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1. One Minute Paper
Equipment: Paper, pens
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2. Pub Quiz
Equipment: Flip chart paper or A4, pens, text book or notes
The one minute paper is designed to help students realise what they
know or do not know i.e. „check for understanding‟.
For this activity spilt your PASS group up into two groups, or work along
with another PASS group.
Ask the students to write a sentence or paragraph on a related topic
you suggest. Remind them it is most important that they put their
thoughts on paper in their own words, not that they produce polished
piece of writing. Then ask each student to share their response with the
group. Additionally, you may choose to encourage conversation
regarding similarities and differences between students‟ ideas.
In your individual groups, come up with 6 or more questions that can be
posed to the other group. Take it in turns to ask a question to your
opponents – or you could write all the questions down on paper and
pass it to them in true pub quiz style.
3. All the Answers
It is best if the quiz is followed by a debriefing where the short answers
to the questions are expanded upon through discussion. Allow time for
other students to concur or disagree – this will encourage discussion.
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Equipment: Post-its, pens
4. [3:2:1]
Equipment: Whiteboard, drywipe markers
Split your PASS group up into two teams, or compete against another
PASS group.
This strategy can be very useful before an exam. Ask each student to
come up with:
Ask individual students to think of at least three topical questions and
the answers suitable to pose to the other group. Give out post-its to
each student and ask them to write down only the answers. Each group
then swaps their post-its and has to work out the question that would
match each answer.
3 topics that they know well enough to “teach” the other students
Give each group enough time to discuss and complete the task, and
then encourage the groups to check with the question originator – to
encourage discussion about the module material.
2 topics they do not understand and need further assistance with
1 possible exam question.
Ask each student write their 3:2:1 topics on the white board. Most of the
time, the students‟ topics will overlap allowing students to “teach” the
other students who need additional assistance. Follow up with
discussion of the possible exam question(s).
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5. Memory
6. Taboo
Preparation: 12 – 24 note cards with key vocabulary/ definitions
Equipment: note cards or post-its
This strategy works as a great opener for a PASS session.
You could spilt your PASS group up into teams or pairs for this activity.
Prepare between 12-24 note cards. Half of the note cards should have
vocabulary terms and the other half should have corresponding
definitions (feel free to be creative). At the session, shuffle the note
cards and place them facedown. Allow the first student to turn over 2
cards at a time until a match is found. Once a match is found, ask the
student remove that pair of cards and allow another student to take a
turn finding a match. Allow the students to continue taking turns until all
the cards have been paired together.
Ask students to prepare note cards with module relevant vocabulary
(individual words) plus one additional word that is related, for example:
main word: University, related word: Education.
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7. Verbal Volleyball
Preparation: none (but you may want to use the whiteboard to make
notes during the activity
In small groups if your PASS group is large, or as a whole PASS group,
start with a student who asks a question directed at another student.
That student then attempts to answer the question and then poses a
new question directed at another student, and so on. Continue to get
the students to „volleyball‟ concepts until all their ideas are exhausted.
Once the group has finished you could list any concepts that may have
been missed or need further discussion. This is a good opener or
closing activity for reviewing class material. It engages all learners in
the review, and works in large or small groups.
One at a time, each person in the group must explain the vocabulary
term to the other group members without using any of the words written
on the note card. The group members must then guess the vocabulary
word based on the student‟s explanation.
8. Around the world
Preparation: note cards with questions and answers
Before the session, make up a number of questions with simple
answers (one word or short phrase).
Sit your PASS group in a large circle. Ask two students to stand up next
to each other and ask them a question; the first student to answer
correctly walks and stands next to the next student in the circle (who
then stands up) to try another question against a new opponent, while
the other sits back down. To win the game, a student must travel
“Around the World”, or win against every other student in the
classroom, or whoever ends up furthest from their original seat.
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9. Predict Exam/ Test Questions
Equipment: White board, dry wipe markers
Put students in groups of two or three and assign them to write an
exam/ test question for a specific topic, ensuring that all topics have
been covered. Ask students to write their question on the whiteboard
for discussion (using prompts such as - would the lecturer ask this
question? what is the answer?).
Students will have the benefit of learning to think like the teacher and
they‟ll be able to see additional questions that other students have
written.
11. Summarise the Lecture
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
As a group, summarise the lecture from the previous class. You may
have to provide prompts for the students. For example, “The first
concept discussed was x, what points did the lecturer highlight on this
topic?”
You may want to ask them to try summarising without looking at their
notes; however, if they are having a difficulty remembering, get them to
refer to their notes.
You could get them to construct notes as a whole using card
29.concept mapping, 14.Cornell method, or bullets –it is great if you
can talk through note making strategies during the process.
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10. Identify the ‘Big Idea’
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
Ask each student to explain what he or she thought was the most
important concept, idea or new information they learned during a
particular lecture or even a session.
For example, ask - “If you take one thing from the information
presented, what would it be?” Ask each student to offer a different “take
home.”
Students often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information
they have to deal with and this technique can help them identify and
organise the information presented.
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12. Predict and Prepare
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
This technique helps students prepare for new material, especially if it
can be connected to information they have just mastered in the PASS
session.
As a whole group, ask the students to predict the next lecture topic.
Facilitate the discussion and perhaps write a summary on the
whiteboard of their discussions. Encourage them to: make connections
between the last lecture and the next one; and to check studentcentral
regularly for module materials.
Use the strategy card 28.K.W.L to encourage students to come up with
questions about the topics that may be asked within forthcoming
lectures or seminars.
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13. Lecture-notes Review
Preparation: Ask students to bring their lecture notes along to the
session
This is a method of getting the students to work together to review and
compile their lecture notes in an organised way. In small groups, ask
the students to take turns in reading aloud a section of his/her notes.
Encourage other students to interject with details missed or questions
about the topic. Give students time to add information to their notes
between turns. Follow up with a short discussion in which students
share what note-taking strategies they find effective. Suggest that when
students take notes in the lecture they include “PASS questions” in the
margin for the aspects in the lecture they would like to discuss in the
PASS session. Sometimes it is difficult to recall what those questions
were if PASS sessions are not right after the lecture!
15. Textbook-notes Review
Preparation: Ask students to bring notes they have made from a
particular reading along to the session
This is a method of getting the students to work together to review and
compile their notes in an organised way. In small groups, ask the
students to take turns in reading aloud and discussing a section of
his/her notes. Alternatively, working in pairs, ask students to jot down
guidelines for how they currently make notes from texts. In a large
group, discuss the following specific to your course:
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Why read the chapter?
What are your goals for reading the chapter?
Why make notes on it?
What do you do with your notes?
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14. Cornell Note Taking Technique
Equipment: A4 paper; Cornell Note Taking template to demonstrate
Ask the students make several sheets of notes paper using the
following directions:
1. Create a Recall Column by drawing a vertical line down the
page about 4 cm from the margin.
2. Create a Summary Area by drawing a horizontal line across the
page about 4 cm from the bottom.
Explain to students that they should take notes in the main area of the
page, leaving the left and bottom blank. Ask them to take notes, using
this format, during the next lecture. At the next session you could use
the Lecture-notes Review strategy to ensure all students have the
same important information in their notes.
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16. Reading Groups
Equipment: A piece of module reading; flip chart paper, marker pens
Ask students to work in groups of 2-4 to make an outline using the
headings, or take one paragraph each to determine the main content,
from an important chapter or a given text. Point out that the size and
the placement of the headings are important for determining the main
ideas and supporting details.
After you have a “skeleton” outline of the chapter, ask the students to
clarify the important points under each heading. If the students have
trouble clarifying the important points, suggest they turn the headings
into questions and then read to find the answers.
Who, what, why, when, where, and how are good questions with
which to begin. Ask the groups to compare their work with other groups.
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17. Revision Cards
Equipment: Blank note cards
Note cards can be used for vocabulary, formulas, concepts, questions,
etc. Take a stack of index cards with you to your session and ask the
students to construct the cards during the session. Show the students
how to make them and how to use them during your session. Write the
cue or question on one side of the card and write the definition,
description, or answer on the other side. Note cards are also portable
and can be used as a quick review before tests and exams. Encourage
the students to place the relevant cards in a place where they can see
them regularly to assist them in remembering important information.
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18. Learning Pairs
Equipment: paper, pens
To engage students in thinking about the content, encourage them to
generate thought provoking questions and check for understanding:
1. ask students to develop a list of questions & answers over course
material
2. students then get into pairs
3. student A asks the first question and student B answers. Student A
offers corrections, clarification, additional info if needed
4. Student B asks next question and student A answers
5. Process continues until all questions are answered.
Encourage students to ask more open ended questions and to vary the
types of questions.
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19. Grab a bag of references
Preparation: a bag with books etc in, or alternate objects
Having prepared a „goodie bag‟ full of books and journals, each student
has to pull out an magazine, a paper, or a text book, etc. and reference
it properly as if they were writing a bibliography.
This idea could be adapted to objects that have to be identified and
explained (for example in a Biology session) or word problems on cards
in a hat. The options for objects are bound only by your imagination!
The intrigue, of course, is in not knowing which one you will pull out.
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21. Reading made easy!
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
Preparation: Ask students to bring a reading they are working on
20. Steps to Solving Problems
Equipment: White board, dry wipe markers
This is a method of organising board work in order to facilitate an
understanding of problem-solving strategies. The board should be
divided into 4 sections: 1- prerequisite knowledge, 2- logical steps, 3narrative of the steps, 4- additional sample problem. Encourage one
student to fill out section 1 on the board. Then, encourage two students
to simultaneously complete section 2 and 3 on the board. Lastly, have
another student complete the 4th section.
Pre-requisite
knowledge
Logical steps
Narrative of
steps
Additional
problem
22. Think-pair-share
Equipment: none
This process requires three stages. The students should be given a
question, concept, or problem and then encouraged to think about it
alone for a (short) designated time period. Then they pair with another
student and discuss what they found individually for an additional time
period. Lastly, the pairs join the large group and discuss their
conclusions as a whole.
This activity is particularly good for people in the group who prefer not
to talk in front of lots of people at first. It can build students confidence
in their answers gradually.
This strategy is designed to conquer a difficult reading assignment. The
assignment should be divided up into meaningful sections and each
student (or group) should be assigned one section. Ask the students to
read and summarise their section. After they all have read the material,
ask each student to read aloud their summary. Encourage students to
ask questions and be prepared to emphasize areas students may have
overlooked. Lastly, discuss the article as a whole.
You could also nominate a student to concept map the discussion on
the board as the students summarise.
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23. Paired problem-solving
Equipment: none
This strategy requires students to verbalise what they are thinking
about as they read a passage or solve a problem. Start by pairing the
students into groups, one student should be the thinker/problem solver
while the other student is the listener. The thinker must vocalise every
step in the reasoning process and the listener must listen and
understand every step the thinker is making. The pair should be
working together. Ensure the listener continually encourages the thinker
to vocalise. The listener should also point out any errors. After the
problem is solved, the groups should rejoin the large group and share
the problem solving process with the group.
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24. Jigsaw
Equipment: none (But you could use reading material if appropriate)
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Similar to „Reading made easy!‟, this is a method of making the group
as a whole dependent on subgroups. A large PASS group is divided
into 2 or more groups (3-4/group) and each group is assigned a
topic/task/step in problem. In their groups they all become an “expert”
at their given topic. Students then move from their expert group to a
new jigsaw group in which each student acts as the only expert in their
specific topic and teaches the material to rest of group. Each new
jigsaw group consists of 3-4 students prepared to teach the topic to
their peers.
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25. Presenting scenarios
Equipment: A4 paper, pens, whiteboard, dry wipe markers
Preparation: Establish what lecture topic the students are working on,
and identify several „problems‟ or issues. Also ask students to bring
their notes and/ or text books
Select several „problems‟ from the lecture topic you know your group is
working on. Divide the students into sub groups. Give each group a
problem and ask them to write out the solution, using a textbook and/ or
class notes, on the whiteboard. Ask each group to stand up and explain
the problem in as much detail as they can. Ask them to show their
thought processes and methods used in finding the solution. Get the
whole group to concur, and any unresolved questions could be
homework for your next PASS session, or encourage the students to go
back to their lecturer to clarify.
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26. Setting the agenda
Equipment: Post-its of various colours, wall or whiteboard space
Hand small bundles of post-its out to your group, so that each student
has access to three different coloured post-its. Ask students to write on:
Pink: An urgent task or piece of learning they would like to discuss
Green: An issue or question they have that relates to the bigger picture
Blue: An issue or question that relates to a micro detail of the module
Get students to write as many post-its as they need to and stick them
on the wall or board. Ask a volunteer to group the post-its in categories,
to see if there are overlapping issues.
Next, tell the students they can rate any post-it in order of importance to
them by allocating up to five dots. The post-its with the most dots are
then the topics that you can focus upon during the session.
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28. K.W.L (Know. What? Learned)
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
27. Venn Diagram
Equipment: White board, dry wipe markers
A Venn diagram can be used to compare the similarities and
differences between concepts, systems or theories. Two or three
overlapping circles are drawn on the board with each circle labeled as
one of the two or three concepts. Students will them write the
similarities in the overlapping portion and then differences in the outer
portion of the circles. This is a good visual technique for reviewing
similar yet contrasting concepts.
a
b
c
29. Concept Map
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
This strategy will look like a big spider web on the board when you have
finished. Ask the students to break into small groups and encourage
them to identify the central word, concept, or question around which to
build the map. Start with a circle in the middle of the board and include
the main idea within.
Extend branches out from the central circle that includes all the
subtopics from the main idea. Continue to add additional branches with
related topics and circle groups of branches that are linked. This
mapping encourages students to see the overall picture and helps bring
focus away from minute details and back to the main ideas. End with an
overall discussion of the topic.
Helps students to activate prior knowledge and link to new information
to make connections with what is already known.
Ask the students to draw 3 columns and title them: What I Know; What I
Want to know and What I Learned. This can be used to help focus the
session on particular concepts that students are having difficulties with.
Working as a whole PASS group, or individually, students fill in the K
and W columns relating to a particular module topic. Towards the end
of the session ask students to review their „Know‟ column to see if any
information needs to be corrected; then see if there are any „What‟
questions left unanswered (these could be the focus of your next PASS
session); and finally complete the „Learned‟ column.
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30. Matrix
Equipment: Whiteboard, dry wipe markers
Information presented during lectures and in texts is
usually related to other topics. A matrix is an excellent way to see the
relationships between different topics throughout the course. You can
initially provide the framework and a few clues for completing a matrix,
but work towards the students designing the framework and completing
entire matrices, either in groups or on their own.
Draw a matrix on the whiteboard and ask the students to label each
axes with a key concept, and continue to discuss and write up how
these concepts interrelate.
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31. Time Line
Equipment: White board, dry wipe marker
This technique utilises visual representation to improve the processing
of material. Begin with a horizontal line that represents the continuum of
time. Important events are inserted relative to each other, creating
points on the line. Each point that denotes an event should be marked
with the date, a brief description of the event, and significant person(s)
involved.
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33. Vocabulary Development
Equipment: A4 paper, pens,
Preparation: ask students to bring their lecture notes
Chunking related terms into meaningful groups can be more helpful
then drilling students on exact definitions.
Ask the students to compose a list of key terms from the lecture ranging
in levels of complexity. Scramble the terms and then encourage pairs of
students to organise the terms into several categories that are
meaningful to them. Then ask them to define or give an example of
additional key terms where appropriate. Finally, ask each pair to
discuss their categories with the entire group. Get the students to check
the spelling throughout!
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32. Visuals (Drawings and doodles)
Equipment: Flip chart paper, coloured markers; or whiteboard
Don‟t forget the importance of using visual study aids to emphasize
important points. Visuals can be used to help students grasp the “big
picture” and are easy to remember. The key idea is to visualise the
information and use as few words as possible.
Ask your PASS group as a whole, or in pairs, to come up with a visual
representation of a key concept – using as few words as possible. Ask
the groups to spend some time after
drawing the concept to describe/ explain
the visual to other groups. Or even better,
ask the groups to try and decipher each
others drawings!
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34. Interpreting Lecturers’ Feedback
Preparation: Ask students to bring in a piece of marked work and the
feedback received to the PASS session
Put students in groups of two or three and ask them to read aloud their
own feedback form received from the lecturer. Suggest they have a
constructive discussion about each point that is being made, and they
write notes and action points to learn from the experience. This activity
can be extremely valuable to students, and help them to improve on
their future assignments.
You could follow this activity with a brief discussion as a whole group
about what the main benefits were of completing this activity; and if any
uncertainties arise, encourage and support the students to feed this
forwards to the lecturer for clarification.
36. Peer Feedback
Preparation: Ask students to bring in small section (max two
paragraphs) of a piece of work/ writing to the PASS session
Put students in groups of two or three and ask them to exchange and
read through each other‟s work in progress. Suggest they have a
constructive discussion about each other‟s work, looking at particular
issues such as:
Writing style (expression); Grammar, spelling and punctuation;
Content – the main concepts being covered
Follow this activity with a discussion as a group about what the main
benefits were of completing this activity. But also ensure you clarify that
sharing small samples of work can be useful, but colluding or copying
others‟ work is considered seriously as academic misconduct.
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35. Evaluating PASS
Preparation: You could prepare a short survey for the students to fill in,
or simply have a discussion
Getting feedback from your group can be very helpful. Ask them how
they feel the session went. Were all of their questions answered? Did
they feel comfortable during the session? Were there aspects of the
session that could have been improved or done differently? What
suggestions would they make for being able to cover more material or
to cover it more thoroughly? They may have valuable ideas that you
may be able to utilise in your next session.
The more involvement students attending PASS have in setting the
agenda, the better the result will be – satisfaction all round!
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