Tip: Search the Active Learning Library
Refresh your toolbox of strategies with this easy-to-use online tool.
If you feel like your “go-to” class activities are a bit stale or you just want to experiment with some new strategies now that we’ve passed the midway point of the semester, I hope you find today’s tip helpful. The focus is on exploring new teaching strategies, particularly ones encouraging students to engage in active learning. Active learning isn’t getting students up out of their seats and moving around - although there’s certainly value in that, too! - but rather it’s “instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing” (Bonwell and Eison, 1991).
The Active Learning Library is a website created by Michael and Meghan McCreary that allows visitors to explore different active learning strategies.
It also - and this is where it is next-level amazing - allows you to filter the list of activities by a number of criteria:
Difficulty (for the instructor)
Prep Time Required
Bloom's Taxonomy (e.g., remember, apply)
Active Learning (e.g., individual engagement, small group engagement)
Inclusive Learning (e.g., gives students choices, emphasizes the relevance or value of the material)
Whole-Person Learning (e.g., emphasizes student values and emotions, emphasizes metacognitive skills)
Formative Feedback
Activity Time
Class Size
Class Modality
So, setting the filters to medium difficulty to implement, with low prep time (less than 5 mins), and Bloom’s taxonomy evaluate, in an activity that takes less than 5 minutes, got me to this activity:
Not only is this really fun to play around with, but I love the clean, easy-to-use design and the focused “best practices” section. It’s just enough information to get started, with links to more resources on the web for anyone who wants to explore the suggested activity in greater depth. I think it’s particularly helpful for newer faculty members who might be largely unfamiliar with these activities.
Want to learn more?
Cornell University’s Active Learning Initiative offers many helpful resources, including publications about the impacts of active learning from faculty involved in the initiative
Vanderbilt Univeristy’s Center for Teaching has a great research brief
Here’s a meta-analysis of the literature on active learning in STEM, if you really want to explore!
What are your favorite active learning strategies? Please share in the comments!
The link to the Active Learning Library website is not working. Thanks.