Category Archives: Active learning

Jamboard: A great tool for collecting student questions and ideas

Posted on September 26, 2022 by nonmajorsbiology

I am back in the nonmajors biology classroom after a long departure. COVID-19, a sabbatical, and some unexpected administrative duties took their toll, but it’s good to be back. I have been trying to reduce the amount of superfluous content … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Collaboration, Engaging students, Equity and inclusion, Instructional technology, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Using Google Forms for biology class: A free tool with many uses

Posted on September 21, 2021 by nonmajorsbiology

My all-time favorite professional organization is the Association for Biology Laboratory Education, chiefly because the annual hands-on workshops provide ideas that I can use right away in my teaching. (ABLE’s journal compiles all of the past workshops and is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Engaging students, Instructional technology, Online teaching, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Calling on students at random: What are the keys to success?

Posted on June 1, 2020 by nonmajorsbiology

Lofty principles of equal opportunity guide our country and our schools, but the truth is that not everyone is treated fairly, and not everyone’s voice has an equal chance of being heard. As instructors, we must confront the painful idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Engaging students, Equity and inclusion, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Natural Selection in Tortoises: A (Homemade) Video

Posted on July 15, 2019 by nonmajorsbiology

[Doug Gaffin and Marielle Hoefnagels worked together to develop the materials used in this post.] A while back, I wrote a post on an activity that connects genotype, phenotype, and natural selection. In a nutshell, the activity uses colored chips … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Evolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Raise Your Hand: How Do You Start the Semester on the Right Foot?

Posted on August 31, 2018 by nonmajorsbiology

Years ago, I published my best idea for semester prep, a checklist that has proved to be an audience favorite. Over the past 5 years, many readers have asked for my checklist, which I have freely shared. I was knee-deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Engaging students, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trail cam images and data for your lab

Posted on July 1, 2017 by nonmajorsbiology

Earlier this month, I went to my favorite conference of the year: the one for the Association for Biology Laboratory Education. If you don’t know about it, check it out. Each conference follows a workshop format, so you don’t sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Citizen science, Ecology, Laboratory activities | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One Good Clicker Tip

Posted on April 26, 2017 by nonmajorsbiology

The end of the semester is not a great time to introduce a tip for using clickers; I am sure this post would have been more useful in January! But I can’t control when ideas for blog posts drop into … Continue reading →

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Teaching cell chemistry with Legos

Posted on January 24, 2017 by nonmajorsbiology

Behold, my trusty bag of Legos … well they’re not actually Legos because I couldn’t find a bag of plain old Legos. All of the Legos nowadays are sold in kits with wheels and roofs and other things I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Chemistry, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Flashcards, but with a Twist

Posted on September 7, 2016 by nonmajorsbiology

I have had a fondness for index cards for quite a few years, if my 2012 series on the subject is any indication (for a flashback, visit part 1, part 2, and part 3). Flashcards are of course a tried … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Learning at home, Study skills | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Boost your evolution IQ: An evolution misconceptions game

Posted on April 6, 2016 by nonmajorsbiology

A guest post by Matt Taylor Last Spring, Mariëlle and I spent some time reading education articles about student struggles learning evolution. In particular, we were interested in which misconceptions about evolution students might bring to introductory biology classes. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Active learning, Assignments, Engaging students, Evolution, Instructional technology, Laboratory activities | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment