Do you need quick inspiration for ‘tried and tested’ learning activities? See the table below, containing activity ideas and suggestions for technology adaptations (depending on delivery mode).
These ideas have been inspired by the fantastic resource: AdvanceHE ’52etc’ Engaging Toolkit Cards.
Note: Some of these activities are great ice-breakers!
Think-pair-share, small group discussion
Students think/recall about a concept or experience individually, share it with their peers, and then share it with the wider class.
| Live online session | Asynchronous (online) | In-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Pose a question and display a timer for students to consider their individual reflections. Following thinking time, use breakout rooms, to provide a space for small group/pair discussions. Students can use an in-meeting Whiteboard or collaborative MS365 document to note their observations ready to share with the wider class. | Devise a question and a list of student pairs/groups; these instructions could be written or recorded, and communicated to students within an Ultra Document. Students can use Padlet, embedded within the Ultra Document, to note their individual observations. They can be tasked with commenting on and responding to posts from their allocated pair or group. Alternatively, set up Blackboard groups to enable discussion forums for specific pairs/groups. Students could share outcomes, highlights or reflections from their pair/groups via a class padlet. | Pose a question and display it on the classroom board. Set a timer for students to consider their individual reflections. After thinking time, ask students to share their thoughts within pairs/small groups, then task them to construct a post in a Padlet to summarise their discussions and take away points. You can draw on these posts for further class discussion. |
Polling + post-Poll discussion
Use a polling activity to ask a question with multiple options, for example, to allow students to present their feelings/agreement/disagreement with given statements.
| live online session | asynchronous (online) | in-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Use Teams meeting polling to ask questions and show responses in real-time. If using an alternative student response app, it may be useful to turn on the meeting screen-share to display results to students. After-poll discussion can be carried out via the meeting chat or breakout groups. | Use a Microsoft Form and tell students when you will share the results. You can export as a report, surmise on a PowerPoint slide or in a screencast recording. After-poll discussion could be carried out via a Blackboard discussion forum. | Share Padlet poll questions and display results on the board. Subsequent poll discussion can continue within the padlet. Alternatively, use a Microsoft Form quiz. In the event students do not have a device, encourage them to work with others, use gestures or write a question number to indicate their choice. |
Posters and 'Gallery walks'
Asking students to create 'Posters' on flip-chart paper, followed by 'Gallery walks', is a way to engage students in displaying their thinking or outcomes for peer feedback and improvement. Posters can be as simple as a mind-map. This type of activity provides a good opportunity for self-reflection after it has been completed.
| Live online session | Asynchronous (online) | In-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Use breakout groups to give students a space in which they can co-create with others, Use Padlet sandboxes to provide students with a stack of blank canvases on which they can co-author posters and also see other groups. If needed, you can restrict permissions to prevent students from editing each others. Share the meeting screen to focus on specific posters for class discussion. | Ask students to upload a photo of their poster to Padlet or a Blackboard discussion forum. Students could provide peer feedback using an attached rubric/checklist and commenting on each others posts. If wanting to keep peer feedback restricted from wider class view, ask students to upload their poster to Blackboard Peer Review or Turnitin PeerMark assessment. | You could ask students to upload photos of their flipchart poster to Padlet, and use the comments feature to record the key points or observations arising from their poster activity. Alternatively, use Padlet sandboxes to provide students with a stack of blank canvases on which they can co-author posters and also see other group outcomes. If needing students to 'present' their poster, the Padlet slideshow function and/or sandbox auto-play feature can be used to cycle through posts on a timer, giving a set timeframe in which students could talk through their poster or simply allow others to look more closely and ask questions. |
Fishbowl
Fishbowl is a strategy for organising small group discussions. Half of the students are assigned to the inner circle and the other half are assigned to the outer circle. First, students placed in the inner circle or in the ‘fishbowl’ have a discussion, and the students in the outer circle listen to the discussion and take notes. The roles are then switched.
Both the groups can be prompted to think and make notes using some questions, such as:
- Two things that were new learning points for you.
- One idea that you disagree with. Why?
- One idea that you strongly agree with. Why?
| Live online session | Asynchronous (online) | In-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Students can take turns role-playing a solution and others can watch and respond in chat or through live discussion. For a more inclusive experience, you could ask students to do this in small group breakout rooms; ask them to decide their role of 'observer' or 'participant' before they join the rooms, you could even allocate groupings beforehand. | Students can use Padlet or a Blackboard discussion forum and take an inner circle and outer circle approach. This means some students post first ('inner circle'), while the 'outer circle' reads and responds. Students then swap roles for a secondary, follow up activity.. Alternatively, they could engage with the Blackboard AI Conversations tool and and share observations following their interaction. | Students can take turns role playing a solution for others to critique, watch, etc. Instructor leads the whole class discussion after the fishbowl has ended. For a more inclusive approach,
|
Muddiest point
Individually students take a few minutes to write down the areas that they find most confusing or difficult. Peers / faculty provide explanations to clarify the concept.
| live online session | asynchronous (online) | in-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Encourage students to identify any unclear or “muddy points”. Muddiest points can be added in the chat or on a shared screen or through a digital pin-board such as Padlet (students can upvote the trickiest points). | Pose a question in a Blackboard discussion forum. | Students can share their muddiest point using a digital pin-board such as Padlet (students can upvote the trickiest points) or through a collaborative MS365 document. |
Four corners
Students move to one of the four corners (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree) of the room to identify their position on a specific statement.
| live online session | asynchronous (online) | in-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Use the Teams meeting polling features to ask students to select a 'corner', or ask students to place a virtual sticky note on an in-meeting Whiteboard (there are many templates that could indicate the 'four corners'). | Post an embedded Padlet sandbox in Blackboard, there are many templates that could indicate 'four corners'. You can further surmise on a PowerPoint slide or in a screencast recording. | Students are asked to display a colour on their phone screen by selecting a google image. Other options could be to raise hands or other movement to indicate agreement. Alternatively, share a Padlet sandbox in Blackboard, there are many templates that could indicate 'four corners'. |
What’s missing?
On a PowerPoint slide, display a list of ideas, terms, equation, or rationale. Students can identify the missing pieces in the given ideas/equation/glossary.
| live online session | asynchronous (online) | in-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Present a list of ideas, terms, equation, or rationale via a dedicated presentation slide. Students can respond with what is missing using chat or Teams meeting polls, or further discussion in breakout groups. | Create a screencast to present a list of ideas, terms, equations or rationale and prompt students to identify ‘what’s missing?’. Students could respond via a YuJa embedded quiz within the recording. | Using your presentation slides or a Padlet, present a list of ideas, terms, equation or rationale. Students discuss and respond via Padlet polls or comment on posts to describe what is missing. |
Pro/con debate list
Pro/cons list is a strategy used to elicit arguments in favour or against a certain statement. Padlet would work well for debates held online, asynchronously or in-person, use Padlet sections to make columns that represent the 'pros' / 'cons' titles and ask students to contribute posts in their chosen list.
Entry/Exit Tickets
Entry and exit tickets are questions that are given to students before or after the session, to check the understanding about specific concepts.
| live online | asynchronous (online) | in-person classroom |
|---|---|---|
| At the beginning or end of a session, students respond to a question in the chat or use Teams meeting polls. | Before or after a session, students respond to a question in a Padlet, discussion forum, Microsoft Form or Blackboard Test (these can be self-marking and quickly created/edited using the Blackboard AI Design Assistant: Tests). | At the beginning or end of a session, students respond to a question using Padlet. |