Active Learning Strategies

At LIM College, we believe that students learn best when they have opportunities to actively engage with each other and with course content. They must also be able to apply the concepts they are learning in meaningful ways.

Research across disciplines—including a landmark study by Theobald (2020)—shows that when active learning strategies are incorporated into coursework, student outcomes improve and the achievement gap between struggling and high-achieving students narrows.

In this section, you’ll find a variety of active learning and simple assessment strategies designed to help students engage with course content, practice key skills, and apply concepts in meaningful ways. We have included strategies, like think, pair, share, that are easy to implement and have a powerful impact on student learning and success.

E.J. Theobald, M.J. Hill, et al, Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117 (12) 6476-6483, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117 (2020).

Icebreakers

At some point in your life – whether during a class, a conference, or a company meeting - you have participated in an icebreaker. Can you remember the purpose of that icebreaker?

In our classes (in-person and online) we use ice breakers for more than just fun. We want to help our students build community, empathy, and a safe space where they can share ideas and feel free to fail without judgment. These moments, however brief, can break down barriers and establish rapport.

“We have found that using ice breakers brings humor into the class, establishes rapport, fosters a safe learning environment, and overall assists with content learning. Therefore, it would follow that implementation of ice breakers... might well contribute to improved student participation, increased student persistence and ultimately enhanced student learning” (Chlup, & Collins (2010).

While icebreakers might seem silly at first, ice breakers serve a deeper purpose—laying the foundation for trust, engagement, and learning that lasts. Below, we provided some examples of helpful ice breakers along with some resources you may find helpful.

  • Student Interviews: Intentionally pair off students and provide a set of key questions that they should ask each other (e.g. major, where are they from, favorite fashion brand, etc.)  Give them the flexibility to ask additional questions. Students should take notes and be prepared to make introductions to the full class. This is a great activity for students who are nervous to speak to the class - they have chance to connect with one person first and they can use notes. (Best for on-campus or virtual classes.)
  • Two Truths and Lie: Give students 2-3 minutes to write down two truths and one lie about themselves. Once this is done, each student gets a chance to share their two truths and one lie. Classmates guess which one is the lie. This is a fun activity that allows students to share what they want to share about themselves.(Best for all modalities.)
  • Your Name Story: Give students prompts to help them think about their name: who named you?, what does your name mean? etc.). Give students 3-5 minutes to write notes, do a little research on their phones, text their family members. Once this is done, ask each student to tell the class about their name. This is an inclusive activity and gives students an opportunity to share a little bit about themselves and their cultures. (Best for all modalities.)

Resources from around the web

Chlup, D. T., & Collins, T. E. (2010). Breaking the Ice: Using Ice-breakers and Re-energizers with Adult Learners. Adult Learning, 21(3-4), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/104515951002100305 (Original work published 2010)

Think-Pair-Share

You will always have students who are afraid to speak up in class. They might be non-native English speakers, students who have anxiety about public speaking, or students who just need a bit more time to process the questions. A simplest low-risk active learning strategy is "think-pair-share". It gives all students the opportunity to think about your questions, pair up with a classmate to discuss, and then share out the key points, commanalities, etc.

Gallery Walk/Chalk Talk

If you are lucky enough to be in one of our larger classrooms with room to walk around, a Gallery Walk or a Chalk Talk might be a good strategy to embrace that gets students up and out of their seats to respond to prompts. For both strategies, it's helpful to have flipchart paper (giant post-its) and markers. Email OLI@limcolellege.edu to request these tools.

  • Gallery Walk: Create "stations" around the room by posting one flipchart paper at each station. Each flipchart paper has a different prompt or task assigned. Groups discuss and post responses. Groups then travel from one station to the the next to review their peers responses/ideas.
  • Chalk Talk: So, no we longer use chalk but chalk talk is a similar idea to the Gallery Walk but is more individual and silent. Flipchart paper is posted around the room, each with an idea, question, or problem. Students move individually from page to page, read what has already been written and comment on what has been written by their peers or add new thoughts.  This strategy was created by Harvard's Project Zero.

Snowball Discussions

Similar to Think-Pair-Share, this strategy extends the discussion process. Students can begin with individual reflection or they can share ideas in pairs. These pairs merge to form groups of four, the groups of four combine into groups of eight, and continue combining until the full class is participating in the discussion. The goal of this activity is to help students build upon their collective understanding.