teaching strategies assignments

List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples)

Use this list of 107 classroom teaching strategies for your lesson plan or teaching portfolio. This can help demonstrate pedagogical knowledge and the ability to apply theory to practice.

Or, try some of these strategies out when you’re low on ideas and looking for a fresh way to teach in the classroom. Note that these are just some examples of teaching strategies – I’m sure there are even more out there!

Tip: Bookmark this page so you can come back to it every time you need some new teaching strategies!

Teaching Strategies Examples (List)

1. flipped instruction.

Description

Flipped classrooms involve asking students to complete the reading, preparation and introductory work at home. Then, during class time, the students do practice questions that they would traditionally do for homework.

• Flipped instruction enables the teacher to offload the direct instruction elements of education like Introductions to homework. This enables teachers to spend more time on student-centered differentiated support .
• Students may not complete their assigned pre-class homework, which will undermine the lesson.

Theoretical Link

Social Constructivism / Socio-Cultural Theory : The teacher can spend more time supporting students in a student-centered environment.

• Assign a video introducing a concept for homework.
• Spend the first 10 minutes of the lesson assessing students’ comprehension of the video
• Jump straight into student-centered practice tasks
• Walk around the class helping students who need additional support for the rest of the lesson

See my full article on Flipped Classrooms Pros and Cons.

Related Article: 25 Teaching Styles Examples

2. Play-based learning

Students learn cognitive, social, and physical skills during play tasks. Tasks can be teacher-led with specific goals (e.g. volume transfer in a sandpit) or unstructured student-led play.

• Engagement: students may be more engaged during active play-based learning compared to teacher-centered instruction.
• Cognition : students get the opportunity to learn through discovery and trial-and-error, helping to build neural pathways
• Social: students play together, developing communication, groupwork, and negotiation skills.
• Physical: play engages fine and gross motor functions , helping to improve physical abilities.
• Many traditionalist, including many parents and potentially your head teacher, may consider play to have no educational or academic benefit.
• Parents may frown upon this method for older students, despite its benefits across age groups.
• Many people consider that the risks of injury during play-based learning are too high.

( Read More: Pros and Cons of Play Based Learning )

Social Constructivism. Students learn through social interaction and building knowledge in their minds through trial and error.

Play is also encouraged in all 5 Contemporary Early Childhood Perspectives (Froebel, Reggio Emilia, Forest Schools , Steiner-Waldorf Schools, and Montessori).

• Use modelled instruction to show students how to play with developmentally appropriate resource-rich toys and puzzles. Consider puzzles that require mathematical skills that link to current curriculum outcomes.
• Provide students with the puzzles and allow free unstructured play time
• Mingle with the students, helping them with prompting and guiding questions
• End the lesson with a whole group discussion of what they learned during the lesson.

See my full article on Play Based Learning Pros and Cons .

3. Project-based learning (PBL)

Project-based learning requires students to spend an extended period of time (e.g. a week or more) on a single project to gain in-depth knowledge about the task. The projects should be personally meaningful and give students freedom to go in-depth on areas of interest.

• Students have the opportunity to become ‘experts’ on topics. By going deep on a topic, students may become very knowledgeable and feel empowered.
• A balance is struck between ensuring students focus on curriculum-linked projects and giving students the freedom to explore the details of a topic that are of personal interest.
• Students tend to have increased freedom using this approach. So, students need to learn self-regulation skills before beginning the task.

Constructivism in the Classroom : Students work independently using their own intellect and resources to learn. By doing personal research, students ‘construct’ knowledge in their minds and apply that knowledge to the project to demonstrate their knowledge.

• Teacher assigns students a research question, such as “What are the key characteristics of mammals?”
• Students work in small groups to come up with an idea for a poster, diagram, or presentation project on the topic.
• Teacher approves or asks for amendments of students’ proposed projects.
• Students are provided a series of lessons over a 2-week period in computer labs and in resource-rich classrooms to complete their project.
• Teacher checks-in intermittently to ensure standards are upheld and to stimulate students to improve upon their projects.
• The project concludes with students presenting their project to their parents.

4. Authentic Learning

Authentic learning involves having students learn about concepts in real-life (or near real-life) environments. Similarly, authentic assessment refers to assessments in real-life (or near real-life) environments

• By learning a task within its context, a student will understand its value for them outside of the classroom.
• Engagement: students may be more engaged in a task if they understand its practical application rather than just its theoretical purpose.
• Cognition and Memory: Students may find it easier to recall information if they can reflect on an instance in which they applied the knowledge to a real-life task.
• Authentic learning tasks are difficult to set-up from within a classroom.
• It is debatable whether so-called ‘authentic’ environments are genuinely authentic. A mock supermarket experience for practicing counting money, for example, lacks the potential for environmental distractions of a real-life situation.
• Some information is by its very nature academic and theoretical rather than practical, and this information is still of value to students.

Constructivism: Authentic learning environments are designed for students to be active learners who ‘construct’ knowledge through personal experience.

• An ESL teacher provides students with a set of conversational tasks to complete during a day’s field trip to the city.
• Students complete the tasks in the ‘real world’ by walking around the city asking for directions, buying lunch, etc.
• Class comes together at the end of the day to discuss and reflect on their experiences of applying their knowledge in the ‘real world’.

5. Discovery Learning

Discovery learning involves allowing students maximum freedom within a resource-rich environment to ‘discover’ answers to challenges. It requires students to build upon prior knowledge and use resources available in the environment to increase their own knowledge.

Discovery learning is often held in contrast to teacher-centered approaches, as students are not ‘told’ information; instead, they must discover knowledge for themselves..

• Students generate knowledge for themselves rather than being told what is right and wrong.
• By discovering truths, students will have a firmer understanding for the reasoning behind why something is true.
• Too much student freedom may distract students from the learning outcomes.
• This can be a time-consuming technique as students discover information at their own pace. It can therefore be difficult to implement in education systems that are packed with curriculum outcomes that must be met.

Construcitivism: Students generate their own knowledge through engagement with their environment rather than having truths ‘told’ to them by an authority figure.

• Teacher places the appropriate resources in the classroom to allow students to discover truths themselves. These resources may include science experiment stations, newspaper articles, etc.
• Teacher transparently presents the lesson objectives to the students, i.e. “What is heavier – sand or water?”
• Students are given minimal guidance, but sent to the learning stations to try to answer the prompt themselves.
• Teacher provides minimal guidance, recognizing that making mistakes and trying the ‘wrong thing’ is also a part of the discovery experience.
• Students get together at the end of the class to discuss what they ‘discovered’.

6. High Expectations

Setting high expectation involves requiring students to put in maximum effort during their lessons. HIgh expectations does not mean expecting all students to meet a certain standard. Rather, it means expecting each student to try to beat their own personal best.

• High expectations are necessary to ensure students continue to strive for improvement. Without high expectations in the classroom, students can become lazy and lose respect for education.
• Teachers need to be aware that sometimes students have ‘off days’ where they cannot succeed at their normal level. This may be due to health, hunger, or environmental factors .
• Teachers need to balance high expectations with compassion for their students. Try not to let burnout occur due to strenuous demands.
• Measure students’ prior knowledge to ascertain their current developmental level.
• Have students aim to achieve at or above their current ability in a given task.
• If students underperform, provide formative feedback and insist they readdress their work to make edits and improvements.
• Allow students to progress to subsequent tasks only when their work has met or exceeded the minimum standard you set for that individual.

See my full article on High Expectations in the Classroom .

7. Parent and Community Engagement

Parent and community engagement involves bringing students together with their community. It can involve bringing parents and community members into the classroom, or bringing students out into the community on field trips.

• By engaging with the community, students come to see themselves as a member of their community.
• It can help students to get to know important members of their community to give them a sense of belonging, and help them see (and, in the future, seek) support networks.
• By bringing role models into the classroom (especially minority and female role models), students can come to see that they could potentially become female firefighters, politicians of color, etc.
• Students can learn from more than just one teacher to get a variety of perspectives.
• Safety concerns often require teachers and community members to fill-in forms and complete background checks before community engagement can occur.
• Finding members of the community willing to work with teachers can be difficult.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory: Students learn within family and community contexts (children’s ‘first teachers’) in order to respect and carry-on culturally engaged learning.

• Teacher does networking to find community members willing to come into the classroom.
• Teacher finds relevant curriculum links that community members can help them teach about.
• Teacher and community members meet to discuss a lesson idea.
• Community members and teachers team-teach in the classroom.
• Students are given the opportunity for one-on-one time with community members.
• Students present the results of their lesson to community members before community members leave.

8. Unconditional Positive Regard

Unconditional positive regard involves teachers consistently and unconditionally viewing students as capable and competent. When students make mistakes, fail, or misbehave, it is the teacher’s role to continue to let students know that they believe in the student and their abilities.

• Empowering: when students are given unconditional positive regard, they know that their teacher believes in their ability to constantly do better.
• Shows Empathy and builds Trust: children come to learn to respect and trust their teacher when they know their teacher is always on ‘their side’.
• Teachers need to ensure that they still let students know that inappropriate behavior or lack of effort is unacceptable. The teacher should follow-up their discipline with comments about positive regard.

Humanist theory of Education : Humanist Carl Rogers invented this approach. He believed unconditional positive regard was necessary for building students’ self-confidence.

• “Even though you did not do well today, I expect that you will come to school doing better tomorrow.”
• “The quality of your work does not match your potential. Let’s talk about some strategies for improvement before you go away and do it again.”

See my full post on the Humanist approach to Education .

9. Modeled Teaching

Modeled teaching is an instructional strategy that involves the teacher ‘showing’ students how to do a task. The teacher shows the task while also breaking it down into small steps. This helps students to see how to complete the task.

• A very effective way to introduce new topics.
• The teacher maintains control when introducing a new idea to ensure students have appropriate understanding and safety knowledge before trying for themselves.
• Shows that learning can occur passively – students can learn simply by watching.
• Not appropriate as a standalone strategy. Students need to eventually try things alone to show competency. Therefore, consider matching modeled teaching up with the I Do, We Do, You Do method

Bandura’s Behaviorism: Bandura blends behaviorism with constructivism by showing that learning can occur through observation only.

See my full post on Behaviorism in Education , which has a segment on Bandura’s modelled instruction approach.

10. I Do We Do You Do Method

The I Do, We Do, You Do method is a scaffolding strategy that provides gradual release of responsibility from the teacher to the student. It involves three steps: (1) I Do: Teacher models the task; (2) We Do: Student and teacher do the task together; (3) You Do: Student attempts to complete the task alone.

• Students are provided an appropriate balance of support and freedom.
• Teacher has ample time to assess students’ abilities to make adjustments to their pedagogy as they move through the 3 steps (particularly in step 2)
• In large groups, students may fall behind at Steps 2 and 3.

Sociocultural Theory: Students learn through social interaction with a more knowledgeable other (see: Lev Vygotsky).

• Teacher asks all students to sit on a mat at the front of the class.
• Teacher models the steps required to complete the day’s task (I Do).
• Teacher re-does the task. This time, instead of telling the students the steps, the teacher asks students to raise their hand and tell the teacher what to do next (We Do)
• Teacher asks students to complete the task in small groups. Teacher walks around providing support (We Do)
• Students complete the lesson by doing the task alone. Teacher only intervenes for the few students who are still struggling (You Do)

See my full guide on implementing the I Do, We Do, You Do method .

11. Guided Practice / Cognitive Apprenticeship

Students follow along with their teacher as an ‘apprentice’. By working side-by-side, they learn the subtle little things (‘ tacit knowledge ’) required to know in order to master a skill.

• Students get very close one-to-one interaction with an expert, helping them learn.
• By learning-by-doing, the student learns not only the theory but also the skills required to complete tasks.
• An approach predominantly used for young children in Indigenous communities, which is not applicable on a wide scale in Western mass education systems.
• Requires one-to-one support, which is not often available.

Socio-Cultural Theory: Rogoff studied Guatemalan Indigenous teaching methods to come up with this approach. It fits under the socio-cultural theory because its emphasis is on social interaction between master and apprentice.

Common in trade schools for students studying to be mechanics, engineers, etc.

See my full guides on the Guided Practice teaching strategy and cognitive fexibility .

12. Scaffolding

Scaffolding involves providing support to students while they cannot complete a task alone. Then, when the student can complete the task alone, the teacher withdraws their support.

• Students feel supported while learning tasks that are just outside of their grasp at the present time.
• A clear way of guiding students towards new skills.
• May require a lot of one-to-one support, which can be difficult to provide in a classroom environment.

Socio-Cultural Theory: Scaffolding was invented by Jerome Bruner ( not Vygotsky).

• The teacher models a task before students try it themselves.
• The teacher provides the student with a visual aid (the scaffold, in this instance) that breaks the task down into small parts.
• After 15 minutes of practice with the visual aid, the aid is withdrawn and the students try the task alone.

13. Direct Instruction (a.k.a Explicit Teaching)

Direct instruction (also known as explicit teaching) is a teacher-centered approach that involves the teacher using simple straightforward language to explain concepts to students.

• Provides clear and direct knowledge to students
• Is sometimes the only way to teach something, particularly when introducing a new idea.
• Students cannot consolidate their knowledge with direct instruction alone. Explicit teaching should be followed-up with other teaching strategies that involve more active learning so students can practice and demonstrate their knowledge.

Behaviorism: Traditionally, direct instruction was embraced by behaviorists who believed in teacher-centered teaching. Today, it is used in most teaching approaches.

14. Repetition (Rote Learning)

Repetition involves giving students time to retry tasks over and over again until it is consolidated in their minds. The information should be safely in a student’s long-term memory before moving on.

• Repetition commits information to memory, and is often one of the only ways to ensure something is truly remembered long-term.
• Repetitive rote learning that lacks contextual background is hard to remember. Sometimes, giving context through doing tasks through real-life scenarios can be better for memory long-term.
• Repetition can disengage students and demotivate them.
• Doesn’t account for social and cognitive aspects of learning.

Behaviorism: Repetition is central to a behaviorist approach. Pavlov, a famous behaviorist found that he could teach his dog through repetitively associating a bell with food. The dog came to learn through repetition that the bell meant ‘food’.

See my full post on Behaviorism in Education.

15. Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition builds on simple repetition. Spaced repetition involves gradually increasing the space between times you repeat something. Repetition of a task should be very common. Over time, the task should be re-examined less and less often.

The idea behind spaced repetition is that the concept being learned is re-engaged with just before it is forgotten so that it is consistently recalled into memory and gradually sedimented into long-term memory.

• Provides long-term support to ensure students remember information over a sustained period of time.
• Perfect for revision and standardized test preparation.
• Can be disengaging and boring for students who tend to prefer active learning.

Behaviorism: Spaced repetition was invented by behaviorist theorist Ebbinghaus in 1885.

• Provide students with a sprinkle of review tasks as a part of their weekly homework.
• Start lessons (or set aside some time each week) with revision of tasks from months previously to jog students’ memory.

16. Prompting

Prompting involves providing students with nudges, guides and questions that will help them to move closer towards an answer. A prompt is a suggestion to a student that they pay attention to a particular aspect of a task that will help them get closer to the answer.

• Prompts are used regularly by teachers to get beyond blocks in student learning. Without prompts, students may never develop or improve.
• It is hard to know exactly how much prompting to give and at what stage. Students need time to think things through and make mistakes. Too much prompting too soon can prevent students from thinking for themselves.

Social Constructivism: Social constructivists believe teachers have a role in helping students to build knowledge in their minds. Teachers’ interventions can help spur knowledge development.

• A teacher might ask a question to get the student to look at the task from a different perspective.
• A teacher may point at a section of a diagram and ask them about that section.
• A teacher might start a sentence and ask a student to finish it.

17. Differentiation

Differentiation is a teaching strategy that requires teachers to change their teaching styles and educational materials to meet the diverse needs of students within a classroom. It generally involves grouping students into several sub-groups in the classroom based on ability, skillset or learning preferences.

• Enables the teacher to more effectively address the diverse needs of students in a large classroom.
• Ensures learning is more personalized in the hope that no child will be left behind in a lesson.
• Differentiation is often used as an excuse to dumb down a task – differentiated instruction should be paired with high expectations to ensure all students are working to their maximum potential.

Socio-cultural Theory: This approach acknowledges that all students have different social and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, each student requires a personalized learning approach. It realizes that one size fits all will not work because all students are different.

• Separate students into three ability groups: Advanced, Middle, and Lower. The advanced students can be provided with project-based learning tasks to complete while the teacher works with the middle and lower groups to provide additional support.
• Provide students with a range of tasks that addresses the same learning outcome. Students can choose between different tasks depending on their learning preferences.

18. Manipulatives

Manipulatives are physical educational toys (or: ‘tools’) which are used to support learning. Providing students with physical manipulatives during learning enables them to visualize their learning in a 3D space.

• Students can learn more actively when they have manipulatives than when learning through teacher-centered direct instruction methods.
• Helps students who need to visualize information to learn.
• Creation of physical models helps students to form mental models (‘ cognitive schemata ’).
• It can be expensive to gather enough materials for all students in a classroom.
• Providing students with toys can distract them from the task. Strong classroom management skills are required.

Constructivism: Constructivists including Freidrich Froebel and Maria Montessori have advocated for the use of educational toys to help students to explore and discover in student-led active learning contexts.

• Base Tens ‘Dienes Cubes’ are cubes that can be bunched into singles, groups of ten, groups of 100, and groups of 1000 to help students visualize the decimal system of counting.
• Colored beads can be used to help students in early childhood learn to recognize patterns.
• Froebel’s Gifts are 9 manipulative toys that students can use to solve developmentally appropriate puzzles.

19. Prior Knowledge Assessment

Prior knowledge assessment entails assessing students’ knowledge at the beginning of a unit of work in order to teach students at an appropriate level. If prior knowledge does not take place, teachers may teach content at a level that is either above or below a class’s optimal learning level.

• Ensures the content being taught is at an appropriate level.
• Respects the fact that students come into the classroom with pre-existing knowledge.
• Identifies misconceptions students may have about a topic.
• Enables teachers to take into account students’ cultural knowledge when preparing a unit of work.
• Ensure you assess prior knowledge well in advance so you can plan lessons based on prior knowledge. I’ve assessed prior knowledge at the start of a class before and realized the lesson I planned was completely useless!

20. Student-Teacher Conference

A student-teacher conference is a one-on-one discussion between a student and a teacher to take stock of a student’s needs. The conference usually involves a discussion of both strengths as well as areas for improvement. The conference should conclude with a list of goals for the teacher and student to mutually strive toward.

• An opportunity for both the teacher and student to express concerns and anxieties
• Helps students to feel ‘seen’, valued and cared for by the teacher
• Hard to achieve in every lesson. Teachers could consider systematically conferring with one or two students per lesson until all students are met with.
• There is a power imbalance in the student-teacher relationship which may prevent students from speaking candidly.

Socio-Cultural Theory: Interactions between teachers and students are important to learning within the socio-cultural approach.

• Print a list of your students with a column for ‘achievements’, ‘goals’ and ‘struggles’. Over the course of a week, meet up with your students and discuss with them what they’ve achieved in the current unit of work, what their goals are, and what the barriers are to achieving those goals.

21. Fill-In the Gaps (Cloze Passages)

A simple teaching strategy that involves asking students to fill-in an incomplete piece of text. This can happen verbally (starting a paragraph and asking students to complete it) and in writing (a traditional cloze passage).

• Helps students to jog their own memories by prompting them slightly.
• Enables teachers to quickly assess students’ knowledge (just-in-time assessment).
• Cannot be a consistently used strategy as students also need to learn through more challenging approaches such as discovery learning and project-based learning.
• Paper cloze passages involving a story in which the key phrases are removed.
• Prompting questions like: “Can you finish this sentence? The first king of England was …”

22. Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)

Has the teacher step aside and allows students to take charge of the learning environment.

• Students can often explain concepts to one another in a clear way because they’re on the same level and closer in their learning journey than the teacher, who probably learned the content years ago!
• Peer assisted learning is not the same as the students doing the teaching. Students should continue to view each others as partners in learning.

Socio-Cultural Theory: students learning through collaborative discussion fits firmly into the sociocultural theory of education .

• Invite students from a grade level above to come into the classroom and act as moderators of discussions on topics of interest.
• Pair stronger students with weaker students. Have the stronger students demonstrate their knowledge by supporting the weaker students. I find this works really well because children can often explain things in a clear language that other children can understand.

23. Poster Presentations

A poster presentation is a great way to demonstrate knowledge at the end of a lesson or unit of work. Provide the students with posters, pens, and printing materials if required.

• A fast, effective way of presenting knowledge to the class.
• Allows students to practice demonstration skills.
• Ends up with a physical product that can be photographed and added to the student’s portfolio to prove that outcomes have been met.
• Can be a lazy way to achieve presentation of knowledge. Ensure the focus remains on the content and not the coloring-in or drawing pretty pictures.
• Not useful for all lessons: when students can create a working model, diagram, etc. this would be preferred.
• Have students work in groups to write up their knowledge in a visually engaging way.
• Then, have each group verbally present their poster to the class.

24. Two-Minute Presentation

Two Minute verbal presentations, like posters, are an effective way of having students demonstrate their knowledge at the end of a lesson or unit of work. Each student gets two minutes to present their knowledge on a topic to the rest of the class.

• An effective, fast way of doing summative assessment.
• It is an inefficient use of other students’ time having them listen to 20 other two-minute presentations when they could be engaging in higher-order learning during that time. Students find it very boring and frustrating to sit through the assessment of other students.
• Use the two-minute presentation method for the final lesson in a series of lessons on one topic.
• Have students read over their notes from previous classes and write a summary of the top 10 points.
• Have students prepare their two-minute presentations by adding the notes to palm cards. With 10 points, students have about 12 second per point!
• Ensure students have time to practice with one another and instruct them on how to take additional notes on their palm cards for points they forgot during practice.
• If each student has a different topic or angle to present engagement may be enhanced during the class presentations.

25. De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats

De Bono’s 6 thinking hats strategy asks students to look at an issue from multiple perspectives. It can be used for groups or individuals. Depending on the hat a student is provided, they have to think from a different perspective.

The Six Hats

• White hat: Provide the facts.
• Yellow hat: Explore the positives.
• Black hat: Explore the negatives (devil’s advocate).
• Red hat: Express your feelings and intuitions . Include concerns, dislikes and likes.
• Green hat: Be creative. Come up with new ideas and alternatives.
• Blue hat: The manager who ensures all the hats are sticking to their lane.
• Helps students to think outside of their own perspectives.
• Encourages students to attack an issue from many different angles.
• Teachers group work skills if used in a group.
• I often find it’s hard to get groups of 6, so sometimes one student has to use two hats.
• Introduce a contentious topic with a video or reading.
• Distribute hats to the students.
• Have students spend some time brainstorming what they would say on the issue from their perspective. If you have a large class, group all the white hats together, red hats together, etc. to work in groups for this part.
• Then rearrange students into groups where there is one colored hat per group (groups of 6 is ideal, or 5 with one person taking the role of blue hat as well).
• At the end of the class, have a whole group discussion summing up our points and list the details of the topic on the white board. Hopefully students will see that the issue is a very complex one!

26. Pop Quiz

A pop quiz is a short test that takes place with no prior warning. The quiz can be formative or summative. Link the quiz to rewards to keep students motivated to do well and be prepared at any moment.

• Can be motivating for students who enjoy the challenge of competing with themselves or others.
• Keeps students on their toes which encourages ongoing review and homework on the part of the students.
• May worry some students who are unprepared.

27. Democratic Vote

Taking a democratic vote is a progressive education strategy that attempts to empower students in the classroom. Have students vote on what or how they will learn within the classroom. This can be done at a small scale in a lesson plan by asking students to vote on how a lesson will progress, for example.

• Can empower students, giving them a sense of ownership over the classroom.
• Can build trust and rapport between the students and the teacher.
• Helps the teacher take the pulse of the class and understand what they want and need.
• Teachers may lose their power and control over the class if they overuse this approach.
• Just because the majority supports something, it doesn’t mean it’s best. A small group of students may fall behind and have their voices drowned out by the majority.

Progressive Education: Progressive educators such as Alfie Kohn advocate for empowering students through increased democracy in the classroom.

See my full post on Citizenship Education .

28. Non-Verbal Gestures

Using non-verbal gestures are powerful ways to help students learn, as well as to manage the classroom. Educators can explicitly teach signs or use gestures common in society.

• Teachers can give individual students instant feedback that is subtle and does not disrupt the rest of the class.
• Students feel acknowledged when small gestures are used just for them.
• It is a non-intrusive way of prompting students.
• Cultural sensitivity required. Different cultures ascribe different meanings to non-verbal gestures.
• Nods of approval can let a student know you have recognized their good work without disrupting the flow of the lesson.
• Pointing can be used to direct students’ attention toward prompts around the room or on worksheets that may help stimulate thinking.
• Tapping a watch can remind students to pay attention to time limitations of a lesson.

29. Environmental Manipulation

Environments have a strong impact on learning. Temperature, lighting, seating plans , colors and posters on the walls can all affect learning.

• A non-intrusive way of supporting learning.
• Helps students feel more comfortable in the classroom.
• Your classroom has limitations which may prevent the ideal environmental settings.
• Different students may work better in different environments (e.g. heat settings)

Humanism: Teachers pay attention to the conditions required for creating an optimal learning environment.

Classical Conditioning (Behaviorism): Students are ‘conditioned’ by cause-and-effect mechanisms that are subtle and that they aren’t even aware of.

For more, see my full post on behaviorism in education.

• When a class is too loud, try subtly turning off the fan. It’s amazing how often this small environmental manipulation can quiet down a class.
• Ensure the classroom is not too dark. A dark classroom can impede reading, especially for students who do not have perfect eyesight.
• Heat and noise can both prevent learning.
• Calm colors on the walls can help students relax into the learning environment.

30. Associative Learning

Associative learning takes place when several ideas are introduced to a student that are mutually reinforcing. In the classroom, this means presenting students with several stimulus materials that help a student to recall a fact.

• Is very effective during revision for an exam.
• Has questionable long-term benefits as at this stage the concept is not yet solidly consolidated in long-term memory. The recall of information is dependant on other associated information.

Behaviorism (Pavlov’s Dog): Most famously, Pavlov managed to get a dog to associate the ringing of a bell with food. The dog would salivate whenever the bell rang, whether or not there was food around.

Cognitive Constructivism: while associative learning is most commonly associated with Pavlov, constructivists also have an explanation. The more associations someone has with a topic, the more neural pathways are created connecting ideas. This helps improve memory recall.

See Also: Non-Associative Learning

• The teacher presents students with rhyming pairs to help a student associate one word with another. This can be effective in teaching vocabulary.
• When attempting to recall a fact, you can try to reflect on where you were and what else you were talking about when that fact was first introduced to you.

31. Cooperative Learning (Group Work)

Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy that involves having students work together rather than in competition. Usually, this takes place in small groups where the success of the group is dependant on the students working together to achieve a common goal (also known as positive interdependence). See more: Cooperative learning examples .

• Minimizes destructive competitiveness in the classroom which may undermine a collaborative and collegial atmosphere.
• Requires students to talk to one another which can help them learn from each other’s perspectives.
• Students need to be explicitly taught group work skills before participating.
• Some students may become lazy and let others do the work for the whole group.

Sociocultural Theory: Learning is stimulated when students converse with one another. They get to see others’ viewpoints which may help each student build upon or challenge their existing views.

32. Agenda Setting

The teacher presents the students with the agenda at the start of the day. The use of visual aids may be helpful here, allowing students to see a timeline of the day’s events on the board at the front of the classroom.

• Very effective for students with autism who often feel calmed knowing there is some structure to their day.
• Helps relax students into a day or even a lesson by giving them certainty about what’s to come.
• Any benefits that may arise lack scientific backing.
• Download a card set of images that represent different lesson types and activities. Use this card set to lay out a visual timeline for the students every morning.

33. Team Teaching

Instead of one teacher delivering a lesson to a group of students, several teachers get their classes together to teach one lesson to a larger group.

• Teachers can be more flexible. One teacher may take the role of presenter while the other acts as a support with students falling behind.
• Teachers can share the workload, particularly for preparation.
• Large groups may lead to some students falling behind without the teachers realizing.
• There is the potential for more noise distractions and subversive behavior in large groups.
• Teachers need to have the same work ethic for this to be effective.
• Large class sizes required.
• Consider having one teacher take the lead on all mathematics lessons and the other take the lead on all literature lessons. This enables each teacher to become more expert on their topic.

34. Directing Attention

Directing attention involves diverting students away from negative non-learning behaviors and towards positive behaviors by presenting them with engaging learning materials or ideas.

• Prevents negative behaviors without confrontation.
• Focuses on creating engaging lessons.
• Can be done multiple times in one lesson whenever a teacher sees a student is distracted.
• Tends to be more effective with younger children than older children.
• Use visual aids, worksheets and manipulatives to help direct and maintain students’ attention on something physical. With adults, I use flipchart paper (also known as butcher’s paper) as the prop to direct attention.

34. Visual Aids

Visual aids are any objects used in the classroom to attract students’ eyes and therefore immerse them more into a lesson. Visual aids can have both cognitive benefits (see: cognitive tools) and engagement benefits.

• Engagement: students are more likely to pay attention if they have something to look at.
• Cognition: some students may benefit from visualizing a concept to help them order ideas in their minds.
• Visual learning : some learners prefer learning visually than aurally (see: learning styles).
• A visual aid needs an educational purpose. Consider why you are using the visual aid before deciding to use it.
• Graphic Organizers
• Educational toys (see: Manipulatives)

35. Flexible Seating

Allowing students to sit where they choose, rather than having assigned seating, has had a resurgence in popularity in the past decade. A flexible seating classroom often has a range of differently organized workstations, allowing students to select a spot to sit that’s most comfortable for them and which best suits the style of learning that will be occuring in that lesson.

• Can reduce sedentary periods of time by allowing students to move around more during a lesson.
• Enables students to sit at a table that best suits their learning (computer table, group table, individual table, on a bean bag, etc.)
• There is often not enough space at workstations, meaning students end up not actually sitting where they choose.
• Often students like to have a spot they can call their own. It helps give students a sense of place and belonging.
• This approach is very common in the Agile Learning Spaces and Flexible Classrooms movement.

See my full post on the Common Classroom Seating Arrangements .

36. Formative Assessment (a.k.a Assessment for Learning)

Formative assessment involves assessing students’ learning throughout the learning process, not just at the end. Formative assessments can take place at one point in a unit of work or regularly throughout a lesson.

• Allows teachers to adjust their teaching if students are not quite up to where you expected, or if they are exceeding your expectations.
• Students get feedback on their progress before the summative assessment, allowing them to adjust.
• Gives the teacher a better understanding of their students. If a student fails a summative assessment but the teacher knows the student could do the task at the formative stage, more investigation can take place to see why there is a discrepancy.
• Can be time consuming to constantly assess students’ abilities.
• Formative assessments often lack the authority of summative assessment pieces.
• Formative assessments can be simple stops to get feedback and ongoing questioning of students.
• They can also take the form of pop quizzes or student-teacher conferences.

37. Summative Assessment

Summative assessments take place at the end of a unit of work and are often the formal final / overall grading of a student’s knowledge.

• Summative assessments are necessary for providing a final grade for a student and are often required by school boards.
• Summative assessments give students something to strive toward which may keep them motivated and encourage them to study.
• They are seen as too high-stakes and can cause stress for students.
• If a student does poorly, the assessment is right at the end, so the teacher and student often don’t have any more time address the problems and help progress the student’s learning.
• Standardized tests.
• Assessments for student portfolios.
• End-of-year exams.
• Entry exams.

38. Gamification

Gamification involves implementing elements of gameplay in your lessons. This can be as simple as creating a competition out of a mathematics quiz.

Recently, computer software such as excel and programming languages have been used in the classroom as elements of ‘digital’ gamification.

Don’t confuse gamification with game-based learning, which is discussed next.

• Gamification can make boring lessons fun , thereby increasing the engagement and motivation of students.
• Teachers must not lose focus on the learning outcomes that must be met. ‘Fun’ is not the goal, it is the means for achieving the goal, which is always learning .
• Get your students into two groups and have them compete in a trivia contest based on your lesson content.
• Give students table groups and reward tables with points depending oh how well they do.

See my full article on the pros and cons of digital play.

39. Game-Based Learning

Not to be confused with gamification, game-based learning involves the use of actual games (board games, computer games, sports games, etc.) into a lesson.

While gamification involves using elements of gameplay into lessons (points, competitions), game-based learning involves using actual games in a lesson.

• Students often love video games at home, so they get excited that they can play them in school as well.
• Games can also support cognition by prompting students to complete and practice tasks to win games. See also: cognitive tools.
• Parents may feel playing games in the classroom is not acceptable. Make sure parents know your reasoning behind using games.
• Ensure the focus remains on the learning outcomes, not just on ‘having fun’.
• Minecraft is a very popular computer game that is used in classrooms.
• Sim City is a popular game for city design courses.
• Use card games to teach counting. I teach ESL students counting using the game UNO.

See my full article on game-based learning as well as my explanations about how to use minecraft and sandbox games in the classroom .

40. Coaching

A coach does not stand in front of players and simply tell them what the ‘facts’ are. A coach stands behind a player. He watches the player and gives feedback on their performance. His job is to encourage, suggest adjustments and be the support network for the player.

Coaching is one of the great metaphors for teaching . A teacher who uses coaching as a strategy tried to emulate the role of the coach: observing and offering support and suggestions for adjustments.

• Student-centered : the student is the focus and the teacher is the supporter.
• Personalized: each student will get unique feedback based on their performance.
• Sometimes the teacher needs to introduce new ideas, meaning coaching may not be as useful as another approach such as modeling or direct instruction.

Sociocultural Theory: In sociocultural theory, teachers tend to encourage active learning and provide social support.

41. Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning involves the teacher presenting a problem for the students to solve by making their own inquiries. It is similar to discovery learning, but is different in that inquiry based learning generally involves the teacher setting out a puzzling problem to solve at the start of the lesson.

• Students ‘find’ the answers rather than being given them by teachers.
• Answers emerge out of exploration, problem solving and discovery, meaning students learn why something is true, not simply what is true.
• Significant support is required to help guide students through their inquiry. Students need to be taught how to inquire and given the right inquiry tools (such as books, appropriate websites, etc.)

Constructivism: Students learn through constructing ideas in their heads rather than being told the facts.

42. Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching involves having students facilitate their own small group lessons. It is usually used in reading lessons.

The teacher first models how to guide group discussions before sending students off to facilitate their own lesson. In groups of four, students usually take the roles of: questioner, clarifier, summarizer and predictor. Students read stimulus materials then self-facilitate a group discussion about the text.

• Students learn self-regulation learning skills which are essential for later in their lives.
• When students are trained up, the classes work very effectively and the teacher can fade into the background.
• Students learn group work, communication and negotiation skills. They also learn how to speak up in a group.
• Students learn to be mature even when the teacher isn’t looking. By taking on responsibility as ‘teachers’, students should rise to the challenge.
• Requires a lot of pre-teaching so students have the required skills for these sorts of lessons to work.

Sociocultural theory: working in groups, communicating and sharing ideas help stimulate thinking and encourages students to challenge their own ideas in order to improve them.

Example (Modelled off the I Do, We Do, You Do approach)

• The teacher should model the four roles required in front of the whole class, with several volunteers to act as the demonstration group.
• The teacher assigns groups and the four group roles: questioner, clarifier, summarizer and predictor.
• When students do the activity in small groups for the first time, explicitly walk the students through the steps. Use a bell or similar audible cue to cycle students through the group work steps.
• Allow the students to work in independent groups – walk around and help groups who are struggling.

43. Blended Learning

Blended learning involves a mix of online instruction and face-to-face learning. This strategy can be employed by giving students part of their instruction as homework online and part of it in class. It differs from flipped learning because a flipped classroom involves at-home instruction and in-class practice. Blended learning can have both practice and instruction occuring at home and/or in class

• Gives the teacher flexibility to teach partially during homework time and partially in class.
• Students need access to technology at home unless the at-home parts are only reading and printouts.
• Usually only suitable for university students who are short on time. Blended learning allows them to do some of the learning in their own time.
• Used regularly for distance learning students and rural and remote students.
• Used regularly at university level.
• If using this method, I recommend taking a look at the flipped learning model for some ideas of how to split your distance and in-class segments efficiently.

See my List of 10 Pros and Cons of teaching Online .

44. Growth Mindsets

A growth mindset focuses on teaching students that they have the power to improve and succeed if they put their effort into it. The opposite would be students refusing to try because they don’t think they have the power in their own hands to succeed.

Teaching growth mindsets is all about modelling positive behaviors. Include growth mindset in your lesson plans by finding points in the lesson to discuss specific strategies to move toward success, strategies for studying, and positive thinking.

• Focuses on helping students see that they have ‘ agency ’ (in other words, they are capable of improving their lives)
• Motivates students to improve their own lives
• Many students have many barriers to success. If you ignore those barriers and simply say ‘you can work harder’, this will make students feel disempowered. Teachers need to show students the pathways to success.
• Ensure the content is actually achievable for your students.
• Break down tasks into manageable chunks so that students know the steps toward success. Then, use encouragement to motivate students to put in their effort.
• Celebrate success to show students that they are competent and capable.

45. Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally responsive teaching is an instructional strategy that involves ensuring students’ cultures are integrated into lessons. This includes celebrating students’ cultural backgrounds when relevant and using learning styles that are dominant within your students’ cultures.

• Includes children from cultures that have been traditionally marginalized within the classroom.
• Minimizes the impact of Westernization of education.
• May make new students from cultures that are different to the majority in the class to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging in the classroom.
• Helps all students see the world from a variety of perspectives and learn to respect pluralism.
• Teachers need to be sensitive to cultures different to their own.
• Teachers should consult parents and community members about best strategies for the cultural needs of the students in the class.

Sociocultural theory: sociocultural theory believes

• Have role models from minority backgrounds come into the classroom to share their backgrounds.
• Consult with parents about ideal teaching methods within their culture.
• Avoid nonverbal gestures that have different meanings in different cultures.
• Another example: eye contact is considered respectful in Western cultures but acts of defiance in Indigenous Austealian culture.

46. Teaching to Mastery

Mastery learning and teaching is a strategy for ensuring all students meet a certain standard of understanding or ability before moving on.

Teachers set a benchmark of knowledge 9r ability for students to meet. Then, all assessment in this method is formative, where students are given feedback and as much time as possible to improve before progressing.

• Students are not left behind and gaps in their knowledge are not overlooked.
• Students may feel less stressed or rushed with this approach.
• There is no talk of inability or failure in this method as teachers and students keep working away at the task until success is achieved.
• There is not enough time in traditional school systems for this approach.
• The difference in abilities between students means some students will get a long way ahead while others remain a long way behind.

Humanism: there are elements of unconditional positive regard in this approach (see Carl Rogers).

• An example.may be that all students must get 80% on a test to progress to the next unit of work.
• This approach is common for getting a “handwriting license” in primary / elementary school.

47. Stimulus Materials and Props

Stimulus materials are tools that a teacher provides during lessons to spur students into engaging with the lesson or thinking more deeply about the content provided. They include videos, educational toys (manipulatives), worksheets, visual prompts, objects from outside the classroom, and so on.

Without stimulus materials, the classroom feels empty and detached from real life. Bring stimulus materials into the classroom to help students make stronger connections to things going on outside.

• Provides something for students to focus on which can focus students’ minds.
• Helps students to learn actively if they have the opportunity to touch and manipulate the props.
• Can inspire and draw-in students at the start of the lesson.
• Stimulus materials can be very expensive.
• Students can get distracted playing with the materials rather than listening to their peers or the teacher.
• Students need to learn to share materials.

Constructivism: constructivists encourage the use of props so that students can ‘learn by doing’ and be ‘hands on’ in their learning.

• Place several props into a bag. Have the students put their hands in the bag and see whether they can guess what the props are.
• Place an unusual prop related to your lesson in the middle of the classroom. Get the students to guess what it is before beginning the lesson.

48. Service Learning

Service learning involves having students meet learning outcomes while contributing to and ‘giving back to’ their community. This often involves volunteer work, internships and placements within the community where assistance is needed.

• Students can increase their sense of belonging within the community.
• Connections between learning and life are made explicit in this sort of learning.
• Learning moves from the theoretical to the practical.
• Students can come to see how they are connected to a wider ecosystem, and that they have an important part to play in serving that ecosystem for the good of all.
• It can be hard to place all your students in a service learning placement if there are many students to allocate.
• It may be impractical given safety and security requirements.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory: EST highlights that people are situated within community from whom they get their values and beliefs. By being more connected to the community, students learn who they are and how they’re connected to a society and culture that surrounds them.

• Prepare your students in the classroom. Consider having organizers or community members come into the classroom to tell the students what to expect.
• Have students write preparatory notes about what the intend to learn, who they intend to speak to, and what their day-by-day goals will be whilst doing the service learning.
• Have students complete their service learning / voluntary work in groups or individually.
• Meet with the students intermittently during the service learning and have student-teacher conferences on how it is progressing. Intervene where needed.
• Have students come together at the end of the project to reflect on what was learnt and how their understanding of their place in the community has evolved. Discuss possible future involvement and engagement in the community to emphasize that community involvement is an ongoing project.

49. Situated Learning

Invented by Lave and Wegner, situated learning involves learning by being embedded within a professional environment and slowly picking up the ways of doing and speaking within that context.

It has similarities to other instructional strategies outlined in this article such as service learning and cognitive apprenticeships. However, its defining feature is the slow absorption of knowledge through prolonged exposure to an authentic professional setting.

• Students learn the most important practical information required for a job.
• Students learn the ways of speaking and behaving that are required within a professional situation.
• Not practical as a teaching strategy in classrooms. It works best as an apprenticeship model for new graduates from university.

Sociocultural theory: the situated learning approach emphasizes the importance of learning from ‘more knowledgeable others’.

50. Sixty-Second Strategy

The sixty second strategy involves having students review one another’s work in three steps which take 60 seconds each. The steps are: respond, reflect and review. This usually takes place after a student presentation where the students give a cumulative 3 minutes of feedback and reflection on the presentation.

The goal is not just to give feedback to the presenter, but for the listeners to also think about how they would have done the presentation and what their own thoughts on the topic are.

• Students learn how to give feedback to others in positive and constructive ways.
• It is a great way for students to actively engage with other students’ presentations.
• Students need to know how to be positive in feedback and not be hurtful.
• Have the student who is presenting their work give their presentation.
• The students who watched the presentation have 60 seconds to write their thoughts on the topic that was presented.
• Next, the students have 60 seconds to write down feedback on the presenter’s work.
• Then the students have 60 seconds to provide positive affirmation and praise.
• At the end, have the students share their feedback with the presenter in small groups so that the environment is not so intimidating for the presenter.

51. Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up

Thumbs down, thumbs up is a simple strategy for getting immediate feedback from students. During a lesson, pause after each step to get instant thumbs down, thumbs up feedback on whether students understand the previous step.

If there are thumbs down, the teacher should ask those students if they have direct questions or whether they might want that section to be covered again in different language or more slowly.

• Enables the teacher to gauge students’ reactions in real time.
• Gives the students an opportunity to give the teacher feedback immediately so that they don’t fall behind or become frustrated.
• If the majority of students give thumbs up but only one or two give thumbs down, this is not endorsement to move on. Rather, the teacher should make sure no students fall behind.

52. Summarizing and Paraphrasing

For this teaching strategy, either the teacher or student summarizes something someone previously said in their own words in order to ensure they understanding each other without any misconceptions.

• In having a student repeat the teacher’s statement in their own words, the teacher can see whether students actually understand something.
• In repeating a student’s statement in different language, the teacher can see whether they truly understand what the student means.
• The biggest risk here is in the teacher ‘putting words in the student’s mouth’. This may give the student a free pass.
• The teacher explains a concept, then asks the student to repeat it without using the same words. A pause of a few minutes between the teacher’s explanation and the student’s response can be helpful in preventing the student from directly copying the teacher’s language. As time passes, the meaning should stay but the exact words should be forgotten.
• Alternatively, the student makes a statement, and the teacher translates it in their own words and finishes with “Is that what you meant?”

53. Demonstration

Demonstration involves showing the students a practical example of something that is being learned in class.

The difference between demonstration and modeling is that a demonstration usually:

• does not involve explicit explanation of all the steps, and
• is usually not followed by students having a go themselves.

Demonstration (rather than modelling) may be necessary when the concept being demonstrated is dangerous or requires expertise.

• Having something complex or theoretical demonstrated can be exciting to link theory to practice.
• Demonstrations may require expensive field trips or inviting experts and expert equipment into the classroom.
• A demonstration could be as complex as going to watch a space rocket launch or as simple as a ranger demonstrating how to use bear spray.

54. Role Modelling

Role modelling involves demonstrating the requisite behaviors or ideal way of acting within a learning environment. Role modelling has the intention of positively influencing students into copying the teacher’s positive learning behaviors.

• Students are socialized into behaving and learning in socially appropriate ways.
• A teacher who sets personal high expectations for their own learning will have those high expectations flow on toward the students.
• A teacher needs to be aware that all of their behaviors rub off on students. This means they need to ‘put on their happy face’ despite what’s going on in their private lives.

Bandura (Social learning theory): Albert Bandura believed that observation was important in influencing how people will behave and learn. See his famous Bobo doll experiment where children were more aggressive toward a doll when they observed an adult being aggressive toward it.

• Male teachers may role model positive masculinity, such as politeness and respect to all people regardless of gender.
• A teacher can be a role model my demonstrating engagement and volunteering within the community, insisting on respectfully welcoming guests when they enter the classroom, or having high regard and respect for reading, learning, and apologizing.

55. Predicting

Predicting involves asking students to make predictions or ‘guestimates’ before a study is undertaken. The teacher may make a prediction for the students to respond to, or ask students to make predictions themselves.

• It stimulates students to think about the logical flow-on effects of the things they are learning about (such as in science: gravity, momentum, etc.)
• Students are asked to think forward rather than simply react in the learning environment.
• At the start of a lesson (before introducing too much information), ask students what they think will happen during the lesson.
• Show the students a diagram or comic strip demonstrating sequence of events with the last few events missing. Have students fill-in the gaps.

56. Intentional Mistakes

The teacher inserts intentional mistakes into their teaching materials (such as misspellings in their presentations) or their speech in order to:

• Check students’ depth of knowledge,
• Make memorable teaching moments, or
• Keep students critically engaged.
• It keeps students on their toes throughout the lesson, particularly during the boring parts.
• It can make learning into a game if you let the students know to look out for the mistakes in advance. You could also offer a reward for the person who identifies the mistake.
• It can lead to critical discussion about common mistakes that students make in a topic.
• You may risk having students believe you had made the mistakes intentionally.
• Students may believe the mistakes are truths and end up believing things that are untrue.
• Create intentional spelling errors in your worksheets and powerpoint presentations.
• Mispronounce a word and see if students realize.
• Flip two words in a sentence and see if anyone realizes.

57. Reflection-in-Practice / Immediate Feedback

Immediate feedback is any feedback that takes place during a lesson rather than after a lesson or exam has been completed.

There are two primary types of immediate feedback: feedback from students to teachers, and feedback from teachers to students.

The feedback’s purpose should be to make impromptu changes during the lesson before it is too late.

• Teachers can adjust their teaching methods in the moment to ensure the lesson is a success.
• Students can adjust the ways they are going about completing a task to ensure it is successful.
• In large groups, one-to-one feedback can be difficult.
• Teachers need to be able to think on their feet to make immediate adjustments.

David Schon’s ‘Reflection in Practice’: According to Schon, successful practitioners reflect in practice rather than just on practice. Reflection in practice requires practitioners to reflect on what they’re doing while they’re doing it.

• Asking for a thumbs up / thumbs down from students to see if they understand something.
• Looking over the shoulder at children’s work to see how they’re coming to their conclusions.
• Accepting ‘hands up’ questions at any point during an explanation or lecture.

58. Whole Group Class Discussion (a.k.a Circle Time)

A whole group class discussion gets all students in the class talking to one another in one group. When I use this strategy, I try to get students sitting in a conversation circle. The benefits of students sitting in a circle include:

• There is a neutral power structure with no one at the head of the discussion.
• All students can see one another.
• Whole class discussions encourage all students to develop the confidence to share their own views publicly.
• If the whole class gets into it, there can be a lot of great back-and-forth.
• Often, the loudest and most confident students dominate the discussion.
• Some students are too shy to speak up.
• It is easy to embarrass a student, so be careful to be sensitive.
• Use a speaking stick so only one person speaks at a time. The only person who can speak is the person with the speaking stick.
• Use discussion circles so that all students can see each other when talking.
• If conversation is slow to start, consider asking individual students direct questions.
• Use open-ended questioning to force students to answer in full sentences.

59. Concentric Circles

Concentric circles is a method that builds on the whole group circle time discussion. Students sit in two concentric circles with the inner circle facing the outer circle. The students in the inner circle should be paired one-to-one with a student in the outer circle (like speed dating).

The teacher poses a question and the pairs are given 60 seconds to discuss the problem. Then, the students from the inner circle rotate one person to the right so they are facing a new partner for the next question.

• Disagreements about pairing and students working with their friends are resolved because each student gets a turn working with another student.
• Students get to learn and communicate with other students they don’t usually spend time with.
• Discussion can help students see perspectives that they did not come up with on their own.
• There needs to be an even number of students in the class so each student has a partner to work with.

Sociocultural theory: students learn by interacting with others to help them test, challenge and extend their own ideas.

60. Hot Seat

One student takes the role of a character from a book, history, etc. They dit in front of the class and get interviewed by their classmates. The student must stay in character and answer the questions from the perspective of that character.

• Students explore topics from perspectives other than their own, helping them to develop lateral thinking skills .
• Students need time to research their character and brainstorm their character’s perspectives on various topics before being put in the hot seat.
• Shy students or students who are not confident with the material may be intimidated by this instructional strategy.
• This strategy can be linked up with strategies like De Bono’s thinking hats where students would answer questions from a particular perspective.

61. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are visual aids in the classroom designed to help students visualize and conceptualize ideas and their relationships with other ideas. Examples of graphic organizers include flowcharts, mind maps and venn diagrams. Use them to help students think more deeply about topics.

• Very useful for students who are visual learners.
• Provides a framework for deeper and critical thinking.
• Provides structure to help students who are unsure of how to proceed with critical thinking.
• Don’t stick to just one framework as the frameworks narrow the scope of thinking in exchange for depth. Mix up your graphic organizers.

Cognitive Constructivism: cognitive constructivists such as David Jonassen believe graphic organizers help students to share their cognitive load with the organizer, helping them to organize and sort ideas in their heads more effective.y

• Flow charts
• Venn diagrams
• Concept maps
• Network or family tree
• Spider diagram
• Compare-contrast matrix
• Series of events chain
• Character charts

62. Think Pair Share

This is one of the simplest, most frequently used, but also most effective classroom teaching strategies. Students think about a topic on their own. Then, they pair up with a partner and discuss, compare and contrast their thoughts together. Thirdly, the pair share what they discussed with the whole class.

• Moves students from individual thinking to social thinking in a clear process.
• Helps students to vocalize their own thoughts in small and large groups.
• Helps students to see other people’s perspectives by encouraging communication, compare and contrast.
• Students need the confidence to speak up in front of the whole class. I have found some students like to have the comfort of flip chart (butcher’s) paper as a prop when presenting their discussions to the class.

Sociocultural theory: learning through conversation allows students to see diverse perspectives and therefore improve on their own perspectives.

• Step 1: Think. Students are given 2 minutes to think about the topic on their own and take 5 bullet points on their own.
• Step 2: Pair. Students get together in pairs (or groups of 3 if appropriate) to compare and contrast their own ideas. Students discuss the ideas and come up with a collective group of ideas.
• Step 3: Share. Each group shares their own thoughts with the whole class. As each group presents, other classmates can challenge ideas or take additional notes to add to their own group’s thoughts.

63. Group Roles

Assigning group roles for students who are doing small group work is another simple instructional strategy to try. There are many group role types to be found online. I tend to use the roles of: timekeeper, moderator, notekeeper, and collector. All students should be equal discussion contributors, and this is managed by the moderator.

• Helps to structure the activity, give students certainty in what they are doing, and reduce the uncertainty from group work.
• Encourages communication to get students hearing other students’ ideas and perspectives
• Students must be explicitly taught the group roles and need time to practice them.

Sociocultural Theory: By communicating with peers, students widen their perspectives and (with more knowledgeable peers) have their knowledge scaffolded.

• Ensure you model the group roles before beginning the activity. Consider using a fishbowl method by having a sample group sit in the middle of a circle modeling the roles to the rest of the class.
• For the class’s first attempt at group roles, structure it very clearly by getting the students to follow a clear step-by-step guide. Slowly release responsibility to students when they are ready.

64. Barometer

The barometer method gets a measure of students’ opinions by asking them to stand on a line from 0 to 10 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = unsure or conflicted, 10= strongly agree).

• Students tend to find this a non-intimidating way of sharing their opinions.
• Can be a good way of getting students talking. Once they stand on the line, you can ask them to explain why they stood where they did.
• It may be beneficial to prevent students from taking a neutral “I don’t know” stance without sufficient defence of this position.

Critical theory : The barometer could be paired with critical theory if students critique assumptions in society with a focus on the perspectives of marginalized groups.

• Introduce a complex or controversial issue through a book, video or class discussion.
• Ask students to stand on an imaginary line from 0 to 10 representing their opinion.
• Place students into three groups based on their position in the line: agree, unsure and disagree. Have the three groups present their 5 best arguments to the class.

65. Cognitive Tools

Cognitive tools are educational technologies designed to promote thinking beyond what a student can do without the technology. This might include using wearable technologies to help students map out their own movements to then test their knowledge of geography, use of excel sheets to create financial estimations, etc.

• Educational technologies can help us do things we couldn’t do without them.
• Can engage students who love computers and technology in learning tasks.
• Teachers must ensure technology use is focused on helping students learn more or at a higher level of critical thinking than if they didn’t have technology.

Cognitive Constructivism: this approach, invented by david Jonassen, emphasizes that computer technologies should be used to extend and promote higher-order cognition.

See my full article: Examples of Congitive Tools in Education .

66. Anticipation / Guestimation

Anticipation and guestimation is an instructional strategy designed to get students thinking about the consequences or flow-on effects of actions. Teachers ask students to make predictions based on limited knowledge about a topic

• Students often have to use mathematics and logical reasoning to succeed in this task.
• Students are required to be resourceful and seek clues that will show them the possible consequences of action.
• It is important to strike a balance between giving enough information to make informed guesses and not too much information that the students can deduce the full answer.

67. Silent Conversation

A silent conversation is a way of getting students to communicate without having them speak up in front of the class. Students write their responses to a prompt on sheets of paper but cannot speak while doing so. They should then also write responses to one another’s points so that they are ‘conversing’ through writing.

• Students who are shy to speak up my be more willing to participate, especially if their written response can stay anonymous.
• It can often be easier to respond in writing than speaking because students have time to reflect and think about the wording of their response before writing it.
• Only one student at a time can write their response. Consider what other students will be doing during this time.
• Students must be competent writers.

Sociocultural theory: we learn and extend our knowledge through social interaction. By seeing others’ points, we can improve or amend our own.

• One way to do this is to have a flip chart paper sheet (butcher’s paper) on a wall with a discussion prompt written above. Have students walk up to the paper intermittently thought a lesson to write responses to the prompt. After the first few students write their responses, the rest of the students must respond not to the prompt but to the answers written by previous students – how can they add to or challenge what someone else has already said?
• The second common way of having a silent conversation is to pass a piece of paper around the class and have students write their responses to conversation chains on the piece of paper.

68. Devil’s Advocate

A devil’s advocate is someone who argues for an opposing point of view in order to stir up an argument and poke holes in other points of view. The devil’s advocate does not necessarily need to believe the points they are arguing. Either the teacher or students can be the devil’s advocate I’m this teaching strategy.

• Encourages students to see their own blind spots or misunderstandings.
• Helps students to see a diversity of points of view.
• Improves students’ debating skills.
• Students and parents may interpret you devil’s advocate position as an attempt to teach unsavory views in the classroom.

Critical theory: A devil’s advocate can help students with skills desirable within critical theory, like seeing views of people who are not commonly heard in society and the capacity to critique dominant narratives in society.

• The teacher can note in their lesson plan moments when they believe there are opportunities to play devil’s advocate role promote debate.
• The teacher can give students debating points where one person acts as devil’s advocate and another as the person defending the dominant perspective.

69. Strategic Pauses

Strategic pauses are one of the most important tools in a teacher’s toolbox of teaching strategies. A strategic pause is a gap between statements to let a point sink in or linger, or to give students a moment to think about an answer before the teacher moves on.

•  An excellent classroom management strategy
• Encourages students to think and not rely on teacher prompting
• Emphasizes important points
•  Can leave students confused
• Requires follow-up and knowledge testing

Cognitive load theory: Too much information at one time can cause a student to lose track. Time is required for the mind to interpret, sort, stack, save and withdraw information in their mind (‘create cognitive schemata’).

• Pause after a question for 10 seconds before discussing the answer.
• If the class has started getting unsettled, often a pause in the teacher’s speaking is enough to settle them again and remind them to re-engage with the learning materials.
• Slow speech with sufficient pauses between ‘chunks’ of information (seeL ‘chunking’ strategy) can help students arrange information in their minds appropriately.

70. Chunking

Chunking involves presenting information in manageable ‘chunks’ to allow students to sufficiently process information before moving on to the next section of a lesson or task.

Teachers should present only a manageable amount of information to students before giving them a chance to consolidate the information and practice their new knowledge.

Without giving sufficient time to consolidate information before giving new information to a student, the student will struggle to keep up with the information and old information may fall away before it is secured into their memory.

• Less students will be left behind, confused and disillusioned in the classroom if they are given consolidation time.
• There is often not enough time in a crowded school curriculum to chunk information well enough.
• It is hard to tell how much is ‘too much’ information, and how long is long enough before knowledge is consolidated into memory.

Cognitive Overload Theory: If students are given too much information, their mind becomes ‘overloaded’ and they are unable to process more information. We only have a limited amount of working memory space in our minds. See: John Sweller’s cognitive overload theory .

• Only teach two or three key points per lesson.
• Provide a lot of discussion and practice time before moving on to presenting new information.
• Consistently use formative assessment and reflection in action during the lesson to see when is the ideal time to move on.

71. Snowball Discussions

Snowball discussions are another twist on the think-pair-share method. For snowball discussions, students start in pairs and share their thoughts and ideas together. Then, the pairs join up with another pair to create a group of four. These four people share thoughts together, compare notes, debate ideas, and come up with an agreed list of points on a topic.

Then, groups join up again to make groups of eight. The groups of eight compare points and perspectives, then join up to create groups of 16, etc. until it ends up being a whole class discussion.

• An effective strategy for promoting discussion between students. It can be useful for getting students to compare how different groups of students approach points from different perspectives.
• The class group needs to be large (20+) for enough rounds of this strategy to happen.

Sociocultural theory: social interaction helps students see perspectives that are not their own and challenge their own views. This helps them pick holes in their own points and improve their misconceptions.

72. Homework: Knowledge Consolidation

Yes, homework is a teaching strategy! A traditional approach to homework sees it as an opportunity for students to consolidate information that was taught in class. Studying for upcoming exams is often also an important part of homework.

Other homework strategies like flipped classroom are possible – see the flipped classroom discussion earlier in this article.

• Help students to consolidate information learned in class.
• Ensures students have an opportunity to keep information fresh in their minds and be reminded of information learned in previous months.
• Excessive homework can impede students’ rights to enjoyment, sports and extracurricular activities out of school.
• Students often do not have support at home if they get stuck.

Behaviorism: repetition over time helps memory retention.

73. Active Listening

Active listening involves using strategies to pay close attention to what someone is saying. Teachers can explicitly model active listening by giving students strategies like pointing their bodies at the speaker, keeping their eyes on the speaker, nodding when they agree, and putting hands up to ask questions or clarification.

• Active listening encourages respect in the classroom.
• It could help students to remember better because it minimizes distractions.
• Students may be more likely to contribute questions if they are paying more attention.
• Some students (such as students with autism) need stress balls, fidget toys, etc to help them concentrate.

Examples that show active listening include:

• Facing the speaker square-on
• Eye contact
• Asking questions
• Repeating, paraphrasing or summarizing the speaker’s statement.

74. Connect, Extend, Challenge

The “connect, extend, challenge” teaching strategy is a three-step strategy designed to get student thinking about how their knowledge is progressing.

In step 1, students ‘connect’ what they’re learning to their prior knowledge. In step 2, students think about how the new knowledge ‘extends’ what they already knew. In step 3, students reflect on what ‘challenges’ they still face: what is still confusing to them?

• This is a framework that gets students to explicitly think about how they are progressing in their learning.
• The clear steps give students guidelines to help them achieve success.
•  Requires prompting and scaffolding

Social Constructivism: This strategy has implicit links to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Students look at how their backgrounds impact their thinking, what level they are at, and what is still sitting in their ‘zone of proximal development’ (.e.g what they need to learn next).

• Split a piece of paper into three columns to help students in this task: one column for ‘connect’, one for ‘extend’, and one for ‘challenge’.

75. Create a Headline

While a seemingly simple activity, this instructional strategy gets students to refine the topic they’re exploring down to one simple sentence that catches the essence of the issue.

For this strategy, have students come up with a headline for the lesson as if they’re a journalist reporting on the issue at hand. Get them to think about how it can be catchy, explain the problem at hand, and provide an engaging ‘hook’ to draw readers in.

• Helps students identify the key point of a lesson, forcing them to think about what is really important in the lesson.
• Some issues are complex and refining it down to one sentence may risk simplification.

To extend this activity, have students write a journalistic piece to go under the headline.

76. Lesson Objective Transparency

Being transparent about a lesson objective is a teaching strategy designed to help students understand the purpose of the lesson. By knowing the objective from the outset, the students are less likely to get confused about the purpose and direction of their lesson.

• Students are aware of the purpose of the lesson, which may make it more relevant .
• Students can more objectively measure how successful they have been in the lesson.
• Lesson objectives are often worded for adults not children, so the wording may just confuse the students at times.
• Write your lesson objectives on the first slide of lecture slides if relevant.

77. Open-Ended Questioning

Open-ended questioning involves asking questions that require an elaboration in the response. In other words, it cannot be a question that can be answered with “yes” or “no”.

• Students are required to provide explanations and justifications for the points they make.
• Teachers get a more detailed appreciation of students’ levels of knowledge .
• Make a habit of using open ended questions when talking to students about their work.
• Write all assessment tasks with open ended questions.
• Pose open ended questions as stimulus prompts.

78. Fishbowl

The fishbowl strategy gets a small group of students to sit in a circle in the center if the classroom with the rest of the class sitting in a circle around the group.

The students in the middle of the circle complete a discussion or task as a demonstration for the students observing.

• Teachers can use advanced students in the middle of the group as a way of modeling skills or behaviors for the remainder of the class.
• More knowledgeable students can model behavior for less knowledgeable students.
• Students get a chance at performing in front of others.
• Many students will find doing a task I’m front of their peers intimidating.

Bandura’s observational learning : Bandura argues that students can learn from observing the modeling of others.

• Get older students from higher grades to sit in the middle of the fishbowl.
• Or, use the fishbowl as the “we do” step in the I do, we do, you do method.

79. Four corners

Use the four corners of the classroom as different stations for answering questions proposed by a teacher.

The stations may have answers like: strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. Another example may be periods of time for a history exam: the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s. Or, the corners may have specific answers in the corners related to the questions being asked.

• This activity may be appealing for kinesthetic learners who want to move about to stay engaged.
• Provides a visual comparison between different views of students in the class.
• When students head to the corners, the teacher needs to ask students to explain their decisions to ensure depth is achieved in the lesson.

Multiple Intelligences: The lesson can help students who are kinesthetic learners.

80. Give One, Get One

This strategy involves getting students to trade ideas with one another.

Students write down their answer or thoughts to a TEACHER’S question. Then, they pair up. The students give their answer to their partner and take their partner’s answer. They discuss the differences between and merits of each answer.

Students then split up and find a new partner to repeat the activity.

• Writing down an answer ensures all students participate and that all students provide an explicit response.
• Seeing other people’s answers helps students get a broader perspective on a topic.
• Pre-plan for what to do when you don’t have an even number of students in the class.

Sociocultural theory: students learn from their peers through discussion. Discussion can help broaden horizons and allows students to see multiple perspectives on an issue.

• Present a discussion topic or question to the class.
• Have each student write down 3 points on a piece of paper to answer the question.
• Pair students up to discuss their answers. Get them to consider similarities and differences as well as pros and cons of each answer.
• Have students break apart and trade answers in another pair.

81. Brainstorming

Brainstorming involves asking students to come up with their initial thoughts on an issue. The thoughts do not have to be refined or correct. Instead, the students should use the brainstorming time to get their mind flowing and discussion started. Usually, this activity takes place using flip chart / butcher’s paper.

• A good way to start discussion among students, especially if they don’t know each other well or are shy.
• The students may need to assign some roles to group members. Consider rotating the role of ‘writer’ between students (usually one person writes an idea for the whole group on the brainstorming paper).
• A good way of doing this activity is to place students in small groups and provide them a large sheet of paper to write down all their initial thoughts.
• Students can then report all their thoughts back to the class.

82. Expert Jigsaw

The expert jigsaw method teaching method involves having students split into groups of ‘experts’ and then ‘topics’.

First, each ‘expert’ group focuses on a sub-area of a topic to develop their ‘expertise’ as a group.

Once the initial group work discussion has concluded, the ‘expert groups’ split.

The teacher then forms new ‘topic groups’ with one student from each of the original expert groups in the new groups.

The idea is that each group in the second part of the lesson will have an ‘expert’ on a particular area of a topic. Every expert will be able to contribute their perspective to the group

For example, if the topic is dinosaurs, the initial ‘expert groups’ may get together to discuss separate issues: Group 1 will discuss extinction, Group 2 will discuss bones, Group 3 will discuss diets, and Group 4 will discuss geographical locations.

When the ‘topic groups’ converge, they should contain one expert on extinction, one expert on bones, one expert on diets and one expert on geographical locations. The topic group will therefore have a broad range of expert knowledge to discuss and share.

• Gives each student a sense that they have something meaningful to contribute because they will be an expert on something when converging in the ‘topic’ groups.
• Encourages collaboration and positive interdependence in group work.
• Requires forethought and organization by the teacher.

Social Constructivism: social interaction helps students construct ideas in their minds. Each student gets to hear the expert perspective of another student who is a ‘more knowledgeable other’, while also acting as the more knowledgeable other when it is their turn to share their expertise.

83. KWL Charts

A KWL chart is a type of graphic organizer that can be used throughout the course of a lesson to help students keep track of their learning.

The chart can be on a simple piece of paper split into three columns: (K) What I already know; (W) What I want to know in this lesson; (K) What I learned.

At the start of the lesson the students can fill out the first two columns. The first column will help the teacher assess prior knowledge. The second column will help the teacher and students guide the lesson by outlining what they want out of it.

At the end of the lesson, the third column can be filled-in: (L) What I learned in the lesson. This helps students reflect on the lesson to show them that they did actually learn something!

• Students can keep track of their own learning.
• There is physical evidence of what was learned that teachers can use in students’ final report card comments and teaching portfolios.
• It is a good structured tool to help guide a lesson.
• It would be good if there was a fourth column for ‘what I still want to know’ so student can leave the lesson with more questions that can be addressed in future classes.
• Students sometimes place topics in the (W) What I want to know column that are relevant but not covered in a pre-made lesson plan. This can require the student to get a bit creative in re-arranging their lesson on the fly.

84. SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis is a teaching tool used to help students identify their own Strengths , Weaknesses , Opportunities , and Threats .

It is often used at the beginning of a term or unit of work to help students self-identify how best to proceed in their studies.

A SWOT analysis starts with a piece of paper split into four quadrants. The top-left has ‘Strengths’, top-right has ‘Weaknesses’, bottom-left has ‘Opportunities’ and the bottom-right has ‘Threats’.

There are plenty of templates online you could download also.

Students then fill out the SWOT sheet, identifying their strengths and weaknesses (e.g. ‘I am organized’ or ‘I am time poor’) and opportunities and threats (e.g. ‘I have the opportunity to work with my peers to improve’ or ‘I have an upcoming swim meet that will take up more of my time’).

• Students are taught to self-assess and plan ahead to avoid upcoming challenges in their lives.
• Students can balance affirming statements about their own skills with honest recognition of their weaknesses.
• I often find students use generic phrases copied from their neighbors. It’s a good idea to insist on depth of engagement and thinking when doing this strategy .

85. Read Aloud

Read aloud is a strategy that involves the teacher reading a text out loud to students. The strategy relies on the teacher using strategic pauses, pitch and tone changes, pace and volume changes, and questioning and comments. These reading aloud strategies help students to become more engaged in a lesson and get more out of the reading experience.

• Can be more engaging than getting students to read to themselves.
• By using strategic pauses and asking questions of students, the text can both be read and analyzed at the same time. This may improve comprehension.
• I’ve found many pre-service teachers get nervous doing this task. Remember that people of all ages love being read to.

86. SIT: Surprising, Interesting, Troubling

A SIT analysis asks students to list aspects of a lesson that were surprising, interesting and troubling. It is useful following the viewing of a short film or reading a book about a topic that seems bizarre or a fact that is counterintuitive.

Like a KWL chart, you could do this task by splitting paper into three columns: one for ‘surprising’, one for ‘interesting’ and one for ‘troubling’.

• Gets students to take a critical stance and make judgements (particularly for ‘troubling’)
• Is a good way to take stock of students’ interests in order to create follow-up lessons based on topics the students have already demonstrated concern for.
• The ‘troubling’ part is often hard for students to complete – consider explicitly modeling a sample response before asking students to complete it alone.

Critical theory: students can use a SIT analysis to critique the justice or inequality issues presented in a text.

87. Higher Order Thinking

When writing a lesson plan, it’s often a very good idea to note any time you’re encouraging higher order thinking – especially if there’s a column in your lesson plan for ‘teaching strategies’. This help people reading the lesson plan to see that you’ve been intentional about promoting higher order thinking.

Following Bloom’s taxonomy, higher order thinking usually includes tasks that involve verbs like : Judge, Appraise, Evaluate, Compare, Criticize, Assess, Estimate, Deduce, Hypothesize and Generalize.

• Helps a teacher to be more explicit in their language and to ensure a lesson is challenging for students.
• Ensures students are practicing their critical thinking skills rather than just repeating a teacher’s ‘facts’.
• For higher order thinking tasks, it’s important that you don’t give students the answers. Instead, give them hints, pointers and resources that will help them to come up with the answers on their own.

Constructivism: Bloom was a constructivist who believed learning happens when students build knowledge in their mind rather than just copying facts from an authority figure in the classroom.

88. Debating

Getting students to debate an idea is a great way of getting them to build coherent and logical arguments in defence of a position. It requires them to gather, analyze and sort facts before they present them to an audience.

• Students learn to identify positive arguments on a topic even if they disagree with it, helping them to see things from multiple perspectives.
• Students may require resources to do background research to come up with strong points for or against a position.
• Split the class into two groups and assign each group a position for or against a statement.
• Give each group 15 minutes to come up with some arguments for their side of the argument. Each student in the group should have one argument to make for the team. The student writes their argument down on a piece of paper.
• Line the two groups of students up facing one another.
• Go down the lines getting each student to make their point for or against the position. Zig-zag from one group to the next as you go down the line
• Once the students have completed, do an anonymous poll of the class to find out which position is most convincing. For the poll, students do not have to vote for their team’s position.

89. Note Taking (Cornell Method)

Note taking involves getting students to actively listen out for key points in a speech or video and synthesize it into key points for remembering later.

A popular framework for not taking is the Cornell method. This involves splitting a page into two columns.

The column on the left is a ‘Cue’ column. In the cue column write key words, phrases or Quotes as if they were headings or headline points to remember.

The column on the right is the note taking column. This column is larger and allows space to add detail and diagrams explaining the ‘cues’ that were written on the left in more detail.

• Turns passive learning during a didactic explicit instruction lesson into a more active learning environment.
• Helps students organize and synthesize their thoughts.
• Helps with studying for exams later on.
• Teachers may talk too fast for students to take detailed notes. Remember to use strategic pauses and remind students at strategic times that they need to be taking notes.
• Feel free to download cornell method worksheets off the internet. Just look for them on your favorite search engine!

90. Lesson Recording

Recording a lesson involves using either video, audio or Screencast technology to save the lesson for revision later on.

• This method is very useful for students with learning disabilities who may require more time to process information. They can rewatch later on and make use of pause, rewind and slow functions during the revision.
• Great for when students miss a day so they can catch up.
• Whenever you work with technology, be prepared for issues to arise that may delay the lesson.
• Use Screencasts when teaching a lesson online.
• Screencasts can also save your work when writing on an Interactive Whitenoard. Revision at a later date will show the steps you took in doing the ‘working out’.

91. Word Wall

Word walls are sections on the walls of a classroom where teachers and students can record new vocabulary, quotes or key terms they encounter during a unit of work.

• Word walls can be visible evidence of progression through a unit.
• Students can refer to the word walls when trying to explain their points and ideas to the class.
• During exams, remember to cover the word walls so students can’t cheat by looking over at the answers.
• Word walls can be great props for refreshing students’ memories at the start of a lesson. Start the lesson by reviewing the vocabulary learned in the previous lesson.

92. Goal Setting

Goal setting involves explicitly instructing students on how to set short (within a lesson), medium (within a unit of work) and long term (through the year) personal targets for success.

The goals can be for a whole group or individual.

• Goal setting gives students something to strive toward.
• It is a way of gamifying education. Students can challenge themselves to reach their step by step goals.
• It helps students understand where they are headed and what the purpose of the lesson is.
• Ensure goals are achievable lo that students do not become disillusioned.
• Have students prepare their daily goals at the end of the previous day or start of the current day.
• Reflect on medium-term goals weekly.

93. Worked Examples

A worked example is a completed piece of work that students can look to as models for their own work.

A worked example could be a sample of a completed diagram our 3D model, a completed essay or anything else that is a finished product of something the students are about to attempt.

• Students feel more secure knowing what they are working toward.
• Students can get ideas from the worked sample that they can adapt for their Ken work.
• Sometimes students copy the sample too closely rather than using their own thinking. Consider using a sample that requires similar skills and processes but a different end product.
• Make sure you spend time discussing the steps it takes from going from nothing to the completed product.
• Provide students with past examples of creative writing pieces and discuss the strategies used by the authors.
• Show samples that are good and poor. Get students to discuss how the poorer samples could be improved.

94. Multiple Intelligences

Students have different learning styles (or more accurately, different learning preferences ).

One theory proposes that there are eight ‘intelligences’. A student may have one that is dominant and others that are weaker.

The eight intelligences are:

• Visual-Spatial : Prefers learning through images and visual arts. Uses diagrams to model relationships between concepts.
• Linguistic-Verbal : Prefers learning through storytelling, reading and writing.
• Interpersonal : Good at working in social situations, gets energy from social interaction, and can empathize with others easily. Enjoys group work.
• Intrapersonal : An introverted person who prefers learning alone. They do a lot of thinking and reading but mostly like to think through things in their own time (see: intrapersonal skills ).
• Logical-Mathematical : Sees patterns easily. Enjoys mathematical puzzles.
• Musical : Enjoys learning through music, songs and rhymes.
• Bodily-Kinesthetic : Learns through movement. Prefers lessons that require moving about.
• Naturalistic : Has an affinity with nature. Learns well in calm natural environments.

A teacher can integrate different activities into a lesson plan that appeal to different people’s learning preferences. In this way, they create a more inclusive classroom for multiple different types of learners.

• Inclusion: Teachers can use this theory to engage students who do not learn well in traditional lessons.
• Attempts to be student-centered and teach in ways that are appealing to students.
• In 2004, a detailed study in Scotland found no evidence or scientific toxic basis for the theory that different people have learning styles. Furthermore, it argued that the 8 styles in the multiple intelligences model were a arbitrarily contrived. Thus, learning styles may simply be learning preferences.
• It is unclear whether a teacher should create lessons catered to a student’s learning preference or help students strengthen their skills in areas students identify as their weaknesses.
• If students are not given a chance to practice all “styles” (not just their preferences) they may miss important skills, such as mathematical skills or literacy skills.

Howard Gardner: The theory of multiple intelligences was invented by Howard Gardner in the United States.

95. Non-Interventionism

Non-interventionism involves a teacher taking the role of ‘unobtrusive observer’ while students learn. The students are left to come to their own conclusions, face up to their own challenges, and ‘struggle’ through the lesson.

The teacher’s intervention may come through changing what they plan for the next lesson based on what they see, or lightly intervening after the students have struggled for some time.

Other reasons for intervention may be for safety or fairness reasons.

• Struggling to find an answer is Important for learning. Students can make mistakes and learn why the mistakes are wrong instead of just being told what us correct.
• Without a teacher imposing their views, students can come up with creative and thoughtful solutions to problems that the teacher dis not foresee.
• Students develop independent minds.
• Many parents and mentors watching your lesson may come away with a sense that you were lazy or did not do enough to help the students. This approach needs to be clearly explained and justified in lesson plans (I’d recommend referring to Montessori in your justification) and situations when you would go from observer to intervener should be spelled out in advance.
• If students are struggling too much, learning may not occur – there is a limit to this approach!

Montessori Classrooms: The role of the teacher as “unobtrusive observer” was pioneered by Maria Montessori.

Montessori argued that children learn best when placed in resource rich environments and left to explore. Our interventions may impede creativity, self-belief, autonomy and self-discovery.

96. Constructive Alignment

Constructive alignment involves explicitly linking the lesson assessment tasks to the compulsory learning outcomes in the curriculum.

This is an impressive thing to see in a lesson plan.

Use language (including verbs and nouns) from the learning outcome in the assessment task. Furthermore, make sure to provide a criteria for what constitutes pass or fail.

• Teachers can easily justify their lesson choices to their boss or assessor.
• The assessment tasks are always relevant and focused.
• Students can see the relevance of the assessment task to their learning goals.
• If the language of the curriculum objectives are complex or obtuse, it may just confuse students to use that language in their assessment task.

Biggs: Constructive alignment was invented by John Biggs who designed this method to ensure all lessons are relevant and move students a step closer to completing all learning outcomes.

97. Zone of Proximal Development

The ‘ zone of proximal development ‘ is a phrase used to explain the ideal difficulty level for a lesson.

A lesson that is too easy won’t help a student progress.

A lesson that is too hard will disengage a student who just won’t be able to do the task.

But a lesson that is difficult but achievable with effort will push a student forward. These lessons that are just hard enough but not too hard are lessons in the “zone of proximal development”.

• Students get lessons catered to their own needs.
• There is always catered support for any student in the class.
• By creating lessons that are always challenging, you are setting high expectations for all students.
• Differentiation like this can lead to bug Differences in ability levels across the whole class.
• You’re often under pressure to teach content that is too hard for students to meet standardized curriculum requirements

Sociocultural theory: Lev Vygotsky, one of the most famous educational psychologists, invented this approach to help teachers provide lessons that are at the right level for progressing a student’s learning.

• Weave the ZDP into a lesson plan by stating that you will assess a student’s current ability then teach them the thing that is the logical next.step.
• Another way to do this is create three student worksheets for three different ability levels. State in your lesson plan that you will assess each student’s ability and give them the appropriate worksheet. Each worksheet should build on the previous to help students move through their ZPD one step at a time.

98. Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is the use of praise, stickers, candy or other rewards to show students that they have done a good job.

Teachers can stack positive reinforcements so students can take steps to get small, medium and large rewards to encourage students to keep on trying and working hard consistently.

• Students get clear signals to know when they have done well.
• Students get encouragement to keep going and keep trying in order to get the reward.
• Too much positive reinforcement can come across as insincere and lose students’ respect. Furthermore, students may become desensitized to praise if it occurs too much. Praise ‘scarcity’ makes occasional praise more valuable.
• Explicit reinforcements are extrinsic motivation . The best sort of motivation is intrinsic motivation (wanting to do something for the pleasure of doing it). For more, see my full guide on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation .

Behaviorism: Positive reinforcement is believed to be beneficial for changing behavior over time. See: John Watson’s operant conditioning examples .

• Sticker charts
• A subtle nod or wink
• Certificates and awards

99. Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement involves the removal of a privilege, points or tokens when a student gets an answer wrong.

This is often confused with punishments. For me, negative reinforcements should not punish but be used in limited learning scenarios as part of the learning ‘game’.

An example might be losing points in a gamified lesson so the student is less likely to win against their opponents. Students know it is part of the game and not a punishment designed to distress the student.

• Provides very clear messages to students about what is correct and incorrect, helping them to learn quickly.
• Parents often do not like any negative reinforces, so be very careful to set clear guidelines and use this strategy in limited circumstances.
• Be careful not to embarrass students in front of their classmates.

Behaviorism: Watson brought negative reinforcements into education, arguing that repeated use of them can change students’ behaviors.

• Losing points in a class contest.
• Failing a level in an educational computer game.

100. Drop Everything and Read

Drop everything and read (DEAR) involves getting students to stop what they are doing and read for 10 minutes.

It is a strategy that helps build students’ literacy skills (especially when students can choose their own book). However, it is also useful for helping students get more depth of knowledge on a topic being taught when you give them all an article or book to read to help them have more knowledge for subsequent parts of the lesson.

• An effective way of getting students to spend intense time learning about a topic.
• Helps integrate literacy into your daily activities.
• There will always be a small group of students who squirm and struggle when asked to read. Consider alternatives like the Read Aloud strategy or using videos instead if DEAR doesn’t work for your class.
• Make sure to follow up DEAR time with discussion and comprehension tasks.
• Introduce a topic with initial information to engage the class.
• Set a 10 minute silent reading task based on the topic.
• Discuss what was read with comprehension prompts.

101. Gallery Walk

A gallery walk involves a teacher placing stimulus questions on flip chart paper (butcher’s paper) around the walls of the classroom.

The charts the teacher has put up are stations that students will stop at during the activity.

The teacher places students into groups. If there are 5 stations around the room, the teacher will create 5 groups.

Students get a set amount of time at each station to read the prompt questions. The students can write on the chart paper with their group response and also respond to other groups who have already written their points.

Once all students have rotated through the stations, the students end up back at the station where they began. The teacher the. gives each group 3 minutes to present to the class a summary of the comments written on the paper at their station.

• Students get to learn from others and see other groups’ responses.
• The students are up and moving about which may help the concentration of bodily-kinesthetic learners.
• Some students may not participate fully. Consider getting students to rotate who writes on the paper at each station to mitigate this challenge a little.

102. Metacognition

Note whenever you would encourage metacognition in a lesson within your lesson plan. This will help anyone reading it know that you’ve thought about giving students strategies for “thinking about thinking”.

Metacogntion is about thinking about how you think. Strategies include:

• Thinking aloud
• Writing your steps to reach an answer
• Explaining your thought processes
• Reflecting on your learning and considering faster ur more efficient processes
• Helps students understand the processes required for thinking deeply about an issue.
• Gives students the strategies and skills to learn any task, not just the ones at hand.
• Metacognition is difficult because it requires explanation of your thinking. However, it is necessary if people want to know how to think .

103. Case Studies

Case studies are in-depth examples of an issue being examined. A case study should show how an issue or theory looks in real life. Teachers can present case studies through videos, newspaper articles, magazine articles, guests coming into the classroom, etc.

• Case studies help students to see how theories and ideas look in real life. This can also help a student understand the relevance of the topic being studied.
• A case study may help students make sense of a complex idea by putting it in real concrete terms.
• Case studies might not be representative of a generalized issue – they may be outliers or flukes. Pick your case study carefully and discuss whether it is a typical or outlier sample.
• A case study of city planning may be an innovative city that has recently been designed.
• A case study in mathematics may include looking at the mathematics underpinning a famous bridge’s construction.
• A case study during a unit of work on refugees might look at the experiences of one real-life refugee.

104. Mystery Making

Educators can create ‘mystery’ in their classroom by carefully structuring lessons that give ‘clues’ to a mystery that needs to be solved by the students. Ask the students to act as detectives and place clues around the classroom (like a gallery walk). Have students move around the classroom taking notes on the mystery which will reveal an answer after thorough investigation.

• Creates a sense of excitement in the classroom, helping students to engage.
• Forces students to use critical, logical and lateral thinking in order to find the answer.
• Ensure the mystery is not too far outside a student’s zone of proximal development so that the mystery can be solved.

105. Storytelling

Storytelling in the classroom involves teaching through narrative-style stories rather than telling (‘didactic learning’). Teachers can tell stories by reading books (see: Read Aloud strategy), turning a dry explanation into an allegorical story off the cuff, or bringing people into the classroom who have an engaging personal story to tell.

• Stories can draw students into a topic through the creation of a sense of excitement and entertainment.

Steiner-Waldorf Schools: Rudolf Steiner called the teacher the ‘chief storyteller’ whose role is to create a sense of enchantment around learning through stories.

• Invite guests into the classroom who have stories to tell.
• Use stories that have a moral of the the story, then analyze the moralistic message.

106. Newspaper Clippings

Use newspaper clippings to link topics and theories to current affairs. Teachers can bring in recent newspapers to let students search through them for relevant stories or use old newspapers to search for how a topic was discussed in the past. Alternatively, teachers can get students to search for newspaper articles online.

Teachers could also assign reading through newspapers and bringing newspapers to class as a part of their homework.

• Newspaper stories can show students how the topic being discussed plays out in real life.
• They also show students how the topic is relevant to the present-day lives of people in the community,
• Newspapers are increasingly uncommon – consider adjusting this to use online news sites and printing out articles from the web.
• Some topics won’t have relevant news articles associated with them. Do a search in newspapers and online yourself for articles before using this teaching strategy.

107. Self-Paced Learning

Self-paced learning involves.letting students progress from activity to activity in their own time. For this approach, a teacher lays out a list of 10 – 20 lessons that students can work on at their own pace. Students work on the activities while the teacher walks around and gives support.

• Students are encouraged to reflect on their own learning development and only move on when they are confident that they have consolidated the knowledge from an assessment.
• Less students will fall behind if the teacher doesn’t pressure them to move on.
• Teachers have time to work one-on-one with students while students work away at student-led tasks.
• Fast students will need extension tasks or personal projects to complete once they have finished and are waiting for slower students.
• There is often not enough time for slower students to finish.

These teaching strategy examples are clearly not the only ones out there – there are probably thousands! But, in my time teaching, these have been the most effective and common teaching strategies that I have come across. Use this teaching strategies list for your own lesson plans to demonstrate pedagogical knowledge and depth of understanding of how to educate a range of different learners.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

4 thoughts on “List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples)”

this is valuable in my course production of Instructional materials in social studies. maraming Salamat!

Thank you very much for these valuable teaching strategies & techniques which can be used to enliven the classroom atmosphere, encourage students to do their tasks and learn more in the process. God bless!

As a student of Curriculum and Pedagogic Studies and also the Curriculum Lead in my school, this is best of resources I have had on the subject of teaching strategies. Thanks so much.

Thank you so much, these are very helpful and remind me that some of my teaching styles are already mentioned here.

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Teaching Strategies: 10 Effective Techniques for Classroom Success [2023]

• July 2, 2023

Classroom Management

Keywords: teaching strategy, classroom success, instructional strategies

Introduction: Teaching is an art, and every teacher knows the importance of implementing effective teaching strategies in the classroom. A well-planned and executed strategy can engage students, enhance learning, and contribute to overall classroom success. At Teacher Strategies™, we believe in providing educators with comprehensive strategies that promote student growth and achievement. In this article, we will explore 10 highly effective teaching strategies that are sure to bring success to your classroom. So let's dive in!

Table of Contents:

Differentiated Instruction

Active learning, cooperative learning, project-based learning, flipped classroom, technology integration, gamification, assessment for learning, culturally responsive teaching, quick tips and facts, useful links, reference links.

One size does not fit all in the classroom, and that's where differentiated instruction comes in. This teaching strategy aims to tailor instruction to meet the diverse needs of students. By catering to various learning styles, abilities, and interests, teachers can create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment. Here are some key principles of differentiated instruction:

• Flexible Content : Provide multiple options for content delivery, such as visual aids, audio recordings, or hands-on activities.
• Varied Process : Offer different pathways for students to acquire and demonstrate knowledge, such as group work, independent projects, or technology-based assignments.
• Diverse Products : Allow students to showcase their learning through various formats, such as presentations, written reports, or artistic creations.

✅ Benefits :

• Catering to different learning styles and needs improves student engagement and motivation.
• Students feel valued and acknowledged for their individual strengths.

❌ Challenges :

• Requires careful planning and organization to ensure that each student receives appropriate instruction.
• Meeting the needs of every student can be time-consuming.

Active learning goes beyond passive listening and classroom observation. It involves engaging students in the learning process through hands-on activities, discussions, and problem-solving. This teaching strategy encourages critical thinking, collaboration, and knowledge application. Here are some effective techniques for promoting active learning:

• Think-Pair-Share : Students reflect on a question individually, discuss their ideas with a partner, and then share their thoughts with the whole class.
• Jigsaw Method : Students become experts on a particular topic and teach their findings to their peers in small groups.
• Role-Playing : Students take on different roles to understand different perspectives and explore complex ideas.
• Promotes deeper understanding and retention of information.
• Enhances problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• May take more time compared to traditional lecture-based instruction.
• Requires structured activities to avoid chaos and keep students focused.

Cooperative learning encourages students to work together in small groups to achieve a common goal. This strategy fosters collaboration, communication, and teamwork among students. By assigning roles and responsibilities within a group, teachers ensure that every student actively participates. Here are some popular cooperative learning techniques:

• Group Investigations : Students work collaboratively to explore a topic or solve a problem, sharing their findings with the whole class.
• Peer Tutoring : Students take turns teaching and supporting each other's learning.
• Group Projects : Students collaborate on a project, each contributing their unique skills and knowledge.
• Develops essential social and communication skills.
• Encourages accountability and shared responsibility.
• Requires effective group management to ensure equal participation.
• Conflict resolution skills may be necessary to address potential issues.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) immerses students in real-world problem-solving scenarios, allowing them to apply knowledge and skills in meaningful ways. This strategy encourages inquiry, critical thinking, and creativity. Teachers guide students through an extended project, which includes research, planning, and presentation phases. Key elements of PBL include:

• Authentic Problems : Students work on real or simulated challenges that have relevance to their lives or communities.
• Student Autonomy : Students take ownership of their learning, making decisions and solving problems independently or within a team.
• Presentation and Reflection : Students present their project to an authentic audience and reflect on their learning experience.
• Develops 21st-century skills, such as problem-solving, communication, and creativity.
• Increases engagement and motivation by making learning relevant and meaningful.
• Requires careful planning and scaffolding to ensure the success of the project.
• Time management skills may be necessary to complete projects within a designated timeline.

The flipped classroom model flips the traditional instructional approach. Instead of delivering new content during class time, teachers provide instructional materials, such as videos or readings, for students to access at home. Classroom time is then devoted to discussions, practice, and hands-on activities. Here's how the flipped classroom works:

• Pre-Class Assignments : Students review instructional materials independently before coming to class.
• Classroom Activities : Teachers facilitate discussions, group work, and individualized instruction to reinforce and apply the pre-class materials.
• Just-in-Time Support : Teachers provide immediate feedback and guidance during in-class activities.
• Maximizes valuable class time for active learning and higher-order thinking activities.
• Enables personalized support and differentiation based on students' needs.
• Requires effective communication with students and parents to ensure understanding of the flipped model.
• Technology-based resources and reliable internet access are necessary for students to access pre-class materials.

In today's digital age, integrating technology into the classroom is a must. Technology can enhance instruction, engage students, and provide access to a wealth of resources. When strategically incorporated, technology can transform the learning experience. Consider these ideas for technology integration:

• Interactive Whiteboards : Use interactive whiteboards to engage students in multimedia presentations, virtual field trips, and collaborative activities.
• Educational Apps : Explore educational apps that cater to different subject areas and learning objectives.
• Online Collaboration Tools : Utilize online platforms that allow students to collaborate on projects, share resources, and provide feedback to their peers.
• Enhances student engagement and motivation.
• Fosters digital literacy and prepares students for the future.
• Requires access to reliable technology and sufficient training for both teachers and students.
• Monitoring students' digital activities and ensuring online safety may be necessary.

Gamification infuses elements of games into the learning environment to increase engagement and motivation. By turning learning into a game-like experience, teachers can create a fun and interactive classroom atmosphere. Here's how to incorporate gamification:

• Points and Badges : Reward students with points or badges for completing tasks, participating, or demonstrating growth.
• Leaderboards : Display a leaderboard to track and recognize student progress throughout the learning process.
• Game-Inspired Challenges : Design challenges, quests, or escape rooms that require students to solve problems and demonstrate mastery.
• Increases student motivation and participation.
• Encourages healthy competition and fosters a growth mindset.
• Must strike a balance between game elements and meaningful learning objectives.
• Requires creativity and constant innovation to keep students engaged.

Assessment should not be limited to grading and evaluation. Assessment for learning focuses on gathering information about students' progress and using it to guide instruction and provide targeted feedback. Here are some assessment strategies that promote learning:

• Formative Assessment : Use ongoing, informal assessments to monitor student understanding and adjust instruction accordingly.
• Self-Assessment : Encourage students to reflect on their learning, identify strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for improvement.
• Peer Assessment : Provide opportunities for students to give constructive feedback to their peers.
• Helps teachers identify students' learning needs and adapt instruction accordingly.
• Empowers students to take ownership of their learning and develop metacognitive skills.
• Requires a balance between formative and summative assessment practices.
• Time-consuming when done in-depth, especially with large class sizes.

Effective classroom management is crucial for creating a positive learning environment where students can thrive. Teachers implement various strategies to establish routines, foster positive behavior, and maintain a productive atmosphere. Consider these classroom management techniques:

• Clear Expectations : Communicate classroom rules, procedures, and academic expectations to students.
• Positive Reinforcement : Recognize and reward desired behavior through praise, incentives, or a system of points.
• Consistent Consequences : Enforce fair and consistent consequences for inappropriate behavior.
• Creates a safe and conducive learning environment.
• Reduces disruptions and promotes a positive classroom culture.
• Requires strong classroom organization and proactive planning.
• Differentiated strategies may be necessary to address individual student needs.

Culturally responsive teaching acknowledges and values the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of students. This teaching strategy promotes inclusivity, respect, and understanding among students. Here's how to implement culturally responsive teaching:

• Building Connections : Create opportunities for students to share their cultural traditions, stories, and experiences.
• Inclusive Curriculum : Select diverse and representative learning materials that reflect different cultures, identities, and perspectives.
• Open Dialogue : Encourage discussions about cultural diversity to promote understanding and empathy.
• Creates a supportive and accepting learning environment for all students.
• Enhances cultural competence and fosters a respect for diversity.
• Requires ongoing professional development for teachers to develop cultural competency.
• May need additional support and resources to address the needs of diverse students effectively.

What are the 5 instructional teaching strategies?

The 5 instructional teaching strategies:

• Differentiated Instruction : Tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs of students.
• Active Learning : Engaging students in hands-on activities and critical thinking.
• Cooperative Learning : Encouraging collaboration and teamwork among students.
• Project-Based Learning : Allowing students to apply knowledge and skills in real-world contexts.
• Flipped Classroom : Flipping the traditional instructional approach by providing instructional materials outside class hours.

What is an example of a teaching strategy?

An example of a teaching strategy is the Jigsaw Method. In this strategy, students become experts on a particular topic and then teach their findings to their peers in small groups. This cooperative learning technique promotes research, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

What is the best teaching strategy?

The "best" teaching strategy depends on various factors, such as the subject being taught, the learning needs of students, and the instructional goals. Differentiated instruction is often considered a highly effective strategy as it caters to the diverse learning needs of students. However, it is essential to use a combination of strategies to meet the unique needs of your students effectively.

What are the 3 approaches of teaching strategies?

The 3 approaches of teaching strategies can be categorized as follows:

• Direct Instruction : Traditional teacher-centered approach where the teacher leads the instruction.
• Constructivist Instruction : Facilitating learning through exploration, problem-solving, and group work.
• Inquiry-Based Instruction : Encouraging student-driven investigation, observation, questioning, and discovery.
• Incorporating a variety of teaching strategies helps reach students with different learning styles and needs.
• Effective teaching strategies promote student engagement, critical thinking, and meaningful learning experiences.
• Ongoing professional development and peer collaboration can enhance a teacher's repertoire of teaching strategies.
• Flexibility and adaptability are crucial when implementing teaching strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of students.
• The success of teaching strategies relies on building positive relationships and effectively managing the classroom.
• Teacher Strategies™
• Amazon – Teaching Strategies
• Walmart – Teaching Strategies
• Etsy – Teaching Strategies
• Book – "The Skillful Teacher: Building Your Teaching Skills"
• YouTube – Effective Teaching Strategies

• Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Learning of All Students
• The Power of Active Learning
• Cooperative Learning: Getting Started
• Project-Based Learning Explained
• Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty
• Technology Integration in the Classroom: Challenging the Potential
• Why Gamification Works: How Manifold Benefits Translate to Success
• Formative Assessment: What Do Teachers Need to Know and Do?
• Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students
• Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice

Marti is a seasoned educator and strategist with a passion for fostering inclusive learning environments and empowering students through tailored educational experiences. With her roots as a university tutor—a position she landed during her undergraduate years—Marti has always been driven by the joy of facilitating others' learning journeys.

Holding a Bachelor's degree in Communication alongside a degree in Social Work, she has mastered the art of empathetic communication, enabling her to connect with students on a profound level. Marti’s unique educational background allows her to incorporate holistic approaches into her teaching, addressing not just the academic, but also the emotional and social needs of her students.

Throughout her career, Marti has developed and implemented innovative teaching strategies that cater to diverse learning styles, believing firmly that education should be accessible and engaging for all. Her work on the Teacher Strategies site encapsulates her extensive experience and dedication to education, offering readers insights into effective teaching methods, classroom management techniques, and strategies for fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments.

As an advocate for lifelong learning, Marti continuously seeks to expand her knowledge and skills, ensuring her teaching methods are both evidence-based and cutting edge. Whether through her blog articles on Teacher Strategies or her direct engagement with students, Marti remains committed to enhancing educational outcomes and inspiring the next generation of learners and educators alike.

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44 Powerful Instructional Strategies Examples for Every Classroom

So many ways to help students learn!

Looking for some new ways to teach and learn in your classroom? This roundup of instructional strategies examples includes methods that will appeal to all learners and work for any teacher.

What are instructional strategies?

In the simplest of terms, instructional strategies are the methods teachers use to achieve learning objectives. In other words, pretty much every learning activity you can think of is an example of an instructional strategy. They’re also known as teaching strategies and learning strategies.

The more instructional strategies a teacher has in their tool kit, the more they’re able to reach all of their students. Different types of learners respond better to various strategies, and some topics are best taught with one strategy over another. Usually, teachers use a wide array of strategies across a single lesson. This gives all students a chance to play to their strengths and ensures they have a deeper connection to the material.

There are a lot of different ways of looking at instructional strategies. One of the most common breaks them into five basic types. It’s important to remember that many learning activities fall into more than one of these categories, and teachers rarely use one type of strategy alone. The key is to know when a strategy can be most effective, for the learners or for the learning objective. Here’s a closer look at the five basic types, with instructional strategies examples for each.

Direct Instruction Instructional Strategies Examples

Direct instruction can also be called “teacher-led instruction,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The teacher provides the information, while the students watch, listen, and learn. Students may participate by answering questions asked by the teacher or practicing a skill under their supervision. This is a very traditional form of teaching, and one that can be highly effective when you need to provide information or teach specific skills.

This method gets a lot of flack these days for being “boring” or “old-fashioned.” It’s true that you don’t want it to be your only instructional strategy, but short lectures are still very effective learning tools. This type of direct instruction is perfect for imparting specific detailed information or teaching a step-by-step process. And lectures don’t have to be boring—just look at the success of TED Talks .

Didactic Questioning

These are often paired with other direct instruction methods like lecturing. The teacher asks questions to determine student understanding of the material. They’re often questions that start with “who,” “what,” “where,” and “when.”

Demonstration

In this direct instruction method, students watch as a teacher demonstrates an action or skill. This might be seeing a teacher solving a math problem step-by-step, or watching them demonstrate proper handwriting on the whiteboard. Usually, this is followed by having students do hands-on practice or activities in a similar manner.

Drill & Practice

If you’ve ever used flash cards to help kids practice math facts or had your whole class chant the spelling of a word out loud, you’ve used drill & practice. It’s another one of those traditional instructional strategies examples. When kids need to memorize specific information or master a step-by-step skill, drill & practice really works.

Indirect Instruction Instructional Strategies Examples

This form of instruction is learner-led and helps develop higher-order thinking skills. Teachers guide and support, but students drive the learning through reading, research, asking questions, formulating ideas and opinions, and more. This method isn’t ideal when you need to teach detailed information or a step-by-step process. Instead, use it to develop critical thinking skills , especially when more than one solution or opinion is valid.

Problem-Solving

In this indirect learning method, students work their way through a problem to find a solution. Along the way, they must develop the knowledge to understand the problem and use creative thinking to solve it. STEM challenges are terrific examples of problem-solving instructional strategies.

Project-Based Learning

When kids participate in true project-based learning, they’re learning through indirect and experiential strategies. As they work to find solutions to a real-world problem, they develop critical thinking skills and learn by research, trial and error, collaboration, and other experiences.

Learn more: What Is Project-Based Learning?

Concept Mapping

Students use concept maps to break down a subject into its main points and draw connections between these points. They brainstorm the big-picture ideas, then draw lines to connect terms, details, and more to help them visualize the topic.

Case Studies

When you think of case studies, law school is probably the first thing that jumps to mind. But this method works at any age, for a variety of topics. This indirect learning method teaches students to use material to draw conclusions, make connections, and advance their existing knowledge.

Reading for Meaning

This is different than learning to read. Instead, it’s when students use texts (print or digital) to learn about a topic. This traditional strategy works best when students already have strong reading comprehension skills. Try our free reading comprehension bundle to give students the ability to get the most out of reading for meaning.

Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom, students read texts or watch prerecorded lectures at home. Classroom time is used for deeper learning activities, like discussions, labs, and one-on-one time for teachers and students.

Learn more: What Is a Flipped Classroom?

Experiential Learning Instructional Strategies Examples

In experiential learning, students learn by doing. Rather than following a set of instructions or listening to a lecture, they dive right into an activity or experience. Once again, the teacher is a guide, there to answer questions and gently keep learning on track if necessary. At the end, and often throughout, the learners reflect on their experience, drawing conclusions about the skills and knowledge they’ve gained. Experiential learning values the process over the product.

Science Experiments

This is experiential learning at its best. Hands-on experiments let kids learn to establish expectations, create sound methodology, draw conclusions, and more.

Learn more: Hundreds of science experiment ideas for kids and teens

Field Trips

Heading out into the real world gives kids a chance to learn indirectly, through experiences. They may see concepts they already know put into practice or learn new information or skills from the world around them.

Learn more: The Big List of PreK-12 Field Trip Ideas

Games and Gamification

Teachers have long known that playing games is a fun (and sometimes sneaky) way to get kids to learn. You can use specially designed educational games for any subject. Plus, regular board games often involve a lot of indirect learning about math, reading, critical thinking, and more.

Learn more: Classic Classroom Games and Best Online Educational Games

Service Learning

This is another instructional strategies example that takes students out into the real world. It often involves problem-solving skills and gives kids the opportunity for meaningful social-emotional learning.

Learn more: What Is Service Learning?

Interactive Instruction Instructional Strategies Examples

As you might guess, this strategy is all about interaction between the learners and often the teacher. The focus is on discussion and sharing. Students hear other viewpoints, talk things out, and help each other learn and understand the material. Teachers can be a part of these discussions, or they can oversee smaller groups or pairings and help guide the interactions as needed. Interactive instruction helps students develop interpersonal skills like listening and observation.

Peer Instruction

It’s often said the best way to learn something is to teach it to others. Studies into the so-called “ protégé effect ” seem to prove it too. In order to teach, you first must understand the information yourself. Then, you have to find ways to share it with others—sometimes more than one way. This deepens your connection to the material, and it sticks with you much longer. Try having peers instruct one another in your classroom, and see the magic in action.

Reciprocal Teaching

This method is specifically used in reading instruction, as a cooperative learning strategy. Groups of students take turns acting as the teacher, helping students predict, clarify, question, and summarize. Teachers model the process initially, then observe and guide only as needed.

Some teachers shy away from debate in the classroom, afraid it will become too adversarial. But learning to discuss and defend various points of view is an important life skill. Debates teach students to research their topic, make informed choices, and argue effectively using facts instead of emotion.

Learn more: High School Debate Topics To Challenge Every Student

Class or Small-Group Discussion

Class, small-group, and pair discussions are all excellent interactive instructional strategies examples. As students discuss a topic, they clarify their own thinking and learn from the experiences and opinions of others. Of course, in addition to learning about the topic itself, they’re also developing valuable active listening and collaboration skills.

Learn more: Strategies To Improve Classroom Discussions

Socratic Seminar and Fishbowl

Take your classroom discussions one step further with the fishbowl method. A small group of students sits in the middle of the class. They discuss and debate a topic, while their classmates listen silently and make notes. Eventually, the teacher opens the discussion to the whole class, who offer feedback and present their own assertions and challenges.

Learn more: How I Use Fishbowl Discussions To Engage Every Student

Brainstorming

Rather than having a teacher provide examples to explain a topic or solve a problem, students do the work themselves. Remember the one rule of brainstorming: Every idea is welcome. Ensure everyone gets a chance to participate, and form diverse groups to generate lots of unique ideas.

Role-Playing

Role-playing is sort of like a simulation but less intense. It’s perfect for practicing soft skills and focusing on social-emotional learning . Put a twist on this strategy by having students model bad interactions as well as good ones and then discussing the difference.

Think-Pair-Share

This structured discussion technique is simple: First, students think about a question posed by the teacher. Pair students up, and let them talk about their answer. Finally open it up to whole-class discussion. This helps kids participate in discussions in a low-key way and gives them a chance to “practice” before they talk in front of the whole class.

Learn more: Think-Pair-Share and Fun Alternatives

Independent Learning Instructional Strategies Examples

Also called independent study, this form of learning is almost entirely student-led. Teachers take a backseat role, providing materials, answering questions, and guiding or supervising. It’s an excellent way to allow students to dive deep into topics that really interest them, or to encourage learning at a pace that’s comfortable for each student.

Learning Centers

Foster independent learning strategies with centers just for math, writing, reading, and more. Provide a variety of activities, and let kids choose how they spend their time. They often learn better from activities they enjoy.

Learn more: The Big List of K-2 Literacy Centers

Computer-Based Instruction

Once a rarity, now a daily fact of life, computer-based instruction lets students work independently. They can go at their own pace, repeating sections without feeling like they’re holding up the class. Teach students good computer skills at a young age so you’ll feel comfortable knowing they’re focusing on the work and doing it safely.

Writing an essay encourages kids to clarify and organize their thinking. Written communication has become more important in recent years, so being able to write clearly and concisely is a skill every kid needs. This independent instructional strategy has stood the test of time for good reason.

Learn more: The Big List of Essay Topics for High School

Research Projects

Here’s another oldie-but-goodie! When kids work independently to research and present on a topic, their learning is all up to them. They set the pace, choose a focus, and learn how to plan and meet deadlines. This is often a chance for them to show off their creativity and personality too.

Personal journals give kids a chance to reflect and think critically on topics. Whether responding to teacher prompts or simply recording their daily thoughts and experiences, this independent learning method strengthens writing and intrapersonal skills.

Learn more: The Benefits of Journaling in the Classroom

Play-Based Learning

In play-based learning programs, children learn by exploring their own interests. Teachers identify and help students pursue their interests by asking questions, creating play opportunities, and encouraging students to expand their play.

Learn more: What Is Play-Based Learning?

More Instructional Strategies Examples

Don’t be afraid to try new strategies from time to time—you just might find a new favorite! Here are some of the most common instructional strategies examples.

Simulations

This strategy combines experiential, interactive, and indirect learning all in one. The teacher sets up a simulation of a real-world activity or experience. Students take on roles and participate in the exercise, using existing skills and knowledge or developing new ones along the way. At the end, the class reflects separately and together on what happened and what they learned.

Storytelling

Ever since Aesop’s fables, we’ve been using storytelling as a way to teach. Stories grab students’ attention right from the start and keep them engaged throughout the learning process. Real-life stories and fiction both work equally well, depending on the situation.

Learn more: Teaching as Storytelling

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is defined as breaking learning into bite-sized chunks so students can more easily tackle complex material. It builds on old ideas and connects them to new ones. An educator models or demonstrates how to solve a problem, then steps back and encourages the students to solve the problem independently. Scaffolding teaching gives students the support they need by breaking learning into achievable sizes while they progress toward understanding and independence.

Learn more: What Is Scaffolding in Education?

Spaced Repetition

Often paired with direct or independent instruction, spaced repetition is a method where students are asked to recall certain information or skills at increasingly longer intervals. For instance, the day after discussing the causes of the American Civil War in class, the teacher might return to the topic and ask students to list the causes. The following week, the teacher asks them once again, and then a few weeks after that. Spaced repetition helps make knowledge stick, and it is especially useful when it’s not something students practice each day but will need to know in the long term (such as for a final exam).

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are a way of organizing information visually to help students understand and remember it. A good organizer simplifies complex information and lays it out in a way that makes it easier for a learner to digest. Graphic organizers may include text and images, and they help students make connections in a meaningful way.

Learn more: Graphic Organizers 101: Why and How To Use Them

Jigsaw combines group learning with peer teaching. Students are assigned to “home groups.” Within that group, each student is given a specialized topic to learn about. They join up with other students who were given the same topic, then research, discuss, and become experts. Finally, students return to their home group and teach the other members about the topic they specialized in.

Multidisciplinary Instruction

As the name implies, this instructional strategy approaches a topic using techniques and aspects from multiple disciplines, helping students explore it more thoroughly from a variety of viewpoints. For instance, to learn more about a solar eclipse, students might explore scientific explanations, research the history of eclipses, read literature related to the topic, and calculate angles, temperatures, and more.

Interdisciplinary Instruction

This instructional strategy takes multidisciplinary instruction a step further, using it to synthesize information and viewpoints from a variety of disciplines to tackle issues and problems. Imagine a group of students who want to come up with ways to improve multicultural relations at their school. They might approach the topic by researching statistical information about the school population, learning more about the various cultures and their history, and talking with students, teachers, and more. Then, they use the information they’ve uncovered to present possible solutions.

Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction means tailoring your teaching so all students, regardless of their ability, can learn the classroom material. Teachers can customize the content, process, product, and learning environment to help all students succeed. There are lots of differentiated instructional strategies to help educators accommodate various learning styles, backgrounds, and more.

Learn more: What Is Differentiated Instruction?

Culturally Responsive Teaching

Culturally responsive teaching is based on the understanding that we learn best when we can connect with the material. For culturally responsive teachers, that means weaving their students’ various experiences, customs, communication styles, and perspectives throughout the learning process.

Learn more: What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?

Response to Intervention

Response to Intervention, or RTI, is a way to identify and support students who need extra academic or behavioral help to succeed in school. It’s a tiered approach with various “levels” students move through depending on how much support they need.

Learn more: What Is Response to Intervention?

Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning means tailoring your curriculum to what your students are interested in rather than having a set agenda that you can’t veer from—it means letting children’s curiosity take the lead and then guiding that interest to explore, research, and reflect upon their own learning.

Learn more: What Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

Growth Mindset

Growth mindset is key for learners. They must be open to new ideas and processes and believe they can learn anything with enough effort. It sounds simplistic, but when students really embrace the concept, it can be a real game-changer. Teachers can encourage a growth mindset by using instructional strategies that allow students to learn from their mistakes, rather than punishing them for those mistakes.

Learn more: Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset and 25 Growth Mindset Activities

Blended Learning

This strategy combines face-to-face classroom learning with online learning, in a mix of self-paced independent learning and direct instruction. It’s incredibly common in today’s schools, where most students spend at least part of their day completing self-paced lessons and activities via online technology. Students may also complete their online instructional time at home.

Asynchronous (Self-Paced) Learning

This fancy term really just describes strategies that allow each student to work at their own pace using a flexible schedule. This method became a necessity during the days of COVID lockdowns, as families did their best to let multiple children share one device. All students in an asynchronous class setting learn the same material using the same activities, but do so on their own timetable.

Learn more: Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Learning

Essential Questions

Essential questions are the big-picture questions that inspire inquiry and discussion. Teachers give students a list of several essential questions to consider as they begin a unit or topic. As they dive deeper into the information, teachers ask more specific essential questions to help kids make connections to the “essential” points of a text or subject.

Learn more: Questions That Set a Purpose for Reading

How do I choose the right instructional strategies for my classroom?

When it comes to choosing instructional strategies, there are several things to consider:

• Learning objectives: What will students be able to do as a result of this lesson or activity? If you are teaching specific skills or detailed information, a direct approach may be best. When you want students to develop their own methods of understanding, consider experiential learning. To encourage critical thinking skills, try indirect or interactive instruction.
• Assessments : How will you be measuring whether students have met the learning objectives? The strategies you use should prepare them to succeed. For instance, if you’re teaching spelling, direct instruction is often the best method, since drill-and-practice simulates the experience of taking a spelling test.
• Learning styles : What types of learners do you need to accommodate? Most classrooms (and most students) respond best to a mix of instructional strategies. Those who have difficulty speaking in class might not benefit as much from interactive learning, and students who have trouble staying on task might struggle with independent learning.
• Learning environment: Every classroom looks different, and the environment can vary day by day. Perhaps it’s testing week for other grades in your school, so you need to keep things quieter in your classroom. This probably isn’t the time for experiments or lots of loud discussions. Some activities simply aren’t practical indoors, and the weather might not allow you to take learning outside.

Come discuss instructional strategies and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

Plus, check out the things the best instructional coaches do, according to teachers ..

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• Effective Teaching Strategies

How to Implement Active Learning Strategies and Activities Into Your Classroom

• July 22, 2021
• Faculty Focus

Most of us think we know what active learning is. The word engagement quickly comes to mind. Or, we describe what it isn’t: passive learning. Definitions also abound, the one proposed by Bonwell and Eison in an early (and now classic) active learning monograph is widely referenced: involving “students in doing things and thinking about the things they are doing” (p. 2).

Those are fine places to start, but as interest in active learning has grown—and with its value now firmly established empirically—what gets labeled as active learning continues to expand. Carr, Palmer, and Hagel recently wrote, “Active learning is a very broad concept that covers or is associated with a wide variety of learning strategies” (p. 173). This may include experiential learning; learning by doing (hands-on learning); applied learning; service learning; peer teaching (in various contexts); lab work; role plays; case-based learning; group work of various kinds; technology-based strategies such as simulations, games, clickers, and various smart phone applications; and classroom interaction, with participation and discussion probably being the most widely used of all active learning approaches. Beyond strategies are theories such as constructivism that have spun off collections of student-centered approaches that promote student autonomy, self-direction, and self-regulation of learning.

What we next need to know about active learning won’t be all that easy to figure out, but it’s time we moved from generic understandings to the specific details.

Active Learning Strategies

Active learning can be an intimidating concept for educators.  Many educators have heard the term but struggle to understand the true meaning of active learning and/or integrate active learning strategies within their classroom. Essentially, active learning involves including students in what they are learning, and fostering an environment that encourages them to think on these matters. Student involvement and metacognition, or thinking about thinking, are fundamental to one’s ability to understand active learning. The following articles and resources dive into active learning strategies for higher education and how you can start implementing them into your own course.

Free articles

• Active Learning That Distracts from Learning 
• Three Active Learning Strategies That Push Students Beyond Memorization
• Three Active Learning Strategies You Can Do in 10 Minutes or Less
• Deeper Thinking about Active Learning
• Lecture vs. Active Learning: Reframing the Conversation
• Active Learning: In Need of Deeper Exploration
• More Evidence That Active Learning Trumps Lecturing
• Course Redesign Finds Right Blend of Content Delivery and Active Learning
• Active Learning: Changed Attitudes and Improved Performance
• Students Share Their Thoughts on Active Learning
• Implementing Active Learning and Student-Centered Pedagogy

Teaching Professor articles (requires paid subscription)

• Low-Risk Strategies to Promote Active Learning in Large Classes
• Active Learning: A Perspective from Cognitive Psychology
• Understanding Student Resistance to Active Learning
• Active Learning Wins  

Related products

Think-pair-share.

You may have already heard of the think-pair-share assessment. The think-pair-share classroom assessment technique asks students to take one minute and write a response to a question. Then asks students to share their thoughts with a classmate, and finally, has pairs of students share with the class as a whole. The following provides alternatives to think-pair-share assessments and provides ways on how your students will go from blank stares to true engagement by using this activity. This shift increases the likelihood that students will learn more and that faculty won’t encounter awkward silence when initiating a discussion.

• Choosing the Best Approach for Small Group Work
• Cooperative Learning Structures and Deep Learning
• Class Discussion: From Blank Stares to True Engagement
• Five Ways to Engage Students in an Online Learning Environment
• Modifying Strategies

Active Learning Classroom

A lot of us would wholeheartedly agree that active learning works. We have some familiarity with the research that supports it, and we’ve seen its positive effects in our classrooms. Done well, it engages students and overcomes the passivity that lectures regularly produce. John Dewey was right; students learn by doing better than by listening. The following explores definitions of active learning, its intensity, how it’s delivered, and how you can purposefully implement active learning into the classroom. Whether you’re planning to implement active learning into a large class, small class, or online course, we’ll explore active learning activities and active engagement in all aspects.

• Active Learning: Surmounting the Challenges in a Large Class
• Keeping Introverts in Mind in Your Active Learning Classroom
• Active-Learning Ideas for Large Classes: Simple to Complex
• Does Active Learning Work?
• Incorporating Active Learning into the Online Classroom
• Lecture or Active Learning? When to Decide
• An Active Learning Exploration: Two-Stage Exams

Active Learning versus Passive Learning

Some students just don’t seem all that interested in learning. Most faculty work hard to help students find the missing motivation. They try a wide range of active learning strategies, and those approaches are successful with a lot of students but not all students. So how do you get students to go from passive learning to active learning without the dreaded resistance? Perhaps teachers can’t respond successfully unless they are knowledgeable about the sources of resistance to learning. Part of this is resistance for understandable reasons. Active learning means more work for students. They aren’t getting a neat, comprehensive package of teacher-generated examples, but are having to come up with their own. They aren’t watching the teacher solve all the problems, but are being put into groups to collectively work on the problems. Passive learning is easier than active learning, but then passivity doesn’t always result in learning, especially learning that lasts and knowledge that can be applied.

• Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat: Technology Projects to Decrease Passivity 
• Student Learning: Six Causes of Resistance
• From Passive Viewing to Active Learning: Simple Techniques for Applying Active Learning Strategies to Online Course Videos
• Why Students Resist Active Learning

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The Most Effective Teaching Strategies To Use In Your School: Evidence Based And Proven To Work

Anantha Anilkumar

Gather a room of teachers together and they will give you as many teaching strategies as there are topics in the K-12 curriculum. This article introduces the 13 most important teaching strategies you should be using – the ones that have real impact on learning outcomes and the ones that we use every week with the 7,000 students we teach in our one-on-one math interventions. We also include the 6 learning strategies that your students should know about in order to enable them to reach their learning goals.

Teaching and learning strategies taken from the best of global education research

One of the greatest advances that has been made in the last 5 years in the education sector in the U.S. and globally is the increasing influence of large scale research and evidence informing what we know about how children learn, and consequently, how we can better teach them.

Whether that’s the emphasis on evidence-based interventions under ESSA, the growing ResearchEd movement, or even just the vibrant #edutwitter community, many more teachers now are taking their professional development into their own hands.

More teachers than ever are aware of John Hattie’s “Index of Teaching and Learning Strategies,” and wary of implementing new instructional strategies unthinkingly; no one wants to be stung by another “learning styles” waste of effort.

But even when you know there may be better and more efficient ways to develop your students’ understanding, choosing which of these teaching strategies to start with can be a challenge. This article aims to guide you through this.

High Impact Tutoring Guide for Schools

An in-depth review of the most popular tutoring approaches to help you choose the most effective one for your school, from funding to what you need to know before you start.

What are teaching strategies? 

Teaching strategies are methods and techniques that a teacher will use to support their students through the learning process; a teacher will choose the teaching strategy most suitable to the topic being studied, the level of expertise of the learner, and the stage in their learning journey.

In one lesson, a teacher may use many different teaching strategies with different end goals. The most effective teaching strategies are those proven to work over large scale trials. There is no requirement for a teaching strategy to be innovative, although, of course, some of them are.

13 teaching strategies for elementary and middle school

These are the 13 most important teaching strategies that you and all the teachers in your school should have in your teaching toolkit to make the most out of class time.

No one is suggesting you will use them in every lesson, but an awareness of what they are and their potential impact is essential to improve your practice. These can be implemented in the classroom and used as math intervention strategies .

And of course if you’re a school leader, or responsible for professional development in your school, knowing what’s current and evidence-backed is key so that you can make an informed choice the next time somebody suggests implementing a new or innovative teaching technique.

1. Know your students and develop their respect

This may sound basic, but the basis of all good teaching is an understanding of your students and their learning needs. Aligned to this is the respect between you and your students. The relationship between teacher and student is a vital element of the learning experience. Memorizing names, taking time to get to know a new class from the first day, and understanding what motivates them and their barriers to learning – this is an often overlooked teaching strategy!

All of our one-to-one tutors are made aware before working with a student of any special educational needs, and will take the time to get to know each student throughout the lessons by asking about their hobbies and interests or the kinds of things they’ve been learning in school.

Read more: How To Support A Child With Autism In The Classroom

In this way, whenever possible, a tutor can personalize a lesson or a teaching technique as appropriate to the child with a real-world example.

2. Appropriate use of summative and formative assessments

The first stage here is making sure you know the difference between formative and summative assessment . It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many teachers don’t use each appropriately.

To cover them quickly:

Summative assessment refers to an assessment that takes place after a block of work has been completed, whether this is a unit or a school year. They are best thought of as assessments of learning.

Formative assessments are those that take place day-to-day and are used to gauge students’ understanding of a topic – they are assessments for learning. Formative assessment is often used in a diagnostic capacity to help us identify whether students are struggling with a topic in the moment. This can then guide and adapt our instruction during the lesson to better meet children’s needs.

Diagnosis of children’s gaps using formative assessments

We advocate the use of these kinds of diagnostic assessments to identify a child’s misconceptions. Usually, this is best achieved through a set of multiple choice questions. 

As well as the correct answer, we can include multiple distractors – answers that are incorrect based on a misconception a child may have, e.g. around multiplying. If a child chooses an incorrect answer, then we can easily identify exactly where their thinking has gone wrong.

For students using our elementary math tutoring , we use a pre and post-assessment at the start and end of every intervention lesson for progress monitoring . This is responsive, meaning questions are based on answers to an earlier question. This helps us more clearly identify not just misconceptions and weaknesses, but also where a child’s strengths lie and what needs less time spent on.

3. Teach the vocabulary 

With the new focus in the curriculum on knowledge organizers, there’s no excuse for children being without the relevant topic vocabulary. They need the words to be able to create the thoughts and the sentences to confidently speak about a given topic.

This is why our tutors will always pre-teach important math vocabulary at the start of a lesson with their students, explaining any new terms and checking for understanding of previously covered ones.

4. Explicit instruction

Also known as direct instruction, this teaching strategy is teacher-led and focuses on frequent questioning and guided practice to help students learn a topic.The backbone of explicit instruction is the use of the worked example in an Example-Problem Pair . This involves demonstrating a worked example in its entirety in silence alongside a problem that students will then attempt.

Silence is important in order to ensure students’ attention is not split between the example and the spoken explanation, making it more likely that both will be more fully absorbed and retained.

A student on a Third Space Learning’s online math intervention program will need to have all other distractions eliminated so they can focus entirely on the information on their screen and what the tutor is asking them to do; tutors can present a worked example in real time in a learning environment without any visual or auditory disruptions.

5. Effective questioning techniques 

While we are all aware of the importance of questioning as a tool to gauge students’ understanding of a topic, there are definite techniques to improve the efficacy of your questioning in the classroom .

Questions such as “Are you sure?” and “How do you know?” encourage students to engage in grade-level-appropriate critical-thinking to establish how confident they are in an answer and why , while others such as “Is there another way?” help to highlight where multiple methods to derive a solution may exist.

Our tutors encourage students to verbalize their reasoning and ask questions to ensure students have really got to grips with the topic at-hand: “How do you know that answer is right?”, “Can you tell me how else you could work it out?” or “What do you need to do first to answer this question?” are all questions that come up frequently during our lessons!

Goal-free problems are another questioning strategy worth considering using in your classes.

6. Deliberate practice 

One of the most effective ways of introducing new concepts to a class, Deliberate Practice involves breaking learning down into a series of sub skills, each of which is deliberately practiced in turn.

The 5 steps involved in deliberate practice are:

• Isolate the skill
• Develop the skill
• Assess the skill
• Final performance
• Retrieval practice later

As an example, when teaching long multiplication , this is how we might use deliberate practice:

• identify ( isolate ) each specific sub skill involved in multiplication using the standard algorithm;
• practice ( develop ) each of these one by one; 
• Assess students’ use of these skills before moving on;
• have students put them all together for a final performance – in this case a full multiplication problem using the standard algorithm;
• return to this topic in later weeks and months to check that students still retain those skills.

At the beginning of every Third Space Learning intervention session, students are given a warm-up question related to a previously covered topic; this enables tutors to check that they have retained the relevant skills (and where they have not, to return to the topic).

7. Differentiation  

Differentiated instruction in elementary school can be difficult to achieve – poor differentiation strategies risk widening the gap we’re attempting to close.

But there are plenty of impactful differentiation strategies ; techniques such as interleaving and phased learning, as well as the use of math manipulatives and formative assessment, are among those proven to have a beneficial impact on students when properly employed.

As we’ve already discussed, formative assessment is a significant aspect of how Third Space’s tutors gauge student progress. But we also make use of several other differentiation strategies during lessons, such as spaced practice, interleaving and a mixture of direct instruction and inquiry-based learning.

8. Reinforcing effort/providing recognition

Helping students make a link between putting effort into a task and receiving recognition is an important step in developing a classroom environment that fosters active learning.

Encouraging students to put more effort into activities only goes so far without something to provide them with the motivation to do so. Praise and recognition are motivators that students are already familiar with; shifting them from being correct to giving full effort can be highly effective.

Third Space Learning’s tutors establish an effort-focused environment right from the first session, encouraging students to talk through their answers and celebrate their mistakes as learning opportunities, ensuring they approach each intervention as another chance to try.

Since we began our intervention programs, our tutors have celebrated and rewarded student effort by awarding over 32 MILLION Effort Points!

9. Metacognition

Literally “thinking about thinking,” metacognition has been recognised as one of the most effective, lowest cost teaching strategies there is, with students making an average of seven months’ additional progress.

Metacognition in elementary schools often incorporates some of the other effective teaching strategies, such as questioning in the classroom – “How do you know?” not only asks students to justify their solutions, but has them thinking about their own thought processes for deriving that solution.

Teaching students how to learn math , plan, monitor and self-evaluate their own learning also improves student motivation and encourages them to work harder in lessons, tying into another teaching strategy. Furthermore, it develops their communication and literacy skills.

All our tutors are trained to use a variety of metacognitive strategies as standard during sessions, and we provide students with numerous moments for self-reflection both during and after sessions.

10. Personalized learning

It might sound obvious, but students are more likely to engage with learning when it is more targeted to them and appeals to their interests! This may be difficult to achieve early on – especially with large classes of 30 students – but as familiarity and rapport builds throughout the year, it should become easier to make activities and even questions more personalized to individual children.

At Third Space, we’ve built our online interventions on personalization; all our students undertake an Initial Diagnostic Assessment when they begin their programs, which identifies their strengths and weaknesses in math and allows us to design a lesson plan that helps them make progress where they need it.

Our tutors then build on this by adding a personal touch to those lessons, incorporating students’ interests into lessons with ease thanks to our online platform.

11. Collaborative learning

Also referred to as “cooperative learning,” the idea of having students work in groups for certain classroom activities won’t be new to most teachers. A popular technique to promote this collaboration is through think-pair-share.

However, the impact of group work can vary widely, and to make it most effective, teachers should focus on well-structured tasks that promote talk and interaction between students.

The concept of “competitive” collaborative learning (where groups of students compete against one another) has been shown to have some impact, but caution is advised in case students focus more on the competition rather than the learning.

12. Explicitly teach thinking skills & problem solving techniques

Mathematical problem solving techniques don’t always come naturally to students; while metacognitive strategies such as those mentioned above make it more likely that students will be able to apply critical thinking to a problem, there is no set way to ensure that this will happen.

Research into the topic suggests that context-agnostic deployment of problem solving techniques only occurs once students have secure domain knowledge and the opportunity to practice.

Without these, students often fall into the trap of attributing importance to the so-called “surface features” of a problem, which we naturally discount as irrelevant to the actual math involved.

That said, explicit teaching of thinking skills is still of considerable importance; once domain knowledge has been (relatively) secured, teaching students how to recognize and focus on the “deep structure” of problems enables them to apply their knowledge more effectively.

Try using several “Same Surface Different Deep” (SSDD) problems in lessons – where the surface features of the questions are the same, but the deep structure varies (e.g. division, multiplication, addition, etc.).

These questions eliminate any confusion regarding surface features and thus allow students to focus on differentiating the deep structures.

13. Modeling and scaffolding

You may already be familiar with the “I do, We do, You do” method of scaffolding, but it’s worth taking some time to dive into why it’s as effective as it is.

Modeling is one of the most important factors in ensuring student learning of a particular topic, but it is most impactful when it can introduce new concepts without increasing students’ cognitive load – hence the “I, We, You” approach.

By building from teacher-led, to joint construction, to independent working, we create a structure that presents learning as less of a step-change and more of an actual process. It also allows us greater flexibility; more time can be spent on one stage, e.g. joint construction if it becomes necessary.

Gradual scaffolding with support slides

All Third Space Learning intervention lessons make use of this kind of gradual scaffolding method, and our online platform lends even more flexibility to the scaffolding structure – tutors can pull from a bank of “support slides” if spending more time on a concept or process is necessary.

Read more: Teaching tips for teacher observations

Other teaching strategies to consider

The teaching strategies above form the basis of our one-to-one lessons, but some other teaching practices you’ll need to consider in your own classroom include:

Use of education technology

Knowing when and where to bring technology into the classroom is a delicate balancing act. While children tend to react well to technology-based lessons, there’s always the risk that they focus on the tech over the learning.

Read more: How To Do An Education Technology Audit In Your School 

Behavior management

Effective classroom management is its own topic, but there’s no doubt that a well-behaved class (not necessarily a perfectly-behaved one) is far more likely to engage with lessons.

Inquiry-based learning 

While triggering the curiosity of your students for a topic is the necessary first step in inquiry-based learning, presenting them with the opportunity to research and report on the topic is where learning really occurs.

How you manage class discussions, e.g. ‘Think, pair, share’

Somewhat related to behavior management, class or group discussions are most beneficial when they have a clear, well-established structure to them. Students should not only feel they have the opportunity to share their thoughts, but understand that others’ thoughts also have value.

Feedback process and understanding

The single most impactful teaching strategy when used correctly, feedback (whether from the teacher or another source, such as a peer) needs to be specific, encouraging, and actionable – students need to be able to understand where they could improve and how.

Read more: Why My School Banned Marking

Growth Mindset

Separate from praise and rewarding effort, developing a growth mindset can be a very valuable tool in developing students’ resilience and fostering a more positive attitude towards both math specifically and learning in general.

Read more: How To Get Growth Mindset Right In Primary Schools

• Quality First Teaching Strategies Checklist
• What is a spiral curriculum?
• Introduction to Cognitive Load
• Teaching Bottom Set Math
• Primary School Teachers’ Guide to Learning and Memory
• What Is Variation Theory ?
• Dyscalculia in Schools: A Guide To Identifying And Supporting Students With “Math Dyslexia ”
• ADHD in the Classroom

6 learning strategies

Last, but not least, central to any good teaching practice is explicitly teaching learners of all ages about learning strategies. These are the 6 learning strategies we think every student should be familiar with by the end of elementary school.

1. Spaced practice

Ensuring that learned material is revisited at regular intervals instead of all at once much later on, when more of it is likely to be forgotten. For older students, study calendars can be of immense help leading up to state-wide or end of year exams.

2. Retrieval practice

Retrieval is the process of recalling information purely from memory, without the aid of learning materials. Effective retrieval practice helps embed information more thoroughly in our minds, since we no longer need context to recall it.

3. Elaboration

Tied into questioning in the classroom, elaboration puts the onus on students to do more than “just” recalling information. The use of open-ended questions such as “How did I get that answer?” help students to make connections between the things they’ve learned rather than seeing them as several unrelated facts.

4. Interleaving

A wealth of research is now available that suggests the benefits of interleaving – mixing practice of different skills with one another – in helping students better identify the necessary strategies to solve different problems. Interleaving with connected topics (e.g. division and multiplication) amplifies this effect. 

5. Concrete examples

As math educators, the Concrete Representational Abstract Approach is embedded into the way we teach. Within our online tutoring , we have many different ways of explaining a topic and as an extension, we may ask students to come up with their own concrete examples for concepts, based on the examples we’ve used in explaining the concept to them.

6. Dual coding

Combining words and visuals in teaching materials. This isn’t referring to speech (as we established earlier), but having students create some kind of visual aid (e.g. a sketch, a diagram) to accompany written text can help them reinforce the concept in their brain in two different ways, making it easier to recall. Anyone who’s created slides for their students will be familiar with the challenge of imparting information through words and pictures.

• Hattie’s index of teaching & learning strategies and their effect size
• Teaching in Effective Primary Schools: Research into Pedagogy and Children’s Learning (Siram, Taggart et. al) published by UCL IOE Press.
• 9 Tutoring strategies to boost learning
• Tier 2 math intervention strategies to accelerate learning

Do you have students who need extra support in math? Give your students more opportunities to consolidate learning and practice skills through personalized math tutoring with their own dedicated online math tutor. Each student receives differentiated instruction designed to close their individual learning gaps, and scaffolded learning ensures every student learns at the right pace. Lessons are aligned with your state’s standards and assessments, plus you’ll receive regular reports every step of the way. Personalized one-on-one math tutoring programs are available for: – 2nd grade tutoring – 3rd grade tutoring – 4th grade tutoring – 5th grade tutoring – 6th grade tutoring – 7th grade tutoring – 8th grade tutoring Why not learn more about how it works ?

The content in this article was originally written by Anantha Anilkumar at Third Space Learning and has since been revised and adapted for US schools by elementary math teacher Katie Keeton.

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Ultimate guide to problem solving techniques [free].

Are you trying to build problem solving and reasoning skills in the classroom?

Here are 9 ready-to-go printable problem solving techniques that all your students should know, including challenges, short explanations and questioning prompts.

Privacy Overview

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Eight Instructional Strategies for Promoting Critical Thinking

• Share article

(This is the first post in a three-part series.)

The new question-of-the-week is:

What is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom?

This three-part series will explore what critical thinking is, if it can be specifically taught and, if so, how can teachers do so in their classrooms.

Today’s guests are Dara Laws Savage, Patrick Brown, Meg Riordan, Ph.D., and Dr. PJ Caposey. Dara, Patrick, and Meg were also guests on my 10-minute BAM! Radio Show . You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.

You might also be interested in The Best Resources On Teaching & Learning Critical Thinking In The Classroom .

Current Events

Dara Laws Savage is an English teacher at the Early College High School at Delaware State University, where she serves as a teacher and instructional coach and lead mentor. Dara has been teaching for 25 years (career preparation, English, photography, yearbook, newspaper, and graphic design) and has presented nationally on project-based learning and technology integration:

There is so much going on right now and there is an overload of information for us to process. Did you ever stop to think how our students are processing current events? They see news feeds, hear news reports, and scan photos and posts, but are they truly thinking about what they are hearing and seeing?

I tell my students that my job is not to give them answers but to teach them how to think about what they read and hear. So what is critical thinking and how can we integrate it into the classroom? There are just as many definitions of critical thinking as there are people trying to define it. However, the Critical Think Consortium focuses on the tools to create a thinking-based classroom rather than a definition: “Shape the climate to support thinking, create opportunities for thinking, build capacity to think, provide guidance to inform thinking.” Using these four criteria and pairing them with current events, teachers easily create learning spaces that thrive on thinking and keep students engaged.

One successful technique I use is the FIRE Write. Students are given a quote, a paragraph, an excerpt, or a photo from the headlines. Students are asked to F ocus and respond to the selection for three minutes. Next, students are asked to I dentify a phrase or section of the photo and write for two minutes. Third, students are asked to R eframe their response around a specific word, phrase, or section within their previous selection. Finally, students E xchange their thoughts with a classmate. Within the exchange, students also talk about how the selection connects to what we are covering in class.

There was a controversial Pepsi ad in 2017 involving Kylie Jenner and a protest with a police presence. The imagery in the photo was strikingly similar to a photo that went viral with a young lady standing opposite a police line. Using that image from a current event engaged my students and gave them the opportunity to critically think about events of the time.

Here are the two photos and a student response:

F - Focus on both photos and respond for three minutes

In the first picture, you see a strong and courageous black female, bravely standing in front of two officers in protest. She is risking her life to do so. Iesha Evans is simply proving to the world she does NOT mean less because she is black … and yet officers are there to stop her. She did not step down. In the picture below, you see Kendall Jenner handing a police officer a Pepsi. Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal, except this was Pepsi’s weak, pathetic, and outrageous excuse of a commercial that belittles the whole movement of people fighting for their lives.

I - Identify a word or phrase, underline it, then write about it for two minutes

A white, privileged female in place of a fighting black woman was asking for trouble. A struggle we are continuously fighting every day, and they make a mockery of it. “I know what will work! Here Mr. Police Officer! Drink some Pepsi!” As if. Pepsi made a fool of themselves, and now their already dwindling fan base continues to ever shrink smaller.

R - Reframe your thoughts by choosing a different word, then write about that for one minute

You don’t know privilege until it’s gone. You don’t know privilege while it’s there—but you can and will be made accountable and aware. Don’t use it for evil. You are not stupid. Use it to do something. Kendall could’ve NOT done the commercial. Kendall could’ve released another commercial standing behind a black woman. Anything!

Exchange - Remember to discuss how this connects to our school song project and our previous discussions?

This connects two ways - 1) We want to convey a strong message. Be powerful. Show who we are. And Pepsi definitely tried. … Which leads to the second connection. 2) Not mess up and offend anyone, as had the one alma mater had been linked to black minstrels. We want to be amazing, but we have to be smart and careful and make sure we include everyone who goes to our school and everyone who may go to our school.

As a final step, students read and annotate the full article and compare it to their initial response.

Using current events and critical-thinking strategies like FIRE writing helps create a learning space where thinking is the goal rather than a score on a multiple-choice assessment. Critical-thinking skills can cross over to any of students’ other courses and into life outside the classroom. After all, we as teachers want to help the whole student be successful, and critical thinking is an important part of navigating life after they leave our classrooms.

‘Before-Explore-Explain’

Patrick Brown is the executive director of STEM and CTE for the Fort Zumwalt school district in Missouri and an experienced educator and author :

Planning for critical thinking focuses on teaching the most crucial science concepts, practices, and logical-thinking skills as well as the best use of instructional time. One way to ensure that lessons maintain a focus on critical thinking is to focus on the instructional sequence used to teach.

Explore-before-explain teaching is all about promoting critical thinking for learners to better prepare students for the reality of their world. What having an explore-before-explain mindset means is that in our planning, we prioritize giving students firsthand experiences with data, allow students to construct evidence-based claims that focus on conceptual understanding, and challenge students to discuss and think about the why behind phenomena.

Just think of the critical thinking that has to occur for students to construct a scientific claim. 1) They need the opportunity to collect data, analyze it, and determine how to make sense of what the data may mean. 2) With data in hand, students can begin thinking about the validity and reliability of their experience and information collected. 3) They can consider what differences, if any, they might have if they completed the investigation again. 4) They can scrutinize outlying data points for they may be an artifact of a true difference that merits further exploration of a misstep in the procedure, measuring device, or measurement. All of these intellectual activities help them form more robust understanding and are evidence of their critical thinking.

In explore-before-explain teaching, all of these hard critical-thinking tasks come before teacher explanations of content. Whether we use discovery experiences, problem-based learning, and or inquiry-based activities, strategies that are geared toward helping students construct understanding promote critical thinking because students learn content by doing the practices valued in the field to generate knowledge.

An Issue of Equity

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the chief learning officer at The Possible Project, an out-of-school program that collaborates with youth to build entrepreneurial skills and mindsets and provides pathways to careers and long-term economic prosperity. She has been in the field of education for over 25 years as a middle and high school teacher, school coach, college professor, regional director of N.Y.C. Outward Bound Schools, and director of external research with EL Education:

Although critical thinking often defies straightforward definition, most in the education field agree it consists of several components: reasoning, problem-solving, and decisionmaking, plus analysis and evaluation of information, such that multiple sides of an issue can be explored. It also includes dispositions and “the willingness to apply critical-thinking principles, rather than fall back on existing unexamined beliefs, or simply believe what you’re told by authority figures.”

Despite variation in definitions, critical thinking is nonetheless promoted as an essential outcome of students’ learning—we want to see students and adults demonstrate it across all fields, professions, and in their personal lives. Yet there is simultaneously a rationing of opportunities in schools for students of color, students from under-resourced communities, and other historically marginalized groups to deeply learn and practice critical thinking.

For example, many of our most underserved students often spend class time filling out worksheets, promoting high compliance but low engagement, inquiry, critical thinking, or creation of new ideas. At a time in our world when college and careers are critical for participation in society and the global, knowledge-based economy, far too many students struggle within classrooms and schools that reinforce low-expectations and inequity.

If educators aim to prepare all students for an ever-evolving marketplace and develop skills that will be valued no matter what tomorrow’s jobs are, then we must move critical thinking to the forefront of classroom experiences. And educators must design learning to cultivate it.

So, what does that really look like?

Unpack and define critical thinking

To understand critical thinking, educators need to first unpack and define its components. What exactly are we looking for when we speak about reasoning or exploring multiple perspectives on an issue? How does problem-solving show up in English, math, science, art, or other disciplines—and how is it assessed? At Two Rivers, an EL Education school, the faculty identified five constructs of critical thinking, defined each, and created rubrics to generate a shared picture of quality for teachers and students. The rubrics were then adapted across grade levels to indicate students’ learning progressions.

At Avenues World School, critical thinking is one of the Avenues World Elements and is an enduring outcome embedded in students’ early experiences through 12th grade. For instance, a kindergarten student may be expected to “identify cause and effect in familiar contexts,” while an 8th grader should demonstrate the ability to “seek out sufficient evidence before accepting a claim as true,” “identify bias in claims and evidence,” and “reconsider strongly held points of view in light of new evidence.”

When faculty and students embrace a common vision of what critical thinking looks and sounds like and how it is assessed, educators can then explicitly design learning experiences that call for students to employ critical-thinking skills. This kind of work must occur across all schools and programs, especially those serving large numbers of students of color. As Linda Darling-Hammond asserts , “Schools that serve large numbers of students of color are least likely to offer the kind of curriculum needed to ... help students attain the [critical-thinking] skills needed in a knowledge work economy. ”

So, what can it look like to create those kinds of learning experiences?

Designing experiences for critical thinking

After defining a shared understanding of “what” critical thinking is and “how” it shows up across multiple disciplines and grade levels, it is essential to create learning experiences that impel students to cultivate, practice, and apply these skills. There are several levers that offer pathways for teachers to promote critical thinking in lessons:

1.Choose Compelling Topics: Keep it relevant

A key Common Core State Standard asks for students to “write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.” That might not sound exciting or culturally relevant. But a learning experience designed for a 12th grade humanities class engaged learners in a compelling topic— policing in America —to analyze and evaluate multiple texts (including primary sources) and share the reasoning for their perspectives through discussion and writing. Students grappled with ideas and their beliefs and employed deep critical-thinking skills to develop arguments for their claims. Embedding critical-thinking skills in curriculum that students care about and connect with can ignite powerful learning experiences.

2. Make Local Connections: Keep it real

At The Possible Project , an out-of-school-time program designed to promote entrepreneurial skills and mindsets, students in a recent summer online program (modified from in-person due to COVID-19) explored the impact of COVID-19 on their communities and local BIPOC-owned businesses. They learned interviewing skills through a partnership with Everyday Boston , conducted virtual interviews with entrepreneurs, evaluated information from their interviews and local data, and examined their previously held beliefs. They created blog posts and videos to reflect on their learning and consider how their mindsets had changed as a result of the experience. In this way, we can design powerful community-based learning and invite students into productive struggle with multiple perspectives.

3. Create Authentic Projects: Keep it rigorous

At Big Picture Learning schools, students engage in internship-based learning experiences as a central part of their schooling. Their school-based adviser and internship-based mentor support them in developing real-world projects that promote deeper learning and critical-thinking skills. Such authentic experiences teach “young people to be thinkers, to be curious, to get from curiosity to creation … and it helps students design a learning experience that answers their questions, [providing an] opportunity to communicate it to a larger audience—a major indicator of postsecondary success.” Even in a remote environment, we can design projects that ask more of students than rote memorization and that spark critical thinking.

Our call to action is this: As educators, we need to make opportunities for critical thinking available not only to the affluent or those fortunate enough to be placed in advanced courses. The tools are available, let’s use them. Let’s interrogate our current curriculum and design learning experiences that engage all students in real, relevant, and rigorous experiences that require critical thinking and prepare them for promising postsecondary pathways.

Critical Thinking & Student Engagement

Dr. PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator, keynote speaker, consultant, and author of seven books who currently serves as the superintendent of schools for the award-winning Meridian CUSD 223 in northwest Illinois. You can find PJ on most social-media platforms as MCUSDSupe:

When I start my keynote on student engagement, I invite two people up on stage and give them each five paper balls to shoot at a garbage can also conveniently placed on stage. Contestant One shoots their shot, and the audience gives approval. Four out of 5 is a heckuva score. Then just before Contestant Two shoots, I blindfold them and start moving the garbage can back and forth. I usually try to ensure that they can at least make one of their shots. Nobody is successful in this unfair environment.

I thank them and send them back to their seats and then explain that this little activity was akin to student engagement. While we all know we want student engagement, we are shooting at different targets. More importantly, for teachers, it is near impossible for them to hit a target that is moving and that they cannot see.

Within the world of education and particularly as educational leaders, we have failed to simplify what student engagement looks like, and it is impossible to define or articulate what student engagement looks like if we cannot clearly articulate what critical thinking is and looks like in a classroom. Because, simply, without critical thought, there is no engagement.

The good news here is that critical thought has been defined and placed into taxonomies for decades already. This is not something new and not something that needs to be redefined. I am a Bloom’s person, but there is nothing wrong with DOK or some of the other taxonomies, either. To be precise, I am a huge fan of Daggett’s Rigor and Relevance Framework. I have used that as a core element of my practice for years, and it has shaped who I am as an instructional leader.

So, in order to explain critical thought, a teacher or a leader must familiarize themselves with these tried and true taxonomies. Easy, right? Yes, sort of. The issue is not understanding what critical thought is; it is the ability to integrate it into the classrooms. In order to do so, there are a four key steps every educator must take.

• Integrating critical thought/rigor into a lesson does not happen by chance, it happens by design. Planning for critical thought and engagement is much different from planning for a traditional lesson. In order to plan for kids to think critically, you have to provide a base of knowledge and excellent prompts to allow them to explore their own thinking in order to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize information.
• SIDE NOTE – Bloom’s verbs are a great way to start when writing objectives, but true planning will take you deeper than this.

QUESTIONING

• If the questions and prompts given in a classroom have correct answers or if the teacher ends up answering their own questions, the lesson will lack critical thought and rigor.
• Script five questions forcing higher-order thought prior to every lesson. Experienced teachers may not feel they need this, but it helps to create an effective habit.
• If lessons are rigorous and assessments are not, students will do well on their assessments, and that may not be an accurate representation of the knowledge and skills they have mastered. If lessons are easy and assessments are rigorous, the exact opposite will happen. When deciding to increase critical thought, it must happen in all three phases of the game: planning, instruction, and assessment.

TALK TIME / CONTROL

• To increase rigor, the teacher must DO LESS. This feels counterintuitive but is accurate. Rigorous lessons involving tons of critical thought must allow for students to work on their own, collaborate with peers, and connect their ideas. This cannot happen in a silent room except for the teacher talking. In order to increase rigor, decrease talk time and become comfortable with less control. Asking questions and giving prompts that lead to no true correct answer also means less control. This is a tough ask for some teachers. Explained differently, if you assign one assignment and get 30 very similar products, you have most likely assigned a low-rigor recipe. If you assign one assignment and get multiple varied products, then the students have had a chance to think deeply, and you have successfully integrated critical thought into your classroom.

Thanks to Dara, Patrick, Meg, and PJ for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

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20 interactive teaching activities for in the interactive classroom

Interactive teaching is all about instructing the students in a way they are actively involved with their learning process. There are different ways to create an involvement like this. Most of the time it’s through

• teacher-student interaction
• student-student interaction
• the use of audio, visuals, video
• hands-on demonstrations and exercises

You encourage your students to be active members of your class, thinking on their own, using their brains, resulting in long-term memory retention . Not only the students’ knowledge will improve, but their interest, strength, knowledge, team spirit and freedom of expression will increase as well.

In this blog post, I will talk about the use of interactive methods for teaching, encouraging more dedication towards the lesson material. We will see some interactive teaching tools, interactive teaching ideas, and interactive teaching games. Not only will I talk about the use of interactive methods of teaching, but I’ll also give you some examples of methods used in the present classroom as well.

Ready? Let’s find out some interactive classroom activities to engage your pupils!

3 Effective interactive teaching strategies to encourage speech in your classroom

First, I want to put some activities in the spotlight. The following interactive student activities are three of the most effective ways to encourage more speech in your classroom.

1. Think, pair and share

2. Brainstorming

3. Buzz session

Of course, there are many other interactive teaching ideas as well. I split up the activities in different categories:

Individual student activities

Student pair activities, student group activities, interactive game activities, 4. exit slips.

5. Misconception check

6. Circle the questions

Create corners concerning different questions that were circled. Let your students work on the extra exercises and explanation in the corners, individually. As your students will all have circled different questions, you have to give each student a different and personalized order to visit the corners.

7. Ask the winner

8. Pair-share-repeat

9. Teacher and student

10. Wisdom from another

11. Forced debate

Variation: one half of the class takes one position, the other half takes the other position. Students line up and face each other. Each student may only speak once so that all students on both sides can engage the issue.

12. Optimist/Pessimist

13. Peer review writing task

14. Board rotation

15. Pick the Winner

16. Movie Application

Create an interactive classroom full of interactive learning games. Games are so much fun for students since it doesn’t feel like learning. With BookWidgets, you can make interactive learning games like crossword puzzles, pair matching games, bingo games, jigsaw puzzles, memory games, and many more in minutes (and there’s a Google Classroom integration as well).

17. Crossword puzzle

18. Scrabble

19. Who/what am I?

Want to create a bingo game yourself? You can start for free right here:

Create a Bingo Game

That’s it! Like in any list, you could add many other interactive lesson ideas. I could go on for quite a while myself. But what about you? Share your creative, interactive classroom ideas in our Facebook Group . This way, we can build out this article with many more great ideas!

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Top 10 Teaching Strategies to Use in Your Classroom

A teaching strategy is the method you use to convey information to your students. There may be a particular strategy that works well with your   group of students   one year that won’t work with your students the next year. Because of this, it’s important to have lots of teaching strategies in your toolbox. Here are some of the top ideas for you to use.

1. Modeling

After telling students what to do, it’s important to show them exactly how to do it . Regardless of how clear your directions are, it’s a good idea to model how you expect them to complete an assignment, so they understand exactly what they’re supposed to do. This will be especially helpful for your students who are visual learners .

For example, if you assign a science lab, physically demonstrate each step of the lab before the students do it on their own. 

The same goes for actually solving a math problem step-by-step on the board before asking students to do similar problems on their own . 

Or, let’s say you’re in English teacher who wants your students to engage in actively annotating their assigned reading nightly. It would be easy to give them a key and example like this:

But it’s also really helpful to do a demonstration of annotating a passage in class so that students have an idea how to annotate meaningfully on their own. 

This is a great video on demonstrating annotations:

2. Addressing Mistakes

If you’ve ever accidentally spelled a word wrong on the board, you know that students love to identify mistakes. When you’re teaching a new skill, try providing an example that includes mistakes. Let students practice the skill by identifying and fixing the mistakes for you.

For example, many students cringe at learning grammar through traditional drills and lessons, but many can identify errors organically, even if they don’t know exactly how to fix them. Try passing out an assignment and deliberating including grammar errors, talk through the assignment in class, and see what students are able to catch. Then, have a discussion about why the mistakes might be wrong and see what students can come up with, then provide a mini lesson on the grammar errors at hand. 

Addressing mistakes is much more meaningful to students when there’s a broader context. It’s also really great to create a classroom atmosphere where making mistakes is part of the learning process and students, making less students less intimidated by topics they may struggle with.

3. Providing Feedback

Students don’t always know if they’re doing a good job without you telling them so. 

Regularly provide written or verbal feedback for individual or group assignments and make this part of your classroom culture.

Remember that students often don’t know why something is wrong, so whenever possible and time permitting, take a few moments to explain why you’ve marked something “incorrect”on tests and assignments.

It’s also a great idea to conduct regular “group feedback” sessions based on patterns you’re seeing in your students’ work. If a fair share of your students seem to be struggling with a concept, it’s often more beneficial to create a lesson targeting that topic and discussing the patterns you’ve seen in class work generally. 

Remember, of course, to provide plenty of positive feedback as well as feedback indicating where a student has room to grow or what a student should do differently. Encouragement helps keep students’ morale, inspiration, and drive high. 

And finally, it can be beneficial to turn the tables sometimes. Let the students provide you feedback to tell you how you’re doing as well. You can do this in the form of a discussion, issue class surveys (that can be answered anonymously or not), or ask students to email you with feedback.

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4. cooperative learning.

Photo from   Defne Goncu

Students learn effectively when they’re   working together . Plan activities that require students to work together and learn from one another. In the process, they’ll also learn critical thinking skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, and more.

5. Experiential Learning

Students learn by doing, so create experiences for them to see the concepts in action. Let them practice the concepts in a safe environment. Then, they should reflect on the experience and discuss what they learned from it. Classroom activities that you could do for experiential learning include fun games , experiments, or simulations.

6. Student-Led Classroom

When students get to be the teacher for the day, they learn things that they wouldn’t have learned otherwise. You could have students team teach or work in groups to teach a new topic. You’ll find that other students will learn from their peers’ unique take on the subjects, too.

7. Class Discussion

Another way for students to teach each other is through   class discussions. As students take turns discussing the subject, you can assess their knowledge and discover which students grasp the concepts and to what extent.

8. Inquiry-Guided Instruction

By asking questions and working together to solve the problems, students get to be involved in the learning process. The class can work together to determine the answer and report it. As students do the work to discover the answers on their own, they remember the concepts better and more fully.

9. Lesson Objective Transparency

Rather than letting your students figure out what they should be learning on their own, just tell them. Clearly state your   lesson goals or objectives. You could announce it in class or write it on the board. Just make it simple and clear for all of your students to understand. Then, they know what they’re working towards and what they should know by the end of the class. This also really helps to reduce student anxiety  come test time.

Photo by   Jimmie

10. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers   summarize the information in a concise manner. Using a flow chart , Venn diagram, or web, students get to see the information in a new light. This helps them organize the information in their minds, so they can better grasp the new concepts.

Top 20 Effective Teaching Strategies in the Classroom

Effective teaching strategies are the backbone of any successful classroom. They not only help students learn better but also keep them engaged and interested in the learning process. We will explore the different types of teaching strategies, including traditional and modern approaches, active learning techniques, personalized learning, inquiry-based learning, and more. We will discuss how to integrate technology into your teaching strategies and how to manage your classroom effectively to promote a safe and supportive learning environment.

Effective teaching strategies in the classroom involve creating an engaging and inclusive learning environment, adapting to diverse learning styles, providing clear objectives, and using a mix of instructional techniques. These strategies include active learning, hands-on activities, multimedia resources, and regular feedback to promote critical thinking, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Table of Contents

Understanding the Importance of Teaching Strategies

Effective teaching strategies play a crucial role in enhancing student learning and understanding. By catering to individual student needs and learning styles, different teaching strategies promote active engagement and critical thinking. Research has shown that employing best practices in teaching strategies leads to improved student achievement.

Moreover, adapting teaching strategies to student learning needs fosters a positive classroom environment. Incorporating a variety of teaching strategies, such as group assignments and problem-solving activities, can be a great way to enhance the student experience and academic achievement.

The Role of Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms

Effective teaching strategies play a crucial role in facilitating student progress and academic performance. Well-implemented teaching strategies help students thrive. Using a variety of strategies is key to meeting the diverse learning needs of students, allowing them to learn at their own pace in different ways.

Furthermore, effective teaching strategies promote student engagement and motivation, enhancing the overall student experience. Incorporating formative assessment in teaching strategies further enhances student understanding and ensures continuous improvement in their academic achievement.

Different Types of Effective Teaching Strategies

Traditional teaching strategies, which involve direct instruction and whole-class activities, have long been used in classrooms. However, modern teaching approaches have shifted towards student-centered learning and individualized instruction.

These strategies focus on engaging students in the learning process and allowing them to progress at their own pace. Active learning strategies encourage student participation and collaboration, while visual aids like graphic organizers and charts are valuable teaching tools. Cooperative learning strategies foster peer interaction and cooperative problem-solving.

Educators can cater to different learning styles and enhance the overall student experience.

1.    Traditional Teaching Strategies

Traditional teaching strategies in the classroom emphasize teacher-led instruction. This approach often involves lectures and class discussions to impart knowledge to students. Traditional teaching strategies provide structure and guidance to students. Direct instruction is a commonly used method within these strategies, relying on textbooks and worksheets for learning.

While traditional, this teaching style has its merits and can be a great way to introduce new information and concepts to students. It also allows for the implementation of tried-and-tested lesson plans that have been proven to enhance academic achievement. Additionally, traditional teaching strategies are often employed in large classes where it may not be feasible to adopt more modern teaching techniques.

2.    Modern Teaching Strategies

Modern teaching strategies prioritize student-centered and active learning, fostering a dynamic and engaging environment for students. One effective approach is project-based learning, which encourages hands-on exploration and problem-solving. Integrating technology into the classroom enhances modern teaching strategies, providing access to a vast array of educational resources and facilitating interactive learning experiences.

Differentiated instruction is key to catering to individual student needs, allowing students to learn at their own pace and in ways that best suit them. Flipped classrooms and blended learning, where online and in-person instruction are combined, are also popular modern teaching approaches.

3.    Active Learning Teaching Strategies

Active learning teaching strategies are a great way to promote student engagement and participation in the learning process. By incorporating group work and collaborative learning activities, students can interact with their peers and learn from each other.

Encouraging student discussions and debates further enhances active learning by allowing students to critically analyze and articulate their thoughts. Problem-solving and hands-on activities provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge in fostering active engagement in learning. Using real-life examples and case studies also helps students connect academic concepts to their own experiences.

4.    Encouraging Student Participation and Interaction

Incorporating class discussions and debates fosters student participation and critical thinking. Providing platforms for students to share opinions and ideas promotes interaction. Peer-to-peer feedback and self-reflection enhance the learning experience. Small group activities and cooperative learning strategies engage students effectively. Creating a safe and inclusive environment encourages active student participation.

5.    Promoting Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning strategies encourage teamwork and cooperation among students, fostering a sense of camaraderie in the classroom. Group projects and problem-solving activities provide opportunities for students to work together and learn from each other’s perspectives. Peer teaching and mentoring can further enhance collaborative learning, as students take on the role of educators and share their knowledge with their peers.

Using technology tools like online discussion boards can facilitate collaborative learning by allowing students to engage in virtual discussions and share ideas.

Top 15 effective teaching strategies in the classroom

Group discussions and brainstorming sessions also promote collaborative learning by encouraging active participation and diverse thinking. Now, let’s see the top 15 effective teaching strategies in the classroom in detail.

• Cooperative Learning skills
• Behavior learning management
• Blended Learning
• Differentiated Instruction
• Student Centered Inquiry
• Professional learning development
• Formative assessment
• Visualization learning
• Active Learning
• Personalized learning
• Experiential learning
• Technological skills

Formative Assessment

• Classroom management technology
• Student-centered learning

let’s see details about these strategies

1. Cooperative Learning skills

The emergence of virtual learning has helped educators recognize the significance of cooperation in the learning process. Cooperative learning is an instructional technique wherein a small group of students actively collaborate on a given assignment.

This assignment can range from solving a quiz to composing a story, encompassing both simple and complex tasks.

2. Behavior learning management

The implementation of behavior management strategies creates an environment of mutual respect, minimizes disruptive behavior, and guarantees that all students have an equitable chance to reach their full potential in the classroom. It is essential to create a positive and productive learning setting for them.

One way to achieve this is by introducing a reward system that utilizes an interactive chart, where students can progress or regress based on their performance and behavior in class.

3. Blended Learning

By implementing a blended learning approach, the use of technology is integrated into the traditional teaching method. This enables students to progress at their speed, explore their thoughts through research, and actively participate in lessons.

For instance, interactive tablets or whiteboards with captivating activities are provided, and classwork is made available online for convenient accessibility.

4. Differentiated Instruction

Differentiation is a teaching strategy that assigns tasks based on student’s abilities and needs. Effective classrooms are inclusive, teaching to a range of learning levels simultaneously. Examples include varying worksheet complexity or offering activity choices related to a lesson.

Ways to use differentiation:

• Provide materials at various reading levels.
• Generate personalized spelling lists for students with varying spelling abilities.
• Arrange intimate gatherings to offer personalized guidance to students.
• Provide individualized assistance to students facing difficulties after school.

5. Student-Centered Inquiry

Inquiry-based classrooms focus on the student’s role in learning. Students explore, make sense of concepts, share thoughts, and ideas, and ask questions instead of the teacher solely explaining concepts orally.

This strategy engages young learners and promotes curiosity. It encourages independent exploration, research, and reflection on information. It can also help to re-engage an inactive class.

6. Professional learning development

This can confuse students and frustration for teachers. Creating a clear understanding of expectations among students enhances their focus and engagement in lessons. Here are some suggestions for fostering a positive learning environment:

• Model ideal behavior: Provide a clear explanation of appropriate conduct and then adhere to it yourself.
• Encourage initiative: Encourage students to engage actively in the learning process by facilitating class discussions and providing exercises that promote the initiative.
• It is important to refrain from implementing collective punishment.: Although it may pose challenges, it is important to specifically address disruptive behaviors on an individual level rather than as a group.

7. Formative assessment

This assessments differ from summative assessments in that they occur while the teaching process is ongoing.

• Happens via chapter or unit
• Enhances the learning experience for students
• Covers small content areas
• Ensures the monitoring of students’ learning progress
• Centers on the procedure of students acquiring knowledge and skills

Summative Assessment

• Occurs at the end of the chapter or unit
• Assesses the knowledge acquired by students
• Includes comprehensive content across all areas
• Evaluates the comprehension of students by assigning a grade

8. Visualization learning

In the simplest terms, visualization refers to our capacity to generate mental images in response to spoken words or written text.

When effectively employed, this strategy can greatly enhance students’ ability to concentrate on the concept or subject matter being discussed. It can make concepts more vivid and prompt students to establish connections with the real world.

There are several approaches to incorporating this strategy into the classroom, such as:

• The utilization of audio-visual aids includes the use of photographs, videos, audio clips, songs, and other similar media.
• Illustrations, graphs, and conceptual diagrams
• Rephrased: Employing modeling techniques while teaching can be beneficial for visual learners who require visual representations to comprehend concepts, rather than relying solely on verbal explanations.

9. Active Learning

Active learning strategies place students as the focal point of the classroom, leading to heightened student participation in daily lessons. As per James Ballencia, a proponent of active learning, this approach can be equally beneficial for both teachers and students.

Some active learning strategies include:

• Reciprocal questioning:  Encourage students to generate questions for the class regarding a recent lesson or concept.
• The pause procedure:  To  allow students the opportunity to engage in discussions, ask questions, or work on problem-solving, it is recommended that a break be taken every 10 to 15 minutes.
• Muddiest point: Instruct the students to jot down the part of the lesson that they find most difficult to understand.

10. Personalized learning

Personalized learning recognizes that every student is different and tailors the learning experience to cater to their specific abilities. A study conducted by the Gates Foundation suggests that incorporating personalized learning into math classes can lead to improved test scores.

Discover various possibilities for implementing personalized learning in your classroom, such as the utilization of teaching techniques and enhancing student engagement . To access a comprehensive compilation of suggestions, refer to the article “7 Personalized Learning Strategies and Examples.”

11. Experiential learning

Experiential learning is about learning by doing and using real-world experience. Unlike traditional lesson plans that focus on the teacher, this strategy encourages students to engage in activities that may not seem educational at first.

Experiential learning often involves games, experiments, and simulations. It can also include field trips that connect to the curriculum and provide practical lessons outside of the classroom.

12. Technological skills

Technology in the classroom keeps students engaged, especially with the rise of remote learning. Online interactive games encourage student participation and provide a fulfilling learning experience. These educational games allow children to learn through play.

13. Formative Assessment

Find educational games for math and ELA that make learning fun and engaging for your students.

• Enhances the learning experience for students by incorporating chapter or unit-based activities.
• Includes compact subject matter
• Monitors student learning
• Emphasizes the process of students’ acquisition of knowledge

14. Classroom management technology

Using technology in the classroom is an excellent method to enhance student engagement and generate excitement for learning. However, integrating technology seamlessly into lessons can pose a challenge. There are countless opportunities to incorporate technology effectively into teaching, such as:

• A virtual field trip:  Use virtual rediscover popular landmarks and natural wonders through mobile applications. Embark on a journey to the Great Barrier Reef for an in-depth exploration of ecosystems, or join a Spanish class and experience a guided tour of Barcelona.
• Video mini-lessons: Teacher Tube provides an exclusive educational version of YouTube, featuring a wide range of videos covering various fundamental topics. This enhances the learning experience, particularly for individuals who learn best through visual stimuli.

15. Student-centered learning

Student-centered inquiry is an educational approach that emphasizes the active involvement of students in the learning process. Therefore, in a classroom that adopts inquiry-based learning, students would be observed engaging in activities such as exploring the subject matter or concept, comprehending it, exchanging thoughts and ideas, and inquiries instead of solely relying on the teacher’s verbal explanations.

Implementing this strategy is an effective method to pique the curiosity of young students and involve a class that lacks participation. Children have the opportunity to enhance their research abilities, make connections between different pieces of information, and contemplate their findings through independent exploration with the subject matter.

What are the 5 teaching strategies in early childhood education?

Early childhood education is a crucial phase in a child’s development, laying the foundation for lifelong learning. To ensure an engaging and effective learning experience, educators can employ unique teaching strategies that go beyond the conventional methods.

Here are five innovative teaching strategies for early childhood education:

1. Nature-Based Learning

Take the classroom outdoors and make nature the primary teacher. Children can learn about science, math, and the environment through hands-on experiences like planting gardens, observing wildlife, and exploring natural surroundings. This strategy not only fosters a love for the environment but also encourages curiosity and critical thinking.

2. Storytelling through Technology

Embrace the digital age by incorporating storytelling through technology. Use interactive apps and e-books that allow children to immerse themselves in the narrative. Technology-enhanced storytelling can make learning more engaging, stimulate creativity, and improve digital literacy.

3. Project-Based Learning

Encourage children to explore their interests and passions through project-based learning. Let them choose a topic they are curious about, and then guide them through the process of researching, and presenting their findings. This strategy promotes self-directed learning, problem-solving, and collaboration.

4. Art Integration

Go beyond traditional art classes by integrating art into every aspect of the curriculum. Art can be used to teach concepts in math, science, and social studies. This approach encourages creativity, expression, and a deeper understanding of academic content.

5. Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

Incorporate mindfulness and SEL practices into the daily routine. Teach children to recognize and manage their emotions, develop empathy, and build positive relationships. Mindfulness exercises can help them focus and reduce stress. By prioritizing social and emotional development, educators prepare children not only academically but also for life’s challenges.

These unique teaching strategies aim to make early childhood education a dynamic and holistic experience. They empower young learners to think critically, express themselves creatively, and develop important life skills, setting them on a path of lifelong learning and personal growth.

Effective instructional strategies for the secondary classroom

Effective instructional strategies for the secondary classroom involve using a variety of teaching methods to engage students, fostering a dynamic and interactive learning environment.

These strategies can include differentiated instruction to cater to diverse learning styles, incorporating technology, encouraging critical thinking, and promoting student-led discussions and projects.

Establishing clear learning objectives, providing timely feedback, and building a positive and supportive classroom culture are also essential components of effective teaching at the secondary level.

How to Integrate Technology in Teaching Strategies?

Integrating technology in teaching strategies enhances student learning and engagement. Educational apps and online resources provide interactive learning experiences. Using digital tools for assessments and feedback streamlines teaching strategies.

Virtual simulations and multimedia resources enrich teaching and learning. Blended learning models combine traditional teaching strategies with online platforms.

Harnessing Digital Tools for Enhanced Education

Harnessing digital tools in the classroom revolutionizes education by providing diverse opportunities for enhanced learning. Online platforms and virtual classrooms foster distance learning, expanding educational reach. Multimedia presentations whiteboards engage students through immersive instruction.

Gasification and educational games make learning enjoyable and effective, promoting active participation. Online collaboration tools facilitate communication and teamwork in educational settings, encouraging collaborative problem-solving.

Personalized learning platforms adapt to individual student needs, promoting a tailored learning process. By integrating these digital tools, educators can create a dynamic and enriching student experience.

Utilizing Online Learning Platforms

Online learning platforms offer a wealth of educational resources, making them valuable tools for effective teaching strategies in the classroom.

The use of interactive multimedia content enhances engagement and understanding, while online forums and discussion boards promote collaboration and peer interaction. Real-time feedback and assessment tools allow teachers to monitor student progress and identify areas for improvement.

Personalized Learning as a Teaching Strategy

Personalized learning is a valuable teaching strategy that allows instructors to tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of students. By utilizing adaptive technology, targeted interventions and practice activities can be provided to address specific areas of improvement.

This approach is beneficial as it acknowledges the importance of student-driven goals and interests, increasing motivation and ownership of learning.

Top 7 Classroom management strategies for preschool teachers

Flexible pacing accommodates different learning styles, allowing students to progress at their own pace. Regular feedback supports students in taking ownership of their learning and continuously improving their academic achievement. See details about the classroom management strategies for preschool teachers.

1. Adapting to Individual Learning Styles

Recognizing and accommodating different learning styles enhances student understanding. Visual learners benefit from the use of graphic organizers and visual aids, while auditory learners thrive in discussions and lectures with audio cues.

Kinesthetic learners engage through hands-on activities and movement. Teachers can cater to the diverse learning preferences of their students. This approach allows for a more personalized learning experience, enabling students to grasp new concepts and information in their unique ways.

2. Differentiated Instruction for Diverse Learners

Differentiated instruction is a valuable teaching approach that addresses the unique needs of individual students. Teachers can provide varying levels of challenge based on student readiness. Flexible grouping strategies encourage collaboration and peer learning, fostering a supportive classroom Culture .

Teachers can also accommodate different learning preferences by using varied instructional materials. Continuous assessment plays a crucial role in informing differentiation and making necessary instructional adjustments. Overall, differentiated instruction is a powerful tool for promoting academic achievement and enhancing the student experience in diverse classrooms.

3. Inquiry-Based Learning Approach

Inquiry-based learning presents an opportunity for students to independently explore and discover knowledge. By posing open-ended questions, this approach promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Through research projects and investigations, students develop curiosity and gain a deeper understanding of concepts. Scaffold guidance is provided to support students in developing research and inquiry skills. Student-led discussions and reflections further enhance active learning and engagement, allowing students to take ownership of their learning process.

4. Encouraging Curiosity and Creativity in Students

Creating an environment in the classroom that nurtures curiosity is crucial for sparking student engagement. By encouraging divergent thinking perspectives, teachers can foster creativity among their students.

Open-ended projects and assignments provide opportunities for student exploration and innovation. Giving students choice and autonomy in learning tasks can spark intrinsic motivation.

Moreover, celebrating and valuing unique answers and approaches encourages risk-taking, ultimately leading to a more engaging and creative student experience.

5. Classroom Management Strategies

Establishing a positive and productive learning environment is crucial for effective classroom management. By setting clear expectations, teachers can promote order and minimize disruptions. Consistent behavior management strategies play a vital role in creating a safe and respectful classroom culture.

Building positive relationships with students enhances trust and cooperation, leading to a better learning experience. Proactive approaches like preventive discipline strategies can effectively prevent behavior issues. Implementing these strategies fosters an atmosphere where students can learn and thrive, ultimately contributing to their academic achievement and overall student experience.

6. Maintaining Discipline and Order in the Classroom

Establishing clear rules and consequences is key to maintaining discipline and order in the classroom. Non-verbal cues and proximity can be used to redirect off-task behavior , ensuring that students stay focused on the learning process . Implementing a behavior management system with rewards and incentives motivates students to follow the rules.

Modeling and reinforcing expected behavior through positive reinforcement creates a positive and supportive learning environment. Consistent communication and collaboration with parents are important in addressing behavior concerns a smooth school year. Teachers can create a structured and disciplined classroom where every student can learn at their own pace.

7. Creating a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment

Promoting student well-being and engagement is crucial in creating a safe and supportive learning environment. By incorporating team-building activities and class discussions, teachers can build a sense of community among students. Cultivating a positive classroom culture that values diversity and inclusivity further enhances the learning experience.

Providing emotional support through active listening helps students feel heard and understood. Additionally, creating welcoming and comfortable physical spaces fosters an environment conducive to learning. Teachers can ensure that their classrooms are safe, supportive, and empowering spaces for students to thrive.

The Role of Formative and Summative Assessments in Teaching Strategies

It provide ongoing feedback to inform instructional decisions, while summative assessments evaluate student mastery of content and skills. By using a combination of formative and summative assessments, teachers gain a comprehensive view of student progress.

This assessment data guides instructional planning and differentiation, allowing teachers to tailor their lesson plans to meet individual student needs. Furthermore, providing timely and constructive feedback supports student growth and improvement. Through these assessments, teachers can effectively gauge student understanding and make informed instructional choices to enhance the learning process.

Assessing Student Progress and Understanding

Throughout the learning process, teachers need to assess student progress and understanding. Formative assessments, such as using Venn diagrams or group assignments, offer valuable insights into individual and whole-class comprehension. They allow students to demonstrate their learning in different ways and at their own pace.

Teachers can guide students toward academic achievement. Additionally, summative assessments, like pie charts or academic concepts, evaluate overall student performance. Adjusting teaching strategies based on assessment results ensures that every student has the opportunity to succeed in their learning journey.

What Are the Challenges in Implementing Effective Teaching Strategies?

Implementing effective teaching strategies can be challenging due to various factors. Some teachers may resist change and stick to their established methods. Classroom size and student diversity can also pose difficulties.

Limited resources, such as time and funding, further hinder implementation. Schools must provide support and professional development for the successful adoption of these strategies.

Overcoming Obstacles in Teaching

Establishing a positive and inclusive classroom environment creates a learning process where students feel valued and engaged. Behavior management strategies are crucial for addressing disruptive behaviors and maintaining a focused learning environment . Cooperative learning and group work provide students with the opportunity to collaborate, problem-solve, and learn from each other. You have to know also the role of a teacher in the learning process.

Differentiating instruction caters to the individual needs of students, allowing them to learn at their own pace and in different ways. Incorporating active learning techniques such as hands-on activities, experiments, and discussions promotes critical thinking and inquiry.

The Future of Teaching Strategies

Embracing technology as a valuable tool for enhancing the learning experience, incorporating innovative teaching methods to cater to the needs of the 21st-century learner, and integrating interdisciplinary approaches to promote cross-curricular connections are some of the future directions in teaching strategies.

Utilizing data-driven insights to inform instructional decisions and personalize learning is another important aspect. Cultivating a growth mindset among students to foster a love for lifelong learning is crucial.

Educators can ensure that they are keeping up with the evolving needs and preferences of their students, ultimately leading to improved academic achievement and a more enriching student experience.

Evolving Teaching Strategies for the 21st Century Classroom

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, teachers must adapt their teaching strategies to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. One effective approach is incorporating project-based learning, which promotes the real-world application of knowledge.

Utilizing online platforms and resources supports blended learning environments, allowing students to learn at their own pace and in different ways. Encouraging student autonomy and self-directed learning fosters critical thinking and problem-solving educational skills .

Integrating global perspectives and cultural diversity into the curriculum expands students’ horizons and enhances their learning experience.

People also ask

How can teachers continually improve their teaching strategies.

Teachers can continually improve their teaching strategies by engaging in ongoing professional development, reflecting on their practice and seeking feedback, collaborating with colleagues, incorporating research-based practices, and monitoring student achievement .

This continuous improvement ensures that teachers provide the best possible learning experiences for their students.

What are the five essential teaching strategies to deliver effective lessons?

Five essential teaching strategies for effective lessons are:

• Active Learning: Encourage student participation through discussions, group activities, and hands-on experiences.
• Differentiation: Tailor your teaching to meet individual student needs and learning styles.
• Clear Objectives: Set specific learning goals and communicate them clearly to students.
• Feedback: Provide timely and constructive feedback to help students improve.
• Engagement: Foster a positive and inclusive classroom environment to keep students motivated and interested in the subject matter.

What is the basic teaching model?

The Basic Teaching Model, developed by Robert Glaser in 1962, explains the relationship between teaching and learning.

To conclude, effective teaching strategies are crucial for creating engaging and impactful learning environments. By understanding different types of teaching strategies, such as traditional and modern approaches, active learning and questioning techniques , integrating technology, personalized learning, inquiry-based learning, and classroom management strategies, educators can cater to the diverse needs of students and promote their academic growth.

Utilizing formative and summative assessments helps in tracking student progress and identifying areas for improvement. However, it is essential for teachers to continually improve their teaching strategies by seeking professional development opportunities, staying updated with the latest educational trends, and adapting to the ever-evolving 21st-century classroom.

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Tiered Assignments

Janelle cox.

• September 23, 2014

Many teachers use differentiated instruction strategies  as a way to reach all learners and accommodate each student’s learning style. One very helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction is called tiered assignments—a technique often used within flexible groups.

Much like flexible grouping—or differentiated instruction as a whole, really—tiered assignments do not lock students into ability boxes. Instead, particular student clusters are assigned specific tasks within each group according to their readiness and comprehension without making them feel completely compartmentalized away from peers at different achievement levels.

There are six main ways to structure tiered assignments: challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job, based upon the specific learning tasks you’re focused on, to determine the best approach. Here we will take a brief look at these techniques.

Ways to Structure Tiered Assignments

Challenge level.

Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle different assignments. Teachers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure or questions at various levels. For example:

• Group 1:  Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps  build  understanding.
• Group 2:  Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that  extends  what they already know.

When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the same assignment. The trick here is to vary the focus of the assignment based upon whether each group is ready for more advanced work or simply trying to wrap their head around the concept for the first time. You can direct your students to create a poster on a specific issue—recycling and environmental care, for instance—but one group will focus on a singular perspective, while the other will consider several points of view and present an argument for or against each angle.

Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity—all of your students will use the same materials, but depending on their readiness levels will actually have a different outcome. It may sound strange at first, but this strategy is quite beneficial to help advanced students work on more progressive applications of their student learning.

This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.

Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences to form groups that will hone particular skills for particular learning styles . For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic, and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial, and their task would be to illustrate.

Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need. One flexible group may use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources based on knowledge and readiness, but also consider the group’s reading level and comprehension.

How to Make Tiering Invisible to Students

From time to time, students may question why they are working on different assignments, using varied materials, or coming to dissimilar outcomes altogether. This could be a blow to your classroom morale if you’re not tactful in making your tiers invisible.

Make it a point to tell students that each group is using different materials or completing different activities so they can share what they learned with the class. Be neutral when grouping students, use numbers or colors for group names, and be equally enthusiastic while explaining assignments to each cluster.

Also, it’s important to make each tiered assignment equally interesting, engaging, and fair in terms of student expectations. The more flexible groups and materials you use, the more students will accept that this is the norm.

Tiering assignments is a fair way to differentiate learning. It allows teachers to meet the needs of all students while using varying levels of tasks. It’s a concept that can be infused into homework assignments, small groups, or even learning centers. If done properly, it can be a very effective method to differentiate learning because it challenges all students.

• #DifferentiatedInstruction , #TieredAssignments

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• Teaching Tips

17 Learning Strategies to Implement In Your Classroom

Learning strategies are a critical element in ensuring students grasp course concepts and are especially important in blended and online learning environments

Danielle Leboff

Learning strategies are methods used by instructors to initiate students into effective learning by using a variety of engaging learning techniques, activities and practices. These methods are all derived from years of meticulous research into how people learn best.

In any lesson plan, instructors can incorporate multiple learning strategies. By catering to different learning styles and varying your approach, you can better engage students while helping them master new concepts.

Top Hat’s 2021 Online Teaching Toolkit gives you easy-to-use teaching templates, active learning strategies and more to engage your students in an online or hybrid learning environment. Get free access today.

Why are learning strategies important?

Learning strategies are an essential component of creating an effective learning experience. They can help learners develop proficiency in various subject matter areas and develop new skill sets. They also help learners develop confidence in their own knowledge, proficiency and learning abilities.

The following describes some common strategies for achieving various learning outcomes, along with practical examples you can incorporate directly into your learning environment.

Think-pair-share

This active learning exercise is designed to activate any prior knowledge a student may have on a subject by having them share their thoughts and beliefs with their fellow learners.

A think-pair-share exercise is structured to help students first organize their thoughts, then share these with a partner followed by the broader class.

• Think : Students take a moment to contemplate the new concept or idea on their own. They can also write down their thoughts to help develop their note-taking skills.
• Pair : Students break off into pairs to share their thoughts and beliefs on the topic with another learner.
• Share : Students then share their takeaways from this conversation with one or more successively larger groups, up to and including the whole class.

Putting think-pair-share into action

To execute think-pair-share in your class, define the exercise for the group and display the prompts you’d like to pose for discussion. Once students have completed the exercise, you can then facilitate a larger class discussion.

Make a point of listening to student responses before offering your own ideas. You can also pose probing questions while encouraging other students to offer their own responses and reactions to each other’s ideas.

Tests and quizzes

There are several ways instructors can use tests and quizzes as effective strategies for learning.

Individual plus group quizzes : Have learners complete independent quizzes for grading. Following this, place learners into small groups and give them the same quiz as a form of cooperative learning. This time, allow the groups to discuss their answers and come up with an answer for each question. Then, grade the group as a whole on their collective performance.

Not every student likes group assignments, since this may raise concerns about their individual grades. To avoid penalizing more diligent learners, take an average of each student’s two scores if the group score is higher than their individual score. If the student’s individual score is higher than the group score, let that individual score stand as the average. This process encourages students to be accountable for their own learning while helping develop their test-taking and collaboration skills.

Tests and quizzes with distractors : Distractors are common preconceptions or misconceptions about a topic. Have students answer various questions and, then, discuss their answers with a fellow student. After this discussion, have each student answer the same question again and see if their answers are any different. To close off the activity, initiate a group discussion about why the correct answer is actually the correct one. This acts as a form of metacognition by encouraging students to think about their own learning.

Retrieval practice

The process of bringing information to mind, or retrieval practice, is an effective strategy in boosting learning. In these exercises, students put away all learning materials and answer questions or discuss a topic purely based on their own recall of the information. Students can then refer to learning to evaluate how accurately they conveyed the information. Retrieval practice exercises also work well using the think-pair-share format.

Elaboration

In elaboration, students demonstrate the depth of their knowledge of a given topic by describing and explaining as much as they know about it, including as many relevant details as they can call to mind. This strategy extends the concept of rote memorization by encouraging students to draw connections within the content and between the content and other knowledge they already possess.

Interleaving

Interleaving is the process by which students mix multiple subjects or topics while they study. This allows students the opportunity to practice different modes of thinking and problem-solving as opposed to ‘blocked practice,’ which involves studying one topic thoroughly before moving on to the next.

Interleaving has been shown to improve test scores in a number of studies. As a best practice, it is important to use interleaving for related topics. For example, interleaving works well when switching between different algebra problems but is not nearly as effective when switching between radically different subject matter areas, such as literature and math equations.

Muddiest point

This form of assessment helps educators understand which elements of their course pose difficulties that may impede student progress and performance.

In this exercise, instructors ask students to note the “muddiest points” of the lesson, or the most confusing or difficult to grasp. Have students rate their degree of understanding and capture where the difficulty lies.

While the exercise shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, it has additional benefits beyond helping the instructor understand where the obstacles are for students. It also helps students more effectively analyze their own learning and to zero in on the exact issue that may be holding them back.

Peer instruction

Also known as ‘reciprocal teaching,’ this structured teaching practice asks students to reflect on new concepts they may be confused about and then share their responses to those prompts with a small group. Each group then derives a consensus response to share collectively with the rest of the class.

Peer instruction offers a number of benefits, including:

• Increasing a student’s problem-solving skills and conceptual understanding abilities
• Deepening student understanding of a topic and encouraging greater knowledge retention
• Bolstering student engagement and raising student course satisfaction

Not only does this exercise call upon students to explain their thinking, it asks them to defend it against alternative arguments and modes. This helps reveal for students as much about how they think and process information as it does about the information itself.

Differentiated instruction

Not all students learn the same way. Differentiated instruction recognizes and accommodates for this by tailoring the learning process to individual needs. This is accomplished by altering the content, process, product or the learning environment itself.

With differentiated instruction, instructors consider the different learning styles of their students before devising their teaching strategies. That way, they can incorporate multiple modalities to allow all students to succeed equally in learning the material.

Some other ways to implement differentiated learning include:

• Grouping students together for assignments by shared topics, interests, learning abilities or styles
• Using formative assessment tools to assess individual student learning styles and progress and then adjusting lesson plans accordingly
• Using classroom management tools to create safe and supportive learning environments for all students

Gamification

Sometimes turning a lesson into a game can better engage students in learning and comprehending the material. Gamification essentially incorporates reward-based activities and teaching tools into the lesson plan. Examples of gamification include:

• Earning points for finishing tasks
• Competing against peers toward a goal
• Playing games that teach particular academic skills

Project-based learning

Through project-based learning, students work together on a project over an extended period, generally between one week and an entire semester. The project ideally involves solving a real-world problem or addressing a complex question. The finished product is a public presentation or product they can present to a live audience.

Problem-based learning

Problem-based learning involves incorporating real-world situations as a vehicle to help students apply course concepts in a practical application. This helps make learning more relevant by connecting concepts to the world outside the classroom and can add variety to the learning process itself.

Formative assessments

Formative assessments are designed to monitor learning and provide feedback on each student’s progress on an ongoing basis. The steady stream of feedback allows instructors to refine and improve their teaching strategies to keep the class on track. At the same time, students can practice their test-taking skills, improve information recall while honing in on their areas of strength and weakness.

Formative assessments are typically considered “low stakes.” The primary goal is not a letter grade but generating feedback for the instructor and the student. Examples of formative assessments include:

• Self-assessments
• Entry and exit slips
• Low-stakes polls and quizzes
• Exercises incorporating art or other visual representations of learning content
• Misconception and errors
• Interview assessments

Summative assessments

Instructors use summative assessments to evaluate how thoroughly students learned an area of study. Summative assessments usually come upon the completion of an instructional unit and compare student knowledge and achievement against a previously determined set of benchmarks.

Considered “high stakes,” summative assessments are commonly used to determine a student’s subsequent course work and educational progress. Examples of summative assessments include:

• Final projects
• Term papers
• Midterm, final or standardized exams
• Performance or recital

Educators may sometimes use summative assessments in a formative manner to guide student activities and efforts throughout their coursework.

Quick write

In this exercise, pose a prompt to the group to respond to in writing. Only allow five minutes for this exercise, so students can quickly reflect on their initial thoughts on a subject.

Uses and benefits of a quick write include helping to:

• Determine whether students completed their assigned homework
• Prime students to think about topics to be introduced or developed in the upcoming lesson
• Give students the chance to access previous knowledge they may have on a subject
• Instructors can opt to grade the quick write or simply collect it as a means of confirming attendance.

Pose a question to be answered or explained, and then take an anonymous poll to see how many students favor particular answers or explanations to the question.

Afterward, initiate a group discussion of the question and the poll’s results to see why students voted the way they did. Following the discussion, take the same poll again to gauge whether any students changed their answers and, if so, to what extent and why.

Hearing why students chose a particular explanation or answer helps the instructor understand how students think about that topic. It also helps them determine if additional explanation or clarification may be required before moving on in the lesson plan.

Turn and talk

In this exercise, instructors pose a question to the group, then instruct students to choose a partner to discuss their thoughts on the question with. This can create a comfortable atmosphere for sharing ideas before bringing ideas before the whole group.

Make sure the questions students are asked to discuss are clear and that the understanding of each participant is there in order to contribute to the conversation both as a speaker and listener.

This exercise is performed in small groups in which students read a preselected passage of course material. Students in each group divide up the material so that each member reads a portion of it silently and then shares what they’ve learned with the rest of the group.

Some questions participants can use as points of focus include:

• What’s the big idea here?
• What do you believe it means, and why does it matter?
• How can someone apply this idea to help understand a larger topic?
• What part(s) of the reading do you agree and/or disagree with?
• What questions does the reading raise for you?

Instructors can implement jigsaws in a number of ways. In an ‘expert and cooperative group’ format, assign different groups different pieces of the material to read individually and discuss. Each group then becomes the expert group on that portion of the material. Following this, groups are redivided so that each new cooperative group contains one or two representatives from each of the previous expert groups. Each cooperative group then reviews the material with the expert representative. The jigsaw method is a great way to get students up to speed quickly on material while honing their critical thinking and communication skills.

Learning strategies help you better engage students in active learning by using a variety of activities such as reading, writing, discussion or problem-solving. Easy to execute, these activities promote analysis, synthesis, and the evaluation of class content. Equally important, they provide students with opportunities for feedback on how well they understand course material, ensuring they are making meaningful progress toward achieving course objectives.

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Teaching and Learning Strategies: A classroom guide

January 4, 2022

Which classroom teaching and learning strategies are worth embedding in your school? Find out here.

Main, P (2022, January 04). Teaching and Learning Strategies: A classroom guide. Retrieved from https://www.structural-learning.com/post/teaching-and-learning-strategies-a-classroom-guide

What are the teaching and learning strategies?

Teaching strategies are the techniques and methods that a teacher applies to support student learning . A teacher selects the teaching strategy most suited to the current level of knowledge of the students, the concept being studied, and the stage in the learning journey of the students.

A learning strategy is a learner's way to organize and use a specific range of skills to learn curriculum content or complete other tasks more efficiently and effectively in a classroom setting as well as in non-academic settings.

An effective teacher applies the most innovative and creative teaching methods to teach academic concepts and meet the individual needs of students. However, the demands of ever-expanding curricular means that educators often stick to their favoured teaching methodology . We all have our preferred teaching methodology but it is important to explore evidence-informed pedagogical ideas that have the potential to expand our repertoire in the classroom .

What are some of the popular teaching and learning strategies?

It can be hard to know which teaching strategy will work the best with a particular student. So, below is a list of teaching strategies teachers can use to enhance their teaching methodologies:

• Visualization : Visualization is a useful technique to process or summarize the knowledge that has been instructed in class. When students receive the information through visual means , they are more able to retain both the previous learning and new information for a longer time. Visualization is also a helpful learning process for lower-attaining learners to receive the information in a simpler, clear and systematic way. Thus, an effective teacher would use visual tools such as flow charts, graphic organizers, concept maps and Venn diagrams, that allow students to grasp information more effectively through visual memory .

• Teamwork: Dividing the class into groups to complete a task is a teaching strategy that does wonders . It is recommended to encourage learners of mixed abilities to work with one another. By doing so, those who have more knowledge of the subject can share their knowledge and help their peers understand the topic better. Studies of classroom instruction show that the teachers can promote cooperative learning by splitting the class into small groups and dividing different tasks amongst students. For example, in Science class one student can experiment, another would read the instructions and someone else will write notes about the learning process. Previous studies reveal that group assignments improve teamwork and help students to succeed. For some educators, this is not a preference for teaching strategies. Group work needs to be well-managed and requires a level of independence.
• Inquiry-Based Teaching: Encouraging learners to ask a lot of questions is an effective teaching strategy that does not only motivate students to think more practically but also helps them to become independent learners . Inquiry-Based learning motivates students to ask questions and work with one another to solve any problem. Through this strategy, students tend to show more interest in the learning process such as formative assessments . Inquiry-based learning provides student experience of working with one another as a class and also allows students to revise previous learning and retain new learning in a better way.
• Student-led Classroom : Studies of classroom instruction reveal that giving more power to students allows them to become self-aware of their strengths . To facilitate Student-led instructions , teachers encourage learners to ask many questions and provide more frequent feedback . In a student-led classroom , teachers encourage students to perform their research online and bring their learning outcomes to the classroom. A student-led teaching strategy is widely used to build greater confidence in students. Previous studies show that this approach allows students to take more responsibility for their learning and bring long-term advantages such as higher levels of soft skills .

• Implementing Technology in the Classroom: The productive use of technological tools as active learning strategies i n educational institutions may develop a vibrant learning community, help educators prepare and improve their lesson plans . Using technology in the classroom is a valuable tool that prepares students to learn 21st-century skills. Use of PowerPoint presentations, videos, virtual classrooms, robots and augmented reality (AR) does not only add liveliness to the classroom but may also lead to a more inclusive and effective learning environment that improves inquisitiveness and collaboration between the students and allow educators to compile data on student performance. When classrooms around the world were forced to participate in online learning, schools had to re-examine their institutional teaching methods.
• Some of the student feedback surrounding the sudden use of technology was very positive. In certain parts of the world, student engagement increased. If however, your home did not have suitable technology, the student experience of home learning was not so positive .

Active Learning: Promoting Student Participation and Interaction

The integration of technology in today's classrooms has the potential to elevate education by fostering collaborative learning, enhancing oracy, and promoting dialogic teaching .

In this digital age, the myth of learning styles has been debunked , paving the way for a more holistic approach that accommodates the diverse range of cognitive thinking skills and multiple intelligences that students possess . Just as an orchestra harmoniously blends the unique sounds of various instruments, technology allows educators to embrace neurodiversity and orchestrate a cohesive learning experience for all.

However, it is essential for teachers to be mindful of the challenges that technology can present, such as social loafing , wherein some students may disengage from collaborative learning environments. To combat this issue, educators can employ digital tools that encourage active participation and foster a sense of accountability within group settings.

Research by Mercer (2008) and Dillenbourg (1999) highlights the power of dialogic teaching and collaborative learning in enhancing students' cognitive skills and overall academic performance.

By harnessing the capabilities of digital tools, teachers can create an inclusive and dynamic learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of their students, fostering a culture of collaboration, communication, and critical thinking that will prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century.

Learning strategies for students

Previous studies show that students depend upon their senses to process knowledge around them. Most of the successful learners tend to use one of their senses more frequently than the others. Over the last few years, the concept of ' Preferred Learning Styles ' has been heavily criticised. According to recent literature in the field of education, the idea that a child has a learning style preference is a myth. In some schools throughout the UK during the early 2000's, children were effectively labelled either a: Visual learners , auditory learners, social learners or even naturalist learners.

This practice was misinformed and sidetracked teachers from engaging with more evidence-informed ideas . If you were a teacher trained in the late 90s you may well have been on a workshop where you explored whether your class were verbal learners or tactile learners. It is widely agreed that there is limited evidence for the concept of preferred learning modes. This article is not advocating the idea of having a dominant learning style but it is worth exploring how the different senses play a part in the knowledge acquisition process.

• Visual Strategies: Pupils learn and retain the knowledge better when it is presented to them in a pictorial form , such as diagrams, charts, arrows and symbols. This approach has been refined through the research into dual coding . Using clear visuals of information hierarchy as an approach to teaching practices is an accessible way of giving access to complex regular content. To apply this approach into the classroom management strategy, teachers can apply the following in the classroom learning environment:
• Use a wide range of visual aids such as pictures, charts, graphs, and illustrations;
• Include handouts and outlines for teaching various academic concepts;
• Show pictures and explain ;
• Remove potential distractions;
• Leave some space in handouts where students can write notes;
• Show clear screens while using multimedia;
• Use colourful illustrations and presentations .

• Auditory strategies: Creating learning experiences that involve listening and talking. Successful teachers need to apply the following instructional methods in their classroom:
• Begin new topic with the background of what academic concepts are coming;
• Use activities such as discussion groups or brainstorming ;
• Ask the learners to read aloud the question;
• Have learners sit in groups where vocal collaboration is possible;
• Conclude by summarizing what was taught.
• Reading & Writing - Using more traditional instructional methods such as rewriting their notes, reading textbooks, and note-taking. They tend to learn better by applying the following in their classroom:
• They must be provided with the written information on worksheets, and other text-heavy resources;
• Ask students to rewrite notes;
• Using bullet point lists;
• Turning charts and diagrams into words.
• They must be asked to reference written text.
• Kinaesthetic Learning [or embodied cognition] is also referred to as tactile learning . Kinesthetic learning is the most physical of all the learning styles, as kinesthetic or tactile learners grasp information best through the instructional strategy that involves the practical strategy of motion, movement and touch. The word kinaesthetic learners indicate students' ability to sense movement and body position in the learning environment . Student understanding of Tactile learners is enhanced by the physical activity such as touching, feeling and moving things . In recent years, the field of embodied cognition has received a lot of interest. The work of Barbara Tversky has shown us that being referred to as a 'kinaesthetic learner' probably describes most of us. The following are a selection of strategies used to teach kinaesthetic learners (or anyone else for that matter!):
• Involve physical movement in the teaching methods;
• Provide hands-on experience to the learners;
• Use flashcards to teach;
• Engage students in classroom activities that involve physical materials .
• Ask students to draw images of information in the formative assessments .

Other teaching and learning strategies you should research

At Structural Learning , we have been trying to uncover classroom ideas that are both evidenced informed and easy to implement. Organisations such as the EEF condense the findings of studies of classroom instruction. We can use this extensive evidence to make better decisions about how we can teach our lessons. Focusing on the pedagogy is with the highest impact is a good starting point for any school.

The strategies listed within these journals help classroom practitioners widen their range of skills. If you are thinking about making some pedagogical changes across your school, you may want to explore some of the following topics:

• Integrating formative assessment strategies in your classroom.
• Advancing critical thinking skills by using graphic organisers to help students organise their thinking .
• Provide playful learning experiences that promote divergent thinking.
• Utilise dual coding methods to make curriculum content easier to understand.
• Integrate responsive teaching as a whole school philosophy.
• Build the pillars of teaching by embracing Rosenshine's principles of instruction .
• Provide insightful student feedback that moves their thinking forward.
• Promote critical thinking skills by using Oracy or dialogic teaching methods .
• Make abstract concepts in maths more concrete by using physical materials.
• Develop intervention lessons into engaging experiences by using different learning tools.
• Make your assessment strategy more creative by giving summative assessments less priority.
• Only embrace evidence-informed ideas that have a clear impact.

Integrating Technology: Harnessing Digital Tools for Enhanced Education

The integration of technology into the educational landscape has opened the door to a multitude of creative teaching strategies, enabling teachers to craft immersive and dynamic learning experiences for their students.

Just as a chameleon adapts to its surroundings, educators must harness digital tools to facilitate personalized learning , addressing the unique needs and abilities of each individual. Through platforms that support game-based learning and asynchronous learning, students can engage with the curriculum at their own pace, fostering a sense of autonomy and ownership in their educational journe y.

By drawing on Jerome Bruner's concepts of assimilation and accommodation , educators can use technology to enhance information-processing skills while also providing experiential learning opportunities.

This aligns with John Dewey's educational philosoph y, which emphasizes the importance of learning through experience and interaction with the environment. Technology-based learning tools act as a bridge between the abstract and the concrete, allowing students to actively engage with the subject matter and gain a deeper understanding of complex concepts .

In order to maximize the potential of technology for enhanced education, teachers should remain open to exploring new digital resources and incorporating them into their pedagogical approach.

Edutopia and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) offer a wealth of resources and strategies for effectively integrating technology into the classroom, empowering educators to elevate their teaching practice and unlock their students' full potential.

Final thoughts on learning and teaching strategies

The above discussion shows that students don't always have a unique learning style preference . It can be challenging to create learning solutions that are universally accessible for the whole class. E ducational researchers believe that using a mixture of active learning strategies may help to improve the learning outcomes of each student and may motivate students to show deeper understanding. Thus, the best instructional methods for a teacher are a mixture of teaching strategies that will help learners to learn quickly and retain more.

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8 Active Learning Strategies and Examples [+ Downloadable List]

Written by Justin Raudys

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• Teaching Strategies
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The Teacher’s Role in the Active Learning Classroom

Active learning techniques: key questions, making space for active learning strategies.

As a teacher, one of your biggest challenges is to plan lessons that inspire your students to stay actively involved in the learning process.

But you’ve probably noticed that traditional, teacher-centered learning plans aren’t always conducive to achieving that inspiration.

That’s where active learning strategies come into play. You can use them to empower, engage, and  stimulate a classroom by putting students at the center of the learning process.

Get inspired by these 8 strategies that will help students talk more openly, think more creatively and -- ultimately -- become more engaged in the process of learning.

This article is accompanied by a  downloadable list of active learning strategies  to keep at your desk for quick reference. 

Active Learning Strategies

1. reciprocal questioning.

Use reciprocal questioning  to encourage an open dialogue in which students take on the role of the teacher and create their own questions about a topic, reading section, or lesson.

After covering a topic of your choice in class -- or after assigning a reading selection -- divide the class into pairs or small groups and have students come up with a few questions for discussion with the rest of the class. To facilitate the process, you can provide students with “question stems,” which provide a foundation for a question but still require students to think critically about a lesson, text, or other section of material by completing the query. Consider the examples below.

Comprehension Question Stems

Describe  x  in your own words. What does  y  mean? Why is  z  important? How could  x  be used to  y ?

Connector Question Stems

Explain how  x  and why  z.  In what ways are  x  and  y  similar? In what ways are  x  and  y  different? How does  x  tie in with that we learned before?

Use these question stems to anchor and explore concepts in course material, helping students investigate a range of new topics and points of view associated with your lesson.

Much like student-generated test questions -- a type of of experiential learning activity -- reciprocal questioning involves students in the learning process to help build their comprehension of course material.

Reciprocal questioning can be particularly useful when:

• Preparing for tests or exams
• Introducing a new topic or section of course content
• Discussing reading or writing materials in greater detail

2.  Three step interviews

A cooperative learning strategy , the  three step interview  encourages students to develop active listening skills by quizzing one another, sharing their thoughts, and taking notes.

To use the three step interview process, divide students into groups of three, and assign three roles: interviewer, interviewee, and notetaker.

After also assigning a theme or topic of discussion, have students participate in a five to 10 minute interview to discuss what they found to be the key information relating to the topic.

After each interview, have students rotate roles. Depending on factors including the grade level of your students and their experience with the strategy, you may adjust the length of the time for each interview.

One interpretation of the three-step interview process. Feel free to experiment with the duration and number of students involved in these steps. Image courtesy:  Kagan Publishing

Before using the strategy, you may find it useful to have students explore the types of questions reporters ask in interviews and at what point in an interview they ask them. You may also want to provide recording sheets to use when they are assigned the “reporter” role.

The three-step interview confers benefits including:

• Helping  students learn and apply different questioning strategies
• Strengthening  students’ connection with course material in a creative and engaging way
• Producing  a sense of accountability, with students working together to complete a task and grasp a lesson

3. The pause procedure

Use the pause procedure to intersperse strategic pauses into your class lectures and enhance student understanding of teaching materials.

To use the pause procedure, arrange for pauses of two to three minutes between every 10 to 15 minutes of lecture time.

During these brief breaks, encourage students to discuss or rework their notes in pairs to clarify key points covered, raise questions, and solve problems posed by the instructor.

Alternatively, students can work together to write a paragraph that connects or highlights key ideas set out in their partner’s notes.

A 2014 study concluded that breaking a lecture into brief pauses can increase student attention and learning outcomes. The pause procedure, the study determined, is “a good active learning strategy which helps students review their notes, reflect on them, discuss and explain the key ideas with their partners.”

The use of the pause procedure involves a minimal amount of extra time, but can confer significant benefits in comparison to lectures that continue without breaks.

4. The muddiest point technique

The muddiest point technique involves asking students to write notes on the most unclear or most confusing element of a given homework assignment, lecture, or class discussion.

The Muddiest Point: Sample Phrasing   What have you found to be the muddiest point so far in this assignment? What topic do you find to be the least clear?

Asking students to write down what they find to be the least clear is a powerful exercise because it compels them to grade or rate their own knowledge of a topic.

In short, the exercise helps students reflect on the lesson and identify concepts needing further examination or study.

Example of a "muddiest point" handout to issue to students. Image source: TeachersPayTeachers .

From your perspective, the activity can serve as an insightful source of feedback.

For example, if more than a quarter of the class mentions the same “muddiest point,” you may wish to schedule a further time to discuss that topic, or create a new lesson plan or assignment to tackle it.

5. The devil's advocate approach

The devil's advocate approach asks one or more students to take the opposing side of a predominant argument or point of view being discussed during a lesson.

Once you have completed an assignment or lesson plan, select a topic that is suitable for discussion and debate. The topic should serve as an appropriate subject for providing arguments from both sides.

The activity is flexible and should be tailored to suit your students' grade level. In its simplest form, divide the class into two sections and coordinate a class-wide debate based on a selected topic. Alternatively, you may have students annotate reading texts and respond to contentions by creating counterarguments. Then, have students debate the proposals discussed during a mock town hall meeting.

While this approach can be used across a number of grade levels and subjects, consider this list of thematic claims used as primers for a devil’s advocate activity in a secondary ELA class.

Image source: Bespoke Classroom .

This approach can help cultivate active learning in the classroom by encouraging students to:

• Think more critically , challenging  participants to expand their understanding of the perspectives surrounding an issue and to view it through a different lens
• Become more engaged,  fostering involvement by drawing out opinions to explore the complexity of an issue being studied
• Produce a deeper understanding  of topics or issues, using rigorous analysis to collectively clarify, probe, and pose alternatives to problems being discussed

According to a study published in the Journal of Theory, Research and Action in Urban Education , the devil’s advocate approach can help students become “more familiar with a...topic and its multifaceted viewpoints.” The same study concludes that a classroom using this strategy can:

“provide students with multiple perspectives, and challenge students with tough questions. In such a classroom, students will become more engaged and students’ critical thinking and writing skills will be enriched.”

6. Peer teaching activities

A flexible and multi-faceted approach to active learning, peer instruction encompasses a range of scenarios where students instruct skills or explain concepts to classmates .

Some popular options include:

• Reading buddies  — A cooperative learning strategy that pairs two students who work together to read an assigned text.
• Cross-age peer tutoring  — A peer learning strategy involving students in different grades, wherein which one student instructs another on the material in which the first student is advanced and the second student is a novice.
• Role play  — A group of students is split into smaller groups and given a specific task to complete, like in small group work. However, in addition to working on a specific task, the members of each group are asked to play a certain “role”. Unlike in traditional role-play, all members of one group play the same role, not individually assigned roles.

Peer teaching activities help boost vital skills and behaviors including student interaction, accountability, group processing.

7. Game-based learning platforms

Game-based learning platforms and depth and differentiation to the educational process and allow students to work with their instructors to achieve their learning objectives.

Eric Sheninger, a principal, author, and Senior Fellow at the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE), writes passionately about the use of technology as an active learning tool. In his article " Shifting From Passive to Active Learning ," he writes:

It is really about how students use devices to create artifacts of learning that demonstrate conceptual mastery through relevant application and evaluation...Give kids challenging problems to solve that have more than one right answer and let them use technology to show that they understand. This is the epitome of active learning...

Math games and websites are at the forefront of delivering active learning through technology. One example is Prodigy, a platform that constantly  adjusts questions to tackle student trouble spots and delivers math problems with words, charts pictures, and numbers. Better yet, educational content is free to access and aligned with curricula for grades 1 to 8 teachers.

Create and sign into your free teacher account.

8. Rotating chair group discussions

Rotating chair group discussions  encourage students to actively listen to selected speakers who follow a pattern of guiding class discussion and summarizing previous points. Students lead and stimulate class discussion as they “rotate” roles, repeatedly selecting the following speaker.

To use this strategy effectively, ensure that students adhere to the following pattern:

• When a student wishes to participate, they must raise their hand
• The student who is speaking  calls on the next speaker,  ideally someone who has not yet contributed
• The student who has been called upon briefly summarizes what the previous student said before developing the idea further

This process can be repeated across a variety of topics, with your guidance to stay on track and help stuck students.

The benefits of rotating chair group discussions are not only limited to the speakers. Knowing that they may be called upon to summarize the previous topic, all students are engaged in attentive listening, frequently jotting down notes and ideas to stay on track in the spaces between speaking.

Moreover, students are put into a scenario where they learn from their colleagues’ ideas, sparking new considerations of material in an active and engaging way.

This strategy is rewarding for students because it encourages powerful and direct engagement with course material.

While active learning places an emphasis on the student’s role in the learning experience, there is no doubt that the success of any active learning strategy starts with the thought and planning of a conscientious instructor.

"Overall," a 2011 study found , "teachers play an influential role in increasing students' situational interest in the active-learning classroom," while factors like a teacher's social connection with students and subject matter expertise "significantly influence the level of students' situational interest in the active learning classroom."

And, critically, the benefits of active learning go both ways, helping teachers as well as students.

As active learning advocate James Ballencia writes,

With the goal of teaching mindful learners who actively pursue knowledge, teachers become more actively engaged in how they teach the curriculum and how they develop each student's learning potential. They mix and match a variety of ... tactics to ensure that students not only learn more, better, and faster -- they also learn smarter.

As many of the techniques above are open-ended, the active learning strategies underpinning them may differentiate for different types of learners. Be sure to consider how you can  differentiate instruction  while still enjoying the benefits of these active learning strategies.

To help the success of these strategies, put yourself in your students’ position and imagine how they might experience it. This will help you get a feel for the lesson.

When applying any of these strategies for your course, be sure to ask yourself:

• Will this be engaging and exciting for my students?
• Can this activity deploy  formative assessment strategies ?
• Is the student placed at the center of this learning strategy?
• Will this encourage my students to discuss a topic with one another?
• Am I giving students the opportunity to reflect on the learning process?
• Is this activity getting my students to think deeply and critically about a topic or lesson or is it simply a comprehension exercise?

While all of the active learning strategies outlined above can be deployed in traditional, lecture-oriented classrooms, the physical arrangement of your room and the number of students in the class can make some of them difficult to perform easily.

While a flexible seating classroom arrangement may ease this challenge, such a solution is not always possible. Plan these exercises with the limitations of your physical space carefully, being mindful of the environmental constraints posed by the unique arrangements of some of the strategies above.

Final Thoughts on Active Learning Strategies

Active learning plainly puts the focus on the learner: what the learner does, what the learner thinks, and how the learner behaves.

But, crucially, active learning doesn't simply happen with a few simple instructions: it occurs in the classroom where the teacher is committed to a learning environment that makes active learning possible .  

Ultimately, these active learning strategies will help build understanding rather than memorization of facts, giving students the confidence to apply learning to different problems and contexts and achieve greater autonomy over their learning.

And, after all, that’s exactly makes active learning “active”:  putting students at the center of the learning process as they take the initiative to learn .

Downloadable List of the 8 Active Learning Strategies

Click here  to download the list of strategies to print and keep at your desk.

Create or log in to your teacher account on Prodigy  -- a game-based learning platform that assesses student progress and performance as they play. Aligned with a growing list of curricula across the world, over  800,000 teachers  and  30 million students have signed up to Prodigy Math Game .

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Pedagogy - Diversifying Your Teaching Methods, Learning Activities, and Assignments

Definition of Pedagogy 

In the most general sense, pedagogy is all the ways that instructors and students work with the course content. The fundamental learning goal for students is to be able to do “something meaningful” with the course content. Meaningful learning typically results in students working in the middle to upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy . We sometimes find that novice instructors conflate course content with pedagogy. This often results in “teaching as talking” where the presentation of content by the instructor is confused with the learning of content by the students. Think of your course content as clay and pedagogy as the ways you ask students to make “something meaningful” from that clay. Pedagogy is the combination of teaching methods (what instructors do), learning activities (what instructors ask their students to do), and learning assessments (the assignments, projects, or tasks that measure student learning).

Key Idea for Pedagogy

Diversify your pedagogy by varying your teaching methods, learning activities, and assignments. Critically assess your pedagogy through the lens of BIPOC students’ experiences at a PWI . We visualize these two related practices as a cycle because they are iterative and ongoing. Diversifying your pedagogy likely means shedding some typical ways of teaching in your discipline, or the teaching practices you inherited. It likely means doing more active learning and less traditional lecturing. Transforming good pedagogy into equitable pedagogy means rethinking your pedagogy in light of the PWI context and considering the ways your pedagogy may help or hinder learning for BIPOC students. 

PWI Assumptions for Pedagogy

Understanding where students are on the spectrum of novice to expert learning in your discipline or course is a key challenge to implementing effective and inclusive pedagogy (National Research Council 2000). Instructors are typically so far removed from being a novice learner in their disciplines that they struggle to understand where students are on that spectrum. A key PWI assumption is that students understand how your disciplinary knowledge is organized and constructed . Students typically do not understand your discipline or the many other disciplines they are working in during their undergraduate years. Even graduate students may find it puzzling to explain the origins, methodologies, theories, logics, and assumptions of their disciplines. A second PWI assumption is that students are (or should be) academically prepared to learn your discipline . Students may be academically prepared for learning in some disciplines, but unless their high school experience was college preparatory and well supported, students (especially first-generation college students) are likely finding their way through a mysterious journey of different disciplinary conventions and modes of working and thinking (Nelson 1996).

A third PWI assumption is that instructors may confuse students’ academic underpreparation with their intelligence or capacity to learn . Academic preparation is typically a function of one’s high school experience including whether that high school was well resourced or under funded. Whether or not a student receives a quality high school education is usually a structural matter reflecting inequities in our K12 educational systems, not a reflection of an individual student’s ability to learn. A final PWI assumption is that students will learn well in the ways that the instructor learned well . Actually most instructors in higher education self-selected into disciplines that align with their interests, skills, academic preparation, and possibly family and community support. Our students have broader and different goals for seeking a college education and bring a range of skills to their coursework, which may or may not align with instructors’ expectations of how students learn. Inclusive teaching at a PWI means supporting the learning and career goals of our students.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge as a Core Concept

Kind and Chan (2019) propose that Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is the synthesis of Content Knowledge (expertise about a subject area) and Pedagogical Knowledge (expertise about teaching methods, assessment, classroom management, and how students learn). Content Knowledge (CK) without Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) limits instructors’ ability to teach effectively or inclusively. Novice instructors that rely on traditional lectures likely have limited Pedagogical Knowledge and may also be replicating their own inherited teaching practices. While Kind and Chan (2019) are writing from the perspective of science education, their concepts apply across disciplines. Moreover, Kind and Chan (2019) support van Driel et al.’s assertion that:

high-quality PCK is not characterized by knowing as many strategies as possible to teach a certain topic plus all the misconceptions students may have about it but by knowing when to apply a certain strategy in recognition of students’ actual learning needs and understanding why a certain teaching approach may be useful in one situation (quoted in Kind and Chan 2019, 975). 

As we’ve stressed throughout this guide, the teaching context matters, and for inclusive pedagogy, special attention should be paid to the learning goals, instructor preparation, and students’ point of entry into course content. We also argue that the PWI context shapes what instructors might practice as CK, PK, and PCK. We recommend instructors become familiar with evidence-based pedagogy (or the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , SoTL) in their fields. Moreover, we advise instructors to find and follow those instructors and scholars that specifically focus on inclusive teaching in their fields in order to develop an inclusive, flexible, and discipline-specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

Suggested Practices for Diversifying + Assessing Pedagogy

Although diversifying and critically assessing teaching methods, learning activities, and assignments will vary across disciplines, we offer a few key starting points. Diversifying your pedagogy is easier than critically assessing it through a PWI lens, but both steps are essential. In general, you can diversify your pedagogy by learning about active learning, peer learning, team-based learning, experiential learning, problem-based learning, and case-based learning, among others . There is extensive evidence-based pedagogical literature and practical guides readily available for these methods. And you can also find and follow scholars in your discipline that use these and other teaching methods.

Diversifying Your Pedagogy

Convert traditional lectures into interactive (or active) lectures.

For in-person or synchronous online courses, break a traditional lecture into “mini-lectures” of 10-15 minutes in length. After each mini-lecture, ask your students to process their learning using a discussion or problem prompt, a Classroom Assessment Technique (CAT), a Think-Pair-Share, or another brief learning activity. Read Lecturing from Center for Teaching , Vanderbilt University.

Structure small group discussions

Provide both a process and concrete questions or tasks to guide student learning (for example, provide a scenario with 3 focused tasks such as identify the problem, brainstorm possible solutions, and list the pros/cons for each solution). Read How to Hold a Better Class Discussion , The Chronicle of Higher Education .

Integrate active learning

Integrate active learning, especially into courses that are conceptual, theoretical, or otherwise historically challenging (for example, calculus, organic chemistry, statistics, philosophy). For gateway courses, draw upon the research of STEM and other education specialists on how active learning and peer learning improves student learning and reduces disparities. Read the Association of American Universities STEM Network Scholarship .  

Include authentic learning

Include authentic learning, learning activities and assignments that mirror how students will work after graduation. What does it mean to think and work like an engineer? How do project teams work together? How does one present research in an educational social media campaign? Since most students seeking a college education will not become academic researchers or faculty, what kinds of things will they do in the “real world?” Help students practice and hone those skills as they learn the course content. Read Edutopia’s PBL: What Does It Take for a Project to Be Authentic?

Vary assignments and provide options

Graded assignments should range from low to high stakes. Low stakes assignments allow students to learn from their mistakes and receive timely feedback on their learning. Options for assignments allow students to demonstrate their learning, rather than demonstrate their skill at a particular type of assessment (such as a multiple choice exam or an academic research paper). Read our guide, Create Assessments That Promote Learning for All Students .

Critically Assess Your Pedagogy

Critically assessing your pedagogy through the PWI lens with attention to how your pedagogy may affect the learning of BIPOC students is more challenging and highly contextual. Instructors will want to review and apply the concepts and principles discussed in the earlier sections of this guide on Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), PWI Assumptions, and Class Climate. 

Reflect on patterns

Reflect on patterns of participation, progress in learning (grade distributions), and other course-related evidence. Look at your class sessions and assignments as experimental data. Who participated? What kinds of participation did you observe? Who didn’t participate? Why might that be? Are there a variety of ways for students to participate in the learning activities (individually, in groups, via discussion, via writing, synchronously/in-person, asynchronously/online)?

Respond to feedback on climate

Respond to feedback on climate from on-going check-ins and Critical Incident Questionnaires (CIQs) as discussed in the Climate Section (Ongoing Practices). Students will likely disengage from your requests for feedback if you do not respond to their feedback. Use this feedback to re-calibrate and re-think your pedagogy. 

Seek feedback on student learning

Seek feedback on student learning in the form of Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), in-class polls, asynchronous forums, exam wrappers, and other methods.  Demonstrate that you care about your students’ learning by responding to this feedback as well. Here’s how students in previous semesters learned this material … I’m scheduling a problem-solving review session in the next class in response to the results of the exam …

Be diplomatic but clear when correcting mistakes and misconceptions

First-generation college students, many of whom may also identify as BIPOC, have typically achieved a great deal with few resources and significant barriers (Yosso 2005). However, they may be more likely to internalize their learning mistakes as signs that they don’t belong at the university. When correcting, be sure to normalize mistakes as part of the learning process. The correct answer is X, but I can see why you thought it was Y. Many students think it is Y because … But the correct answer is X because … Thank you for helping us understand that misconception.

Allow time for students to think and prepare for participation in a non-stressful setting

This was already suggested in the Climate Section (Race Stressors), but it is worth repeating. BIPOC students and multilingual students may need more time to prepare, not because of their intellectual abilities, but because of the effects of race stressors and other stressors increasing their cognitive load. Providing discussion or problem prompts in advance will reduce this stress and make space for learning. Additionally both student populations may experience stereotype threat, so participation in the “public” aspects of the class session may be stressful in ways that are not true for the majority white and domestic students. If you cannot provide prompts in advance, be sure to allow ample individual “think time” during a synchronous class session.

Avoid consensus models or majority rules processes

This was stated in the Climate Section (Teaching Practices to Avoid), but it’s such an entrenched PWI practice that it needs to be spotlighted and challenged. If I am a numerical “minority” and I am asked to come to consensus or agreement with a numerical “majority,” it is highly likely that my perspective will be minimized or dismissed. Or, I will have to expend a lot of energy to persuade my group of the value of my perspective, which is highly stressful. This is an unacceptable burden to put on BIPOC students and also may result in BIPOC students being placed in the position of teaching white students about a particular perspective or experience. The resulting tensions may also damage BIPOC students’ positive relationships with white students and instructors. When suitable for your content, create a learning experience that promotes seeking multiple solutions to problems, cases, or prompts. Rather than asking students to converge on one best recommendation, why not ask students to log all possible solutions (without evaluation) and then to recommend at least two solutions that include a rationale? Moreover, for course content dealing with policies, the recommended solutions could be explained in terms of their possible effects on different communities. If we value diverse perspectives, we need to structure the consideration of those perspectives into our learning activities and assignments. 

We recognize the challenges of assessing your pedagogy through the PWI lens and doing your best to assess the effects on BIPOC student learning. This is a complex undertaking. But we encourage you to invite feedback from your students as well as to seek the guidance of colleagues, including advisors and other student affairs professionals, to inform your ongoing practices of teaching inclusively at a PWI. In the next section, we complete our exploration of the Inclusive Teaching at a PWI Framework by exploring the importance of auditing, diversifying, and critically assessing course content.

Pedagogy References

Kind, Vanessa and Kennedy K.H. Chan. 2019. “Resolving the Amalgam: Connecting Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Knowledge.” International Journal of Science Education . 41(7): 964-978.

Howard, Jay. N.D. “How to Hold a Better Class Discussion: Advice Guide.” The Chronicle of Higher Education . https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-hold-a-better-class-discussion/#2 

National Research Council. 2000. “How Experts Differ from Novices.” Chap 2 in How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition . Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9853/how-people-learn-brain-mind-experience-and-school-expanded-edition

Nelson, Craig E. 1996. “Student Diversity Requires Different Approaches to College Teaching, Even in Math and Science.” The American Behavioral Scientist . 40 (2): 165-175.

Sathy, Viji and Kelly A. Hogan. N.D.  “How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive: Advice Guide.” The Chronicle of Higher Education . https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-make-your-teaching-more-inclusive/?cid=gen_sign_in

Yosso, Tara J. 2005. “Whose Culture Has Capital? A Critical Race Theory Discussion of Community Cultural Wealth.” Race, Ethnicity and Education . 8 (1): 69-91.

• Research and Resources
• Why Use Active Learning?
• Successful Active Learning Implementation
• Addressing Active Learning Challenges
• Why Use Team Projects?
• Project Description Examples
• Project Description for Students
• Team Projects and Student Development Outcomes
• Forming Teams
• Team Output
• Individual Contributions to the Team
• Individual Student Understanding
• Supporting Students
• Wrapping up the Project
• Addressing Challenges
• Course Planning
• Working memory
• Retrieval of information
• Spaced practice
• Active learning
• Metacognition
• Definitions and PWI Focus
• A Flexible Framework
• Class Climate
• Course Content
• An Ongoing Endeavor
• Align Assessments
• Multiple Low Stakes Assessments
• Authentic Assessments
• Formative and Summative Assessments
• Varied Forms of Assessments
• Cumulative Assessments
• Equitable Assessments
• Essay Exams
• Multiple Choice Exams and Quizzes
• Academic Paper
• Skill Observation
• Alternative Assessments
• Assessment Plan
• Grade Assessments
• Prepare Students
• Reduce Student Anxiety
• SRT Scores: Interpreting & Responding
• Student Feedback Question Prompts
• Research Questions and Design
• Gathering data
• Publication
• GRAD 8101: Teaching in Higher Education
• Finding a Practicum Mentor
• GRAD 8200: Teaching for Learning
• Proficiency Rating & TA Eligibility
• Schedule a SETTA
• TAPD Webinars

• Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the classroom (also known as “inverting” the classroom) is an approach to classroom engagement where students are responsible for learning outside of class, while in-class time is devoted to experimentation, communication, application, and deeper thinking under the guidance of the instructor. In-class activities might involve helping students work through course material individually and in groups. There are a number of ways to flip a classroom. Below are resources, strategies, and examples to help you determine what kind of flip is best for your courses.

The Flipped Class: Rethinking Space & Time

How to get started.

How Do You Flip a Class? – A guide created by the Faculty Innovation Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Inverted Classroom – An article by Robert Talbert of Grand Valley State University 6 Expert Tips for Flipping the Classroom – An article written by Jennifer Demski of Campus Technology

Common Activites

Active learning.

• Collaborative Learning
• Cased-based Learning
• Problem-based Learning
• Groupwork and Peer Instruction

Examples of Flipped Classrooms

• Leaving lectures behind – An article written by Jimmy Ryals, on a flipped Physics classroom using the SCALE-UP model at North Carolina State University.
• Flipped Classroom Example – Biology professor, Brian White, of the University of Massachusetts at Boston, discusses how he teaches a flipped classroom.

Active learning requires students to participate in class, as opposed to sitting and listening quietly. Strategies include, but are not limited to, brief question-and-answer sessions, discussion integrated into the lecture, impromptu writing assignments, hands-on activities and experiential learning events. As you think of integrating active learning strategies into your course, consider ways to set clear expectations, design effective evaluation strategies and provide helpful feedback.

The major characteristics of Active Learning are:

• Students are involved in more than passive listening
• Students are engaged in activities (e.g., reading, discussing, writing)
• There is less emphasis placed on information transmission and greater emphasis placed on developing student skills
• There is greater emphasis placed on the exploration of attitudes and values
• Student motivation is increased
• Students can receive immediate feedback from their instructor
• Students are involved in higher order thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation)

The benefits of Active Learning are:

• Develops collaborative skills
• Encourages risk taking
• Increases engagement
• Improves critical thinking
• Increases retention
• Stimulates creative thinking
• Fosters problem solving

Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is the process of dividing a classroom into small groups so that students can work together to discover a new concept, solve a problem, and help each other learn. The fundamental core of cooperative learning is to demonstrate the positive effects of interdependence while highlighting the importance of personal responsibility.

Team Based Learning with Dr. Michael Sweet

Five key elements of cooperative learning:.

• Positive Interdependence
• Individual Accountability
• Face-to-face Interaction
• Interpersonal and Small Group Social Skills
• Group Processing

Team-Based Learning

According to the Team-Based Learning Collaborative, Team-Based Learning (TBL) is an “evidence based collaborative learning teaching strategy designed around units of instruction, known as “modules,” that are taught in a three-step cycle: preparation, in-class readiness assurance testing, and application-focused exercise. A class typically includes one module.” TBL consists of modules that can be taught in a 3-step process: preparation, in-class readiness assurance testing (IRAT), and application-focused exercises. More information can be found at Team-Based Learning Collaborative.

Peer Instruction

Pioneered by Harvard professor Dr. Eric Mazur in the 1990s, Peer Instruction is an evidence-based, interactive teaching method that shifts the instructor from delivering content to facilitating discussions among the students by asking them a question that sparks discussion. In a hypothetical scenario, students formulate an answer to a conceptual question, share it with a partner, compare their reasoning, come to a consensus, then submit their answer. In this way, the instructor becomes a “guide on the side.”

Overview of the Peer Instruction process:

• Ask a question that sparks discussion (multiple choice if using clickers)
• (Optional) have students vote individually on the choice they believe is correct
• Have students discuss the question and answer choices with peers
• Have students vote on the correct answer (or share their answer if not multiple choice)
• Discuss the possible answer choices as a class
• Show the correct answer and any follow-up discussion related to this answer. If using clickers you can show the aggregate data of student responses.

“Lecturing is not simply a matter of standing in front of a class and reciting what you know. The classroom lecture is a special form of communication in which voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, and eye contact can either complement or detract from the content. No matter what your topic, your delivery and manner of speaking immeasurably influence your students’ attentiveness and learning.” – Barbara Gross Davis, Tools for Teaching

Here are six elements of your classroom that you can control to make for a more effective lecture:

• Visual Message – The slides and other visual aids you use can either complement or confuse your verbal message, depending on how you design them. Consider how photos and other  images might function as metaphors that make your points more memorable.
• Physical Presence – While some instructors are naturally gifted public speakers, we can all be more aware of and leverage our physical presence to better communicate to our audiences.
• Verbal Message – Whether you prepare typed lecture notes or just improvise in the classroom, the words you say are an integral part of your lecture.
• Students’ Notes – Students can often spend more mental energy taking notes during class than thinking about your content. Consider ways you can make it easier for your students to take notes so they can focus more on engaging with your material.
• What Students Think – How can you help your students mentally grapple with your material during class?
• What Students Say & Do – Keep in mind that even in a so-called lecture class, you don’t have to lecture the whole time. Consider small-group and whole-class activities that might enhance your students learning.

Here are few activities that help keep students engaged and foster active learning:

• Write a Question – Instead of just saying, “Are there any questions?”, ask all of your students to spend a minute or two reflecting on the lecture thus far and writing down one or two questions on paper.
• Think-Pair-Share – After posing a sufficiently difficult question, instead of asking for volunteers to answer the question, have students think about the question silently for a minute. Then have them pair up and discuss the question with their partners. Then ask for students to share their perspectives with the whole class.
• Finding Illustrative Quotations – Ask students to reread the text for the day to find quotations that support particular arguments. You might have all students address the same argument or different students look at different arguments.
• Brainstorming – As a segue to a new topic, have students share any thought, idea, story, etc. that occurs to them in relation to the new topic. Record these ideas at the board without analyzing them. After the ideas have been surfaced, then move on to more critical discussion.
• Practice Homework Problems – After lecturing on a particular type of problem, give students a problem to work at their seats that resembles the kinds of problems they’ll see on their homework. After giving students a few minutes to try to work through the problem, discuss the problem with the class

More Resources

• Moving from Pedagogy to Andragogy -by Dr. Roger Hiemstra, professor of Adult Education at Syracuse University
• Andragogy: Adult Education and Learning at Its Best? by Alan Clardy, professor of Psychology at Towson University
• A Simple, Easy To Understand Guide To Andragogy by Steve Graham of Cornerstone University
• Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams of the International Society for Technology in Education.
• Agile Learning blog – Blog on teaching and technology by Derek Bruff, Director of the Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
• Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom by Charles C. Bonwell of Active Learning Workshops
• “What is Active Learning?” – An article from UTA
• “Active Learning Techniques for the Classroom” – An article from Duke Learning Innovation
• “Active Learning” – by Cynthia J. Brame, PhD, CFT Assistant Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
• Team-based learning. – Article by Cynthia J. Brame, Assistant Director of the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University
• Team-based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups in College Teaching  -Larry Michaelsen, Arletta Bauman-Knight, and Dee Fink (2003) Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing
• Off to On: Best Practices for Online Team-Based Learning [PDF]. (2018). A white paper from the Team-Based Learning Collaborative
• Teaching Elements: Peer Instruction [PDF] . (July 2014). From the Innovative Learning Institute Teaching and Learning Service at the Rochester Institute of Technology
• Video of Dr. Eric Mazur discuss Peer Instruction
• Delivering Effective Lectures by Richard L. Sullivan and Noel McIntosh
• Teaching Large Classes by the Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University
• Instructional Tools by the Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning
• Microsoft Teams Resource Guide
• VideoScribe
• Fostering Engagement and Achievement in Lower-Division Courses by the UT Arlington Office of the Provost
• The Orange Little Book from the members of the University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers
• Atherton, J.S. (2013) Learning and Teaching; Knowles’ andragogy: an angle on adult learning [On-line: UK]. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005428/ http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/knowlesa.htm
• Bronwell, C. C., & Elson, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. Washington, DC: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.
• Bruff, David. (n.d.). Lecturing. Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/lecturing/
• Curran, James and Rosen, Deborah. (2006). “Student Attitudes toward College Courses: An Examination of Influences and Intentions.” Journal of Marketing Education.
• Davis, Barbara. (1993). Tools for Teaching [PDF]. San Franciso: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from https://www.elon.edu/docs/e-web/academics/teaching/Tools%20For%20Teaching.pdf
• Difficult Dialogues. (n.d.). Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/difficult-dialogues/
• Flipping the Classroom. (2020). Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Washington. Retrieved from https://www.washington.edu/teaching/topics/engaging-students-in-learning/flipping-the-classroom/
• [GoGlobalFIU]. (2012, July 24). Team Based Learning (TBL) Workshop with Dr. Michael Sweet – PART 1 of 2. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSpyLRX9meY
• Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
• Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Motivating Students. (n.d.). Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/
• “Peer Instruction”. (n.d.). University Teaching and Learning Center. George Washington University. Retrieved from https://library.gwu.edu/utlc/teaching/peer-instruction
• [UT Faculty Innovation Center]. (2013, July 23). What is a flipped class?. Vimeo. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/70893101
• “What is Cooperative Learning”. (n.d.). Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience. Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College School. Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/whatis.html

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AI Teaching Strategies: Transparent Assignment Design

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Jasper Chat raises many questions about the ways we teach and the ways students learn. While some of these questions concern how we can use AI to accomplish learning goals and whether or not that is advisable, others relate to how we can facilitate critical analysis of AI itself. 

The wide variety of questions about AI and the rapidly changing landscape of available tools can make it hard for educators to know where to start when designing an assignment. When confronted with new technologies—and the new teaching challenges they present—we can often turn to existing evidence-based practices for the guidance we seek.

This guide will apply the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework to "un-complicate" planning an assignment that uses AI, providing guiding questions for you to consider along the way. 

The result should be an assignment that supports you and your students to approach the use of AI in a more thoughtful, productive, and ethical manner.    

Plan your assignment.

The TILT framework offers a straightforward approach to assignment design that has been shown to improve academic confidence and success, sense of belonging, and metacognitive awareness by making the learning process clear to students (Winkelmes et al., 2016). The TILT process centers around deciding—and then communicating—three key components of your assignment: 1) purpose, 2) tasks, and 3) criteria for success. 

Step 1: Define your purpose.

To make effective use of any new technology, it is important to reflect on our reasons for incorporating it into our courses. In the first step of TILT, we think about what we want students to gain from an assignment and how we will communicate that purpose to students.

The  SAMR model , a useful tool for thinking about educational technology use in our courses, lays out four tiers of technology integration. The tiers, roughly in order of their sophistication and transformative power, are S ubstitution, A ugmentation, M odification, and R edefinition. Each tier may suggest different approaches to consider when integrating AI into teaching and learning activities. 

Questions to consider:

• Do you intend to use AI as a substitution, augmentation, modification, or redefinition of an existing teaching practice or educational technology?
• What are your learning goals and expected learning outcomes?
• Do you want students to understand the limitations of AI or to experience its applications in the field? 
• Do you want students to reflect on the ethical implications of AI use?  

Bloom’s Taxonomy is another useful tool for defining your assignment’s purpose and your learning goals and outcomes. 

This downloadable Bloom’s Taxonomy Revisited resource , created by Oregon State University, highlights the differences between AI capabilities and distinctive human skills at each Bloom's level, indicating the types of assignments you should review or change in light of AI. Bloom's Taxonomy Revisited is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).  

Access a transcript of the graphic .

Step 2: Define the tasks involved.

In the next step of TILT, you list the steps students will take when completing the assignment. In what order should they do specific tasks, what do they need to be aware of to perform each task well, and what mistakes should they avoid? Outlining each step is especially important if you’re asking students to use generative AI in a limited manner. For example, if you want them to begin with generative AI but then revise, refine, or expand upon its output, make clear which steps should involve their own thinking and work as opposed to AI’s thinking and work.

• Are you designing this assignment as a single, one-time task or as a longitudinal task that builds over time or across curricular and co-curricular contexts?  For longitudinal tasks consider the experiential learning cycle (Kolb, 1984) . In Kolb’s cycle, learners have a concrete experience followed by reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. For example, students could record their generative AI prompts, the results, a reflection on the results, and the next prompt they used to get improved output. In subsequent tasks students could expand upon or revise the AI output into a final product. Requiring students to provide a record of their reflections, prompts, and results can create an “AI audit trail,” making the task and learning more transparent.
• What resources and tools are permitted or required for students to complete the tasks involved with the assignment? Make clear which steps should involve their own thinking (versus AI-generated output, for example), required course materials, and if references are required. Include any ancillary resources students will need to accomplish tasks, such as guidelines on how to cite AI , in APA 7.0 for example.
• How will you offer students flexibility and choice? As of this time, most generative AI tools have not been approved for use by Ohio State, meaning they have not been  vetted for security, privacy, or accessibility issues . It is known that many platforms are not compatible with screen readers, and there are outstanding questions as to what these tools do with user data. Students may have understandable apprehensions about using these tools or encounter barriers to doing so successfully. So while there may be value in giving students first-hand experience with using AI, it’s important to give them the choice to opt out. As you outline your assignment tasks, plan how to provide alternative options to complete them. Could you provide AI output you’ve generated for students to work with, demonstrate use of the tool during class, or allow use of another tool that enables students to meet the same learning outcomes.

Microsoft Copilot is currently the only generative AI tool that has been vetted and approved for use at Ohio State. As of February 2024, the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) has enabled it for use by students, faculty, and staff. Copilot is an AI chatbot that draws from public online data, but with additional security measures in place. For example, conversations within the tool aren’t stored. Learn more and stay tuned for further information about Copilot in the classroom.

• What are your expectations for academic integrity? This is a helpful step for clarifying your academic integrity guidelines for this assignment, around AI use specifically as well as for other resources and tools. The standard Academic Integrity Icons in the table below can help you call out what is permissible and what is prohibited. If any steps for completing the assignment require (or expressly prohibit) AI tools, be as clear as possible in highlighting which ones, as well as why and how AI use is (or is not) permitted.

Promoting academic integrity

While inappropriate use of AI may constitute academic misconduct, it can be muddy for students to parse out what is permitted or prohibited across their courses and across various use cases. Fortunately, there are existing approaches to supporting academic integrity that apply to AI as well as to any other tool. Discuss academic integrity openly with students, early in the term and before each assignment. Purposefully design your assignments to promote integrity by using real-world formats and audiences, grading the process as well as the product, incorporating personal reflection tasks, and more. 

Learn about taking a proactive, rather than punitive, approach to academic integrity in A Positive Approach to Academic Integrity.

Step 3: Define criteria for success.

An important feature of transparent assignments is that they make clear to students how their work will be evaluated. During this TILT step, you will define criteria for a successful submission—consider creating a  rubric to clarify these expectations for students and simplify your grading process. If you intend to use AI as a substitute or augmentation for another technology, you might be able to use an existing rubric with little or no change. However, if AI use is modifying or redefining the assignment tasks, a new grading rubric will likely be needed. 

• How will you grade this assignment? What key criteria will you assess? 
• What indicators will show each criterion has been met? 
• What qualities distinguish a successful submission from one that needs improvement? 
• Will you grade students on the product only or on aspects of the process as well? For example, if you have included a reflection task as part of the assignment, you might include that as a component of the final grade.

Alongside your rubric, it is helpful to prepare examples of successful (and even unsuccessful) submissions to provide more tangible guidance to students. In addition to samples of the final product, you could share examples of effective AI prompts, reflections tasks, and AI citations. Examples may be drawn from previous student work or models that you have mocked up, and they can be annotated to highlight notable elements related to assignment criteria. 

Present and discuss your assignment.

As clear as we strive to be in our assignment planning and prompts, there may be gaps or confusing elements we have overlooked. Explicitly going over your assignment instructions—including the purpose, key tasks, and criteria—will ensure students are equipped with the background and knowledge they need to perform well. These discussions also offer space for students to ask questions and air unanticipated concerns, which is particularly important given the potential hesitance some may have around using AI tools. 

• How will this assignment help students learn key course content, contribute to the development of important skills such as critical thinking, or support them to meet your learning goals and outcomes? 
• How might students apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their future coursework or careers? 
• In what ways will the assignment further students’ understanding and experience around generative AI tools, and why does that matter?
• What questions or barriers do you anticipate students might encounter when using AI for this assignment?

As noted above, many students are unaware of the accessibility, security, privacy, and copyright concerns associated with AI, or of other pitfalls they might encounter working with AI tools. Openly discussing AI’s limitations and the inaccuracies and biases it can create and replicate will support students to anticipate barriers to success on the assignment, increase their digital literacy, and make them more informed and discerning users of technology. 

Explore available resources It can feel daunting to know where to look for AI-related assignment ideas, or who to consult if you have questions. Though generative AI is still on the rise, a growing number of useful resources are being developed across the teaching and learning community. Consult our other Teaching Topics, including AI Considerations for Teaching and Learning , and explore other recommended resources such as the Learning with AI Toolkit and Exploring AI Pedagogy: A Community Collection of Teaching Reflections.

If you need further support to review or develop assignment or course plans in light of AI, visit our Help forms to request a teaching consultation .

Using the Transparent Assignment Template

Sample assignment: ai-generated lesson plan.

In many respects, the rise of generative AI has reinforced existing best practices for assignment design—craft a clear and detailed assignment prompt, articulate academic integrity expectations, increase engagement and motivation through authentic and inclusive assessments. But AI has also encouraged us to think differently about how we approach the tasks we ask students to undertake, and how we can better support them through that process. While it can feel daunting to re-envision or reformat our assignments, AI presents us with opportunities to cultivate the types of learning and growth we value, to help students see that value, and to grow their critical thinking and digital literacy skills. 

Using the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework to plan assignments that involve generative AI can help you clarify expectations for students and take a more intentional, productive, and ethical approach to AI use in your course. 

• Step 1: Define your purpose. Think about what you want students to gain from this assignment. What are your learning goals and outcomes? Do you want students to understand the limitations of AI, see its applications in your field, or reflect on its ethical implications? The SAMR model and Bloom's Taxonomy are useful references when defining your purpose for using (or not using) AI on an assignment.
• Step 2: Define the tasks involved. L ist the steps students will take to complete the assignment. What resources and tools will they need? How will students reflect upon their learning as they proceed through each task?  What are your expectations for academic integrity?
• Step 3: Define criteria for success. Make clear to students your expectations for success on the assignment. Create a  rubric to call out key criteria and simplify your grading process. Will you grade the product only, or parts of the process as well? What qualities indicate an effective submission? Consider sharing tangible models or examples of assignment submissions.

Finally, it is time to make your assignment guidelines and expectations transparent to students. Walk through the instructions explicitly—including the purpose, key tasks, and criteria—to ensure they are prepared to perform well.

• Checklist for Designing Transparent Assignments
• TILT Higher Ed Information and Resources

Winkelmes, M. (2013). Transparency in Teaching: Faculty Share Data and Improve Students’ Learning. Liberal Education 99 (2).

Wilkelmes, M. (2013). Transparent Assignment Design Template for Teachers. TiLT Higher Ed: Transparency in Learning and Teaching. https://tilthighered.com/assets/pdffiles/Transparent%20Assignment%20Templates.pdf

Winkelmes, M., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., Weavil, K. (2016). A Teaching Intervention that Increases Underserved College Students’ Success. Peer Review.

Related Teaching Topics

Ai considerations for teaching and learning, ai teaching strategies: having conversations with students, designing assessments of student learning, search for resources.