4.4 Engaging students through active learning techniques
"The less I talk and the more students engage with in-class activities, the more learning occurs. " -Anonymous Science instructor, UBC 2018 Teaching Practice Survey
Active learning fosters understanding rather than memorization of facts and it encourages students to apply learning to different problems and contexts. Active learning gives students more autonomy over their learning and it helps students learn how to learn. The next section lists active learning strategies often used across UBC disciplines. We describe how each active learning technique can be facilitated in both a synchronous and an asynchronous environment, along with relevant learning tools. As you review these strategies, consider the following questions:
- Are there specific activities in your course that might work well with this strategy?
- How might this strategy help your students achieve course learning outcomes?
- How comfortable are you facilitating this strategy either synchronously or asynchronously?
- How much time might be required to implement this strategy?
- Would this strategy supplement or replace a lecture?
Muddiest point
Students respond to the question "What was the muddiest point in _______?"
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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Through a survey quiz on Canvas (or through Qualtrics) which allows students to anonymously submit their answers. This activity can also be facilitated in a discussion forum, but student answers will be available to everyone. |
Through the chat room on Zoom: students think about the question and submit their answers through the chat. TAs or the instructor can filter and answer responses as they are submitted or compile and respond later. |
One-minute paper
Students answer two questions:
- What was the most important thing you learned during this class/module?
- What important question remains unanswered?
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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Through a survey quiz on Canvas (or through Qualtrics) which allow students to anonymously submit their answers. |
Through the chat room on Zoom: students think about the questions and submit their answers through the chat. TAs or the instructor can filter and answer responses as they are submitted or compile and respond later. |
Crowdsourcing
Students map everything they know, or think they know, about a given topic.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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You could facilitate a similar activity using a wiki page on Canvas or on the UBC Wiki. |
Using the the whiteboard tool in Zoom Links to an external site.. Move student contributions as they enter information to keep the whiteboard readable. |
Jigsaw (groups of experts)
This activity is divided in two steps.
STEP 1: Students work in groups on a particular topic (or small problem) and become “experts” of this topic.
STEP 2: Students are then split into new groups with one member from the original group in each new group. Group members teach the others about the topic. This strategy allows you to cover different topics in one activity and helps students develop their communication and/or problem-solving skills.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
|
Students can work in Groups on Canvas and share files, work on a page together (wiki) or post in group discussion boards. You can allow students to switch groups or manually assign them to a different group on Canvas. |
In a synchronous session, group students using breakout rooms in Zoom. You can send instructions via broadcast messages on Zoom. Stop the breakout rooms, bring everyone in the main room, provide instructions on the second step, and do breakout rooms again. |
Case-based learning
Students work individually or in groups on a case study based on a real-life context. A case study allows students to explore an event in-depth to find the causes of underlying principles.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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In Canvas, students can read about the case (PDF, word doc), and research it through readings or hyperlinks. Students next discuss it in groups through a discussion forum and work on a collaborative document solution. Students can then submit their solution as an assignment (individual or in group) or share it through a discussion. |
Share the case study and ask students, either individually or as groups (using breakout rooms) to analyze the case and then share their solution. |
Peer Assessment
Students evaluate and provide feedback on the work of their peers. Students can give feedback on each other’s drafts before a final assignment is submitted (formative) or use a rubric to grade final submissions (summative). Peer assessment is most commonly used with written work, but can also be used with presentations, performances, posters, videos and other types of assignments.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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In Canvas, the peer review tool can be used to facilitate peer assessment online. Reviewers can be randomly or manually assigned and groups can be set as well. Evaluation rubrics can be used to guide the evaluation process and come up with some sort of calibrated peer review. Other Canvas integrated tools: PeerScholar, |
In Zoom, use breakout rooms and ask students to share their work (presentation or through link). Peers can provide feedback verbally. Bring everyone in the main room and debrief the activity (e.g. one person per group/pair). Note: You will need to set clear expectations, and carefully time the presentation and feedback cycle (e.g. 5 minutes per presenter). |
Question polls (clicker questions)
Clickers (classroom response system) allow the instructor to ask questions and collect responses during class time. Results can be displayed for students to see how their peers responded. This can be used to stimulate conversation, inform the lecture, or as a part of peer instruction where students explain and discuss their responses with their peers.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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On Canvas, you can ask students to complete a quiz (Classic quiz). This activity can be graded (or not). You could also set up a two-part discussion forum where students first answer the questions individually and then are put in groups and tasked with coming to consensus on a group answer. Note: consider doing this activity both synchronously and asynchronously, where students complete the poll on Canvas and you share the results during the synchronous session, which also allows time for discussion on the results. |
On Zoom, you can use question polls. Question polls are only multiple-choice. For peer instruction, you can pair this with breakout rooms. Note: On Zoom, you can export the poll data as a CSV file. If this activity is graded, you will need to ask students to provide their alias before they sign up to the session, and reconcile this information with the CSV file afterwards. |
Structured debates
Students discuss a topic or theme with their peers or the entire class. The instructor facilitates the discussions and maintains a respectful and safe environment.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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Debates can be conducted using discussion boards on Canvas, where students can post a response and reply to their peers. Note: student contributions in a discussion are available to the entire class or to groups, and cannot be made anonymous. |
This activity can be conducted on Zoom using the chat room or microphone, depending on the class size. For large classes, you could use breakout rooms and split students into groups where they can discuss the topic. You can then bring them into the main room to collect some of the points discussed and provide feedback. |
Think-Pair-Share
Ask students to reflect on a question, then discuss their answer with a peer (or a small group). Ask groups to share responses and follow up with instructor explanation. This activity allows students to explain their answer and critically consider their peer’s response.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
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Consider doing this activity both synchronously and asynchronously, where students discuss in pairs or groups using the discussion forum and then share a summary of their discussion during a synchronous session. You could also use group discussion for the “pair” part of this activity and then have a group representative share the group summary in the whole class discussion. |
In a synchronous session, you can use break out rooms for the “pair” part of this activity. Then, bring everyone in the main room and ask groups to share their responses, using their microphone or through the chat. |
Virtual Gallery Walk
Students display their work in the classroom or another physical space. Students have the opportunity to view each other’s work and contribute or explore what their peers have done.
| Asynchronous | Synchronous |
|---|---|
| Have students post their work or links to their work in a discussion forum. Other students can then view the work and ask questions or provide feedback with the author responding to questions. | Create breakout rooms for a subset of students to share their work (one person displaying their work per room). Allow students to move from room to room, viewing the work and asking questions or providing feedback. After students have had enough time to visit all the rooms, assign new students to display their work. |
For more information on these topics, please review Learning Technology Tools to Support Active Learning Download Learning Technology Tools to Support Active Learning [pdf].