Simple Active Learning Techniques
Active learning strategies require students to think deeply about the subject matter in your course. They can be implemented in face-to-face class sessions, online, or through work completed outside of class. The general principle is that students benefit from actively thinking about and applying content as they learn it rather than simply receiving it passively.
These strategies do not need to be elaborate or time-consuming. Many can be implemented in five minutes or less and incorporated into existing instruction without requiring significant changes to the course. And, best of all, they can be used in didactic and clinical settings alike. Although the specific activity may look different depending on the learning environment, the same general principles apply: students learn more deeply when they are actively engaged in thinking about and working with what they are learning.
In addition, most strategies can be easily adapted for individual, partner, or small-group work depending on your learning goals, class size, and available time. Consider whether students will benefit most from developing their own thinking independently, comparing their reasoning with a partner, or working collaboratively to develop and refine a response.
Retrieval Practice
During a lecture, pause periodically and ask students to retrieve something they learned earlier without looking at their notes. For example you might ask: “Without looking back, what are the three major risk factors we discussed?”
Give students a few moments to think about the answer, write it down, or compare their responses with a neighbor before you ask for responses or review it. This technique helps reinforce neural connections associated with the content and it also provides cues about the importance of information covered.
Activate Prior Knowledge
At the beginning of a class session, ask students to recall what they learned in the previous session. Ask them to write down a summary or outline of what they learned without looking back at their notes. You can ask them to compare their notes with a neighbor or ask some students to share in a quick discussion. Emphasize identifying areas that were missed or any misconceptions.
Application Cards
After students have learned about a new concept, principle, theory, or procedure, have them write down at least one possible, real-world application for what they learned. Use index cards, polling, or other methods for students to submit their responses. This technique promotes understanding and asks students to make connections to practice.
Direct Paraphrase
Ask students to paraphrase part of a lecture or lesson for a specific audience or purpose (i.e., explaining a diagnosis to a patient). This forces students to translate the content rather than simply repeat it. They must identify the essential meaning, reorganize the information in their own words, determine what is relevant for the intended audience, and communicate it in a form that makes sense in a different context.
Changing the intended audience can also change the cognitive task, requiring students to decide what matters, what can be omitted, and how the same knowledge should be communicated differently.
Direct paraphrasing can also be used as a brief role-play activity.
Minute Paper
Ask students a question that requires them to reflect on their learning or engage in critical thinking. Have them write for one minute. Ask students to share responses to stimulate discussion.
Muddiest Point
After a lesson or lecture, or at the end of a class session, ask students to reflect on their learning and identify areas that remain confusing for them. This technique requires students to think about their own learning, and can provide faculty with quick insights about areas they may need to return to in the next class session.
Sample questions:
- “What is the muddiest point from today’s class? What remains unclear to you?”
- “What do you find most confusing about what we covered?”
- “What concept from today’s class do you feel least confident explaining in your own words?”
- “If you have to answer an exam question about today’s material right now, what topic would you be least confident in answering?”
Think-Pair-Share
Think-Pair-Share is a simple active-learning strategy that gives students time to think about a question individually, discuss their thinking with another student, and then bring selected ideas back to the larger class.
It can be incorporated into almost any class with little preparation and can take as little as a few minutes and is particularly useful in large classes because it allows every student to engage with a question, rather than limiting participation to the few students who volunteer to respond publicly.
For a detailed explanation of Think-Pair-Share and variations of it, please see the expanded article in this knowledge base
Polling
Ask all students to respond to a question using your classroom polling system. Polling can be used for more than factual recall. Ask students to:
- Make a prediction
- Interpret a finding
- Select a diagnosis
- Choose a next step
- Identify the most important information
- Compare two alternatives
- Indicate confidence in their answer
Avoid immediately revealing the correct response. Look at the distribution first. If responses are divided, ask:
“We’re split between B and C. What might make C attractive?”
Or have students briefly discuss their reasoning with someone nearby and poll them again.
Polling transforms a question that might otherwise engage three volunteers into one that asks everyone in the room to make a decision.
The One-Minute Case
Short cases are an easy way to connect foundational content to clinical interpretation and decision-making without converting an entire class session into case-based learning. Start by presenting a few pieces of information:
Patient: 24-year old contact lens wearer
Complaint: Unilateral red eye, pain, and photophobia
Finding: Central corneal infiltrate
Then ask one focused question:
“What should you be most concerned about, and what information supports your conclusion?”
Students can respond individually, through polling, or with a neighbor.
Missing Information
Instead of giving students all the information needed to solve a problem, deliberately leave something out. Present the beginning of a case, scenario, or problem and ask:
- “What else would you want to know?”
- “What would you examine next?”
- “What information would you need before making a decision?”
Students can generate responses individually or with a neighbor. This technique helps students practice organizing and analyzing information, and discerning what information is important, rather than simply interpreting information that has already been presented or selected for them.
What’s Wrong Here?
Present students with an intentionally flawed explanation, solution, clinical decision, diagram, or example and ask them to identify the problem. Be explicit that the example intentionally includes an error or problem. For example:
- “Here is an incorrect explanation. What is inaccurate and how would you fix it?”
- “Here is a flawed treatment plan. Identify what makes it flawed and how you would address it.”
Finding and correcting errors requires students to evaluate information, helping to build critical thinking. It also reinforces cognitive retrieval pathways.