Active Learning Activities

Editing Exercise: Mock Academic Conference

Research, writing & editing activity that builds interpretive skills and the ability to incorporate research.

Hemoglobin Hustle: An Adaptation of Race for the Hat

Used the Race for the Hat activity to create a Jeopardy-style session on blood & blood disorders for a pathophysiology class.

Electron Odyssey: Journey through the Mitochondria’s Electron Transport Chain

Students play the roles of protein complexes to see how electrons, protons, and energy moves through the ETC to produce ATP.

Taskmaster: Diction Icebreakers

These gamified activities will help sensitize students to the nuances of diction and allow them to work together.

Don’t go NUTS: A Case Study on the Physiology of Stress

Les Ateliers de Creation

In this multiple-class activity, students write three 250 texts, then learn to revise their writing based on peer feedback.

Collection d’articles

Case Study: Anophthalmia

Case Study: Malignant hyperthermia

Case Study: Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa

Case Study: Discovering the Structure of DNA

Call Me By My Organelle

In this single-class activity, students use cards to match cells with their organelles and functions.

Rédaction d’un Paragraphe de Texte Expressif

In this multiple-class activity, students write a “texte expressif”, applying theory & grammatical lessons learned in class.

Pratique d’écriture

Don’t leave it to chance! Testing Biology Data Right the First Time

In this activity students learn how to apply statistics to biological data through a series of mini case studies.

Cytoskeletal Proteins in Amoeba

Taking the role of a biologist, students statistically determine how different drug treatments can affect amoeba cell shape.

A Case for Cystic Fibrosis (CF): A Québec Perspective

In this activity students take on the role of a geneticist helping an individual recently diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

Disappearing Sea Otters

Students take the role of an ecologist and try to analyze species behaviours and predict population change.

Brazil Nut Tree

Students take on the role of ecologists, tasked with saving the Brazil nut tree from the effects of deforestation.

Having Students Read and Apply Essay Feedback

Short Stories and Social Realism: Building an Essay Toolkit

In this multiple-class activity, students build a toolkit of essay-writing skills through analyzing a short story text.

Alien Cell Dissection

Students learn to apply their knowledge of normal "terrestrial" cells to a new scenario (an alien cell).

Experimental Design in Neurobiology

Genetics: Patterns of Inheritance

Students analyze a pedigree chart to identify which individuals are carriers of the disease Alkaptonuria (ALK).