Active Learning Techniques for OnlineLIVE Sessions

Here are some popular active learning techniques to consider weaving into your live sessions. Some of these techniques utilize only the features in Zoom, while others use external tools to augment Zoom's features. If you are just starting out, we encourage you to stick with the activities that use Zoom.

Retrieval Practice

Pause for 2-3 minutes every 15 minutes and ask students to write down everything they remember from the past lecture segment. The process of actively retrieving information from one's short term memory is shown to improve long term retention, as well as the ability to build on the knowledge (Brame and Biel, 2015). After the pause, ask students to use the "raise hand" feature in Zoom or type into the chat box if they have a question.

Alternatively, use retrieval practice at the start of a session using Chat. Ask your students to take 90 seconds to make a list of things they remember from the previous session. At the end of that time:

- give them another minute to type their list into the chat. Be sure they have their chat toggled to Everyone so other students can see their replies or
- encourage students to select the Raise Hand feature (click on Reactions in the toolbar) and call on 2-3 of them to a few things from their lists.

Poll - Before your live session, set up a Poll in Zoom consisting of a multiple-choice question about one of your learning segments. At the end of the segment, launch the poll and wait until your students have responded. Share the results of the poll with the class. Discuss the responses. The poll may probe for students' opinions about a particular topic or it may probe for understanding. Regardless, take time to debrief the responses with the class. If you identify a significant percentage of students who have not yet grasped the information, simply take a few minutes to explain it a different way or, better yet, ask a student to paraphrase their understanding by unmuting and speaking into their microphone. Always position misunderstanding as a normal step in the learning process so students develop a growth mindset about their abilities.

Think-Pair-Share

Ask students a question that requires higher order thinking (application, analysis, or evaluation levels within Bloom's taxonomy). Give students 1-minute of silence to write out their answer to the question, sketch a mind map, or brainstorm a list of key ideas. Then place students into breakout rooms of 2-3 for 3-minutes. Before they go into the breakout rooms, explain to them that each student will have 30-45 seconds to share their response with their peers. When the breakout rooms end and your students return to the main room, ask for 2-3 volunteers from separate groups to share a summary of their discussion.

KWL

This is a great activity that can be used at the start and end of a session. It has students access background knowledge, formulate questions, and document information learned. For this activity, students will need to either create a chart on a piece of paper or access a document with the chart that you've provided (preferably in Canvas). You can also have students submit their KWL chart through an Assignment in Canvas, which can function both as evidence of their learning and their participation. For students who are unavailable to attend the session, they can view the archive and still complete the chart (minus the group interaction).

The KWL chart consists of three columns, labeled from left to right: Know, Want to Know, Learned.

Know - At the start of your session, introduce a topic and give students 2 minutes to list everything they know about that topic.
Want to Know - After completing the Know column, have students list everything they want to know about that topic.
- At this point you may break students into small groups using the breakout room feature and prompt them to share and discuss topics from their Want to Know list. At the end of the brief breakout room session, ask for volunteers to share specific questions that came up.
Learned - At the end of your session, have students list everything they learned about the topic.

If you do have your students submit their chart via an assignment in Canvas, their work will illuminate to you how well your students are understanding the content and how effective your sessions are.

Variations of KWL

Add an S column - list what students still want to learn.
Add an I column - list why this information is important.
And an R column - list something they want to remember.

Graphic Organizers

Prepare a visual resource for your students, have them open it up on their computer during the session and fill it out. Google Docs can be a great tool for creating interactive graphic organizers. This activity enables students to make sense of what they are learning in a visual way, which stimulates a different part of the brain than listening or taking notes. You may also have students share their completed graphic organizers in small groups or complete them in small groups (using the breakout room feature in Zoom).

View a Venn Diagram graphic organizer Links to an external site.

Consensogram

This is a fun way to encourage critical thinking and have students see the thoughts of their peers, which helps students to see that learning is unique and to value diversity. For this activity you will need to use Google Jamboard, a free digital bulletin board tool (Padlet can work well too!). You will learn more about Google Jamboard in Week 2.

Before the session, open Google Jamboard and create a Jamboard with multiple columns. Come up with a question that is related to the sessions' topic. Questions that encourage students to imagine the future are an excellent way to tap higher order thinking skills through divergent learning. For example, if you are teaching future teachers, you may ask, "Ten years from now, which of the following do you think will increase the most?" The columns may be titled: virtual reality, in-person classes, online classes, multiple choice tests. T
- To start the activity, instruct students to place a sticky note in one of the columns.
- Then discuss the results of the activity with the entire class.

Predictions

If you are doing live demonstrations in Zoom, introduce the demonstration and then, before you begin, ask your students to predict what will happen. Prompt them to write down their prediction (for their own reference). Once your demonstration is over, use the Breakout Rooms in Zoom to place students into groups of 2-3 for 3-minutes to briefly compare their predictions with the actual outcome of the demonstration.

One Minute Papers or One Minute Sentences

Ask students a question that has them reflect on their learning. For example, you may do this at the end of a session and ask students to identify what they know now that they did not know at the start. Give them 1-minute to write and pause your microphone during this time so the room is silent. Alternatively, have students write one sentence summarizing the most important ideas from the session. Then ask for volunteers to briefly share. (Angelo and Cross, 1993; Handelsman et al., 2007).

Four Corners

This activity is usually conducted in person, using four corners of a room. To make it work in Zoom, you'll need to prepare a slide and show it to facilitate the activity. Four Corners is great for controversial topics and doing it online allows students to participate anonymously, which might be more comfortable for some students. To make it work, you need to provide students with a question. On the slide, students will see four statements, one in each corner, and the question in the middle. Instruct your students to use the Zoom Annotation feature (which you must enable) and circle the statement that most resonates with them. This is a simple way to help students see the diversity of opinions among a class and can stimulate some great conversations!

Annotation is disabled by default in a meeting. To turn it on, select Security and choose Allow participants to Annotate on shared content.
Once students are done annotating, you will need to Clear all annotations (this is the tricky part).
Anonymity - You can choose to have students' names appear next to their annotation or keep the activity anonymous. Use the option that aligns best with your needs. If you are probing about a sensitive topic, keep it anonymous.
To proceed with this activity, review the Using Annotation Tools Links to an external site. resource. We strongly encourage you to practice annotations in a small group before using them with your students. :)

These resources are part of the College of the Canyons Intro to OnlineLIVE Teaching & Learning Course, adapted from Introduction to Live Online Teaching & Learning by CVC-OEI Links to an external site., licensed under a CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Links to an external site..