This paper is a practical how-to guide to help you start using active learning or to have greater success and more fun with it. We categorize active learning techniques as Think, Pair, Share, Composite, Group, Move, or Lead and discuss how to implement activities in each category, along with advice on creating engaging, effective, and equitable…

The mathematical egg hunt is a hands-on activity designed to help students understand mathematical relations in an Introduction to Proofs course. This activity gives students the opportunity to practice selecting which ordered pairs do and do not belong to a given relation in a moderately competitive egg hunt. It is designed to be low-stakes, yet…

Every educator's imaginative instincts will be guided by this book's practical design method, which harnesses the power of play for student learning. Teachers from all disciplines and levels can create a full spectrum of engaging exercises through the authors' six accessible ALLURE steps: (1) Ask where to apply the play; (2) List the mental moves;…

Laying the groundwork for building children's curiosity, openness to learning, ability to persist in the face of failure, and interest in connecting learning from one subject to the other are important objectives for today's libraries. Partnering with cultural institutions, such as the Chicago Public Library (CPL) does with Chicago's Museum of…

Do you sense that some students have mentally "checked out" of your classroom? Look closely and you will probably find that these students are bored by lessons that they view as unchallenging and uninteresting. In this follow-up to "The Highly Effective Teacher: 7 Classroom-Tested Practices That Foster Student Success," Jeff…

Games have long been a staple of active learning environments. They are a fantastic way to reduce anxiety, promote competition, and energize classrooms. Board games, in particular, can be very useful in building real-world skills in a fun and non-threatening environment. Therefore, the author uses them extensively for Business English classes and…

One way to help students understand the scientific inquiry process, and how it applies in investigative research, is to involve them in scientific investigation. An example of this would be letting them come to their own understanding of how different variables (e.g., starting products) can affect outcomes (e.g., variable quality end products)…

Active learning is increasing in popularity as a supplement to the lecture-only method of class presentation in many disciplines, including accounting. This paper defines and discusses the benefits of active learning and presents seven different active-learning activities developed and used by the authors. The active learning activities mainly…

Incorporation of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology in the classroom has quickly been adopted by instructors in geography and related disciplines because it provides an effective, low-cost, easy-to-use, and hands-on technique to reinforce geographic concepts (Brown 1999). The most frequently utilized GNSS is the Global…

What is it really like to plunge into the world of science learning and teaching? Find out in this unique book. "Dive In!" grew out of a teacher-scientist project at the University of New Hampshire that promoted active learning and using science practices in the classroom. That experience yielded this book's reason for being: to provide…

Evolution is a unifying concept within biology. In fact, Dobzhansky, a noted evolutionary biologist, argued, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution" (Dobzhansky, 1973). However, often students have misconceptions about evolution. There are a number of available activities where students use tools (representing…

How can social media help transform a student's learning experience and promote active engagement with learning content and peers? "Social Media for Active Learning" helps instructors achieve this goal. Many people use social media in their everyday lives, seeking information and informal learning opportunities via their online networks.…

Educators who engage in best practices utilize a variety of instructional delivery methods to assist all learners in achieving success in concept mastery. Best practices help educators set expectations for completing activities/lessons/projects/units, differentiate instruction, integrate curricula, and provide active learning opportunities for…

Designed for a broad audience, including educators, camp directors, afterschool coordinators, and preservice teachers, this investigation aims to help individuals experience mathematics in unconventional and exciting ways by engaging them in the physical activity of building geometric shapes using ropes. Through this engagement, the author…

This book offers valuable teaching strategies to engage a diverse group of teens in thinking, understanding, and learning activities. It uses classroom examples to illustrate the eight "ENGAGING" factors: (1) Entice Effort and Build Community; (2) Negotiate Meaning; (3) Group Collaboratively; (4) Active Learning and Authentic Assessment; (5)…