Active Learning for Student Engagement

For all of these activities, all students (including those physically in class) need to have Zoom launched on their laptops. Also, in-person students could use ear buds to cut down on audio feedback. Or, they can communicate via Zoom chat.

Think-Pair-Share

Presenting students with a problem and give them individual time to think about a solution, jot down ideas or work out the problem. Then, pair up students to consider the problem together. Finally, have students share their solutions with the entire class.

For multimodal: Pair up one student in the in-person class with a virtual student
via Zoom breakout rooms.

Gallery Walk

Display a series of question on posters around the room and have students visit each one to add their ideas via markers or post-it notes.

For multimodal: Create a shared Microsoft document within your Office 365 OneDrive (either PowerPoint or Word). Include a question at the top and a table with rows for students to add their input. OR use Padlet with the “shelf” format, add a question to each “shelf” and comment on each others posts. Share the link to either the shared document or the Padlet via Zoom chat.

Collaborative Note-Taking

Create a shared Microsoft document within your Office 365 OneDrive (either PowerPoint or Word). Two or three students can be appointed lead notetakers for a given class, with that duty rotating among students over the semester. However, all students are invited to read and contribute to the shared notes.

Fishbowl

A group of students form a circle in the middle of the room and discuss a topic. The remaining students listen and observe the dialogue.

For multimodal: Ask four students participating virtually to serve as the “fish” in the fishbowl. After observing the dialogue, have the other virtual students and in-person students respond by asking questions or providing comments via the Zoom chat window.

Jigsaw

In a jigsaw, students participate in two rounds of small group activities. In the first round (sometimes called “focus groups”), each group of students is given a different reading or topic to discuss. In the second round (“task groups”), groups are re-formed so that each new group has a representative from each of the first round groups.

For multimodal: Task groups and focus groups can be supported by a shared Microsoft documents within your Office 365 OneDrive (either PowerPoint or Word). Or, by using the discussion board in Brightspace.

Brainstorming

For in-person or multimodal: Have students brainstorm within Zoom breakout rooms or as a larger class. Use a shared document such as Padlet, Microsoft Whiteboard, Google Jam board – or a shared Microsoft documents within your Office 365 OneDrive.

Live Polling

For in-person or multi-modal: Have virtual and in-person students respond to poll questions – either via Zoom or using H5p’s multipoll tool – which you can access and create from within your Brightspace course.

Send a Problem

As teams, students participate in rounds of problem-solving, and then evaluate alternative solutions offered by the different groups. Out of class, groups work on a problem solution via a a shared Microsoft document. Teams share their document links with the professor. During class, groups are provided links to a different groups solution to review for discussion and feedback.

For multimodal: Virtual and in-person students can be put into Zoom breakout rooms for the solutions review and feedback.

Adapted from Active Learning in a Social Distanced Classroom and Active Learning in Hybrid and Socially Distanced Classrooms