Spring 2014 Edition
Active Learning Strategies
By Olysha Magruder
Instructional Designer
In an active learning classroom, students are doing things. Students are thinking about the
things they are doing in the classroom. Activities are based around course objectives and
focus on critical thinking through analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and creating.
Create the Quiz
Students take ownership of their own knowledge by
constructing questions after each lecture that can be used in a
final exam.
Step 1: After a unit or series of lessons on a subject, ask
students to create questions based on the learning material.
Step 2: Collect the questions.
Step 3: Use the questions for class discussions or formative quizzes.
OPTIONS: Use the questions for other activities such as Quiz, Quiz, Trade.
Consider using the questions for graded tests.
Information Search
Similar to an open-book test, the students work in groups to
search for information to answer questions related to learning
objectives of the lesson.
Step 1: Create a group of questions that can be found in the material/
resources (i.e. handouts, textbooks, websites, reference guid W2