Large lectures are a necessary way to learn, but even an hour of lecture can get very dragging at times. A report shared by The Guardian shows that around 60 percent of students find lectures boring.
Well, guess what? Hours of sitting down while listening to a person talking in front, regardless of the topic, can get really boring. But then again, you cannot drop onto the desk and sleep, since this has repercussions, especially in schools where quizzes on the lecture determine your future.
The answer: conduct quick interactive activities somewhere in the middle of those large lectures. These activities are highly-social so they are indeed meant to break the ice. What are some of the best ones? By the end of this discussion, from listing down these activities to finding out a great way to create a word cloud, you will get to know these activities that can turn boredom into unforgettable learning moments.
Best Quick Interactive Activities During Large Lectures
Humans are naturally social beings, so these activities will really break the ice, especially if the class starts as early as 7 a.m. at the university.
1. Brainstorming
Who says that brainstorming is only intended in teams in corporate companies? This might be the most common quick interactive activity for classrooms.
Brainstorming is a group activity that lecturers can use to churn out interesting ideas from the listeners. It encourages creative thinking and explores solutions without immediate evaluation.
Participants are encouraged to say whatever is on their minds. Hence the term, ideas won’t be judged in a brainstorming session. There is no right and wrong. Be sure to prepare a notepad to jot down what the students will say. At the end, the brightest and best ideas are picked.
Why this is interactive: Brainstorming is interactive because it encourages participants to listen to each other’s ideas rather than one-way listening to the lecturer.
2. Press Conference
Or, you might want to have your students or listeners play journalists with the subject matter, or the person being questioned being the lecturer.
Instead of them listening to a lecturer like how churchgoers listen to a preacher, transform the room into a press event. The lecturer may act as the person being questioned, while the students act as journalists asking questions about the topic.
You may add some oomph by re-arranging the classroom into a press conference layout with the table in front for the lecturer, and the journalist-students around. Or someone acts as the moderator, controlling which student’s turn it is to ask.
Why this is interactive: Aside from encouraging communication, this also promotes collaboration, curiosity, and confidence. At the end of the conference, students are expected to understand the points discussed more clearly.
3. Psychology Games
Jessy Teo, a Science teacher in Singapore, says that thinking of brand-new ways like these activities shows that you care for others. Learning is a two-way street. Among the manifestations of this mantra are psychology games.
While hosting games inside the lecture room may seem and look messy, these psychology games are designed to break the ice while pushing the participants to understand the material. There’s this one psychology game that places the learners in a circle with each other, and they are asked, “We are going to a music concert. What will you bring? If your answer is correct, you’ll go with us. If not, you won’t.”
Funny, since some of the answers are really related to a music concert, with the first student’s turn saying, “I’d bring a lightstick!” then “I’d bring a cameraphone!” but both of them were tagged “not going” by the game’s leader. Apparently, the person who stated, “I’d bring a DSLR camera” was the first to get accepted as going, and it was later revealed that the correct answers must follow the first letters of “Do-Re-Mi,” since it’s a music concert. So, the person has to say an item, any item, even a duck toy, starting with “D” as in “Do,” then to be followed by an item that starts with “R,” so you can “be part of the trip to the concert.”
Why this is interactive: Aside from being interactive, it also exercises the critical thinking skills of the learners, and their ability to spot patterns. It can be used for any type of lecture.
4. Debate
Another way to encourage the students to interact, at the same time, introduce some element of competition, is a debate.
Debates are an incredible way to encourage class participation without losing control, and they can work in any discipline or field, not just social sciences and political science. It’s also meant to be fun since there are instances students laugh at each other or themselves professional for how silly some of the arguments are.
Why this is interactive: It is interactive since the learners discuss among themselves, rather than plain listening to a teacher talking in front.
5. Role-Playing
Perhaps also among the most common and popular activities for interaction inside the lecture room, role-playing unleashes the creative and entertaining side of students.
This basically happens by grouping the class, and each will be given a material to roleplay. For instance, in a lecture on the recent earthquake in Venezuela, each group has to create a play to present after they are given some time to huddle and plan. They decide what role or character each will portray, they may even write a script, or can be impromptu as the presentation begins. They may also decide which genre, like drama or comedy, and the lecturer may decide to award the best play in the end.
Why this is interactive: From the minute the class huddles until the execution, this activity hugely promotes interaction.
How About A Word Cloud Activity?
However, if you’re looking for a simple yet innovative activity that won’t involve re-arranging chairs and tables, and something that isn’t traditional, then you can peruse a word cloud activity.
A word cloud is an interactive activity where students submit words representing key ideas, themes, or opinions. Frequently repeated responses appear larger, helping instructors quickly identify understanding, misconceptions, and discussion trends. One easy way to run this is with Wooclap.
How to Run a Word Cloud with Wooclap
Wooclap is a platform with various interactive presentation tools that let you create dynamic, engaging presentations to keep your learners hooked. Among its tools is the Free Word Cloud Generator. With this, there’s no need to sweat over thinking of which words to include in the wondrous activity.
It works very simply. First, you provide it with your material or topic, then let it provide you with the information. Then, you can adjust the word limit and optionally remove the filler words. Then, generate your word cloud instantly. Download and share with the class. It all happens instantly, and there’s no need for Pentel pens, cartolinas, and whiteboards. Turn your lectures into unforgettable experiences!
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