Steps:

1. Enable chat in Canvas, Zoom group chat (outside of a video meeting), MS teams chat, or create a shared document.
2. Provide link clearly for students to join and discuss ideas and ask questions (to you or to classmates) that occur during a class session.

Value: Provides alternative participation method for students, gives faculty immediate feedback, preserves history of questions for later review.

Variation (Anonymous questions): Use a Microsoft Form (or another anonymous commenting tool) to allow students to submit anonymous questions. Leave the form response screen open on a screen and answer questions that appear when you pause for student in-person questions.

Variation (Voice of the chat): Have a GE or LA monitor the online comment space during class. Occasionally ask them to share online thoughts with the class or relay important questions that have come up.

Steps: 

1. Present an open-ended question for students to discuss or solve. 
2. Students can work individually, in pairs or small groups, or as a class (or combination of these). 
3. Have students share ideas with the class, making notes on the board. 
4. Challenge their responses or have other students challenge the responses on the board. 
5. At the end, correct any misconceptions, note opposing points of view, and summarize main points. 

Value: Promotes critical and creative thinking and imagination.

Provide students with a shared document for everyone to view and contribute in.

Value: Promotes collaborative learning, helps students fill in gaps in their understanding, and creates an alternative reference for class content beyond reading assignments or lecture slides.

Steps: 

1. Provide students with a problem that they need to work on, for example “Imagine you are the director of the antibiotic discovery unit in a major pharmaceutical company and you are asked for a five-year plan to develop new antibiotics. You are told that the plan will be funded only if you can convince your managers that you will be able to develop new drugs with entirely new modes of action. Can you do it? What is your plan and how will you defend it?” 
2. Ask students to work in groups (2-4 students) to develop a plan based on what they have learned in class. 
3. Have students share ideas with the class, making notes on the board. 
4. Ask other students in the class to comment on each group’s proposal and suggest changes. 

Value: Promotes integration of ideas, critical and creative thinking, and provides immediate feedback about student understanding.

Provide students with a document to read that they've not seen before. Have them discuss the document or respond to prompts about it. 

Value: Promotes critical thinking. Practices real world skills.

Steps:

1. Choose a few students to form one group.
2. Have the group solve a problem, role play, or have a discussion while the rest of the class watches and takes notes.
3. Ask the rest of class to provide feedback to the group.

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning. Provides feedback to students. Allows students to practice evaluation of ideas related to the course.

Steps:

1. Have students get in pairs or small groups. 
2. Ask the pairs or groups to illustrate lecture content by constructing a picture, diagram, flowchart, or some other visual illustration that represents their understanding of the content. 
3. Have students report on their group graphic to the rest of the class, explaining what is represented and why (their representation might also include questions, unknowns, etc.). 
4. Have other groups respond with questions, feedback or suggestions. You can also provide feedback to help clarify questions, point out misconceptions or oversimplifications, or correct errors. Groups can turn in their illustrations for you to review provide feedback. 

Value: Promotes integration of ideas and thinking, facilitates attention to the “big picture” and relationships among ideas, and allows for creativity in thinking and expression.

Variation (for large classes): Have small groups assign roles such as recorder (person drawing), facilitator (ensures everyone participates), reporter (will report on illustration), and participants (contribute to discussion). Once the graphic is complete, have the reporters move to new groups and report on their illustrations, receiving feedback from the other group. Some instructors provide markers and large post-it notes or pieces of paper and tape to adhere illustrations to a wall. 

Variation (Concept Map): Concept maps are visual representations of the relationships between concepts. Concepts are placed in nodes (often circles), and the relationships between them indicated by labeled arrows connecting the concepts. To have students create a concept map, identify the key concepts to be mapped in small groups or as a whole class. Ask students to determine the general relationship between the concepts and to arrange them two at a time, drawing arrows between related concepts and labeling with a short phrase to describe the relationship.

Steps:

1. Divide students into groups of 2-6.
2. Allow students to work collaboratively on a problem or project. Choose a problem difficult for one person to complete on their own, or with multiple pieces that can divided between students.

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning.

Variation: Assign students specific roles to take on within in their group. Some common examples are:

• Facilitator - organizes and leads work
• Recorder - writes down ideas and work done by the group
• Reporter - shares the group’s work with the rest of the class
• Devil’s advocate – Challenges the group’s thinking or assumptions; proposes alternative ways to approach the problem

At the beginning of the course, or at the beginning of individual classes, have students discuss a non-content-related prompt with a neighbor.

Value: Builds community and sets expectations about student participation in class.

Variation (Study Skills): Have students discuss their plans for studying for an upcoming exam or ways they’ve approached overcoming a common challenge in your course. While still not focused on content, this exposes students to alternative ways to succeed in the course.

Variation (Cooperative Base Groups): At the start of the term, form fixed groups of students so that they are always chatting with the same group of students.

Steps: 

1. Give students a handout or post a slide that lists key terms or items for discussion. 
2. Ask students to review the list and select a few items for clarification. 
3. Divide students into pairs and have them select a particular item for immediate clarification. 
4. Call on a student at random and have them clarify the chosen item. If needed, ask if another student can offer further clarification. 
5. Call on additional students and continue to clarify items. 
6. Near the end, if time allows, ask participants if there are any responses they want to challenge or debate. 
7. Conclude with a brief review of the items. 

Value: Provides immediate feedback about student understanding and helps prioritize items for review or discussion.

Steps:

1. Students divide into small groups.
2. Each group answers a different question, works on a different step of a problem, or studies a different topic.
3. Students form new groups with one member from each of the initial groups. They combine the information from the different original groups to answer an overarching question.

Value: Promotes collaborative learning and requires all students to engage with the material.

Variation: Have original group submit a written description of their conclusions / information before forming new groups. This helps solidify ideas for everyone in the group before sharing. You can also share a copy of all answers with students later as a course resource.

Steps: 

1. Ask students to purchase a laser point as a course material (or distribute to students each class period.)
2. Remind students not to point the lasers at each other or at the instructor.
3. Provide students an image on the screen and ask them to point at a portion of the image to answer a prompted question. Students could statically point to: 
   • an element of a photograph, 
   • letters A/B/C/D to answer a multiple choice question, 
   • a piece of a schematic or diagram, 
   • a feature of a graph,
   • an error or misconception in a block of text, 
   • an area of a rubric for evaluating material.
   • They might also use the pointers to indicate movement in various situations.

Value: Makes students apply and discuss material while fresh in their minds, and it provides immediate feedback about student understanding.

Variation (for larger classes): This method was published in a research article which noted that doing this activity in classes larger than about 50 students is difficult as students struggle to figure out which laser is theirs (Nuñez et al, 2024). Below are some possible ways to implement this in larger classes.

• Have students discuss in groups and give each group one laser pointer to submit their group answer. 
• Give a just few students laser pointers to answer after discussing with their neighbors. Mix up which students have the laser on a given day or even question-by-question. To select students, you could
  • use a random call method,
  • hand a laser pointer to every twelfth student (or fifth student, eighth student, etc.) who arrives for class, 
  • allow volunteers (do not chose the same volunteers each day),
  • select new students to answer during their discussion time,
  • or ask that students, after using the laser pointer, hand it to a neighbor for the next question.

Steps: 

1. Students should create a table with information to compare (i.e. pros/cons, two different processes), such as the example below.

1. Ask students to work in groups (2-4 students) to fill out the table. 
2. Have groups share their ideas with the class and make notes on the board.

Value: Promotes integration of ideas, allows students to easily compare ideas and reduce complexity.

Variation (Plus/Delta, +/∆): At the end of class ask students to take a sheet of paper and divide it into two columns. In column 1 (the plus, +) students write down what was very positive about the class, an activity, or instructional materials. In column 2 (the delta, ∆) students write what they would like to change for the future. This variation provides immediate feedback to the instructor and allows for quick changes even in the middle of a term.

Steps: 

1. At the end of a lecture segment or the end of the lecture class, have students spend two or three minutes writing a summary of the main points.  Check out our list of prompt ideas.
2. Ask at least one student to share what they wrote. 
3. Collect the papers for review (but not for a grade, or just grade for completion). 

Value: Provides immediate feedback about student understanding, helps prioritize items for review or discussion, and affords students the opportunity to put material into their own words.

Variation (Exit Ticket): Students must submit their responses as they leave class, or they have a short window after class to submit digitally. Using the muddiest point prompt for this assignment can be a powerful way to figure out what concepts students are struggling with so that you can return to it later for clarification. The knowledge growth and main point prompts are also good exit ticket questions.

Variation (Digital Share): Students submit their answers anonymously in a web form, then they review all answers or instructor displays answers to the class. Padlet is a commonly-used tool to collect and display these responses.

Variation (Journal): Give students more time to think and answer a more-complex question (such as linking that day’s topic to broader course content or their career goals).

Variation (Snowball Toss): Toss a few sheets of crumpled paper into the audience. Students whose desk the paper lands on write their answers to a prompt and then toss the paper again. After a set number of responses, they are reviewed by the class.

Variation (Snowball Fight): Students write their responses on half sheets of paper. Students then crumple the paper into balls and toss them across the room (remind them to not throw at any classmates). Students collect one, now random, response and share with the group what the response is.

Variation (Private Reflection): Do not collect work nor have students share; responses are just for themselves. This may be useful for prompts asking students to reflect on their personal feelings, beliefs, or classroom performance.

Steps: 

1. Put a multiple-choice item, preferably conceptual in nature and related to immediately current content, on the board, a slide, or an overhead, and give four response options. 
2. Survey student responses (have them raise hands, use colored cards, or use electronic response system – ‘clicker’). 
3. Next have them get into pairs and take a couple of minutes to convince each other of their responses, or discuss the reasoning they used if they initially agree.
4. Then re-survey the students. (Note, steps 3 and 4 could be skipped if most students answer correctly the first time. This method is often referred to as “peer instruction” when used following individual polling).
5. Clarify any misconceptions before proceeding. 

Value: Makes students apply and discuss material while fresh in their minds, and it provides immediate feedback about student understanding

Variation (Survey): Your questions don't need to have right answers! You can use surveys to collect student votes on certain course policies, get student feedback, chose a solution method, vote which example to explore, etc.

Variation (Quiz): Students complete a brief low-stakes series of questions on paper or via a polling device.

Variation (Throat-vote): Have students give their responses by holding up a number of fingers corresponding to an answer option. They can hold their hands in against their chest or in front of their throat to keep their responses (mostly) hidden from their peers.

Variation (Four Corners): Have students move to the appropriate corner of the classroom to indicate their response to each question.

Steps:

1. Create a partial outline for lecture, videos, or readings that leaves out important details, concepts, steps, or ideas.
2. Hand out the partial outline and have students fill them in during class.

Value: Helps students know what information is most important to be looking for during a lecture.

Pause regularly to check for understanding and switch things up. We recommend breaks in lecture (or other content delivery) every 7 minutes. 

Remember that when asking for student questions, give students a moment to think of a question or recall a question they had previously. Seven to ten seconds minimum is recommended.

Value: Allows students time to reflect on learning, improves attention.

Steps:

1. Ask students to bring drafts of their work (project, paper, etc.) to class.
2. Provide students a rubric or specific prompts to evaluate and provide feedback on others’ work.
3. Working anonymously or in small groups, students review their classmates’ work using the provided guidelines. Feedback is shared orally or in writing.

Value: Engages evaluative thinking in students, increases feedback to students without adding to instructor workload.

Variation: Reviewers might use the rubric to score the writer’s draft and then writers could score reviewers on the helpfulness of their feedback.

Steps:

1. Before class, place multiple prompts, images, or work products on the walls of the room. Give students their own small sticky notes or include a large, blank post-it note on the wall at each station.
2. Invite each student to visit a station and interact with it by taking notes, adding responses, voting, rating using the post-it notes, or discussing with others at the station.
3. After a set amount of time, students move to new stations and repeat.

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning. Engages movement-based learning (there’s a term for this!)

Variation (Mini Poster Session): Each station is an example of a student project, allowing students to examine each other's work. You could have the student who created each project remain at the station with their project to answer questions about it.

Steps: 

1. Display a very brief case on an overhead or slide (or put on a handout if lengthy). 
2. Pose specific questions for students to answer based on the case [For example, “What is the problem? What is the remedy? What is the prevention?] 
3. Have students write down their answers. 
4. Students can work individually or in pairs or small groups. 
5. If time allows, select a few students to share aloud their answers 

Value: Makes students apply material to a realistic situation, and promotes critical and creative thinking.

Steps:

1. Pose a question to the class and give them a moment to formulate an answer. 
2. Randomly call on a student, giving them three options for their response:
   • Answer - share their answer to your question with the class.
   • Pass and answer later -  give the student more time to think and return to the question later (if reasonable for the class), or you could return to that student later to answer a different question.
   • Ask you a question - request clarifying information about a piece of your question they were confused by. After you answer, the student could attempt to answer the original question, another student could be called on to answer, or students could discuss the original question in groups.
3. Incorrect answers from students should be handled warmly (for example, by pointing out good things in their response). You can follow up by asking a simpler question that highlights or addresses what mistake they have made or having the class discuss the question with neighbors and inviting the student to try again after getting peer input.

Methods for randomly selecting students: 

• Assign a number to each student (or each student-group) and roll dice or use a random number generator to select students.
• Put student names on notecards and randomly draw a card. If you ask students to create these cards for you, you can also ask that they share information about themselves with you - interests, experience with the subject, career goals, pronouns, etc.
• Randomize name order on your class roster and call on students in order on this list.
• Use an app, website, or program to randomly select from your student list. Be careful with inputting any FERPA-protected information.
• You don't have to do the selection "live" - randomly select some students before class and bring that list of students to call on during that session.

Value: Invites students to apply and discuss material while fresh in their minds, provides immediate feedback about student understanding, makes space for more voices to be heard in class

Variation (Group Random Call): After asking your question, let students chat in groups about their answers. Then randomly call on a student and ask for their group's consensus. In addition to the response options above, also allow students to have another member of their group answer instead. This variation closely follows the proposed critical components of random call given in Waugh and Andrews (2020), see below.

Variation: Use random call after as the conclusion of another activity type -  have students explain their reasoning after answering a multiple choice question, use at the conclusion of a think-pair-share activity, to solicit ideas following group discussion, or ask students to read responses after a minute paper. You could repeat random call a few times after the activity to hear multiple points of view.

Variation: If students are working in groups, call on a group randomly instead of individual students. Which student in the group share the group's answer could be determined by the group itself, selected randomly, or chosen on a rotating system. 

Variation: Allow students to request to join a "do-not-call" list that will remove them from the random selection process. Instructions for joining the list (or removing themselves) should be clear to students.

Note on Random Call: Research on random call does confirm your suspicions: random call can give students anxiety. But research also identifies that students feel it helps keep them engaged, complete pre-class work, and actually attend class. The research also shows that students' anxiety lessens with experience, random call reduces gender-gaps in class participation rates, and employers want students to learn speaking skills in college. Balancing those benefits with easing student anxiety can be done with well-planned random call techniques as described above. 

A few research articles and resources on using random call effectively are given below.

• Broeckelman-Post, M., Johnson, A. and  J. Reid Schwebach J.R. (2016) Calling on Students Using Notecards: Engagement and Countering Communication Anxiety in Large Lecture. Journal of College Science Teaching 45(5), 27-33.
• Dallimore, E.J. , Hertenstein, J.H., and Platt, M.B. (2012) Impact of Cold-Calling on Student Voluntary Participation. Journal of Management Education, 37(3), 305­ –341.
• University of Washington. (2016) What to Know When Using Random Calling. Trends and Issues in Higher Ed.
• Waugh, A.H. and Andrews, T. C. (2020) Diving into the Details: Constructing a Framework of Random Call Components. CBE Life Sciences Education, 19(2), ar14.

Rubrics allow you to identify and describe the criteria for grading a project, discussion, peer review, or assignment. Each criterion will have a custom rating system that you establish. Provide the rubric to the students and encourage them to use it as a self-assessment tool. Make it known that this is how you will be grading the assignment or project.

Value: Provides clear guidelines for student work.

Variation (Class-Created Rubric): Ask students to generate criteria for a rubric and then discuss as a group how to rate different aspects of each criteria.

Steps:

1. Students form into groups of 3-4.
2. Pose a question that is challenging enough to require group members to spend time considering what they know (from readings, experience, or data) and multiple options could be considered before coming to any conclusion. Check out our list of prompt ideas.
3. (Optional) Provide a collaborative Word document or handout to help students have a generative discussion.

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning.

Variation (Note Comparison): Students compare their class notes to fill in missing details, summarize themes, identify points of common confusion, etc.

At any time you sense students are losing focus or energy, you can pause the class and have students stand and stretch or move about. Research indicates that the simple act of stretching or moving can refocus student attention and enhance their learning. You can add content by having students discuss a particular question or summarize a particular idea together while they stretch or move. Some instructors play music while students are moving about. 

Value: Promotes alertness and adds variety to the classroom experience.

Steps: 

1. Provide students with an out of order list of steps in a multi-stepped process (can be written on small strips of paper or on the class screen). 
   In groups or individually, have students put the “strips” into the correct order from beginning to end. 
2. Have student groups compare answers with another group. 
3. Review order and answer questions (especially to clarify misconceptions) for the whole class. 

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning.

Steps: 

1. Present a particular problem, ideally an appropriate discipline-related problem that can be solved in a relatively short time frame (or, for a more complex problem, the method of inquiry via which you would go about solving the problem can be presented). 
2. Next, literally speak aloud how you, the expert, would go about engaging the problem. You might say, for example, “Okay, for this particular problem, first I need to clarify the nature of the problem. Do I understand what is at stake? From what is given here, I understand it to involve x,y,z. Given this, the next thing I need to do is consider….” And so on. The idea is to demonstrate explicitly your thinking process (or a formal process of inquiry) so that students can literally observe/hear “thinking in action” as one moves through a basic process of inquiry or problem-solving (e.g. identify the nature of the problem, analyze the knowledge or skills required to engage it, identify potential solutions, choose the best solution, evaluate potential outcomes, report on findings, etc.). 
3. Next, have students form pairs and assume the roles of “problem-solver” and “listener.” Then present a problem for them to solve. The “problem-solver” is to read the problem aloud and talk through the reasoning process in attempting to solve it. The role of the listener is to encourage the problem-solver to think aloud, describing the steps to solve the problem. The listener can also ask clarifying questions or offer suggestions but should not actually solve the problem. 
4. Present yet another problem and have students switch roles. 
5. After an allotted amount of time, have student pairs share their experience. Did they actually solve the problems? What obstacles or breakthroughs did they encounter? How did it feel to talk aloud or listen to “thinking in action”? 

Value: promotes critical thinking and inquiry, attentiveness, and collaborative learning.

Steps: 

1. Pose a question and give students a few moments to think about their response. Check out our list of prompt ideas.
2. Students get into pairs and discuss their answers, coming to some resolution.  
3. Each student pair then shares conclusions with entire class (in large classes or when time is limited, call on as many pairs as time allows). 

Value: Promotes critical thinking and collaborative learning.

Variation (Turn and Talk): Skip the "think" step and jump right into paired discussion with a neighbor.

Variation (1-2-4): After students chat in pairs, have each pair join with another to build on their joint ideas or to probe the other pair’s thinking.

Variation (Rolling Snowball): Have students in pairs come to a consensus on the prompt. Then have the pairs combine to form a group of 4 to find a consensus. Combine groups of 4 to get a group of 8, which works to form a consensus. Continue combining groups to find a consensus until the whole class is in agreement.

Variation (Peer Response): Have students report on the ideas of their partner, then their own ideas or their combined ideas.

A worksheet asks students to work in pairs or groups to answer a series of questions that carefully builds up learning of a new skill or concept. This careful building of new knowledge is often called scaffolding knowledge.

Value: Guides students in discovering or learning a concept on their own. Promotes collaborative learning.

Variation (Digital Worksheet): Rather than a handing out a paper worksheet, students could complete a digital version of the worksheet during class as a Canvas quiz or Microsoft Form. This could allow you to build in online research skills. Students could also explore simulations or other interactive digital tools as part of the worksheet.

These prompts go beyond content recall to promote critical thinking and foster attentiveness. These can be answered individually or in groups using many of the techniques on this page.

• Authentic Learning: Students discuss ways that the content from today’s class link to their lives outside the classroom or to their career goals.
• Correct the Error: Present students with a statement, equation, or visual that you have intentionally made incorrect and have them correct the error. The error may be an illogical or inaccurate statement, premise, inference, prediction, or implication.
• Complete a Sentence Stem: Present students with a sentence starter and have them complete the sentence. The completed statement may be a definition, category, cause-and-effect relationship, rationale, controversy, etc. Try to avoid statements that ask for rote knowledge.
• Interpretation/Paraphrase: Let students know that you will be calling on them at random during your lecture and asking them to interpret what you’ve said, putting the material in their own words. When you are ready, pause for a moment to signal that you are about to call on someone. Once a student has shared, you can have another student add more. You can also have students work and share in pairs.
• Knowledge Growth: Ask students to reflect on what ideas, skills, understanding, etc. are clearer at the end of a class session, lesson, or a course unit than they were before the class/lesson/unit. This question works very well as an exit ticket.
• Main Point: Ask students to articulate the main point of that day's lesson, a recent reading or video, a course unit, last week's lab, etc.  This question works very well as an exit ticket.
• Muddiest Point: Pose a question such as “What was the muddiest (least clear) point in this reading, lecture, discussion, assignment?” This activity encourages students to identify any unclear or difficult points. This question works very well as an exit ticket.
• Prediction: Students predict the result of a demonstration or predict the result of a research study you have described.
• Pro/Con List: Students create a pro/con list to evaluate an idea, strategy, or process. Have students do this individually, in small groups, or as a whole class.
• Reach a Conclusion: Present students with some data, opinion, event, or solution and have them infer logically the implications of the facts, concepts or principles involved. Their conclusions can be probable results, probable causes or outcomes. 
• Reorder the Steps: Present sequence items in the wrong order and have students re-order the sequence correctly. This might be a process, cycle, method, plan, technique, etc. This is very similar to the strip sequence activity but with an initial suggested ordering.
• Retrieval Practice: Without using their notes, students describe an idea from earlier in the term that will be critical to that day’s lesson. 
• Visual Prompt (or What do You See?): Present students with an image, such as a picture, symbol, graphic, equation, etc., and ask them “what do you see?” The image can be something new or familiar to students. The idea is to ascertain if they can identify noticeable patterns, discrepancies, unusual features, and so on. You can also present an intentionally altered image to determine if students can identify what is wrong or missing or suggest how to correct it. 
• What's Missing: Students identify a missing component in a problem or presented idea.