15 Active Learning Activities to Strengthen Your Next College Class (2023)

The evidence continues to mount: Higher education students engage more, learn more, and achieve more with active learning. At another test point, ameta-analysisofAnnals of the National Academy of Sciencesfound that students' test scores improved by 6% when active learning approaches were used. And students in traditional classes were 1.5 times more likely to fail than those who used interactive methods.

During uncertain times like these, it can seem easier to stick with the familiar. But even if your classes have moved partially or completely online, that doesn't mean you're limited to lectures. Even taking 5-10 minutes to move from knowledge ingestion to engagement can make a difference.

Ready to switch to a different way of teaching but need some ideas to get started? Or maybe you've been teaching your courses this way for years, but you want ideas that will work for the new reality. Whether your classes are face-to-face, online, or in between, here are 15 active learning activities to try with your students this semester.

1. Tweezers-pairs-repairs

in this twistthink to share, pose an open-ended question to your class and ask students to find their best answer. Then bring the students together and ask them to agree on an answer. Put two pairs together and the foursome must do the same. Continue until half of the group is face to face with the other half. If your students are online, the breakout rooms in your conferencing software allow you to do the same virtually.See how it works on Zoom.

2. Improvisation games

If your classroom is museum-quiet, no matter how hard you try to liven things up, try some low-risk (read: non-embarrassing) improv activities. In itthree things in common play, couples discover the most unexpected things they share (this can also be done online in the themed rooms). Or challenge your students to count to 20 as a group with one person saying each number, but no one is given a number, and if two people speak at the same time, everyone starts over at 1. (If some students are in the room and some remotes, you will need full coverage classroom audio for this to work.See how Nureva audio can help.)

3. Brainstorming

You've probably tried brainstorming before, but have you triedbrain writing? In this approach, students are given time to present their own ideas individually before sharing them out loud or posting them to an online whiteboard or other shared platform. Building a space for individual reflection leads to better ideas and less groupthink.

4. Puzzles

Help students develop responsibility by teaching each other. Start by dividing them into “home groups” (4 or 5 people works well). Again, themed rooms on Zoom or Google Meet make it simple, even if everyone is remote. Assign each person in the group a different topic to explore – they will regroup to work with all the students in the other groups who are exploring the same idea. After mastering the concept, the students return to the initial group and everyone shares new knowledge.

5. Concept maps

collaborative concept mappingit's a great way for students to break away from their individual perspectives. Groups can do this to review past work or help brainstorm ideas for projects and assignments. In pre-COVID times, you may have covered your classroom walls with sticky notes and graph paper; there are now many online tools that make it easy to map connections between ideas.

6. The One Minute Newspaper

How much could you explain in one minute? At the end of class, set a timer and ask students to record the most revealing revelation or the most important question. This activity allows students to reflect on their learning and develop writing skills; Plus, you'll have a window into their understandings and misunderstandings. Are herebut quicklycan use for students to write.

7. Real-time reactions

When students are watching a video, mini-lecture, or another student's presentation, ask them to share their reactions in real time. This helps students spot trends and consider new points of view. You can set a hashtag to allowtweeting the liveor use the chat feature in your conferencing software.

8. Chain of notes

Write several questions on pieces of paper and pass each one to a student. The first student adds an answer (use a timer to make things go fast), then turns the page to collect more answers. Several contributions help build a fuller understanding. A digital alternative involves the use of shared documents that multiple students are invited to edit. Your class can then review the responses and identify patterns and missing pieces.

9. Alignment of ideas

Choose a question that has a variety of answers and ask students where they are, literally. If you are not socially distancing, ask them to come to the front of the room and line up based on where they are on the response spectrum. In a co-ed or physically distanced classroom, have them stand on a virtual number line.

10. Mystery Date

Assess how well students can apply their understanding of a problem or theoretical position. After they've explored a topic, show them a quote about it that they haven't seen before. Your task is to discover the point of view of the person behind the quote and justify it to the class. Students can discuss this question in small groups before beginning a whole class discussion.

11. Quick brainstorming

Have students circulate around your space or topic rooms on Zoom or Google Meet, sharing information on a topic or your presentation for an upcoming project. As they present their learnings over and over again in various “dating is fast”, Students' presentation skills and perspectives will grow.

12. Peer review

The peer review process is as old as academia, and it's never too early to start. Have students exchange drafts of their essays, proposals, or lab reports, and then ask each other questions and comments. Make sure you are clear about what the objectives are (using rubrics helps). For example, students can identify compelling arguments, unanswered questions, and flaws in logic.

13. Question

Have you ever played Jeopardy? So are you ready tointerrogation. It's like a standard class discussion, but only questions are allowed (students yell "Statement!" if someone makes a mistake). If you play this game at the beginning of the course, the questions can help shape your course. If you have students in the room and you are calling remotely, make sure the remote students have the same airtime and that your audio system is picking up the students' voices clearly.

14. Sketches

Instead of taking traditional class notes, try to have your studentsdraw a picturerepresenting what was learned in class. Remember, it's not about the quality of the art, it's about how the drawing makes students visualize their understanding and look at their learning from a different perspective.

15. Empathy mapping

Take a page from the designer's manual and have students explore deeper by taking a perspective. It's deceptively simple: write down what a personsay, think, do and feel. The ability to slow down and immerse yourself in another point of view is valuable. In design thinking, empathy maps help designers create better products for users. But this process can be just as valuable for analyzing literary characters, historical figures, or political positions.

Checklist: 8 Audio Essentials for HyFlex and Blended Learning

Do your higher education audio systems support active learning? In a hybrid classroom, students need to be able to easily hear each other no matter where they are. Instructors should be able to change the layout of the room for different activities as often as they like. See what else is on our list of audio essentials - download your checklist today (no email address required).

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated.

Posted on April 2, 2020