Active Engagement Tools for Science Classrooms

Science teachers know student engagement matters. But engagement alone isn’t always enough. For learning to truly stick, students must have opportunities to own the most important ideas: to explain them in their own words, practice applying them, and retrieve them when it counts.

In this practical, classroom-ready workshop, you’ll explore a set of active engagement strategies designed to move students beyond passive note-taking and into meaningful sense-making. Using tools such as Peer Instruction, Mini-Whiteboards, Voice-Over Video, and Retrieval Practice, you’ll learn how to structure lessons so students regularly discuss, articulate, and rehearse core scientific concepts.

The strategies are modeled and experienced during the session, allowing you to see learning from a student’s perspective. You’ll discover how small, intentional instructional shifts can significantly increase participation, strengthen scientific language and reasoning, and deepen understanding of test- and exam-relevant material.

Designed for both new and experienced science teachers, this workshop offers practical tools…