As lecturer, you often know from experience that students use an incorrect line of reasoning to reach their answers. The concept cartoons work form enables you to present both the correct and incorrect line of reasoning to them. This gives you insight into how your students reason, and you know where further explanation is needed.
- Activity goal
- Activate prior knowledge | Assess | Recap / Summarize
- When
- In class
- Where
- Offline | Online
- Duration
- < 10 minutes
- Group size
- Small | Medium | Large
- Materials
Mentimeter, Zoom
Step-by-step
Step 1
Come up with a concept, statement or question that you want to use to check that students are following the right line of reasoning.
Step 2
Come up with one or more incorrect lines of reasoning that students often use and write this down. Also write the correct line of reasoning next to this.
Step 3
Create a concept cartoon placing the concept, question or statement at the top and place the incorrect and correct lines of reasoning below in speech balloons. Make sure that students can indicate easily which speech balloon they are selecting by adding a colour, names, figures or letters. An example plus an empty concept cartoon format in powerpoint can be found in the download section below.
Step 4
Ask the students (with help of a polling tool) to pick the speech balloon with the line of reasoning that they think is correct.
Step 5
Discuss the assignment with the students and use the answers to clarify the concept, statement or question, if necessary.
Variation 1
Ask the students or small groups to design their own concept cartoons with a concept, statement or question and include both a correct and incorrect line of reasoning.
Offline
Ask the students to raise their hands to vote for the line of reasoning they think is correct. Consider asking help to count hands.
Online
Use Mentimeter or the polling option in Zoom to make students' votes visible.
Consider the tools and materials mentioned here as suggestions. In many cases it’s possible to use alternative tools. Please turn to the Learning & Innovation team of your faculty first to see which online and offline tools are available and how to apply them.
