Students learn best by doing. This is the principle underlying the range of practices described as active learning. These practices place the student at the centre of classroom activities. Students build knowledge through participation instead of from a lecture, reading or video. Being active often means interacting with other learners. Cooperative, collaborative and Team-Based Learning are examples of strategies used for active learning. In short, active learning is students “doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” (Bonwell & Eison, 1991).
Active learning in the university classroom
How you use your class time is key to an active learning instructional strategy. This applies to courses where you have shared, dedicated time with your students. The next section of this page looks at active learning in asynchronous classes.
In an active learning classroom, students have to apply concepts or skills. This can be cognitive or physical. The important thing is that students take responsibility for their learning. Well designed activities promote higher-order thinking skills and engage students in deep understanding. Examples of active learning activities include:
- case studies
- group projects
- peer teaching
- discussions
- debates
- reflection
The key to creating strong activities for your students is clear learning outcomes. You will be asking students to apply and use course content or skills they have learned. This should help make visible student understanding of key course concepts. You can provide feedback to students while the activity is happening. This real time feedback is much higher impact than feedback given after the fact.
To create this kind of classroom environment requires planning.
- Communicate from day one that class time will be where students show their learning.
- You need to teach students what it means to come prepared in the context of you course and why this is important.
- Evaluations need to based on students’ demonstrated skill in applying course content. Reward problem-solving over memorization of information.
Be aware that students bring their own expectations to higher education. They may expect class sessions to be lectures and have some resistance to active learning methods. You can address student resistance in several ways:
- be patient
- explain the purpose of each activity and the value it has for students' learning
- describe what students will do for the activity and preview potential challenges
- set clear expectations for what you want students to produce from the activity
- invite students to ask questions
- check in with students throughout the activity
Active learning activities for the classroom
There are a wide range of activies you can do with your students. These are a few examples of low stakes, low preparation activities you can use in a face to face classroom.
This is a short activity to stimulate discussion and encourage participation from everyone.
Materials: All students will need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil.
- Give students a prompt or question and ask them to write down a question or a response on their paper.
- All students ball up their paper and toss them to a designated space in the room. Once all the paper is on the floor have students pick up a paper that isn't their own.
- Each student responds to the comment or question on the paper they picked up. Once done, they crumple the page back up and throw it back on the floor.
- Students once more pick up a paper that isn't theirs. They will hang on to this paper and use the comments and questions on it in the class discussion
- After the discussion you may want to collect the papers to review. Reading through the comments and quesitons can help you ensure any misconceptions were addressed.
This activity encourages students to look at multiple perspectives and move past their initial response to the topic. this can be done in groups or as a whole class depending on the time available and the size of your class.
Materials: white board or flipchart and markers. Online you could use a Microsoft whiteboard or Padlet.
- Draw a two column grid for pros and cons.
- Give students a statement that requires students to take a position. For example: "Canada should adopt ranked choice voting" or "Every road should have a bike lane."
- Allow some time (around five minutes) for independent thought before the group begins to compile their pros and cons
- Add pros and cons to the list.
- Once the list is complete, you can ask students to group similar pros and cons together. They can count how many times similar points occured to determine their preceived importance.
- If there is time for more discussion, you can ask each group to reach a consensus based on their pro con grid.
Adapting activities for online learning
Many learning activities can be adapted for online learning. Check out this resource from the University of Guelph for ways to adapt common activities for online and asynchronous classes.
Asynchronous active learning
Many traditional active learning activities involve students working together. Group work can help broaden perspectives, but it is not required for active learning.
If you do decide to use group work activities in an asynchronous class, ensure you allow extra time. Remember that time is necessary for communication and coordination. You also need to account for the fact that students may not be able to find times to work together. All activities in an asynchronous course should be possible to do well asynchronously.
You may find it useful to do fewer activities in your asynchronous courses. Instead of weekly case studies you may want to do a monthly case that focuses on a larger problem. Online activities are open book so you can assign cases that need research to solve. By giving students more time to come to a consensus you avoid disadvantaging students who have only a narrow window in which to work on your course. The extra time and added complexity can also encourage deeper discussion.
Designing and implementing asynchronous learning activities
This list is adapted from a handout produced by the Office of Teaching and Learning at the University of Guelph. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
- start small
- Begin with quick, low stakes or no stakes activities. These let you and your students get comfortable with new ways of learning
- start with your students in mind
- What’s their prior knowledge of the topic?
- What level of guidance will they need?
- What’s their experience with active learning activities?
- make it accessible
- Reduce barriers to participation and offer diverse ways for students to engage.
- use technology thoughtfully
- What technologies and tools will you and your students need?
- Are there alternate tools students can use?
- group management
- How are groups formed?
- How will you support all groups throughout the activity?
- How will you set groups up for success?
- timing
- How much time do students need to complete the activity?
- Will you repeat the activity throughout the semester?
- deliverables and assessment
- What contributions or deliverables do you want from the activity?
- How many submissions do you expect (e.g., each individual, one per group)?
- Will you grade submissions?
Introduce the activity
- be transparent
- Why are you incorporating this activity?
- What are the goals and intended benefits of the activity?
- How will you assess students' work or participation?
- How does the activity connect to the course outcomes and assessments?
- introduce the activity
- Provide clear instructions, guidelines and expectations, especially for group activities.
- specify deliverables and assessment
- Provide clear instructions for submissions.
- What does an appropriate and successful submission look like?
- What grading or feedback should students expect from you?
- clarify your role
- How, when, and where they can get support for the activity
- be present
- Provide guidance and support, particularly to anyone who seems stuck.
- Check in on any groups or individuals who do not seem to be participating.
- clarify common questions and misconceptions
- Provide clarification if there is confusion or if similar questions arise.
- wrap up and debrief
- Gather feedback from students about how the activity went.
- Reflect on what went well and what needs to change for next time.
Individual active learning activities
Active learning activities can be individual. These activities can work in face to face, online and asynchronous learning environment. You can help students get the most out of these activities by:
- explain how the activity meets a course learning outcome
- provide clear instructions for what students need to do
- let students know if you will be grading their work or providing feedback and based on what criteria
- invite questions before beginning the activity
This activity helps students understand their own learning. It also gives you a chance to check in to see where students may be struggling.
Materials: In a face to face class, you will need paper and pens available for students who don't have their own. In an online synchronous class you can use the Q&A tool in Teams or a poll. For asynchronous classes, you can use VIULearn discussions or a Microsoft Form.
- Create your prompt. You will need to decide what you want students to think about when coming up with their muddiest point. Often this will be the topic of the current class. You may also focus on an upcoming assignment.
- The muddiest point about today's lecture was___.
- The part of the upcoming assignment I am least clear about is ________.
- The thing I least understood from this week's assigned readings was _____.
- Reserve time in synchronous courses for students to respond to the prompt. For asynchronous courses, set an expectation for how much time students should spend.
- Let students know when and how you will be addressing their muddiest points.
- Have students respond to your promt.
- Read and group the responses so you can address them. For common questions you may want to make adjustments to the course in addition to addressing the points directly. For example, you might reword assignment instructions or swap a reading that isn't working as you intended.
Note: Anonymity can encourage students to be more forthright. This is easier to do in synchronous courses, but can also happen in asynchronous courses. If you have questions about how to set up anonymous discussions, polls or other activities online, email learnsupport@viu.ca.
This activity encourages students to think about what they have learned. It also provides you with a snapshot of student learning. This does not have to be a paper. For exaple, you can invite students to draw a one minute concept map or diagram. the purpose is to allow everyone to participate and capture their understanding. You may also want to prompt students to add one important question to their one minute paper. You can then respond to these questions in the next class or use them to prompt class-wide discussion to reinforce everyone's learning.
Let your students know at the start of the semester that you will use this activity throughout the term. Take time to ensure everyone understands the activity when you introduce it. Subsequent one minute papers can then be quick reflections. For example:
- give students a moment to reflect mid-lecture
- take a step back if a discussion becomes tense or heated to have everyone reflect on the discussion
- ask students to evaluate an in-class activity
- invite students to rank the materials they reviewed to prepare for class from most to least useful
Materials: In a face to face class, you will need paper and pens available for students who don't have their own. In an online synchronous class you can use the Q&A tool in Teams. For asynchronous classes, you can use VIULearn discussions or a Microsoft Form.
- Give students the prompt
- Allow 1-2 minutes for silent thought
- Start the timer for producing their 1 minute paper (or drawing)
- Collect everyone's work
- Between classes review their responses and note any misconceptions or recurring themes. Respond to student's reflections either between classes or at the start of the next class.
Note: For asynchronous courses, make sure to set an expectation for how and when you will respond. for example, you may respond to each individual submission or commit to a weekly summary.
Motivating students
There is an implied contract between you and your students when you adopt active learning strategies. Students must do the preparatory work before class. You provide meaningful activities that highlight the value of what they are learning. Students will feel they have wasted their time if class sessions repeat what you asked them to prepare ahead.
In-class learning activities need structure but should foster curiosity and critical thinking. Students need to think and act for themselves in using their new knowledge. Case studies are a good example of how this can work. You provide the framework for students to reach a decision, but that decision and steps leading to it are up to your students.
- In-class activities can and should include a variety of formats. Students should need to retrieve, apply, or extend the material learned outside of class. Some examples include:
- problem-solving
- case students
- quizzes
- “let’s see what you can do” challenges.
- Set consistent expectations for how students will prepare for class. This is essential for keeping class productive and engaging. Students need to demonstrate their preparedness on a regular basis. This might be through online tasks due before class or an assessment activity at the start of class.
Classroom activities related to applying and using course content should make up a large part of students' grade for the course.
Creating an environment for active learning
Human interactions drive the active learning classroom. You will need to think about how you manage interactions between students. There can be a measure of discomfort or uncertainty with authentic engagement. You can alleviate this by building a respectful, supportive and intellectually challenging classroom.
Formats for engaging students
Students doing their own thinking in situations you have designed are the crux of active learning. For many instructors, the hardest challenge is to design the kind of activity that
- is engaging
- has intrinsic interest for students
- makes learning visible to you and to learners
Requiring students to make autonomous choices within a restricted framework is key. This creates intrinsic interest much more than free responses to open ended questions. You can see this kind of decision making employed frequently by game designers. These types of decisions emphasize a student’s own clear commitment to a way of thinking. It also implicates them more directly in the challenge. This in turn causes the feedback to be interesting, even if the student is not interested in the topic.By making their own, clear choice, students become invested, which makes the outcome relevant at a personal level. This investment motivates them to learn whether the decision was sound or not. That curiosity can produce a particularly interesting discussion the decisions each student made.
- Open format: “What is the author of this article trying to say?”
- Closed format: “Make a decision: Which of the following (3 or 4 statements) is the best summary of what the author intended to say?”
Open format tasks are useful in some situations (brainstorming, for example). They can also lead to problems if you are trying to promote a focuses analytical discussion.
It is easy for a small number of confident students to dominate an open format discussion. It is also easy for the topic to range rapidly away from your intended focus. Closed-format questions tend to level the playing field. Open discussions can be hard for students who need longer to think or are too shy to voice a diseenting opinion. With a closed format question, these students don't have to come up with the initial response. Instead, they pick the option that makes sense to them and by doing so take a side in the ensuing discussion. Having them reflect on their choice and prepare to explain it, gives everyone equal opportunity to shine. These closed-format question discussions avoid given advantage to those willing to say the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, they benefit those who think through their position before making a response.
- select the best/most accurate/most comprehensive item from a limited set of options
- sort the following statements, items, objects, etc. into categories
- use this to help students develop thinking within a taxonomic scheme, stages of a process, or a typology
- rank the following items according to…(X criteria)
- true or false
- Is the following judgment about X true? Why or why not?
- a single value (numerical estimate or other scoring). Examine this paragraph.
- Based on the criteria we use for evaluating expository writing, assign a score from 1 to 10, on how successful it is.
- Sequencing/organizing stuff (chronological; procedural; logical; narrative).
- Arrange the following events in their most likely chronological order.
- What does not belong?
- Of all the objects on the table, which is the exception to our definition of igneous rock.
- single sentence
- summary
- definition
- claim about X
- limited word task
- read the case and offer your analysis of what has happened in 2 words
These hybrid questions work best when students have time to determine an individual answer first. After they have time to reflect on their own, they can discuss their answers in small groups. The small group discussion allows students to compare their answer and consider the best reasons for a particular choice.
Debriefing closed-format discussions
The benefit of the closed format is that you can follow up by asking students why they made their choice.
- Why did you score this paragraph a 7 and not a 3?
- Why did you choose that rock, and not the others?
- Why did you put this object in that category, rather than this other category?
“Why” when it follows a student’s own, autonomous decision implicates the student directly. This making the answer something that matters, because it is personal and immediate to the student’s own thinking.