The purpose is to prime students so they come prepared to participate in class. This promotes richer discussions and gives students more opportunities to apply what they are learning and, as a result, keep up with material. Here are some ways to do this:
- Assign problem sets on material covered in class. Grading can be based on effort to ease pressure on students and give them the opportunity to learn from and through their mistakes.
- Assign frequent concept check quizzes, short-answer questions, and/or online surveys (i.e, Canvas surveys, Qualtrics, Google Forms) to gauge comprehension so you can clarify widespread misunderstandings and choose students to call out students in class with interesting perspectives to generate larger class discussions/debates. Please see our 1-page guidance on ways to effectively use polling questions.