Category Archives: Preview Content

Stump the Chump: SI vs. Students

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Materials Needed: None

Preparation: Based on your learning objectives for the session, select a concept or topic that you want students to review in depth. Create questions at various learning levels to ask the students. Ensure that you are well-prepared to answer any type of question regarding the concept or topic.

Create a scoring matrix on the whiteboard.

Procedure:
1. Ask students to take five minutes to write the most difficult questions they can
think of relating to the topic you chose. One way to do this is to ask them to
create the type of questions the professor presents on exams.

2. Ask the students to quickly compare their questions with their neighbors and
select the most difficult questions to ask you. If you cannot answer the question,
the students have “stumped the chump”, and they get a point. If you can answer
their question, you get a point.

3. You then ask students a question from your list. If they get it right, they get a
point.

4. Continue to alternate between students asking you questions and you asking
students questions. Ensure that all answers are discussed, including where the
information was obtained, why the answers are correct, and how each answer
relates to other topics or concepts presented in class.

5. Consider having some type of “incentive” for students if they win, such as candy

Variation: Use this method to preview content. Ask students to look at the next chapter in the book and create questions and answers to ask you. You can also come up with questions from the next chapter, but in this variation, give students time to look up the answers in the textbook. 

from Utah State University

Incomplete Outline

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The incomplete outline is an excellent way of helping the students recognize the most important or main ideas and the organizational pattern of information given in lecture. It can also be used for the textbook readings/information. Determining the major points can help to sort information and locate the ideas being communicated.

  1. Create a set of incomplete lecture or reading notes in outline format, so some key lines/phrases are missing. What you leave missing from the outline can create a more or less challenging activity, depending on what you need.  For instance, asking students to fill in the word for a definition vs. providing a term and asking them to define it. Or, another example, asking students to label a diagram you provide vs. asking them to draw and label the diagram on their own.
  2. Divide students into pairs or small groups and ask them to fill in the outline together.

Variant: Divide your incomplete outline into sections and assign a different section to each pair or group. Ask the groups to complete their outlines. Once finished, provide each student with their own full blank outline to fill in as groups get up and teach their section’s content to the class. Each group will have a chance to go through and explain their section of the outline. This generates more discussion among the students. Keep in mind, there may be more than one way to fill in missing parts of the outline. 

Structured Problem Solving

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This activity can work great for (a) very long complex problems where students might need some help getting the steps down and (b) for previewing content. For instance, if you just finished an exam and you know the next chapter is going to build on the problems from the last test (by adding steps, extra variables, etc.), this activity can help them see what’s coming up next.

  1. Identify the steps in solving the particular problem, and separate the students into  groups.
  2. Because the steps for solving the problem are given, it is easier for the students to  handle large, complex problems since they have greater confidence.
  3. Assign them a sample problem and give them a specific period of time, at the end of  which the group must have reached a consensus for the answer.
  4. Ask the students to report their solution and explain the steps that led to their answer.  This strategy is most helpful for larger multi-step problems.

Predict the Next Lecture Topic

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This short activity makes a great Cool Down/Closing Activity. It helps students prepare for new lecture material while forming connections with previous material. This can be a quick group discussion or done in pairs/groups.

  • Based on the last lecture, what do you think the next lecture will be about?
  • How does the last lecture’s content connect with the next lecture’s content?

Whether they predict the next lecture topic or not, talk to them about what’s coming up in next lecture. Prime them for lecture by mentioning tips for taking notes or particular terms/concepts that are usually challenging for students (i.e. “Make sure to read the section on _____ before next lecture. That’s something that gives students trouble every year.”)

A woman's hands hover over a crystal ball

Current Events

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Bring in copies of a credible article, infographic, or similar document relevant to what students are currently learning. Have students read the article and highlight any points they found interesting or that they did not understand/follow/agree with and then discuss the points raised. You could do something similar with YouTube videos or TED Talks.

This can allow students to see beyond the material presented in class and apply that material to real life situations or other knowledge they already have. It can also help to answer the question “what am I going to need this for?”

Previewing: Haven’t started anything new in class yet? Pick out an article about the content coming up. You don’t have to be responsible for introducing students to new course content, but you can prime their brains for the topic by thinking about current events.

Adapted from the International Center for Supplemental Instruction