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Students use computer-based tools, such as video, audio, graphics, and web publishing, to tell personal or academic stories about life experiences relevant to course themes.

In the 3-2-1 technique, students write about 3 things they learned in the lecture, 2 things they found particularly interesting from the lecture, and 1 question they still have about the lecture content.

Students look for recent events or developments in the real world that are related to their coursework, then analyze these current affairs to identify the connections to course material in entries that they write in a journal.

In Jigsaw, students work in small groups to develop knowledge about a given topic before teaching what they have learned to another group.

In Group Grid, group members are given pieces of information and asked to place them in the blank cells of a grid according to category rubrics, which helps them clarify conceptual categories and develop sorting skills.

In Analytic Teams, each team member assumes a different role with specific responsibilities to perform while listening to a lecture or watching a video.

Team Jeopardy is a game in which student teams take turns selecting a square from a grid that is organized vertically by category and horizontally by difficulty. Each square shows the number of points the team can earn if they answer a question correctly, and more challenging questions have the potential to earn more points.

Download example slides here: Google Slides | PowerPoint

Paper Seminar provides a framework for meaningful discussion centered on student work.

3-Minute Messages are modeled on the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) academic competition, in which students have three minutes to present a compelling argument and to support it with convincing details and examples.

Quick Write is a learning assessment technique where learners respond to an open-ended prompt.

Active Reading Documents are carefully prepared forms that guide students through the process of critical and careful reading.

Fact or Opinion encourages students to critically evaluate information by questioning what they read.

For Sketch Notes, students use handwritten words and visual elements such as drawings, boxes, lines, and arrows to illustrate the main concepts from a lecture, as well as their interrelations.

Update Your Classmate is a short writing activity where students explain what they learned in a previous class session to set the stage for new learning.

In Translate That!, you pause your lecture and call on a student at random to “translate” the information you just provided into plain English for an imagined audience that you specify.

In Guided Notes, the instructor provides a set of partial notes that students complete during the lecture, focusing their attention on key points.

Lecture Engagement Logs are records that students keep to document the various academic activities they engage in for a particular class.

The instructor provides students with a provocative statement and prompts them to locate details, examples, or data in their lecture notes to support the statement.

A PLE is a set of people and digital resources an individual can access for the specific intent of learning. Students illustrate the potential connections through a visible network of the set.

A Lecture Wrapper is a tool for teaching students self-monitoring behavior as they identify key points from a lecture and then compare their points to the instructor’s list of points.

A Post-Test Analysis is a two-stage process that is divided into several steps designed to help students develop greater awareness of their test-preparing and test-taking skills.

In Test-Taking Teams, students work in groups to prepare for a test. They then take the test, first individually and next as a group.

A Role Play is a created situation in which students deliberately act out or assume characters or identities they would not normally assume.

With Case Studies, student teams review a real-life problem scenario in depth. Team members apply course concepts to identify and evaluate alternative approaches to solving the problem.

A Triple-Jump is a three-step technique that requires students to think through and attempt to solve a real-world problem.

In Dyadic Essays, students: 1). complete a content unit, identify a central question, and draft an answer to that question, 2). exchange questions with a peer and prepare responses, and 3). pairs read and compare the model and in-class answers.

In Variations, students create an altered version of the original, such as rewriting the ending of a story or imagining the consequences of a changed event in history.

In Dyadic Interviews, student pairs take turns asking each other questions that tap into values, attitudes, beliefs, and prior experiences that are relevant to course content or learning goals.

An Advance Organizer is a tool that professors can present to students prior to a lecture to help them structure the information they are about to learn.

When using IRA’s, students complete a written response to a reading assignment that includes three components: 1) Insights, 2) Resources, and 3) Application.

A Background Knowledge Probe is a short, simple, focused questionnaire that students fill out at the beginning of a course or start of a new unit that helps teachers identify the best starting point for the class as a whole.

In an Online Resource Scavenger Hunt, students use the Internet to engage in fact-finding and information processing exercises using instructor-specified library and Internet sources.

A Frame is a template of sentence stems that provides the shape of a short essay, but not the content. Students complete the sentences, expressing their ideas in their own words, but doing so within a clear and organized framework.

In Invent the Quiz, students write a limited number of test questions related to a recent learning module and then create an answer sheet, or alternately a model answer and scoring sheet, to accompany the test questions.

In Letters, students assume the identity of an important person in your discipline and write a letter explaining their thoughts on an issue, theory, or controversy to another famous person who holds a different perspective.

For a Class Book, individual students work together to plan and ultimately submit a scholarly essay or research paper. Then all students’ papers are published together.

In a Think-Pair-Share, the instructor poses a question, gives students a few minutes to think about a response, and then asks students to share their ideas with a partner. Hence Think-Pair-Share.

In Affinity Grouping, individual students generate ideas and identify common themes. Then, students form groups to sort and organize the ideas accordingly.

In Comprehensive Factors List, students write all the relevant factors they can think of about a specific topic, drawing from course content and personal experiences.

Crib Cards are three-by-five inch index cards that students create to use on exams, on which they write whatever information they believe will be useful to them.

In Cued Notes, students use a template to prompt them to record a cue that you provide and to take notes on a lecture segment tied to the cue. Then, the template prompts students to summarize the full lecture.

In Note-Taking Pairs, student partners work together to improve their individual notes.

During a Punctuated Lecture, students listen to the lecture for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. At the end of the lecture segment, the teacher pauses and asks students to answer a question about what they are doing at that particular moment.

In Fishbowl, students form concentric circles with a small group inside and a larger group outside. Students in the inner circle engage in an in-depth discussion, while students in the outer circle listen and critique content, logic, and group interaction.

Individual Readiness Assurance Tests are closed-book quizzes that students complete after an out-of-class reading, video, or other homework assignment.

In Quotation Summaries, students comment on a series of quotes from their assigned reading using a structured process: paraphrase, interpret, comment, and cite.

In What? So What? Now What? Journals, students reflect on their recent course-related activities as they respond to each prompt in a journal entry.

In Think-Aloud-Pair Problem Solving (or TAPPS for short), students take turns solving problems aloud while a peer listens and provides feedback.

In a Briefing Paper, students research a current problem of their choice, summarize the main issues, and present solutions to a specific audience.

In Sentence Stem Predictions (SSP), the professor presents a partial sentence that is structured to prompt students to predict select aspects of the upcoming lecture.