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.

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.

Evolution of Sexual Reproduction: Construct a Species

Students construct a fictional animal species by selecting traits related to sexual reproduction.

The Heart of the Matter: Exploring Exercise in Cardiac Disease

Before class, students read an article and gather 5 elements. In class, they "pool" findings and sort into categories.

Data Mining and Sorting: Scaffolding the Exploration of Scientific Articles

The purpose of this activity is to deepen students' understanding of cardiac pathophysiology.

Cross-Disciplinary Synergy 101: Uniting Expertise for Success

In teams, students interact, share information on their profession, and create cases where each discipline is needed

Family Matters : Inclusive Genetics Pedigree

In teams, students will build a pedigree chart and determine inheritance patterns using inclusive pedigree practices.

Card Sorting Activities for Mechanics

Feeling Feverish: Homeostasis of Pyrexia

Categorizing for Review

Peer Review, Assessment & Feedback

Acid Base Equilibrium

Students learn how to problem solve and review their peers in a low stakes situation (no grades).

Visual Interpretation of “The Story of an Hour”

Students learn to interpret a text and analyze a theme by creating a visual interpretation of a story.

Model Building

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

Call Me By My Organelle

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

Gender Socialization throughout the Life Course

Students complete a grid that illustrates different life periods that reinforce gender narratives.

Gender and Job Inequality

The Matching Game

Students use a matching game to pair chemical compounds and their characteristics using a set of question cards.

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.

The Sailing Iguanas: A Mini Case in Speciation

Cytoskeletal Proteins in Amoeba

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

Brazil Nut Tree

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

Bringing Context to Life: Annotating Research for Reading Novels

Who am I: (Mis)conceptions of Self