Centre for Excellence in Active and Interactive Learning
Non Technology Assisted AIL Exercises
Listed below are a few more examples of active learning exercises which can be employed in teaching a large and small number of students. All these exercises can be planned and employed without the use of or with minimum technical equipment (a video or a PC);
Problem based learning (PBL); PBL is a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experiences [1].
Peer assessment / peer marking; Peer assessment is where students are involved in the assessment of the work of other students. Students must have a clear understanding of what they are to look for in their peers' work [2].
Think-Pair-Share; Students are given a topic/problem and work alone. They then share their views/solutions with the student next to them and share their findings as a pair with the class.
Collaborative learning groups; Students are allocated groups to discuss/solve a topic or problem. They nominate a note taker and chair person and discuss their findings with the class.
Student led review sessions; In small groups students propose questions related to the material that they don’t understand. Each group then has to answer a question proposed by another group.
Student debates; These can be group or individual debates, which encourage students to collect data in a logical and critical way as to support their position.
Video analysis; Case studies or experimental procedures can be shown in class and students in groups or individually can critically evaluate and share their views with the class.
Group/Individual poster or powerpoint presentations; Students can prepare a poster/presentation based on their data or subject searches and present it to the class.
Case studies; Working in groups students can solve/manage case studies based on their current knowledge learned in class or through other peer reviewed sources.
Leading question; A question is designed to guide the students to respond with a particular answer. The answer can be investigated further in order to challenge the students and engage their deeper understanding and evaluation of the subject.
Structured contradictive/puzzling information; Information can be presented to students that is accurate but contradictive or puzzling in nature. This can promote deeper understanding and evaluation skills.
Challenges to knowledge, beliefs and attitudes; Play the ‘Devils’ Advocate’: to argue against a cause or position purely to provoke discussion, informed argument or to determine the validity of a cause or position. This method can be designed to access underlying knowledge or used as a tool to enhance student skills in the construction of a cause, position or opinion [1].
Mind Shower (Brainstorming); Collaborative problem solving in which group members spontaneously contribute ideas to solve the particular problem by generating and recording a series of possible solutions.
Mind mapping; A central idea is proposed and new related ideas then radiate from this. Knowledge is mapped and connected in a manner that will aid understanding and retention of new information.
Role play; Real or imaginary contexts are presented with a range of relevant role or characters; students are encouraged to research these contexts and improvise dramatic interactions [3].
References
[1] Wikipedia. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem-based_learning
[2] Academic and Student Affairs, Centre for Educational Development, Queens University, Belfast. Available from http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/CentreforEducationalDevelopment/Resources/PeerandSelfAssessment/
[3] Office of Instructional Consulting, School of Education, Indiana University Bloomington. Available from http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/document/active_learning_techniques.pdf