Main Courses

Active learning strategies that can be used throughout a lesson or activity to encourage critical thinking and participant engagement

12 Apps of Christmas

Contributor: Chris Rowell, Regent’s University London, rowellc@regents.ac.uk Ingredients: A virtual learning platform (eg Moodle, Wordpress, Blackboard Open Education) Method: Twelve Apps of Christmas is an online programme which covered the basics and ...

5 Days of Digital Literacy

Contributor: Jason Williams, Anglia Learning & Teaching, Anglia Ruskin University Ingredients: A blogging site e.g. WordPress, or any online platform capable of publishing text, images, and video. Method: 1 short blog post per day for the first 5 w ...

Accessibility Awareness

Contributor: Bob Parson (rparson86@gmail.com) Ingredients: Piece of paper for each participant Method: In a classroom , everyone has a blank piece of paper. Tell everyone to copy the instructor. Tell one half of the group to close their eyes or turn th ...

Bonfire of the Adjectives: Exploring Standardisation

Contributor: Duncan Cross, University of Bolton, d.cross@bolton.ac.uk Ingredients (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity): Parts 1- 4 - 1 set of adjectives per group, Part 5 - institutional generic marking schemes, Part 5 and 6 institution ...

C’est La View: The Game of Social Life: A Role Playing Game for Teaching about Privilege, Oppression, and Intersectionality

Contributor: Kosha Bramesfeld, PhD (kbramesfeld@gmail.com) Ingredients (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity) Instructions and materials for playing C’est La Vie: The Game of Social Life are published with the Office of Teaching Resources ...

Course Outline Speed Dating

Submitted by: Mel Young, Cambrian College, mel.young@cambriancollege.ca Name of Recipe: Course Outline Speed Dating; (some institutions call them a syllabus) Ingredients: Bring a course outline for each participant at your session. I usually print off ...

Developing Your Teaching and Learning Philosophy Statement

Contributors Gesa Ruge, Assistant Professor, Discipline of Built Environment and Design, University of Canberra, Australia. gesa.ruge@canberra.edu.au Coralie McCormack: Adjunct Professor, University of Canberra, Australia. coralie.mcormack@gmail.com ...

Familiar Faces

Contributor: Lindy-Ann Blaize Alfred, Robert Gordon University, l.blaize-alfred@rgu.ac.uk Ingredients: slides, participant resources, familiar-faces PowerPoint slides Method: Explain the purpose of the exercise – to identify as many familiar faces as p ...

Feedback and Tutoring Styles

Contributors: Gaye Manwaring, University of Dundee, g.manwaring@dundee.ac.uk and Lorraine Anderson, University of Dundee, l.l.anderson@dundee.ac.uk Ingredients: Prepared handouts (see below) Method: The aim of the session is to encourage participants ...

Feedback and Tutoring Styles

Flavouring for lectures

Contributor: Jo Peat (j.peat@roehampton.ac.uk), University of Roehampton Ingredients: (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity) other colleagues – between 3 and 4; lapel microphones Method (what you do): One academic takes the stage to give t ...

Fry-Drive

Contributor: Darren Comber, University of Aberdeen, d.comber@abdn.ac.uk Ingredients (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity): Set aside at least 30 minutes for this exercise. You’ll need a watch. It also helps if the room you’re using has mo ...

Gallery Walk

Contributor: Sarah Chesney, Flourish Learning Ltd, sarahchesney@flourishlearning.co.uk Gallery Walk: Ideal for after lunch because participants move around the room. Reasonable adjustments have to be made if a participant cannot move with ease, in whic ...

International Surprises Game

Sally Brown, Emerita Professor, Leeds Beckett University, UK s.brown@leedsbeckett.ac.uk Ingredients (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity) This game is designed to enable any number of participants over around 12 to share understandings of ...

Making a Cup of Tea

Contributor: Nicky Meer, University of Cumbria, n.meer@cumbria.ac.uk Ingredients (any equipment or supplies needed for the activity) A4 sheet of answers (Two sided) Serves as a main course 90 minute workshops or longer for more people. Method (what yo ...

Mouse or Elephant Assessment

Contributor: Deena Ingham, Loughborough University. D.ingham@lboro.ac.uk Ingredients: Paper or whiteboards and Pens Method: Ask every person in the group to draw a mouse (or an elephant) without any further instructions and giving no opportunity for ...

Paper Express

Contributor: Scott White, University of Toronto, OISE, Inner City Option Time required: 25 - 30 minutes (2-3 minutes of instruction, 10-15 minutes of group work and testing, 1-2 minutes per group to present) Ingredients: 1 Sheet of paper (plain copy pa ...

Plagiarism Prevention Tutorial

Contributor: Kosha Bramesfeld, PhD (kbramesfeld@gmail.com) Ingredients: The tutorial, quiz questions, and answer key [available in English and in French] are published with the Office of Teaching Resources (OTRP) in Psychology and can be freely accesse ...

Pre-Reading Jigsaw Show

Contributor: Alice Cassidy, In View Educational Development, alicecas@telus.net Ingredients: One reading that you can divide up into a number of natural ‘sections’, of 1-2 paragraphs each. Method: Divide your number of participants into 4. The result ...

Reaching for the Same Snack

Contributor: Klodiana Kolomitro, Queen’s University, kk78@queensu.ca Ingredients: A pinch of enthusiasm, a dash of open-mindedness, and a spoonful of sharing Method (what you do): Reaching for the same snack (a.k.a Crossing the line) gives people a cha ...

Reflection Round Robin

Contributor: Lisa Endersby, York University, lendersb@yorku.ca Ingredients: Flipchart paper, markers, tape, sticky notes (optional), pens/pencils (optional) Method: Write a question/theme/topic/prompt on the top of a piece of flipchart paper. Repeat a ...

Round Robin

Contributor Gaye Manwaring, University of Dundee, g.manwaring@dundee.ac.uk Ingredients Blank paper or prepared sheets Method Put them into groups of about 5. Ask each person to come up with a contentious or controversial statement relevant to the them ...

Sharing Tricks of the Trade

Contributor: Dr Roisin Donnelly, Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), Ireland roisin.donnelly@dit.ie This activity is used in a 3 hour workshop entitled ‘Designing Knockout Interactive Lectures!’ as part of th ...

TaRT (Teaching as Art)

Contributor: Iddo Oberski, Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching, Queen Margaret University, ioberski@qmu.ac.uk Ingredients: You’ll need a stack of arty postcards. I tend to choose fairly traditional pictures, taking into account the participant gro ...