Active Learning Activities

Finding Catharsis in Film and Media

Students analyze a film or piece of media watched in the course using two concepts: climax and catharsis.

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.

Mechanics in Motion: Iterative GIF Creation

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

Physics Worksheet Based Activity

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

Preparation for Future Learning: Electric Flux

Peer Review, Assessment & Feedback

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.

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.

Gender and Job Inequality

Summative Assessment: My Diagnosis Assignment

In this activity, students analyze 5 characters from a film in order to diagnose them using techniques learned in the course.

Building Effective Teams

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.

Durkheim Suicide: Functionalist and Conflict Theory

In this activity, students compare 4 psychological perceptive of suicide (anomic, fatalistic, egoistic, and altruistic).

A Self Introduction to Nomenclature in Chemistry

In this activity, students are presented with the concepts of nomenclature in organic chemistry to encourage self learning.

If You’re Not Part of the Solution You’re Part of the Precipitate

Action-Learning Sets

Forget the Math! Draw Pictures to Learn the Wave Theory of Light

Defining a Definition

In this single-class activity, students practice problem-solving related to definitions.

Bottle Rocket Tracker

Using video and Tracker software, students learn to analyze and fit equations of motion to raw data.

Dart Gun Velocity

In this activity, students will find the muzzle velocity of a foam dart gun and predict its maximum range.

Forces Scavenger Hunt

Elemental Superhero