I’ll be honest: when I walked into the “From Passive to Passionate: Engaging Students for Meaningful Learning” session on October 28, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was about active learning, and I figured I’d hear some good ideas. What I didn’t expect was to be handed a bag of pennies and get completely pulled into a math challenge that had me—and everyone else—totally engaged.
Adam Smieja kicked off the session with a video of a massive pyramid made out of stacks of pennies. He shared the story behind it, invited us to ask questions, and then gave us a challenge: figure out how many pennies were used to build the pyramid. No formulas, no instructions—just curiosity and collaboration.
We worked in small groups using vertical whiteboard space, asking questions, making guesses, and trying to crack the problem. After some productive struggle, Adam handed out actual bags of pennies to help us visualize and manipulate the challenge. It was hands-on, low-tech, and incredibly effective. Even as someone who teaches English, I found myself totally immersed and eager to find the answer.
What made this session stand out was how it modeled active learning in real time. Adam didn’t just talk about engagement—he showed us how to create it. Every step was intentional, and it reminded me how powerful it can be when students are invited to explore, collaborate, and wrestle with ideas.
If you missed this session, I highly recommend coming to the next one. There’s no prep required, no materials needed—just bring your curiosity. Adam’s approach is practical, fun, and immediately applicable to any discipline.
Thinking about attending or have questions? Feel free to email Adam at adam.smieja@sctcc.edu. I’ll definitely be watching for the next session—and I hope to see you there!