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Space It Out (ST, pg. 133)

• Take 10-15 minutes per week or class to incorporate learning modules that will help students learn the skills needed to complete larger assignments (rather than long blocks of class time).

Select The Principle (ST, pg. 149)

• Students review/observe the solution for the first set of problems they encounter (a strategy called backward fading). In the next set of examples, they must complete one or two of the steps on their own and so on until they are completing the problems on their own.

Raising the Stakes (NCC, pg. 120) 

• Have students work in groups to review and evaluate each group member's homework. Then present students with a new problem that is significantly more difficult than the homework and have them work as a group to solve this new problem. This activity takes around 30-60 minutes.

Interview (NCC, pg. 121) 

•  Have students work in pairs to interview one another, asking questions that are relevant to the course content or more general. This helps students to learn essential skills, can help warm up a classroom, and only takes about 15 minutes.

60 Seconds (NCC, pgs. 119-120)

• Tell students they each have 60 seconds to speak---no more and no less. If they run out of things related to class content to say, they can use the remaining time however they like as long as they use all of their time. You can go randomly, alphabetically, or have them volunteer. In total, this only takes two minutes.

Think, Pair, Share (NCC, pgs. 112-114) 

• Ask students a simple question (that is not a yes or no question) and give them a moment to think and write down a response. Then have them turn to a partner and each share their response while the other listens, discussing their responses after each has shared. Finally, go around the room and have one person from each partnership read or share their comments with the rest of the class. This exercise only takes about five minutes.

Listening Dyad (NCC, pgs. 121-122) 

• Put students into pairs and have each partner speak for exactly one minute. After the timer goes off, have partners switch. The partner who is listening may not speak at all. These conversations are not shared with the class so each person can have a chance to share ideas and opinions openly as well as practice being a good listener.  This only takes two minutes total.

Collaborative Notetaking (NCC, pgs. 122-124) 

• Set up a shared document and have students take notes together during the class. You can incentivize students by rewarding whoever contributes the most, requiring that each person contribute something, or having students vote on ideas. This could also be structured as group work or with a rotating “editor” or “annotator” in charge of tidying the document.  This takes only one minute to prep.

Collaborative Annotation (NCC, pgs. 96-97)

• Group students and assign each group a part of the syllabus. Have each group read, annotate, and ask questions about their portion of the syllabus which they will then share with the rest of the class. This can take 10-25 minutes.

Finding Something to Say (Gavriel)

• On an index card, ask students to write an observation, question, or thought related to the topic that day. Have them pass the cards around and write responses to each other, developing a line of discussion on each card. After a few passes, stop and invite students to start talking in a large group, pulling from what’s on the card. (Alternately collect the cards and use them to prompt discussion via questions.) This activity can take 10-30 minutes depending on the length of the discussion afterward.

Passing Notes to Organize (Delwiche)

• Give students a notecard and have them put their name and the title of a project idea on the card. In small groups, have them pass the card to the left and write an introductory sentence. Pass the card again and write a sentence about the purpose of the project. Continue in this fashion until an outline of the project has been created. Once students have their own cards back, discuss as a class the expected structure of the project. This takes 10-20 minutes.

Theory Throw Down (Newton)

• Give students index cards equal to the number of theorists you want to review and have students create cards for each theorist. Have students write the name of a theorist of your choice on one side of the card and everything they recall about the associated theory on the other side. Next, students flip the card back to the side with the theorist’s name and draw a meaningful image to aid their memory. Students end up with a deck of cards, one for each theorist.
• Have students pair up with their decks. To start a round of play, count down 3, 2, 1, show! Each student flips over the top card in their deck (so the name/image side is face up on the desk). 
• The student whose card hits the table first attempts to recall as much as they can from the other side of the card. Then the second player does the same. ​
• Students then review the cards and argue about which of the two cards did a better job explaining the theory at hand. After two minutes, have students stop arguing and informally debrief before moving on to the next round. After each pair has exhausted its deck, debrief with the full class.​ This can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.

Popsicle Sticks (NCC, pgs. 129-131)

• Each student gets two popsicle sticks per class. Each time they speak, they use a stick. This helps to ensure no one person dominates the discussion. This takes only a minute to prep.

Everybody Raise Your Hand (NCC, pgs. 116-117)  

• Have every student raise their hand in response to a question and call on them randomly, encouraging them to say “I don’t know” if they aren’t sure of the answer. This helps to establish that “I don’t know” is a valid starting place and encourages students to take an active role in their learning.

Set the Agenda Together (NCC, pgs. 83-84)  

• Have students write down a couple of topics they would like to cover that day on slips of paper or on the board. This only takes a few minutes and allows students to feel involved in the learning process and helps them understand how collaborative planning can function in their own group projects, as well as encourages them to stay interested in the material.  

Fishbowl (NCC, pgs. 118-119) 

• Have students form an inner circle and an outer circle, with the inner circle having at least five students. This is the “fishbowl” and students in this circle are the only ones allowed to talk. Students in the outer circle are asked to practice listening and observing the content, form, and efficacy of the discussion. This allows them to notice things that students in the inner circle may not notice mid-discussion. Ideally, students will get the chance to sit in both circles depending on the length of the discussion. This activity can last anywhere from 10-30 minutes.

“Job Descriptions” and Work Assignments (NCC, pgs. 154-156)

• Offer students clearly defined roles to take on as a way of preventing one student from taking over and to encourage all students to feel included. Explaining these roles takes only a minute.  

Scavenger Hunt (NCC, pg. 95) 

• Ask students for information that can be found on the syllabus in a trivia-style manner that encourages a memorable way of focusing on key points. Alternatively, divide the class into groups that each have an assigned portion of the syllabus and have the groups ask the rest of the class about each group’s portion. This activity only takes 5-10 minutes to prep.

Peer-to-Peer Syllabus Learning (NCC, pgs. 97-98) 

• Assign students to small groups and task them with teaching part of the syllabus to the rest of the class. In an online course, this could take the form of a FAQ that is added to a class discussion board. This can take anywhere from 30 – 60 minutes.

Name Cards and Green, Yellow, and Red Dots (NCC, pgs. 117-118) 

• Have students make a name card that they place on their desk each class, along with a sheet of green, yellow, and red stickers. Have them place a colored sticker on their name card each day that indicates how willing to participate they are feeling that day. If a student is consistently in the red or yellow, address the issue privately. This takes only one minute to prep.

Minute Paper (CAT, pgs. 148-153)

• Ask students to write a response to a focused question about a key point in that day’s class material for one minute. You can flip through cards quickly and respond to them or pull material from the cards into the next class session.

Set an Agenda (possibly with time stamps) (NCC, pgs. 80-82) 

• This will help ensure all important points are covered for the day and helps to keep students’ attention. This takes only one minute to do at the beginning of class.

How to Write an Email (NCC, pg.125) 

• Task students with reading the syllabus carefully and sending you an email with one thoughtful question about the syllabus. This could also be done with paper proposals, or any other topic in place of the syllabus. You can then respond to emails and edit them into the proper form for a business email in a nonjudgmental way that allows students to gain this essential skill. It only takes a couple minutes to respond to each email, but overall time can vary depending on class size.  

Small Peer Review (Baer and Ross)

• Have students put a very small excerpt of their writing on an​ index card—perhaps a title, or an introductory paragraph, or a claim. Have them pass the cards to the right, quickly reading and passing. Once each student has read 5 different cards, they can make evaluative notes and suggestions on the next cards that come by.​ Prepare for this activity by forming an agreement about the​ criteria for successful texts and ask students to describe how they see the criteria being met (or not) and offer suggestions. Students get their cards back, with annotations from multiple peers, and they have a chance to read a lot of other peers’ work. This activity takes 10-30 minutes.

Mapping the Syllabus (NCC, pg. 96) 

• Have students attempt to visually represent the syllabus through a timeline, concept map, comic, or some other visual form. This only takes 5-10 minutes and helps students to become familiar with your syllabus in an engaging manner.

Writing Episodes (Sorrell)

• Ask students to write daily, on one index card. Choose tasks or prompts related to the kind of thinking and writing your discipline values. These tasks may take only 5 or 10 minutes,​ but they should be serious minutes. Depending on how you structure the tasks, students may be​ able to build essays out of their card collections or create networks of information from the course. Physically arranging cards is a good way to illustrate relationships among ideas.​

Concept Maps (ST, pgs. 103-105) 

• In small groups, ask students to create a concept map around a focus question from the learning module that you provide for them. In a history class, for example, you may ask questions to map the causes of the Industrial Revolution. Concept maps can be created with paper, computers, dry-erase boards, posters, etc. Students can also use templates found online. This only takes 10-15 minutes.

Diamond Nine (Gavriel)

• Encourage students to classify and relate a set of statements, each on one card, that are connected to a given unit or situation. Students sort the cards in a diamond shape, with the most important statement at the bottom. Students should work in pairs or groups to explain and justify their classifications. The diamond might then be re-sorted from a different perspective. This exercise can be adapted with different​ numbers and shapes, according to your goals and takes 15- 20 minutes.

Concept Walk (Thompson, Alsop, Drummond)

• Give students index cards, each student with one card naming​ one concept from the course. Have the students circulate in the room, connecting with partners. Once in pairs, encourage students to explain what they think the concept means and gain additional insights or comments from their partners. Students should circulate around the room long enough to interact with multiple peers. Debrief, and check students’ understanding (you can distribute a reference with accurate definitions). This exercise works well when concepts are uncertain enough to promote creative inquiry, but not so obscure that students have nothing to share and takes 15-30 minutes.

Reflecting at the End of Class (NCC, pgs. 82-83) 

• Ask students a question parallel to the entry question, or even the same question, as a way of encouraging them to reflect on the material covered in class or apply it to other concepts. This takes only a few minutes.

Vent/Circumvent (Baer & Ross)

• Mid-project or mid-semester, invite students to vent frustrations or confusions on one side of a 5 X 8 card. After a few minutes, ask them to flip the card over and then write about ways they can circumvent those problems: where might they turn or what might they do differently? In total, this activity takes 5-10 minutes. 

Closing Predictions (ST, pg. 58)

• Take a minute and ask students at the end of class to predict what they think will happen next in their homework reading. Collect the answers and then give them back after students have completed the reading and ask them to reflect on what they got right/wrong and why.  One example of this may be asking students to predict the end of the novel they will finish for homework that night.

​Closing Questions (ST, pg. 39)

• Ask students to write down the most important concept from class that day or one question for which they would like an answer. You may also have students write down their “muddiest moment,” or a point from that day’s content that is still confusing to them. This only takes 3-5 minutes.

Building Midterm Reflection into the Course Design (NCC, pgs. 76-77)  

• Ask specific, contextualized questions that can gauge how the students are doing in the course: what they like, dislike, struggle with, excel at within the course. Doing this takes 10-15 minutes around midterms and allows for enough time to make adjustments before the end of the course. 

How’s It Going? What Have you Learned? (Bower)

• At mid-semester students write their biggest successes​ in the class so far on one side of an index card and their biggest struggles on the back. This only takes 5-10 minutes and gives you an easy way to flip through students’ perceptions of their experiences; anonymity may encourage more honest feedback.​

The Retrieving Syllabus (ST, pgs. 36)

• Ask students to recall and write down what they remember about previous classes based on what is written in the syllabus. Have students pull out their copy (or project the syllabus to the entire class), point to a day, and ask them to recall content from that day. This only takes 5-10 minutes and assists in student recall and keeps the syllabus present in the course.

No points quizzing (ST, pgs. 22-24)

• Give students a non-graded quiz at the beginning of class (to test retrieval of reading homework), at the end of class (after lecture of reading material), and before a graded test. This only takes 5-10 minutes and improves recall of content and contributes to higher performances on graded exams.

Cumulative Quizzes (ST, pgs. 74-77)

• Give weekly written quizzes with questions from previous weeks’ learning modules so students can practice retrieval 
• Open each class session by posting a test question from a previous exam or a potential test question related to previous course content. Give students time to consider and discuss their answers.  
• Close class sessions by asking students to create a test question based on that day’s material and pose that question back to them in future class sessions. 
• Open or close class sessions by asking students to open their notebooks to the previous day’s class session and underline the three most important principles from that day; allow a few moments for a brief discussion. 

Write Back (Baer & Ross)

• When you’ve returned responses on an essay or project, ask​ students to write back to your comments. Take a few minutes of class time to find out how they interpret your comments and how they plan to apply them—or what questions they have.

Collaborative Research (NCC, pgs. 124-125) 

• Draw three columns: “Know,” “Think We Know,” and “Don’t Know.” Have students put items into each of these columns. When you run out of ideas, have students spend 10 minutes researching in groups and then forming that research into points (and a bibliography) that can be shared with the class. In total, this activity only takes 15-25 minutes.

Prediction-Exposure-Feedback (ST, pg. 56)

• At the beginning of class, ask students to write down what they think will happen in the learning module next, based on their own experiences, previous knowledge on the topic, or homework reading. You may also ask students to predict in other ways; for example, students may discuss what historical events might affect the content of the next novel on the syllabus. This takes only a minute, and students can discuss their thought process and reflect after they find out if their predictions were accurate.

What Do You Know and What Do You Want to Know? (ST, 100-101) 

• Before class, students can take a quiz with a few questions about the subject matter for that day. Prior student knowledge can be summarized at the beginning of class.
• At the beginning of the class session, ask students to write down what they already know about a particular topic—this can take just a few minutes. Ask some students to share their responses and discuss them with the class.
• Some activities like a written pretest, a group activity, or a whole-class discussion can be useful in assessing the state of the students’ current knowledge.

What do you already know? (Devet)

• Ask students to write three things they already know about​ the topic you’re about to introduce. Shuffle the cards and redistribute among the class, asking some students to read out the facts on the cards they hold. This takes only 5 minutes and leads into a whole-class discussion of what they collectively bring to the new unit.

Opening Questions (ST, pg. 30)

• Ask students to answer a question about their homework at the beginning of class for a low-level quiz.  Students may also speak for a few minutes about what they remember from the previous class period. In order to encourage participation from all students, have them write down their answers.

Entry and Exit Tickets (NCC, pgs. 114-116) 

• Have students jot down a quick, ungraded response to a prompt as a way of gauging how students are doing or if they have any questions (with the material or in general). These only take about 5 minutes.

Warming Up the Room (NCC, pgs. 78-80) 

• Use entry tickets as a way to transform otherwise wasted time at the beginning of (or even just before) class into a learning opportunity and a way of getting all students involved in the thinking process. This is also a low stakes way of gauging how students are doing with the material and only takes 3 minutes.   

Question of the Day (Baer & Ross)

• A question of the day takes only a couple minutes and can be anything: simply something you want students to answer. Having students answer on index cards allows you to flip through their responses quickly. Some possibilities include:
  • Ask the same question at the beginning and end of a unit, and see how things change​
  • Ask a question at the end of class, to see how students can process what your main goal of the class period was​
  • Ask a question about their homework or preparation​
  • Ask an overarching question about the main theme of your course, and repeat that across the semester, looking at what new perspectives develop​
  • Having answers on index cards enables you to browse quickly, see trends, and determine some kind of whole-class response.​

Reward Growth (ST, pg. 206) 

• Instead of equally distributing the weight of assignments throughout the semester, gradually increase the weight of assignments to reward students who grow throughout the semester.  This allows students to adjust at the beginning of the course without drastically affecting their final grade. (Ex: Instead of 3 quizzes and a final exam weighted as 15-15-15-25, try 10-15-20-25.)

Popsicle Sticks (NCC, pgs. 129-131)

• Each student gets two popsicle sticks per class. Each time they speak, they use a stick. This helps to ensure no one person dominates the discussion. This takes only a minute to prep.

Everybody Raise Your Hand (NCC, pgs. 116-117)  

• Have every student raise their hand in response to a question and call on them randomly, encouraging them to say “I don’t know” if they aren’t sure of the answer. This helps to establish that “I don’t know” is a valid starting place and encourages students to take an active role in their learning.

Warming Up the Room (NCC, pgs. 78-80) 

• Use entry tickets as a way to transform otherwise wasted time at the beginning of (or even just before) class into a learning opportunity and a way of getting all students involved in the thinking process. This is also a low stakes way of gauging how students are doing with the material and only takes 3 minutes.   

Setting the Agenda Together (NCC, pg. 83)

• Build in some time to ask students what they would like to discuss that day. Answers can be gathered using slips of paper, clickers, or, if the class is small enough, verbal conversations. This allows the concerns or interests of every student to be taken into consideration.

Name Cards and Green, Yellow, and Red Dots (NCC, pgs. 117-118)

• Have students make a name card that they place on their desk each class, along with a sheet of green, yellow, and red stickers. Have them place a colored sticker on their name card each day that indicates how willing to participate they are feeling that day. If a student is consistently in the red or yellow, address the issue privately. This takes only one minute to prep.

The “Oops”/ “Ouch” Method (NCC, pgs. 132-133)

• Hurtful comments, regardless of intent, can happen. If someone is hurt by the comment of another person in the class, the offended party can say “ouch.” The offender can respond with an “oops” to acknowledge the hurt. This quick call-and-response recognizes hurtful or offensive comments and can allow for further discussion if needed.

Think-Pair-Share (IT, pgs. 127-128)

• This activity can take just a few minutes and consists of a brief minute for students to think, to discuss with a partner, and then to share highlights of their discussion with the broader class (if time allows). Assign explicit time allotments for thinking, pairing, and sharing. Instructors can assign pairs at the beginning of the semester to avoid students feeling left out.

Use Group Calling (IT, pgs. 143-145)

• Instead of asking individual students to raise their hands and randomly calling on students, assign students to a group and call random group numbers instead. This ensures that specific individuals do not dominate the conversation and allows for participation from a broader set of students.

Listening Dyad (NCC, pgs. 121-122) 

• Put students into pairs and have each partner speak for exactly one minute. After the timer goes off, have partners switch. The partner who is listening may not speak at all. These conversations are not shared with the class so each person can have a chance to share ideas and opinions openly as well as practice being a good listener.  This only takes two minutes total.

Learning and Using Students’ Names (IT, pgs. 97-98)

• Ask your students to write their names (and, if they prefer, their pronouns and the pronunciation of their name) on card tents. You can also pass out index cards to collect this information for your use. Knowing each student’s name creates a sense of inclusion and respect.