Activate Prior Knowledge (APK)

Materials Needed: Method to project overarching theme and foundational concepts (e.g., chalkboard, dry erase board, PowerPoint Slides)

• Before introducing a new concept/subject matter, review requisite knowledge previously mastered that lays the foundation for the new material.

• Students shout out concepts that they have previously mastered or related to the topic or word/concept on the board/screen. 

• Students can also share personal connections/experiences with the topic. 

• Faculty can model making connections through "thinking aloud" and showing connections between concepts.

• Offer prompts for connecting text to self, text to the real world. 

• Limit discussion to 5 minutes.

  • Set a timer.

  • (Free stopwatch timer: https://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/) 

 

Affective Response

If a sensitive topic is being discussed, a journal entry may be used, or note cards provided.

Students can react to all topics taught in class. To facilitate the discussion of their feelings: 

• Create pairs of students (neighbor, count-off, or self-select a partner). 

• Students share their individual's feelings about the topic/concept being addressed during the session. 

• Students then discuss with one another how the topic relates to the field of study. 

• Encourage students to share facts, personal opinions, or personal beliefs about the topic.

Alternatively, if a sensitive subject: 

• Students write down/journal their individual's feelings about the topic/concept being addressed during the session. 

 

Anonymous Notes

Materials Needed: Index cards

• Just before the end of class, the instructor asks students to write "one thing you'd like to tell me about the class" or, alternatively, the topic covered.

• Submit the card/sheet as students exit the room. 

• Remind the students to provide constructive feedback that suggests improvements to make the course better when leaving notes for the instructor.

Hint: Remind students to use blue or black ink so it can truly be anonymous. 

 

Chaining

Materials Needed: scrap paper

• Divide students into groups of 4. 

• Given a specific problem, identify the individual steps used to solve the problem (e.g., what are the steps to perform a particular psychomotor skill or order of steps required to balance an equation).

• Alternatively, ask students to develop a specific narrative that intertwines items to be remembered about the global concept, using a story-telling format.

 

Goal Ranking & Matching

Materials Needed: journal or scrap of paper

• On a sheet of paper or in the student journal, compose 3 learning goals pertaining to the current content being studied.

• Students list 3 study techniques that will build individual mastery of the content. 

• Next, have students set aside specified time dedicated to that study strategy.

• Ask students to share goals and/or study methods as a means of finding potential study partners (virtual or in face-to-face).

 

Minute Paper

Materials Needed: Index Cards

• Students answer 2 questions: 

  • What was the most important thing you learned during this class? 

  • What important question remains unanswered?

• Have students leave the index cards at the door when they leave. 

• Use the index cards to inform future class sessions. 

 

Misperception

Material Needed: Prepared list of statements, either factual or opinion-based. Intended to uncover prior knowledge or beliefs that may hinder or block new learning; can be designed to uncover incorrect or incomplete knowledge, attitudes, or values.

• Students can react to a statement and say if they agree or disagree with the statement presented.  

• Address the statement as being true/false and debrief as to why students have misconceptions about the topic.

Added Technology: Have students respond through a polling system to get their true reactions about the content. If recording from a source, then you can check student answers. 

 

Pair, Share, Repeat

An alternative to Think-Pair-Share. 

• Students pair and share about the given topic/concept. 

• Once they have shared, students then find another person with whom to explain what they just learned.

• Students can then share out to the group at large.

 

Pause Procedure

• Stop instructing momentarily.

• Give students time to catch up, organize work/thoughts, and work on class notes.

Hint: This also allows students to think of questions during the session.  

 

Persuade a Friend

Pose a question to students in such a way that students are anticipated to express differing opinions. 

• Have students divide to one side of the room for one opinion and the other side for the other. 

• Pair with another student who has the opposite opinion on the topic.

• Set a timer and give each student the same amount of time to try to persuade the partner to the opposing opinion. 

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Quiz, Quiz, Trade

Materials Needed: Index cards or prepared cards with quiz questions

• Students work in pairs to generate a flashcard with questions and answers (each student has a card and develops a question and answer with the assistance of a peer).  

• These two students trade cards with each other.

• Every student pairs with a different student. Each new dyad asks each other to answer the question on the card, before trading cards. Next, each student circulates to find another partner to repeat the question/answer and trade activity.

• Continue until time is up. 

• Pass cards forward; the instructor asks the class for answers and provides clarifying information as necessary. 

Variation: Students place terms on one card and definition on a second card. Each student takes one card and walks around the room to find the matching term/definition. Trade cards with another pair of students each time a match is made.

Alternative: Faculty provides cards with assigned concepts/questions to be answered by students.

 

RSQC2

(Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect and Comment) - 

Materials Needed: Scrap paper, index cards

• Students write brief statements that recall, summarize, question, connect and comment on meaningful points from a previous class.

• Recall: Make a list of all the items that the student knows about the topic, then rank the top 3-5 points and rank order them from most important to least.  

• Summarize: Take the rank-ordered list and make a sentence from the top points. 

• Question: Write one or two questions that you still have about the topic. 

• Connect: Explain in one or two sentences your summary to the overall content of the course. 

• Comment: Write an evaluative comment about the session. A sentence starter could be:  "What I enjoyed most/least was..." or "What I found most/least useful was…" 

 

Reflective Summary

Materials Needed: Scrap paper if desired

• Have students get into pairs. 

• In the pair, students work to summarize what has been learned in class thus far that day.

• Have students parse the written summary down to one or two sentences to be shared out to the class.

Added Technology: Have students share their responses through PollEverywhere or GoSoapBox to collect student responses.

 

Resource Referral

• Pause during the lesson.  Have students identify what learning needs that they have and where they might seek out resources.  

• Note: This could be for extra tutoring on a subject or maybe some mental health opportunities if needed too. 

Hint: Have a list of campus and community resources available for students.

 

Send a Problem

Materials needed: Prepared cases/problems posed by faculty printed on an envelope

• Divide students into groups

• Present each group with an envelope outline a case study or problem

• Students discuss potential solutions and develop one resolution. The group recorder writes the solution on a piece of paper and inserts the proposed solution in the envelope. 

• At the end of the allotted time, student groups exchange envelope with a second group. 

• Without looking in the envelope, the second group repeats the process by addressing a potential solution to the problem.  Record the possible solution and place it in the envelope.

• One last time pass the envelope to the 3rd and final group of students.

• This time, students open the envelope and discuss how to synthesize the answers or incorporate additional ideas from group 3 into a combination answer with solutions offered by groups 1 & 2.  Group 3 reports out to the class.

   

This technique provides students with a few problems and asks them to state or write the principle that best applies to each problem.

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Small-Group Instructional Diagnoses (SGIDs) 

• Have students get into groups of 4.

• Allow students 2 minutes to compare what people are struggling with within small groups.  

  • Set a timer. (Free stopwatch timer: https://www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/) 

• Students share out the top issues for the faculty member to reteach or touch upon again.

 

Text a Friend

Materials Needed: Students will need to use their cellular telephone. 

• Pose a question to the class. 

• Ask students to pull out their phones and send a text message to a friend. Instruct students to tell the friend that as they have a question for their class and let them know the answer, students then text a friend and ask that person to answer a question.  

• Have students share out the answers from their friends as they are coming in from their texts.

• If that person does not know the answer, they are encouraged to suggest someone who might know the information.

 

Top Ten

• Have students brainstorm ideas about the given content/topic. 

• Students create a top ten list of facts/ideas about the given topic. 

• Students share out their top ten facts/ideas about the topic.