The Mini-lesson: Active Learning and Engagement in the Undergraduate Classroom

Abstract

This article presents the “mini-lesson,” an assignment in which undergraduate students teach classmates theoretical concepts in excerpts of their own choosing. By presenting and observing mini-lessons, students actively engage with course material, start to grasp the relevance of theory study, and encounter a diverse corpus of examples including some familiar music. In this article, I address the problems mini-lessons solve, describe procedures for implementing them, enumerate benefits, and finally consider potential pitfalls for instructors who choose to include them in their own classrooms.