problem from each angle. Part two of the Jigsaw is to form new teams based on their expertise—there would be a team of all Qs, all Rs, all Ss, etc. Students then share what they learned in the first group that might be useful in solving the issue. Since teams depend on each other’s expertise, students are motivated to be accountable.
is a method of investigating a situation from different perspectives. Students are grouped in teams of six and are each assigned a perspective (or “thinking hat”) that they will embody as they analyze the scenario. This is great as a role-playing game, assigning historical figures or archetypes, but otherwise simply refer to the role by color, as the author Edward de Bono did in his book of the same name:
    • Blue Hat (Leader) is the leader of the group and must take into consideration all perspectives before coming to a decision.
    • White Hat (Thinking) is the person who analyzes the problem from a rational or intellectual perspective.
    • Red Hat (Feeling) is the person who represents the emotional perspective of the problem.
    • Green Hat (Creativity) is tasked with coming up with innovative ways to tackle the situation.
    • Yellow Hat (Positivity) always focuses on the benefits and merits of ideas suggested by others.
    • Black Hat (Cautious) identifies the potential drawbacks or challenges of each potential decision.

Reading Acitivities

If you have ever been frustrated with students not completing reading assignments before a class discussion or if you have struggled to find ways to structure your prompts so that students read with greater criticality, we highly recommend the work of Jenae Cohn. In her book, Skim, Dive, Surface: Teaching Digital Reading, she outlines ways to engage students who are likely reading materials on a digital device, which shapes their understanding of the text. Cohn provides five categories for engagement:

have students gather resources and create new knowledge as a result.
    1. Example Activity = Key Concepts Map. Students identify similarities amongst multiple readings and create a map of how they are related.
ask students to tie what they are currently reading to prior knowledge or other content.  
  1. Example Activity = Reading Sideways. Students select a person/place/event mentioned in the text and research that one person/place/event. They then annotate or hyperlink an online resource that they think best helps a reader understand the context for that person/place/event.
direct students to break down an idea from a reading and create something new, such as a video, image, or even music.
  1. Example Activity = Reading Infographic. Students teach a block of text to their classmates by making a visual, such as an infographic, and then sharing their work in class (or on a discussion board).
situate students’ understanding of a reading’s content within the conditions and histories that shaped it.
  1. Example Activity = Journalistic Investigation. Students investigate the who, what, where, when, and why (a.k.a. the Five Ws) of a reading. They explore (a) who wrote the reading, (b) what the reading is about, (c) where the reading originated (e.g., blog, website, printed book?), (d) when the reading was written, and (e) why the reading was likely written in the first place. Students should work in groups and then when they debrief with the class, ask them to reflect on how the Five Ws investigation impacted their understanding of the text.
invite students to slow down and consider how the text is meaningful as well as when to allocate more time for close reading.
  1. Example Activity = 3-2-1 Thinking. Students reflect upon their comprehension of a text by identifying 3 interesting moments, 2 confusing moments, and 1 question. This not only prepares them for class discussions, but it also pinpoints areas to explore further.