Card sorting is a reliable way to engage your students. First try out the activity yourself (or with colleagues). Click this link to download this Card Sorting activity
Be prepared to explain the important features in any card and why the cards match.
- What issues arose as you did your sorting?
- Why might card sorts be useful?
- Can everyone participate?
Questions for Class Discussions
Looking at any card:
- what important features can you find?
- how can you tell it appears to be a linear function?
- how can you tell its rate of change?
- can you find the intercepts?
- how can you tell if it is increasing or decreasing?
They remove the need for written outputs and allow learners to focus all their attention on interpretation
“These types of activity encourage learners to ‘have a go’ as they can move the cards around if they change their mind. It also encourages discussion as learners have to explain to each other why they think certain cards match.
Learners often prefer to ask each other if they do not understand and this gives an excellent opportunity for that. Learners often end up actually solving more problems than they would on a standard exercise but they do not realise this. It is also more motivating for learners who dislike written work or find it difficult to concentrate on written work.”
MDTP at UCLA 
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