Family Feud
At a Glance
Discipline
- Social sciences
Instructional Level
- University
Tasks in Workflow
Social Plane(s)
- Group
Type of Tasks
- Solving problems
Technical Details
Class size
- Small (20-49)
- Medium (50-99)
Time
- Single class period (< 90 mins)
Instructional Purpose
- Application & knowledge building
Overview
In this game show-inspired activity, students work in teams and compete to answer questions on the course material. At the start of class, students get into groups of 2-4. In the first questioning round, the instructor asks 10-12 questions. The questions are general and are intended to stimulate thinking.
After the first round of questioning, students work together in their groups to create 1-2 questions based on the course material. These questions are intended to be more specific and to require groups to think more deeply about the answers. The instructor collects the questions (8-10 depending on the number of groups) and the students again compete against each other to answer them correctly.
Note: students are not allowed to answer the questions that their group created, only those that their classmates have created. At the end of this activity, the instructor goes over any questions/concepts that were broadly misunderstood by the class.
Instructional Objectives
Students will be able to identify gaps in their knowledge based on the questions they can and cannot answer
Workflow & Materials
Activity Workflow
Contributor's Notes
Benefits
Challenges
Tips
Benefits
This is a great ‘ice-breaker’ activity to begin the semester with and can be used by the instructor to gauge the level of knowledge that students are coming into the course with or identify topics that may require extra attention during the semester.
This activity also works very well as an informal method of assessment. Often students become stressed when tested on their knowledge (quizzes, exams). By using a game-like activity instead, students are more likely to open up and participate.
Challenges
The only potential challenge is if the activity is used at the beginning of the semester. Students may be shy to answer questions and class participation may be limited.
Tips
By making the assessment grade-free, this can increase student participation. Also, giving out prizes for the groups that ‘win’ (those that answer the most questions correctly) is great incentive.
Applied Strategies
Published: 18/09/2018
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