Team Quizzes:  Create three teams. Team A creates a short-answer quiz while Teams B and C review their notes. Team A quizzes Team B. If Team B misses a question, Team C gets a shot. The next question goes to team C, and so on. Use quality questions derived from exams.

Index Card Match:  Write key questions on half of the cards, answers on the other half. Distribute cards to students and have them find their matching cards. Then have each pair quiz the rest of the class on their concept.

Listening Teams:  Divide the class so that after a mini-lecture, one quarter of students work in pairs to ask questions about the material (questioners), one-quarter tell what they agreed with and found helpful (agreers), one-quarter discuss what they disagreed with or found unhelpful (naysayers), and one-quarter give examples and applications (appliers).

Active Debate:  Promote thinking and reflection through careful consideration of arguments pro and con. Use multiple pro and con subgroups to involve all class members beyond those presenting.

Firing Line:  Students test and drill each other, role play, or teach each other using a rotating system. Create two rows of chairs facing one another. Have students rotate one seat after a chosen interval. Give each student a card with a role, question, or task you want them to perform or perfect.

Model/Demonstration:  Students create their own role-play scenario and work ahead of time to prepare a way to demonstrate the skills or knowledge necessary.

What's My Line?  Have students play the part of a person, event, theory, concept, etc. Other students ask “yes” or “no” questions to discover their identity.

Everyone is a Teacher: Students (or student teams) take turns presenting a concept or chapter to the rest of the class.

Think-Pair-Share: You ask a question and give students an appropriate amount of time to formulate a response. Each student then turns to another student and shares a response. You then randomly call on students to share their responses with the entire class. From the quality of the responses, you determine if the students are ready to move on.

Planted Questions:  Plant key questions among students on index cards. Have them ask these questions pursuant to a predetermined signal. Have students ask the questions in their own words. Try giving the questions to generally uninvolved students.

Student-generated Exam or Quiz Questions: This activity can take several forms. Here are just two:

(1) Each student writes a question on course material on an index card. Cards are then shuffled and distributed to students. Students review the material to derive answers and then teach the concept. Other students can add their comments.

(2) Each student writes an exam question at the end of a unit, chapter, or class period. You decide which (if any) questions to use in an upcoming test.

One-minute Papers: At the end of each class period, have students write a short paper that answers two questions:

(1) What is the most significant thing you learned in class today?

(2) What is still confusing about what was covered in class today?

Collect and review responses, and plan future sessions based on student feedback. (If you require names on papers, you can respond to students individually and better help those who may struggle.)

Reaction Cards/Twitter: Distribute 3x5” cards with student names on them. Invite students to jot down any questions they may have during class and submit the cards at the end. (Alternatively, students may submit questions or requests for clarification during class via a dedicated Twitter hashtag.)

Reconsidering:  Have students state their views about a class topic at the beginning of the semester and then again at the end to examine changes or growth.

Keep On Learning:  Have subgroups brainstorm ideas for how they can continue learning in this subject area. These may include reading articles in the media, taking another course, creating a reading list, teaching key material to someone else, or taking an assignment that uses skills learned.

“I Hereby Resolve”:  Have students write themselves a letter indicating what they are taking from the class and a plan for how they will continue learning. The instructor will actually mail the prepaid envelopes at a date of the student’s choosing.

Cooperative learning is a form of active learning. It is a relationship in a group of students that requires—

• Positive interdependence—a sense of sink or swim together;
• Individual accountability—“each of us has to contribute and learn”;
• Interpersonal skills—communication, trust, leadership, decision making, and conflict resolution;
• Face-to-face promotive interaction; and
• Processing—reflecting on how well the team is functioning and how to function even better.

(Excerpted from The University of Minnesota’s Cooperative Learning Center Website, www.co-operation.org.)

How should learning groups be formed?

Heterogeneous groups generally function better than homogenous ones. For short-term groups, random assignments with “the person next to you” create this diversity. Long-term groups should be formed with more care (mixing achievement, personalities, prior experience, points of view, etc.).

How long do groups work together?

The length of group activities depends on desired learning outcomes. Groups need adequate time to feel successful, but not so long that they drag. Sometimes a few minutes is sufficient. Instructors should give students specific tasks to finish in a predetermined time with clear (usually written) instructions; e.g., “You have five minutes as a group to reach consensus on three recommendations.” Use deadline cues; e.g., “You have 30 more seconds.” Indicate the end with a signal such as raising your hand, flicking the lights, or turning on music.

Problem-based learning is a teaching and learning approach that emphasizes student learning through complex, contextualized, and often interdisciplinary problems. Students commonly work in small groups. Teachers serve as mentors, role models, facilitators, referees, and sources of expertise. When lectures are employed, they are derived from common issues regarding the given problem.

Several approaches to problem-based learning may be taken. One is structured as follows:

1. Students are organized into small groups (four or five members). Groups may be permanent or ad hoc. Group participation is part of the assessment.
2. Students are presented with the complex problem. Students discuss the problem—what they know and can do, and what they don’t know or can’t yet do.
3. Students define and record the learning issues, or knowledge and skills they need to learn to solve the problem.
4. Students prioritize the learning issues and, with instructor oversight, plan what they need to do to address the issues. Responsibilities are recorded, and fulfilling these assignments is part of each student’s grade.
5. Students reconvene and share what they have learned and how it applies to the problem. They repeat steps 3-5 until they can propose a reasonable solution.

“The Lord does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other” (Spencer W. Kimball).

BYU defines service learning as “an academically rigorous, credit-bearing, educational experience requiring the designed connection of classroom instruction with practical service activities. Students engage in service which is clearly linked to the learning objectives of the course. Through collaboration with predetermined community partners, the service rendered by students meets genuine community needs. Service-learning provides students the opportunity to participate in structured reflective analysis designed to integrate the realities of the service experience with academic subject matter. Service-learning prepares students for active citizenship and lifelong learning by helping them realize a broader application of course material, a heightened sense of civic responsibility, and a deeper appreciation for their own skills and insights.”