You are invited into my classroom halfway through a lecture. We have processed two readings and are about to discuss the third. As we begin, I ask students to pair up, decide together which concept from the reading they would like to present to the class, and request each pair come up with a real scenario that exemplifies a theory or concept from our reading. Before hearing their scenarios, we engage in a collaborative activity. I ask students to recall specifics from the reading as I write on the board. You will see the easygoing interactions, humor threaded throughout, and eager cooperation as we complete the task.
After having spent forty five minutes lecturing, I give the students a three-minute technology break. I've found students are more willing to put cell phones away when they know they have time set aside to check messages, social media, and email halfway through the lesson plan. We resume by discussing ideas for their first big project of the semester.