Minute Papers

What it is: Brief written reflections on key ideas or uncertainties; excellent to allow students to formulate their ideas before verbal participation. These can also be turned in at the beginning of class as an “entry ticket” or done at the end as an “exit ticket.”

Flat‑floor: Collect on paper or Padlet; skim quickly and address 1–2 themes immediately; park the rest for the next class opener.

Tiered: Use a digital form to avoid aisle congestion; project anonymised responses to validate concerns and clarify quickly.

Online: Collect via chat, Zoom polls, or a form; display three representative, anonymised responses; close with a concise “here’s what we’ll fix next” statement.

Hybrid: Use Padlet for everyone or a single digital form. If you are keen to understand different experiences of the two cohorts, be sure give students a chance to identify their group – read out a mix of in‑room and online examples to make both cohorts visible.

Examples:

• STEMM: “State one assumption in today’s model and one limitation it introduces.”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Which interpretive lens helped most today, and where did it fall short?”
• All: “What is one key thing you learned from today’s class and one muddiest point?”

Timing/Pacing: 2 min writing → 2–3 min rapid theming/debrief. If time is tight, defer debrief to the first 5 minutes of the next session.

Muddiest Point

What it is: Students identify the concept they found most confusing. 

Flat‑floor: Paper/post‑its at the door; theme into top three quickly; address one immediately.

Tiered: Use a Mentimeter or a quick form; auto‑generate a word cloud or list; open the next class with the top issues.

Online: Collect via Menti/chat/form; summarise live; add one clarifying example on the spot.

Hybrid: Single form for both cohorts; make sure to ask students if they are on Zoom or in the Room; show a mix of in‑room and remote responses; plan a “top 3” slide for the next session.

Examples:

• STEMM: “Which step in the diffusion equation derivation lost you, and why?”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Which theoretical term remains unclear? Provide a sentence where you tried to use it.”

Timing/Pacing: 1–2 min write → 2–3 min address. If time is tight, defer to next class’s 5‑minute opener.

Think–Pair–Share

What it is: Students think individually, discuss with a partner, then share with the class. 

Flat‑floor: Invite students to turn chairs or lightly reposition to face partners. Keep a predictable rhythm (e.g., 30s think, 2 min talk) and circulate to prompt quieter pairs (or any student who was left without a pair).

Tiered: Ask students to pair within the same row or directly above/below. Keep the pair stage short; collect ideas via a roving microphone or quick poll (see below).

Online: Use auto‑assigned breakout rooms for “pairs” (though we recommend at least 3 per group); broadcast the prompt and visible countdown. Bring pairs back and harvest 2–3 insights via Zoom chat or encourage students to briefly unmute and share.

Hybrid: Pair in‑room students locally; “pair” remote students in breakout rooms. Get students from both modalities to contribute (via a poll or Zoom chat) before you give a concise synthesis.

Examples:

• STEMM: “Sketch a free‑body diagram for a sliding block with friction. What’s the biggest misconception?”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Which passage best captures the author’s critique of industrial modernity—and why?”

Timing/Pacing: 0:30 think → 2:00 pair → 2–3 min share. Use a visible timer; if energy dips, cold‑call pairs (not individuals) for a quick insight. Variations include “Write-Pair-Share” and “Pair-Share”, which streamlines this by eliminating the “think” portion.

Polling / Clicker Questions

What it is: Students commit to answers using polling using a tool like Mentimeter. Use questions that emphasise reasoning over recall to sustain attention, but also can be useful for icebreakers (e.g., What topics in the unit outline interest you most in studying the sociology of medicine?) and to heighten motivation by asking students to make predictions .

Flat‑floor: Pose a question then discuss.

Tiered: Place QR codes and short links prominently.

Online: Screen‑share the poll and debrief.

Hybrid: Run a single poll for everyone.

Examples:

• STEMM: “For weak acid HA (K_a given), which mixture yields the highest pH? Explain.”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Which thesis best explains the political subtext of the speech?” 
• Arts: “Which piece is the best example of the Baroque period?”

Timing/Pacing: 30s-1 min vote → 2:00 debrief. If results are split, invite two students to discuss or defend alternatives for 30s each.

Peer Instruction

What it is: Individual vote → peer discussion → revote → instructor explanation. Good for problem-solving questions or issues where there might be a split in student viewpoint.

Flat‑floor: Encourage quick neighbour discussions; show before/after histograms; focus on the misconception.

Tiered: Pair within rows; prompt students to find someone with a different answer; use histograms to direct explanation.

Online: Poll → breakout discuss → revote; analyse shift; invite one student to explain the “why.”

Hybrid: Single poll; in‑room discuss locally; remote discuss in breakout; revote and compare shifts by cohort.

Examples:

• STEMM: “Which graph reflects the transient response of an underdamped system?”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Which interpretation best aligns with the author’s narrative irony?”
• Arts: “Which is most characteristic of the Gothic period?”

Timing/Pacing: 0:45s vote → 2:00 discuss → 0:30s revote → 2–3 min explanation. If no shift, present a simpler parallel problem.

Predictions

What it is: Students predict outcomes, such as before a demonstration or after seeing some data or historical records, then reconcile predictions with results. This technique is great for bringing out misconceptions.

Flat‑floor: Groups record predictions on mini‑whiteboards (or even loose paper); sample a few before the demo; after, ask one group to reconcile prediction vs outcome.

Tiered: Poll predictions via Padlet or Mentimeter; invite 1-2 students to articulate the mechanism or their rationale.

Online: Stream the demo via doc cam or show data/records via slides; collect predictions via a poll; discuss using chat/mic.

Hybrid: Same as online.

Examples:

• STEMM: “Predict current/brightness changes when adding a resistor in parallel; reconcile with Kirchhoff’s laws.”
• Humanities and social sciences: “Predict how interpretation shifts when a crucial line is delivered with a different tone; discuss performance theory.”

Timing/Pacing: 1 min predict → 2 min discuss → 2 min demo → 3 min explanation. Or, 1-5 min presentation of data or past historical cases → 1 min prediction → 5-10 min discussion. Add a quick “Why not X?” misconception check if attention drifts.

Small‑Group Problem Solving

What it is: Groups tackle a short, structured problem with a clear deliverable.

Flat‑floor: Form trios/quads; provide a concrete output (figure, table, brief paragraph). Offer a mid‑task checkpoint to keep momentum.

Tiered: Group by row; capture answers via shared doc, poll, or short verbal report; design problems solvable verbally or on phones due to limited surfaces.

Online: Create breakout groups; use a shared doc/worksheet or Padlet; broadcast time cues and hints at minute 3; start a google timer on screen.

Hybrid: Run in‑room and online groups in parallel; combine outputs in a shared doc or Padlet; debrief with 1–2 exemplars from each modality.

Examples:

• STEMM: “Choose the appropriate statistical test for this dataset and justify assumptions.”
• Humanities and social sciences: “From these 8 historical events, draft a thesis about which has had the most significant impact on the history of the Internet. One group member should write your thesis on Padlet.”

Timing/Pacing: 5–7 min work → 5-10 min report‑out (two groups max) → 1–2 min instructor synthesis. Add a hint if progress stalls.

Brainstorming

What it is: Idea generation, sharing, clustering, and prioritisation.

Flat‑floor: Solo sticky notes → share/cluster on a board → dot‑vote to prioritise; keep the prompt visible.

Tiered: Use a digital board for capture and ranking; project the evolving clusters clearly.

Online: Rapid “chat storm” → cluster ideas in a shared board → rank; call on 1–2 contributors to justify top picks.

Hybrid: Use a single digital board (Padlet is a great tool); rank together.

Examples:

• STEM: “List potential sources of error in our measurement pipeline; rank by impact.
• Humanities & Arts: “List interpretive angles for the poem; rank which yields the most original argument.”

Timing/Pacing: 2 min solo → 5 min share/cluster → 2 min vote → 5-10 min discuss top picks.

Silent Discussion

What it is: Text-based in-class discussion; excellent to encourage multiple modes of participation. Works best with fewer than 30 contributors per document.

Flat‑floor: Use a share doc to pose 1-3 questions, each separated by a page break. Students respond via dot points under each. After idea generation slows, ask students to upvote by putting a “+1” next to ideas, based on some criterion (ones with which they most resonate, ones that they feel are most feasible).

Tiered: Same as flat-floor.

Online: Same as flat-floor.

Hybrid: Same as flat-floor.

Examples:

• “What changes would you suggest in this class to help you learn better?”
• “Based on the implications of this week’s readings, what should parliament do next?”
• [3 text excerpts] “What are real-life examples of this?”

Timing/Pacing: 5-15 minute initial writing, 5 minute up-voting, 5-10 minute debrief

Collaborative Annotation

What it is: Students annotate readings/slides together to highlight key points and questions.

Flat‑floor: Group markup on printed excerpts or posters; ask students to initial comments; harvest one insight and one question per group.

Tiered: Follow instructions for flat-floor and use small groups; can project selected highlights to prompt discussion.

Online: Shared annotation (e.g., in Word or Padlet); use comment threads and tags for themes, or you might share the excerpt on Zoom and use Zoom’s annotation tool to ask your students to stamp the document.

Hybrid: Same as online.

Examples:

• STEMM: Annotate a research abstract to identify hypothesis, methods, limitations, and ethics.
• Humanities: Annotate a stanza for imagery, allusions, meter, and political resonance.
• Arts: Annotate the artist statement for key themes and artistic intentions.

Timing/Pacing: 5-10 min annotate → 5-10 min whole‑class harvest. Provide 2–3 guiding tags to focus attention.

Carousel Brainstorming

What it is: Prompt generative thinking, followed by prioritisation.

Flat‑floor: Develop multiple topics, problems, or questions and write each on the top of a piece of paper. Divide students into small groups or pairs and pass a sheet of paper with prompt or problem down the row. Students have five minutes per round to generate as many ideas as possible. After passing through several rounds, students have a final five minutes to choose the “best” response and report out.

Tiered: Use flat-floor method but pass the papers down the row.

Online: List the topics on a shared doc or Padlet. Queue student groups to move to the next topic every five minutes.

Hybrid: Use same approach as online.

Examples:

• “What causes [problem X]?” “What are the best approaches to solve [problem X]?”
• (1) “What would be good research questions about the University of Sydney student experience?” (2) “What methodolologies could a sociologist use to study the USyd student experience?” (3) “What ethical concerns might arise from a researcher studying the student experience and how might you mitigate these?”

Timing/Pacing: 5 minutes per round, with at least 3 rounds + report out (5-10 min) for some or all groups.

Jigsaw

What it is: Students become experts on a subtopic, then teach peers in mixed groups.

Flat‑floor: Form expert groups then teaching groups; use short handouts with descriptions of the subtopics and give the expert groups sentence starters; signal transitions with a timer/bell.

Tiered: Minimise movement; assign expert prep in place; have students teach immediate neighbours; use shared slide templates for consistency.

Online: Run expert breakouts, then mixed breakouts; use a shared template and require a one‑slide summary per group.

Hybrid: Keep expert groups modality‑specific (in‑room vs online); reconvene in plenary where each group presents a concise summary.

Examples:

• STEMM: Experts on measurement error, bias, variance, trade‑offs → recombine to design a fair experiment.
• Humanities and social sciences: Experts on historical context, genre conventions, rhetorical devices, audience reception → recombine to interpret a speech.

Timing/Pacing: 10 min expert prep → 2-3 minutes to recombine groups → 10 min teach in mixed groups → 5-10 min synthesis.

Gallery Walks

What it is: Groups post work; peers circulate and comment.

Flat‑floor: Use walls/boards; rotate every ~2 minutes; assign distinct pen colours to track feedback.

Tiered: Run a virtual gallery (e.g. on Padlet with comment function enabled); optionally rotate small batches to front walls if movement is feasible.

Online: Host a virtual gallery (e.g. using Padlet with comment function enabled or Zoom using the chat); students comment asynchronously or live; use tags (e.g., “+”, “?”) to focus critique.

Hybrid: All groups use Padlet; present joint findings in when the class comes back together.

Examples:

• STEMM: Alternative designs for a sustainable energy system; critique feasibility and trade‑offs.
• Humanities and social sciences: Design the ideal “university of the future.”

Timing/Pacing: 10-30 minutes poster design, depending on complexity of issue; 10-15min rotation → 10 min debrief highlighting patterns and outliers.

Case‑Based Learning

What it is: Analyse authentic scenarios using course concepts.

Flat‑floor: Assign roles (stakeholders); groups propose first actions plus rationale; record on mini‑whiteboards.

Tiered: Display the case on screen; designate rows to speak for stakeholders; collect decisions via poll and invite brief justifications.

Online: Share case text; assign roles in breakouts; report via a shared slide with “Decision + Rationale + Risk.”

Hybrid: Mirror roles across modalities; combine decisions in a central poll; harvest 1–2 justifications from each cohort.

Examples:

• STEMM: Public health case — prioritise interventions given limited budget and R₀
• Humanities and social sciences: Ethics case — argue for/against publication of leaked materials under specified frameworks.

Timing/Pacing: 5-10 min individual read → 6-15 min group analysis → 5 min comparison. If time compresses, skip role assignment and focus on discussion (decision + rationale).

Structured Debates

What it is: Teams prepare and present arguments under clear roles and timing.

Flat‑floor: Opposing sides of the room; roles (opener, rebutter, summariser); visible countdowns maintain pace.

Tiered: Assign positions by section; manage microphones; collect audience questions via poll/chat to control turn‑taking.

Online: Assign team channels/breakouts; enforce speaking order; use reactions (hand raise) for questions.

Hybrid: In‑room vs remote teams; facilitator moderates strict turn‑taking; display speakers on screen for equitable presence.

Examples:

• STEMM: “CRISPR edits in human embryos should be permitted under strict regulation.”
• Humanities and social sciences: “The novel ultimately endorses rather than critiques imperial ideology.”

Timing/Pacing: 3 min prep → 2×2 min openings → 2×2 min rebuttals → 2 min audience Q → 1 min closers → 2 min debrief.

Role‑Plays / Simulations

What it is: Students enact scenarios to apply knowledge and practise decision‑making.

Flat‑floor: Parallel stations with short scripts; rotate roles; observers use checklists for feedback.

Tiered: Front‑of‑room volunteers enact; the rest evaluate with a rubric; optionally run 1‑minute seated micro‑dialogs.

Online: Share role cards; run breakouts; observers annotate in a shared document; record short segments for playback.

Hybrid: Run simulations separately (in‑room vs online) and present outcomes in joint plenary; use a visualiser/camera for in‑room action.

Examples:

• STEMM: Data governance meeting simulating a breach; propose containment and communication plans.
• Humanities: Diplomatic negotiation reenactment; balance moral and pragmatic considerations.
• Arts: Select a proposal for a public sculpture, considering various stakeholders.

Timing/Pacing: 5 min brief → 15-45 min play → 10-15 min debrief. For large classes, run two shorter iterations.