Getting Students Talking: A New Tool for Engagement and Problem-Solving

Content

Creating meaningful student engagement requires more than simply asking students to “turn and talk.” In this workshop with UMass grad student Abu Bony Amin, we will explore the predict–interact–feedback–reflect model, a structured strategy inspired by experiments, problem-solving, and real-time learning. Learn the approach and make a plan to use it in your class!

Part of the Teaching Academy, a series of pedagogical workshops for ALL UMass grad students and postdocs!

Register here!

Abu Bony Amin (he/him) is a PhD candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMass Amherst and a recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award. He served as a Teaching Fellow for four consecutive years, from Fall 2022 to Fall 2025, working with first-year students to create engaging, supportive, and experience-based learning environments. He has also served as a TA in electrical and computer engineering courses. His teaching emphasizes real-time engagement, hands-on learning, inclusive participation, and connecting classroom concepts to practical applications. Through this workshop, he hopes to help graduate TAs and instructors design structured active learning experiences that are practical, adaptable, and immediately useful across disciplines.