Make the Most of Togetherness

The time we have together on campus is so valuable! It's important to incorporate collaboration and interaction into our on campus learning experiences. Instead of sticking to traditional lectures, we'll be sharing some ways that you can boost the engagement in your course with more active learning techniques. These strategies not only make the class more interesting but also help students understand and retain the material better. Plus, it helps build a stronger sense of community. All good things.

Think-Pair-Share
Minute Papers
Gallery Walk
Jigsaw

Think-Pair-Share

Think-pair-share is an active learning strategy where students first think about a question or problem individually, then pair up with a classmate to discuss their thoughts, and finally share their ideas with the larger group. This technique encourages individual reflection, peer discussion, and group collaboration to enhance understanding and engagement.

Think - Have students think for 3-5 minutes on their own about a topic/prompt/question.
Pair - Ask students to pair up and share their responses with their partner
Share - Ask pairs to share out to the large group

Examples

Think-pair-share for your Syllabus:
- After reviewing your syllabus with students, ask students to:
  - Think: Students review the syllabus on their own for 5 minutes.
  - Pair: In pairs, identify what questions you have about the class.
  - Share: Share questions with the larger group

Minute Papers

A minute paper is a quick and informal writing activity that can be used really anytime at the start, middle or end of a class session. It can be used as a formative assessment to find out from students what they understood from the lesson/class, what is still confusing, and what questions they may still have. The goal is to provide instructors with immediate insights into students' comprehension and to help students consolidate their learning.

Examples

Week 1 Minute Paper

At the end of today's class please take 1 minute to write a written reflection including your responses to the following three questions:
- What goals do you have for yourself in this class?
- What questions/concerns do you have about this class?
- Is there anything that you'd like me to know about you as a learner to support you?

Brain Dumps

At the start of a class session, ask students to write down everything they remember from the previous class session without referencing their notes. This practice of retrieval is a valuable learning activity as it forces the brain to retrieve knowledge, making it more likely to be retained over long term.

At the start of today's class, please take 3 minutes to write down everything you remember from our last class session together. Without referring to your notes, try to recall what we learned about, writing down as much detail as possible.

Gallery Walk

A gallery walk is an active learning strategy where students move around the classroom to engage with displays of information, such as posters, charts, or multimedia presentations. Each "station" presents a different topic or aspect of the lesson. Students can add comments, ask questions, and discuss the content with their peers, promoting collaboration and deeper understanding. This interactive method allows for movement, discussion, and a variety of perspectives, making learning more dynamic and engaging.

Examples

Getting-to-Know-You Gallery Walk

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That one

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Jigsaw

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A CallOut

This is a great place to highlight an example or share some related links for users to explore.