Goal

ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

Face-to-Face

Classroom

Online - Synchronous

Online Asynchronous

Limited or no access to internet and/or device

Physically Distanced Classroom

Encourage active  engagement

Think-pair-share

Students think/recall about a concept/experience individually, share it with their peers, and then share it with the entire class.

Use breakout meeting rooms in online video conferencing (zoom) platforms to simulate small group discussions.

Students can use white-board or PowerPoint slide or google document to note their observations.

Use “Private Chat” function in online video conferencing platform for one-to-one discussions in the “pair” phase (equivalent to “talk to the person sitting next to you”)

Pose an equivalent question to the asynchronous students, either in video or text, through asynchronous chat or discussion forum or wiki. Students respond in a small group discussion forum. The group reports can be shared with the larger class discussion forum.

Design and send a worksheet (paper based or word document in USB or downloadable at an internet center) to the students. The worksheet may include following prompts:

• talk to your family members living in the same house (spouse/kids/grandparents/etc.) about the concept under discussion and note their reactions
• Simplify the concept to explain it to anybody at house and note their reactions
• Call a friend (colleague in the class/ senior/ junior) or family member and have a brief discussion about the concept you learnt. Note reactions.

Smart phone with no connection or 2G connection

• Have a cue in the learning material around texting to a peer around the topic and brainstorm the topic.
• Use WhatsApp chat feature to engage in small group discussions  

Set up small groups of 3-5 students. Pose a question. Could also use a zoom room or google doc to help with communication. Could send pairs out of class for easier socially distanced discussion elsewhere on campus with set return time, have discussion outside of class time and report during class or outside of class. When sharing with class, consider it practice in projecting voices, so all classmates hear.

Encourage active engagement

Small group Discussions

Use breakout meeting rooms in online video conferencing platforms to simulate small group discussions. Students may also use collaborative document tools (e.g., Google docs) to record thoughts.

Give group assignments and workshop formats for small teams to hold online brainstorm meetings and create things together using collaboration tools (e.g. zoom white board, padlet, etc.) between live sessions.

Pose an equivalent question to the asynchronous students, either in video or text, and students respond in a small group discussion forum or develop a content explanation or glossary through wiki in a Learning Management System or as we call it, Virtual Learning Environment ( VLE). The group reports can be shared to the larger class discussion forum.

Students use digital pin boards (such as Padlet) to share content, ideas and have discussions.

Have prompts in the learning material to:

• Simplify the concept and discuss it with the family members at the dinner table or Chaii and Chat session
• Develop a paper-based poster individually to generate awareness in the community around the topic of concern and run it through your family members to do a litmus-test for simplicity.  

Smart phone with no connection

• Use a group call feature to engage three or four of your peers to discuss the topic.

2G connection

• Use threaded emails for small group discussion if the person has limited access to internet or 2G connection
• Use WhatsApp chat feature to engage in small group discussions  

Set up small groups of 3-5 students. Pose a question. Could also use a zoom room or google doc to help with communication. Could make breakouts a little longer and send groups out of class for easier socially distanced discussion elsewhere on campus with set return time. The Reporter may have been writing a report in Google doc/ on handheld white board, or just oral report, and when reporting out consider it practice in projecting voices, so all classmates hear.

Encourage active engagement

Turn and Talk

Use the chat feature in online video conferencing (zoom). Ask a question and let the students reply with a brief response. Read them out loud to the whole class. Could also use meeting rooms with a reporter to share.

Assign partners and pose a question. Students share their ideas, in a VLE chat with their peers or use tools like flipgrid or marco polo or WhatsApp chat feature.

Same as “think-pair share” section

Assign partners in classroom that can talk 6 ft apart. Alternatively, students can "talk" through texts on group.me or through a shared Google doc or slide show, when distance would make the volume in the room difficult for some students to learn.

Engage / Check understanding

Polling + Post-Poll discussion

Polling activity can be used to ask a factual question with multiple options or students can also present their agreement/
disagreement with the given statements. Post-poll discussions can stimulate students to discuss areas of study in-depth.

Use the polling feature in Zoom or another online poll (such as polleverywhere) to ask questions and show responses in real-time.

After-poll discussion can be carried out in the live video session.

Use the polling plugin in VLE and share out the results in a class announcement, email, or within the module.

After-poll discussion can be carried out in the discussion forum.

Students create their own poll as a substitute and provide a dominant opinion on the poll in their household/friends who are reachable without travelling.

Use an online polling feature and share results with the class. Students without a device can use colored cards, Plickers, hands, or vertical movement to indicate their choice.

After-poll discussion can be carried out maintaining the social distance.

Engage

Partial Outlines/PPTs provided for discussions

Create a set of class notes with blanks for important information and share on the VLE. Encourage students to fill in the blanks during the class session.

Create a set of class notes with blanks for important information and share on the VLE. Encourage students to fill in the blanks during the class session. When viewing the course materials, students complete and annotate the notes.

Create a set of class notes with blanks for important information and share it through a USB device, download through an internet center or delivered through mail.

Encourage students to fill in the blanks while listening to the video discussion or reading through the articles. When viewing the course materials, students complete and annotate the notes.

Create a set of class notes with blanks for important information and share on the LMS. Encourage students to fill in the blanks during the class session.

Engage

Pausing in lecture

Break up your synchronous presentation by stopping for a quick activity, such as responding to a question in chat, completing a sentence, or completing another task like polling, etc.

In your recorded videos, insert points for students to pause and reflect on what was just said, complete an activity such as answer some quick questions using a quiz function through Panopto plugin in VLE.

No connectivity:

Video discussions (shared through USB or downloaded through an internet center) have verbal prompts for students to pause and reflect on what was just said, complete an activity given in the attached handout such as answer some quick questions, write your reflection, or predict the answer to the question.

Pause during your lecture to ask a question, give a poll, or ask students to identify the three things they have learned so far in the class.

Engage

Posters & gallery walk

Gallery walk is a way to engage students in displaying their artifacts to their peers and the teacher, for feedback and improvement. Self-reflection can also be prompted post this activity.

Use shared spaces for small groups to record ideas using collaborative tools such as Padlet and Google docs/slides/draw, and then view those with the whole class. Some tools could be padlet, Google docs, etc.

Peer/teacher feedback can be sought right after the presentation.

Self-reflection can be sought through critiquing their own work by stating one way that they would have improved their work provided more time, resources, etc.

Use shared spaces for small groups to record ideas using collaborative tools such as Padlet and Google docs/slides/draw and students review these ideas as part of the module’s activities and provide peer feedback using a rubric/checklist or a prompt.

Peer/teacher feedback can be sought by asking students to put their feedback in the discussion forum.

Self-reflection can be prompted by asking students to write their reflection in the reflective logs in VLE.

No connectivity:

Develop paper-based posters individually to generate awareness in the family around the topic of concern and run it through your family members to do a litmus-test for simplicity. Take family’s feedback on the poster and share it with the instructor using a written narrative/assignment explaining the technical details.

Smart phone with no connection:

Students develop an audio story/narrative to explain the concept simply and make buddy groups. One student group takes feedback from another student group, through a group call.

2G connection:

Use text based or reduced png images (one per group) shared through email for peer feedback.

Self-reflection can be prompted by asking students to write the reflection in their reflective logs on email or WhatsApp chat function.

If regulations allow, put poster boards around the room. Dismiss one group of students to go a single poster board and record a response. When they finish and return to their seats, dismiss a second group. Continue until the entire class has been able to record responses. Read/ review the posters with the class or save and use to start the following class period. This activity encourages movement, individual response, and can serve as an assessment of students’ understanding (depending on the questions). You may need to think about options for students that are not moving around the room. One option is to consider using virtual poster boards.

Engage

Fishbowl

Fishbowl is a strategy for organizing small group discussions. Half of the students are assigned to the inner circle and the other half are assigned to the outer circle. First, students placed in the inner circle or in the ‘fishbowl’ have a discussion, and the students in the outer circle listen to the discussion and take notes. The roles are then switched.

Both the groups can be prompted to think and make notes using some questions, such as:

• Two things that were new learning points for you.
• One idea that you disagree with. Why?
• One idea that you strongly agree with. Why?

Students can take turns role playing/miming a solution and others can watch and respond in chat or live discussion. Encourage students to turn off webcams so focus can be on the student miming.

You could also run a "pictionary" version online at https://skribbl.io/

Skribbl allows users to join private rooms, and even to create a specific word bank (i.e., containing terms from class).

Students can record themselves with role play/miming a solution and post their role-play in the discussion forum and others can respond in a discussion forum.

Alternatively, students can use a discussion forum in VLE and take an inner circle and outer circle approach, while the outer circle reads the responses from all the students in the inner circle first, and then responds with their observations.

2G connection:

Students write a role play using threaded emails. Each student plays a distinctive role while conversing on the issue using the email thread, and contributes their perspective to the discussion.  

Students can take turns role playing or miming a solution for others to critique, watch, etc.

Students in fishbowl can be remote (participating in a chat, Google doc, or Zoom conversation as a small group), while F2F students are outside the fishbowl listening, and then the  instructor leads the whole class discussion among listeners afterwards.

Monitor/ assess understanding

Quick write

Pose a question or two in a discussion forum and have students respond.  Students may share a selection of responses or summary of their responses with the whole class.

Pose a question or two in a discussion forum and have students respond.  Instructors may follow up by sharing a selection of responses or summary of their responses with the whole class.

No connectivity: Append a set of reading prompts with the articles that you share with the students. Students quick-write the answers after completing the reading/viewing the lecture and share it with their teacher through weekly mail.

Pose a question or two and have students write a response.  Students can turn these in at the end of class. Instructors may ask for some students to share a selection of responses or summary of their responses with the whole class.

Monitor/assess understanding

Muddiest point

Individually students take a few minutes to write down the areas that they find most confusing or difficult. Peers / faculty provide explanations to clarify the concept.  

Encourage students to identify any unclear or “muddy points”. Muddiest points can be added in the chat or on a shared screen or through a digital pin-board (such as padlet).

Pose a question in a discussion forum or other shared space or submit a VoiceThread in VLE or video chat (one tool that could work is Flipgrid).

No connectivity: Share a video / reading article with a question ‘write down the muddiest points’. Students send an SMS to an assigned peer /facilitator. Schedule a weekly call with an assigned peer/facilitator to discuss all the muddiest points noted.  

One peer in the pair, can be held responsible for collecting the muddiest points and putting it on email-thread, with the responses that they think are appropriate. Faculty can peruse through the responses and identify misconceptions / alternative conceptions if any.

• Have students use post-it notes to share their muddiest point and instructor can discuss with the class
• Students can share their muddiest point using an online digital pin-board (such as menti-meter or padlet) or through anonymous Google doc.

Reflect on learning

Four corners

Students switch to one of the four corners (strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree) of the room to identify their position on a specific statement.

Students have 4 colored cards. These are held up to the webcam when asked a question to display their answer. A Zoom poll could also be used.

Students can be randomly picked or volunteer to justify their answers through the learning materials (reading provided, or prior experience or video watched).

Use the poll feature in VLE for polling purposes.

All students are asked to justify their answers through the learning materials (reading provided, or prior experience or video watched)

A paper-based worksheet is shared with a main statement and four corners representing four different positions (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) and students choose their position and write a narrative on why they chose a particular stance. The students can share it through paper-based portfolio submission, email, or talk to a friend on call to develop a consolidated document for submission.  

Students have 4 colored cards (or raise hands or stand up/vertical movement to indicate agreement). These are held up when asked a question to display their answer.

Consider doing this online in a collaborative document. Can use online polling technology.

Students can be asked to justify their answers through the learning materials (reading provided, or prior experience or video watched).

Reflect on learning

What’s missing?

On a PowerPoint slide, put a list of ideas, terms, equation, or rationale. Students can identify the missing pieces in the given ideas/equation/glossary.

On Zoom use slides, present a list of ideas, terms, equation, or rationale. Students can respond with what is missing using chat, poll or live discussion.

In your video lecture slides, present a list of ideas, terms, equation or rationale and prompt students to identify ‘what’s missing?’. Students must respond in the discussion forum with what is missing. Can also be done using a quiz feature or wiki feature in VLE.

Pose a question ‘what’s missing’ while displaying the text/slides. Collect responses through email thread, at a WhatsApp group or text message.

Using slides, present a list of ideas, terms, equation or rationale. Students must respond with what is missing, using a google doc.

Reflect on learning

Aha and Huh? wall

Students identify one or two “ahas” (ideas that were new to them) and one “huh?”  (idea that is still confusing for them).

In real time students post an “aha” and “huh?” in the chat. The instructor uses these to guide discussion or future instruction.

You can also use a menti-meter or padlet for this purpose.

Students write their “aha” and a ‘huh?’ moments and post them in the discussion forum. The instructor uses these to guide discussion or future instruction.

Students draw a handmade poster or a story or a poem or a doodle to express their aha and huh? moments and make them a part of paper-based or email-based submission.

Consider placing poster boards on the wall. Students put their ideas up using post-it notes, using social distancing directions. Or each student has a handheld dry-erase board.

You can also use menti-meter or padlet for this purpose.

Strengthen understanding

Pro/con list

Pro cons list is a strategy used to elicit arguments in favor or against a certain statement.

Together create a pro/con list using a collaborative google document in real time or on a shared screen

Together create a pro/con list using a collaborative google document

Generate a pro cons list on a paper and submit through paper based or WhatsApp group submission or email-based submission.

Generate a pro/con list using collaborative documents, such as Google docs.

Strengthen understanding

Concept map

Use an online tool (such as Mindmeister) to have students work collaboratively in real-time to add to the concept map. Google Draw may be a tool that would be useful.

Use an online tool (such as coggle), to have students work collaboratively to add to the concept map over the course of a module. Google Draw may be a tool that would be useful.

Develop a paper-based concept map and submit it through WhatsApp group submission or email-based submission

Use an online tool (such as Mindmeister), to have students work collaboratively in real-time to add to the concept map.

Strengthen understanding

Visual prompt

Offer a visual prompt for students to respond. This can be done by sharing an image on PowerPoint slide with accompanying question.

Offer a visual prompt for students to respond. This can be done using tools like VoiceThread in VLE

Students write their reflection on the visual prompt on paper or WhatsApp group or email thread or through a chat message.

They can also use WhatsApp voice message option to record and share their verbal response.

Offer a visual prompt and students respond to the prompt using poll technology or menti-meter.

Strengthen understanding

Entry/Exit Tickets

Entry and exit tickets are questions that are given by the instructor to the students around a concept to check the understanding of the students before or after the session.

At the beginning or end of a class/ module, students respond to a question in the chat or discussion forum or use a polling program to ask questions (in zoom or add-on).

At the beginning or end of a class/ module, students respond to a question in the chat, poll, or discussion forum.

2G connection:

Students share their entry/exit tickets with the other students through WhatsApp response on the class WhatsApp group at the beginning or end of the module.

No connection:

Students send a text message to a peer, discussing the question prompt given alongside the article or video to watch.

At the beginning or end of a class/ module, ask students to respond to a question. These can be turned in to the instructor. Alternatively, you could use a polling program to ask students questions.

Active engagement/ planning for future learning/ connections

Brainstorming challenge

Use the chat feature or collaborative writing spaces such as Google docs to brainstorm ideas and review in class. If using MS Teams, upload a document via chat for students to type into collaboratively.

Use collaborative writing spaces such as Moodle Workshop to brainstorm ideas and review in follow-up video/post or activity

Students do individual brainstorming on paper and share their brainstormed bubbles through the WhatsApp messages and build on their diagrams using WhatsApp group options.

Use collaborative writing spaces to brainstorm and share in real-time. This can be done with some features in Moodle (i.e., chat, polling), online polling, or even google documents.

Active Engagement

1 Minute Quiz

Students complete a 3-question quiz worth 3 points in the first 5 minutes of class. Questions for the quiz are given in the last 5 minutes of the previous class. Answers can be posted on the chat-box or on a google-doc.

Offer a short, alternate activity that allows students to earn the same number of points.

1-minute self-check quiz can be given at the end of the reading, so that the students know if they have learnt the concepts.

Answers to the quizzes are shared with the given material or through  WhatsApp group.

Students complete a 3-question quiz worth 3 points in the first 5 minutes of class. Questions for the quiz are given in the last 5 minutes of the previous class. Answers can be e-mailed or posted on an adaptive release discussion board post.

Providing/getting feedback on work in progress

Peer review

Have students share drafts prior to class and then break into groups for discussion/feedback.

Have selected students share with the class in real time and provide a way for students to give feedback (e.g., answer three questions, etc.)

Request for drafts assignments or VoiceThread via VLE. Guided by course rubric/specific prompts for feedback, peer(s) peruse through the document/podcast and provide feedback through a written text or VoiceThread.

Give time to students to incorporate peer-feedback before final submission.  

Students exchange their draft assignments through email for peer feedback. Subsequently, they incorporate the feedback in their assignments before final submissions.

Students submit draft assignments for peer review, incorporate the peer feedback, and submit the final assignment.