The subject you teach us hopefully and most likely extremely fascinating to you. How can you communicate that to others? Why not the simple combination of an image that represents it with a short bit of text on top, e.g. a meme image. First, you need an image. The best choice is your own photo… Read more »
Teacher for Learning Activities
Designing effective learning activities and experiences that are grounded in research-based principles of learning.
Class Exploder






Difficulty: 2 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Alan Levine • 1093 views • 0 responses
One of my favorite podcasts is Song Exploder: Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. Each episode is produced and edited by host and creator Hrishikesh Hirway in Los Angeles. Using the isolated, individual tracks from a recording, Hrishikesh… Read more »
Misunderstood






Difficulty: 2 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 2710 views • 29 responses
Identify a concept that is often misunderstood in your discipline. Can you think of an analogy that can help make the concept make sense to students? Activity source “so misunderstood” flickr photo by SquirmyBeluga https://flickr.com/photos/squirmy21/8315536253 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
Syllabus Concept Map






Difficulty: 3 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 2213 views • 19 responses
Create a concept map of your course syllabus. The way we present information and how we subsequently categorize new knowledge can make dramatic differences in our students’ learning. We can help learners to make sense of new information by being explicit about how we suggest information fits with prior knowledge. This activity is within the… Read more »
Cornell Notes






Difficulty: 3 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 1327 views • 15 responses
Try watching a TED talk or conference keynote video yourself to practice your own note-taking skills using Cornell Notes. Activity Source Bonus tip shared by Extender Jess O’Reilly- a Google Docs template you can copy and save to your own G Drive (from TechCoaches).
WIIFM






Difficulty: 1 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 1190 views • 18 responses
Brainstorm a list of WIIFM (what’s in it for me?) from a student perspective. If you can’t think of more than “because you should know it,” then you need to talk to your students and get a better sense of where they are in their learning and where they are going. If you know your… Read more »
Like Driving a Car






Difficulty: 2 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 1032 views • 14 responses
What concept in your discipline is like driving a car? Can you identify the component skills required to master this concept or skill? Activity Source Photo by Daniel von Appen on Unsplash
Please Allow Me To Introduce My Field






Difficulty: 4 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 1598 views • 22 responses
Create an introductory activity connected to your discipline to get to know your learners. For example: In a human geography class you could ask every student to describe their favourite place. For earth science the question could be “What mineral would you be based on hardness? Why?” For English literature, each student could discuss what… Read more »
Thought Vectors






Difficulty: 4 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 881 views • 9 responses
This activity is taken from the Thought Vectors course http://thoughtvectors.net/syllabus/, designed by Dr. Gardner Campbell. Nuggets: Check out the The Open Faculty Patchbook, and select an article that resonates with you. Take a passage from the article that grabs you in some way and make that passage as meaningful as possible. It could be a passage that puzzles… Read more »
Your Metaphor






Difficulty: 3 (rated by author; 1=easy <--> 5=difficult)
Created by Anonymous • 911 views • 10 responses
Throughout this module we’ve explored various types of metaphors for teaching and learning. Prior learning was baggage. Motivation was drive. Mastery and organization of knowledge are like component building blocks toward a cohesive structure. Self-direction and metacognition are like our own internal GPS signaling our own personal wayfinding. Now it’s time to put it together… Read more »