When Active Learning Goes Flat

What happens when an active learning activity goes flat? You rapidly transform your lackluster exercise into an engaging activity midway through the semester! In this presentation we will discuss our instructional design efforts for a required in-person library instruction session for 73 Rhetorical Arts classes (1,273 freshmen). We used elements from both the hybrid approach and gamification techniques. Hybrid, or blended learning is a method of instruction in which students learn through a combination of face-to-face instruction and computer-mediated activities. The paper-based, active learning exercise the students completed in class was “gamified” and transformed into a digital learning object to increase student engagement and learning.