8/8/2019 Activities for Active Learning Groups

1/2

1

ACTVTIESActivities for active learning groups:

1. List vocabulary word needed on the board before class. It's their job to write them down

and later use the glossary and index to find a definition of and an example for each word. On

vocabulary quizzes, they may find the card with that word on it and copy the definition.

2. After a short explanation of a concept and one or possibly two examples, have students

work on a given number of problems in their groups. Explain to students that it is essentialthat before they leave a particular problem and move on to the next, they must make sure that

everyone in their group understands the solution strategies. Reinforce this by choosing

students at random out of each group to explain a particular problem. If desired, you could

assign each student a grade for their explanation and give the same grade to every member of

the group.

3. Have groups work on their problems either at the board or on white boards (one for each

group) so that the problem is only written down once and everyone works on the problem

together. Have students in each group rotate the responsibility of writing the problem on the

board. I found that it helped to emphasize to the students that the person writing the problem

should be the student doing the least thinking about the problem, because it's difficult to write

a problem on the board and also see the process at the same time. When one student writes,

the other students in that group are responsible for following the process, making

suggestions, and catching mistakes.

4. Have students check their homework in groups by going over the homework problems and

coming up with a set of solutions that they believe are correct. Then they hand in the

solutions they agreed on. Then the teacher can lead a discussion about the problems on which

they were unable to agree. One set of solutions is graded for each group and a percentage

grade assigned to the group homework. Also, have the students hand in their individual

homework in order to be sure that everyone did the problems. Everyone in the group whocompleted their homework receives the group grade for their homework grade. Anyone who

did not complete the homework receives the corresponding percentage of the group grade.

For example, a student who completes 80% of the homework would receive 80% of the

group grade as their homework grade.

5. Occassionally give group tests and/or quizzes. Some instructors give group quizzes in

pairs, chosen at the beginning of the hour. Each student in the group receives the same grade.

6. Hand out a 2- or 3-page worksheet that covers the chapter and is due at the end of the

chapter as a group project. (Only one completed set of solutions is to be turned in by each

group.)

7. Have students explain to the person sitting next to them what you just talked about. This

can be done at the end of or during a lecture.

8. Ask groups to take a few minutes to discuss and compile everything the group knows (or

isn't clear) about a certain topic. Then ask representatives from each group to read their list to

help introduce or review a concept.

9. Prepare a relatively unstructured problem and ask groups to brainstorm strategies, pick one

and try it, helping each other over the obstacles as the various strengths of the group

8/8/2019 Activities for Active Learning Groups

2/2

2

members are employed. One problem may take the whole period. Asking groups to report

their processes and solutions helps their summarizing and organization skills and often brings

out the validity of several different approaches.

10. Have students write exam questions in groups and all answer them.

11. At the end of class, have students write down the three most important things you talked

about that day or the three most important things they learned that day.

12. Ask groups of students to write problems, either using a problem from their homework as

a model, or using a newspaper article, physical situation, or personal experience as astimulus. Groups might exchange problems or original problems could be collected and given

out as homework.

13. Skill building games can be an enjoyable alternative to columns of exercises. Students

with children often take a game home to play with their kids. Keep the games simple to

explain and have competition based on chance rather than speed or ability.

14. At the end of class, have students list three things their group did well that day and one

thing that could stand improvement.

15. With students in groups of 4 or 5, give them a poem to read and make marginal

annotation on it. Then after about 5-10 minutes of reading the poem & making commentshave the students pass their poem to the left. Then each student reads and comments on the

poem with a classmates comments on it. Repeat this cycle until each student gets his originalpoem back.

16. Assign students a specific type of paragraph such as Copmpasr/Contrast, Cause/Effect, or

Narrative. Each group could be assigned a different type of paragraph. Then students trade

parageraphs, read each others paragraphs, and make comments on them.

17. With students in groups of 3 or 4,haive one person in the group write down a problem to

solve. Students then take turns writing the steps in solving the problem. The student who

wrote down the problem passes it to the left, and the next student write s the first step and

passes it to the left. The next student writes the next step in the problem and passes it on tothe next student. This process continues until the solution is reached. Then you could have

the group discuss how they can check to be sure that their solution is correct and then check

the answer.

Much of the previous material has been gathered at seminars on cooperative learning

presented at the national AMATYC conferences and from three books on cooperative

learning - How to Use Cooperative Learning in the Mathematics Class by Artzt and

Newman, Cooperative Learning: Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity by

Johnson, Johnson and Smith, and Cooperative Learning in Mathematics ed. by NeilDavidson, and from colleagues, particularly /Tina Luffman, Professor of English, Yavapai

College, Verde Valley Campus..