Tip Sheets: Learning Activities

Active learning is based on constructivism, a learning theory that asserts that learners construct their own understanding of a topic by building upon their prior knowledge

Questions are the simplest form of interactive teaching tool, particularly in large classes, and are useful in any discipline.

Both asking and answering questions are important parts of effective learning and teaching.

The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, known as Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, & Krathwohl, 1956) is one of the most recognized learning theories in the field of education

For more information related to Bloom's Taxonomy, refer to the Bloom's Taxonomy Teaching Tip.

Community-based learning is a high impact practice which can improve student retention and engagement, and help students better absorb, retain, and transfer knowledge. 

Concept mapping tools allow you and your students to visually depict a system of relationships by creating a map

Critical reflection is a “meaning-making process” that helps us set goals, use what we’ve learned in the past to inform future action and consider the real-life implications of our thinking

Data visualization is the graphical representation of information and data which helps reveal patterns, trends, gaps, and outliers in the data.

Active learning in the classroom can increase student engagement and promote learning

While ePortfolios might be described as digital collections of artifacts, a good academic ePortfolio also represents a process

This game can be played in tutorials, lectures, or study groups outside class, and it helps to produce the lateral thinking, critical negotiations

Exam wrappers are activities that “wrap around” an exam to enhance students' meta-cognition and their reflection on their assessments.

Initiating and sustaining a lively, productive discussion are among the most challenging activities for an instructor

Games can introduce goals, interaction, feedback, problem solving, competition, narrative, and fun learning environments, elements that can increase learner engagement and sustain motivation

A three-way game of rock-paper-scissorsAudio version of "Group decision making" tip sheet (MP3)

Assigning tasks to small groups during class can have many benefits, such as involving students in their own learning,

One way to change the pace in your classroom is to do a small group activity.

Having a diversity of skills and ideas within a group often enriches the group process and can improve the final product. 

Group work can be an effective method to motivate students, encourage active learning, and develop key critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills

In a flipped classroom students engage with lectures or other materials outside of class to prepare for an active learning experience in the classroom.

Service-learning is a form of experiential learning that combines relevant community service experiences with reflective exercises for a powerful learning experience that aligns with course curriculum

The following questions are meant to guide you through the process of designing a “course” or unit of study

Non-native speakers of English, especially those lacking fluency in the language, may experience unique barriers to learning in their university courses. This teaching tip identifies some of those barriers and proposes strategies that instructors can implement to help these students.

Including well-designed library-based assignments in your courses can help build students’ research and thinking skills.

As a learning tool, writing can help students achieve a number of learning goals.

Working in groups can be both rewarding and challenging. 

Students should be made aware of assessment before starting the project

As long as class sizes continue to increase, it is likely that lecturing will be a dominant teaching method in university class rooms

Fostering an effective discussion can be challenging in a face-to-face situation and even more so in an online environment.

Online outliners such as WorkFlowy allow you to create lists with an infinite number of hierarchical levels: items, sub items, sub sub items, and so on

Hypothesis is an online tool that allows students to collaboratively annotate course readings and other internet resources.

Padlet is an online platform that describes itself as “somewhere between a doc and a full-fledged website builder

Peer instruction is a form of collaborative learning where students engage with core course concepts and then explain those concepts to one another.

Clickers are stand-alone handheld devices or apps installed on a smartphone or laptop that allow students to respond to an instructor's multiple-choice questions. These responses are instantly tabulated by software so that the instructor, and potentially the students, can see the results. Used effectively, clickers can foster participation as well as student engagement with course content.

Piazza is a online question-and-answer platform that blends the functionality of a discussion forum with that of a wiki

There are three main points to consider when preparing to deliver a lecture or lead a tutorial:

Prezi is a “pan and zoom” tool, which means that it allows you to create a multi-item presentation that your audience can explore either according to a pre-determined path or in whatever sequence they prefer

Classroom participation is a feature of many course designs

Effective question strategies capture students' attention, foster student involvement, and facilitate a positive, active learning environment

A screencast is a narrated video recording of your computer screen. 

Metacognition has been defined as “one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them

Many instructors in engineering, math and science have students solve “problems”

For groups to function effectively, it's important for students to think critically about the climate within their group and the process by which they accomplish their tasks. Although students can gain many of the skills described below through ad hoc interactions, instructors play a key role in making them explicit protocols.

This teaching tip provides a descriptive catalogue of scores of different kinds of assignments. 

Peer review, also called peer editing, peer feedback, and formative peer assessment, allows students to provide and receive feedback on an assignment before submitting it to the instructor

As learning tools, writing exercises are valuable because they help students think critically about course material while encouraging them to grasp, organize, and integrate prior knowledge with new concepts.

Virtual reality (VR) involves the use of technology to enter an alternate, three-dimensional view of the real world, a fantasy world,