Ideas for the Classroom

This section includes ideas and informational resources from some of our experienced faculty for teaching in the classroom and online in FOL (either for fully online courses or for a blended hour).

1. Web-enhanced or Blended modes. In-class groups. I explain these as “science fair style” projects about X (X being whatever class you teach). The steps I take include:
   • Selecting groups – I allow friends to work with friends and individuals who don’t know anyone to be placed in a group. (They can be put in groups with too few members or with other people who don’t know people in the class). I usually do this over two weeks to allow people to select their options. Group work, where you choose the groups, can be done before the selection to enable people to meet others.
   • Meet and organize. Let people meet their groups, select a topic, decide how they will communicate with each other and share files. (Setting up shared discussions/lockers can be helpful.)
   • Orientation to project. The same day the groups meet, give them a rundown of your project expectations.
   • Submission. Have groups submit the text of their posters and handouts to the dropbox so you can check for plagiarism.
   • In-class exhibition. Every group sets up their poster. To encourage interactivity, I do the following:
     • Have groups create handouts that include quiz questions. Students will want to answer the questions since the best ones end up on the final test in the class.
     • A small graded assignment where students a) vote for their favourite poster and explain why and b) three important things they learned.
     • A brief Q and A with you. I stress that since they have done the project, they are the experts, and the discussion (usually 5-10 minutes) is informal and intended to dig deeper into their project.
2. Online or Blended delivery modes. “Online” presentations (individual). This involves a student turning a research paper into a PowerPoint (or similar) file for exhibition, usually in the final class discussion. I frame it as a “visual” summary of their research project.
   • Submission: Students submit both to a discussion board and the dropbox for plagiarism checking.
   • Creation of quiz questions. All presentations embed questions about their project; the best ones will end up on the final test and incentivize the class to pay attention to their classmates’ work.
   • Feedback/interaction. All discussions in my classes require replies; in this final discussion, I have students give constructive feedback to other students.
3. Web-enhanced or Blended modes. Gallery analysis (can be done individually or in a group) For projects requiring a visual analysis, I have students bring in a relevant text to post for the entire class. Students then use the texts as data for an assignment. For example, I had students watch the documentary Killing Us Softy 4 about gender and advertising. The students then bring in a gendered advertisement and are challenged to explain stereotypes in the texts using the contributions of the entire class.
4. Online or Blended delivery modes. Screencasting – digital recording & video, screen capture and audio narration. Create a screencast of:
   • Lecture on a specific topic – short – no more than 15 minutes.
   • Video instructions for assignments, test reviews, etc
   • Use for demonstrating a skill (i.e. How to navigate through the FOL course)
5. All delivery modes. Videos – Use Khan Academy videos/TedEd videos to explain key concepts on a course  topic
6. Online or Blended delivery modes. Student-Led – Have students create the lecture by:
   • Assigning topics to summarize and post in the discussion board for the class to read and learn.
   • Provide several examples of key definitions using the discussion board, then rank the examples provided by a group of students to use for studying.
7. Web-enhanced or Blended modes. Fun review activities like Kahoot or Jeopardy.
8. All delivery modes. Application paper rather than research paper
   1. I’m always interested if students can apply the content covered in the course rather than research a new approach or topic related to the course, so I often assign end-of-term 3-4 page application papers.
      • Page 1 is a description of a real-life event (often from a documentary)
      • Page 2 is a thorough description of a related/relevant psychological concept covered in the course (source is course notes or textbook)
      • Page 3 contains detailed examples (dialogue/description of behaviour) demonstrating the previously covered concept.

      You can see an example of full assignment details (PDF)for my application paper in Psychology of Evil (Scott Veenvliet, LLS Professor).

9. Online or Blended delivery modes. Video presentation of the major project
   1. Students record a presentation of their major project and post it on the discussion board
      • Can be a video recording of them presenting or a voice-over with a point or Prezi-type presentation
      • Peer reviews of each other’s projects also work with this type of presentation.
10. Web-enhanced or Blended modes. End-of-semester potlucks seem fun, although I have never done it in my class. This would be especially interesting with a diverse group of students if everyone were encouraged to bring something cultural.
11.  All delivery modes. Application: You might specify in some classes that you have an open week where you do not determine the content in advance but is geared towards student-selected or a timely area. This can involve an application of methods, concepts, or theory that has been taught in the course previously. Example: in one year of discovering the social sciences, our week 13 lecture was an in-depth examination of radicalization, the top-selected choice among students.
12. All delivery modes. Reflection: Examples could include what students believed was the most important idea they learned in the class, which area(s) would be most important for future students to learn, area(s) they wish were covered but weren’t, or a combination of these things. This activity can be adapted easily to be graded or not and may or may not involve a collective discussion.
13.  All delivery modes. Peer feedback: in courses with group projects or presentations given towards the end of the term, a final assignment can be to have another group give feedback on the group’s performance. These peer reviews are not incorporated into the reviewed group’s grade to avoid irrelevant bias. This can often be made into a very small-stakes assignment. Example: in my meaning of sex class, I have students vote for their favourite poster, explain why it was their favourite, and include three essential points that they learned from all of the poster projects.
14. All delivery modes. Create a Test/Quiz – Review Activity: Put students in pairs or groups of three (smaller groups work better). Give each group a course topic and ask them to create one test question related to the topic. Also, as part of the activity, instruct each group to compose a model answer to their question, complete with specific page references to the textbook, if applicable. If students are creating multiple-choice questions, have them provide feedback for each MC option (even the correct answer). This activity can also be used in the middle of the term (in preparation for a midterm test, for example). It also works well in an online and/or blended environment. For instance, in an online course, you could ask each student to create one MC question with feedback, and then in the subsequent module, you could build a review quiz made up of student-created questions and answers.
15. All delivery modes. Online Study Group – Review Activity: The purpose of this activity is to encourage students to help each other study/review for a final evaluation. Create an online study group discussion forum set so that students can’t see other posts until they create their own posts (this setting encourages students to participate in the study group). Directions should be fairly open-ended to encourage a wider range of content coverage (i.e. Choose three terms from the course that you think are important and provide a definition and example of each. Provide textbook references or module references as appropriate).
16. Web-enhanced or Blended modes. Evaluating Answers – Review Activity: Bring in sample test questions and answers to share with the class. Create solutions to the questions that are missing a piece of information/key element. Ask small groups of students to evaluate the answers (you can ask them to quantify their evaluations by assigning the answer a score /of 10, etc.) and make suggestions for improving the solutions so that it would receive full marks.