Active Learning Activities

Drawing to Learn: Doing Science is more Complex that You Think

Students draw a diagram of how they think scientists "do science." These are improved then compared with an expert diagram.

Keeping Up With the Trends

This activity is aimed at getting students to write sound, scientific rationales for observed phenomena.

Dragon’s Den – Brain Exploration Techniques

Students engage in a gamified activity mimicking the popular tv show the Dragon's Den.

Group Work Project Contracting

For instructors planning student group work projects over many weeks or months.

Running on Water: Activating Prior Knowledge of Static Equilibrium

Students watch, discuss, then analyze the veracity of a video in which hydrophobic shoes allow people to run on water.

Sensation and Perception Lab

The lab explores the senses of taste, smell, touch, proprioception and vision.

Mechanics in Motion: Iterative GIF Creation

In groups, students create GIFs to demonstrate and explain how mechanic principles apply in real-life scenarios.

Nature of Science Ice-Breaker

A first class ice-breaker activity introducing the nature of science.

Love at First Insight: Crafting Dating Profiles for Therapeutic Techniques

Students create a dating profile that highlights the key feature of the major Abnormality Models in Psychology.

To Pass or Not to Pass: Acting out Membrane Transport

Aim of the activity is to increase students’ understanding of molecules’ movement through the cell membrane.

Card Sorting Activities for Mechanics

Real-World Physics: Mini Video Projects

These mini-video projects require students to engage with course concepts and make connections to the world in which we live.

Physics Worksheet Based Activity

The aim of the activity is the application of concepts and math to solve complex problems.

Peerwise Assignment: Human Body

Urban Planning Project

In this multiple-class activity, students explore a chosen neighborhood in Montreal and investigate significant social issues

Group Problem Solving with Show and Tell

Students learn to build a conceptual model describing a Mechanics-based situation and practice mathematical problem-solving.

Model Building

Students learn to build a conceptual model describing a situation involving an accelerating charged particle.

Circuits: Card Sorting With Multiple Representations (E&M)

Students develop their ability to reason about physics concepts in terms of multiple representations, beyond just equations.

Electrostatics: Card Sorting With Mutiple Representations (E&M)

Students associate configurations of charges with their characteristics from word, diagram & graph representations.

Solving World Issues: One Smartphone at a Time

The purpose of this activity is to familiarize students with the potential of online tools for problem-solving.

This Field Day of Mine

This activity takes a look at the environmental impact of mining and the quantification of environmental contaminants.

Name that Molecule! / Nommez cette Molécule!

The Right Tool for the Right Job

This activity encourages students to consider the nature of a chemistry problem and to identify the tools to solve it.

Family HiStories of Migration

Students interview two members of their family to collect information about their family history and present it in class.