Class Activities

As a teaching assistant, I am all too familiar with the situation of asking a question to my students and getting blank stares in return, not even getting looks of confusion or students looking to each other for support; just a quiet, unengaged stare. Though especially prevalent during the AM class times, this dreaded classroom aura transcends the time of day. As a resource for myself and perhaps you, the one reading this, I’ve compiled a list of activities for the classroom that I have become familiar with from other teachers and via the ELITE PD program at OSU to improvement engagement, inclusivity, and equity. I don’t have experience with all of these activities, but I will provide anectodes from my experiences for some of them.

I have sorted these by “cost”. “Cost” in this context may include things like in-class time, amount of coordination among students, preparation time, etc. A fairly subjective definition.

Low cost

Minute paper

Provide a prompt and 1-2 minutes for students to write a response. Prompts may be questions such as “What was the most important concept you learned in class today?”, “What example in today’s class stuck with you the most?”, “If you were to explain today’s class to a peer who didn’t attend, what would you explain to them?”

The minute paper provides an easy way to get students reflecting on course material and for teachers to collect data on students’ understanding of material, course feedback, variation in students’ “big picture” understand, etc. Review the responses, and during the next class period, emphasize issues, concerns, or notable themes brought up by the students’ responses. For more detail and prompts, see the OnCourse Minute Paper resource.

Think-Pair-Share

A potential implementation of the minute paper, think-pair-share is as straightforward as it gets. Give students a prompt or problem, they have time to think about it individually, then in groups they share and discuss their responses/results with each other.

Focused Listing

In a set amount of time, have students write/list as many ideas as possible related to a certain topic or prompt.

I like to do this in my recitations before quizzes as a review activity, typically shorter times to have it be a more rapid fire and energizing. Either in groups or individually, I have students list out as many concepts as possible that the quiz will cover in just a couple of minutes. Afterwards, have them discuss each idea listed and have a common understanding, and then (if time allows) open up to a full-class contribution and write terms on the board and leave time for questions to ensure everyone is on the same page.