U-M Faculty Examples

Resource Title:
Active Learning - Faculty Examples
Course Type:
All

We interviewed the following faculty members becuase they represent a range of complexity and diversity with their active learning techniques. We asked each person to identify not only the active learning technique they used in the classroom, but to explain the process of implementing these changes, and how they overcame any challenges or barriers in using these techniques. We encourage you to read both the profiles that align with your discipline as well as those that fall outside of it, as many of these techniques are used to great effect in a variety of different subject contexts.

Image Faculty Image Faculty
Andries Coetzee

Andries Coetzee, Associate Professor of Linguistics

  • Group Assignments
  • Peer Evaluation
  • Tutorial Videos

Joanna Millunchick

Joanna Millunchick, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Materials Science & Engineering

  • Muddiest Point Evaluation
  • Video Resources
  • Lecture Replay
Sabine Gabaron

Sabine Gabaron, Lecturer IV of French

  • Student Created Content
  • Group Assignments
  • Digital Media Creation
Veerendra Prasad

Veerendra Prasad, Lecturer II of Screen Arts & Cultures

  • Flipped Course
  • Team Writing
  • Short Writing Assignments
David Gerdes

Dave Gerdes, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics

  • Large Lecture Engagement
  • iClicker Comprehension checks
  • Pre-class problem sets
Tami Remington

Tami Remington, Clinical Professor of Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacist

  • Flipped Course
  • Individual Assessment
  • Team Assessment

Brenda Gunderson

Brenda Gunderson, Senior Lecturer of Statistics

  • Large Lecture Engagement
  • iClicker Comprehension checks
  • Think-Pair-Share
Fei Wen

Fei Wen, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering

  • Group Work
  • Student Video Creation
  • Public Scholarship
Nicholas Henriksen

Nicholas Henriksen, Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics

  • Flipped Course
  • Tutorial Videos
  • Student Collected Data
Lisa Young

Lisa Young, Lecturer IV of Anthropology

  • Scaffolded Writing Assignments
  • Media Texts
  • Active Discussion Techniques
Lesli Hoey

Lesli Hoey, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning

  • Real world Case Studies
  • Community Resources
  • Professional - Academic Interface
 

 


The following examples are from Thurnau Professors who have implemented active learning in their classrooms, and demonstrate how these outstanding faculty stimulate student engagement in their courses.

Why Use Active Learning video thumbnail

In this two part video series, Noel Perkins, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in Mechanical Engineering, discusses why professors should consider incorporating more active learning into their classrooms.

These videos on Engaging Students in the Classroom and Beyond showcase some of the innovative active learning techniques already being used throughout the University.