assignment of teaching methodologies

Teaching Methods and Strategies: The Complete Guide

You’ve completed your coursework. Student teaching has ended. You’ve donned the cap and gown, crossed the stage, smiled with your diploma and went home to fill out application after application.

Suddenly you are standing in what will be your classroom for the next year and after the excitement of decorating it wears off and you begin lesson planning, you start to notice all of your lessons are executed the same way, just with different material. But that is what you know and what you’ve been taught, so you go with it.

After a while, your students are bored, and so are you. There must be something wrong because this isn’t what you envisioned teaching to be like. There is.

Figuring out the best ways you can deliver information to students can sometimes be even harder than what students go through in discovering how they learn best. The reason is because every single teacher needs a variety of different teaching methods in their theoretical teaching bag to pull from depending on the lesson, the students, and things as seemingly minute as the time the class is and the subject.

Using these different teaching methods, which are rooted in theory of different teaching styles, will not only help teachers reach their full potential, but more importantly engage, motivate and reach the students in their classes, whether in person or online.

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods, or methodology, is a narrower topic because it’s founded in theories and educational psychology. If you have a degree in teaching, you most likely have heard of names like Skinner, Vygotsky , Gardner, Piaget , and Bloom . If their names don’t ring a bell, you should definitely recognize their theories that have become teaching methods. The following are the most common teaching theories.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism is the theory that every learner is essentially a “clean slate” to start off and shaped by emotions. People react to stimuli, reactions as well as positive and negative reinforcement, the site states.

Learning Theories names the most popular theorists who ascribed to this theory were Ivan Pavlov, who many people may know with his experiments with dogs. He performed an experiment with dogs that when he rang a bell, the dogs responded to the stimuli; then he applied the idea to humans.

Other popular educational theorists who were part of behaviorism was B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura .

Social Cognitive Theory

Social Cognitive Theory is typically spoken about at the early childhood level because it has to do with critical thinking with the biggest concept being the idea of play, according to Edwin Peel writing for Encyclopedia Britannica . Though Bandura and Lev Vygotsky also contributed to cognitive theory, according to Dr. Norman Herr with California State University , the most popular and first theorist of cognitivism is Piaget.

There are four stages to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development that he created in 1918. Each stage correlates with a child’s development from infancy to their teenage years.

The first stage is called the Sensorimotor Stage which occurs from birth to 18 months. The reason this is considered cognitive development is because the brain is literally growing through exploration, like squeaking horns, discovering themselves in mirrors or spinning things that click on their floor mats or walkers; creating habits like sleeping with a certain blanket; having reflexes like rubbing their eyes when tired or thumb sucking; and beginning to decipher vocal tones.

The second stage, or the Preoperational Stage, occurs from ages 2 to 7 when toddlers begin to understand and correlate symbols around them, ask a lot of questions, and start forming sentences and conversations, but they haven’t developed perspective yet so empathy does not quite exist yet, the website states. This is the stage when children tend to blurt out honest statements, usually embarrassing their parents, because they don’t understand censoring themselves either.

From ages 7 to 11, children are beginning to problem solve, can have conversations about things they are interested in, are more aware of logic and develop empathy during the Concrete Operational Stage.

The final stage, called the Formal Operational Stage, though by definition ends at age 16, can continue beyond. It involves deeper thinking and abstract thoughts as well as questioning not only what things are but why the way they are is popular, the site states. Many times people entering new stages of their lives like high school, college, or even marriage go through elements of Piaget’s theory, which is why the strategies that come from this method are applicable across all levels of education.

The Multiple Intelligences Theory

The Multiple Intelligences Theory states that people don’t need to be smart in every single discipline to be considered intelligent on paper tests, but that people excel in various disciplines, making them exceptional.

Created in 1983, the former principal in the Scranton School District in Scranton, PA, created eight different intelligences, though since then two others have been debated of whether to be added but have not yet officially, according to the site.

The original eight are musical, spatial, linguistic, mathematical, kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalistic and most people have a predominant intelligence followed by others. For those who are musically-inclined either via instruments, vocals, has perfect pitch, can read sheet music or can easily create music has Musical Intelligence.

Being able to see something and rearrange it or imagine it differently is Spatial Intelligence, while being talented with language, writing or avid readers have Linguistic Intelligence. Kinesthetic Intelligence refers to understanding how the body works either anatomically or athletically and Naturalistic Intelligence is having an understanding of nature and elements of the ecosystem.

The final intelligences have to do with personal interactions. Intrapersonal Intelligence is a matter of knowing oneself, one’s limits, and their inner selves while Interpersonal Intelligence is knowing how to handle a variety of other people without conflict or knowing how to resolve it, the site states. There is still an elementary school in Scranton, PA named after their once-principal.

Constructivism

Constructivism is another theory created by Piaget which is used as a foundation for many other educational theories and strategies because constructivism is focused on how people learn. Piaget states in this theory that people learn from their experiences. They learn best through active learning , connect it to their prior knowledge and then digest this information their own way. This theory has created the ideas of student-centered learning in education versus teacher-centered learning.

Universal Design for Learning

The final method is the Universal Design for Learning which has redefined the educational community since its inception in the mid-1980s by David H. Rose. This theory focuses on how teachers need to design their curriculum for their students. This theory really gained traction in the United States in 2004 when it was presented at an international conference and he explained that this theory is based on neuroscience and how the brain processes information, perform tasks and get excited about education.

The theory, known as UDL, advocates for presenting information in multiple ways to enable a variety of learners to understand the information; presenting multiple assessments for students to show what they have learned; and learn and utilize a student’s own interests to motivate them to learn, the site states. This theory also discussed incorporating technology in the classroom and ways to educate students in the digital age.

Teaching Styles

From each of the educational theories, teachers extract and develop a plethora of different teaching styles, or strategies. Instructors must have a large and varied arsenal of strategies to use weekly and even daily in order to build rapport, keep students engaged and even keep instructors from getting bored with their own material. These can be applicable to all teaching levels, but adaptations must be made based on the student’s age and level of development.

Differentiated instruction is one of the most popular teaching strategies, which means that teachers adjust the curriculum for a lesson, unit or even entire term in a way that engages all learners in various ways, according to Chapter 2 of the book Instructional Process and Concepts in Theory and Practice by Celal Akdeniz . This means changing one’s teaching styles constantly to fit not only the material but more importantly, the students based on their learning styles.

Learning styles are the ways in which students learn best. The most popular types are visual, audio, kinesthetic and read/write , though others include global as another type of learner, according to Akdeniz . For some, they may seem self-explanatory. Visual learners learn best by watching the instruction or a demonstration; audio learners need to hear a lesson; kinesthetic learners learn by doing, or are hands-on learners; read/write learners to best by reading textbooks and writing notes; and global learners need material to be applied to their real lives, according to The Library of Congress .

There are many activities available to instructors that enable their students to find out what kind of learner they are. Typically students have a main style with a close runner-up, which enables them to learn best a certain way but they can also learn material in an additional way.

When an instructor knows their students and what types of learners are in their classroom, instructors are able to then differentiate their instruction and assignments to those learning types, according to Akdeniz and The Library of Congress. Learn more about different learning styles.

When teaching new material to any type of learner, is it important to utilize a strategy called scaffolding . Scaffolding is based on a student’s prior knowledge and building a lesson, unit or course from the most foundational pieces and with each step make the information more complicated, according to an article by Jerry Webster .

To scaffold well, a teacher must take a personal interest in their students to learn not only what their prior knowledge is but their strengths as well. This will enable an instructor to base new information around their strengths and use positive reinforcement when mistakes are made with the new material.

There is an unfortunate concept in teaching called “teach to the middle” where instructors target their lessons to the average ability of the students in their classroom, leaving slower students frustrated and confused, and above average students frustrated and bored. This often results in the lower- and higher-level students scoring poorly and a teacher with no idea why.

The remedy for this is a strategy called blended learning where differentiated instruction is occurring simultaneously in the classroom to target all learners, according to author and educator Juliana Finegan . In order to be successful at blended learning, teachers once again need to know their students, how they learn and their strengths and weaknesses, according to Finegan.

Blended learning can include combining several learning styles into one lesson like lecturing from a PowerPoint – not reading the information on the slides — that includes cartoons and music associations while the students have the print-outs. The lecture can include real-life examples and stories of what the instructor encountered and what the students may encounter. That example incorporates four learning styles and misses kinesthetic, but the activity afterwards can be solely kinesthetic.

A huge component of blended learning is technology. Technology enables students to set their own pace and access the resources they want and need based on their level of understanding, according to The Library of Congress . It can be used three different ways in education which include face-to-face, synchronously or asynchronously . Technology used with the student in the classroom where the teacher can answer questions while being in the student’s physical presence is known as face-to-face.

Synchronous learning is when students are learning information online and have a teacher live with them online at the same time, but through a live chat or video conferencing program, like Skype, or Zoom, according to The Library of Congress.

Finally, asynchronous learning is when students take a course or element of a course online, like a test or assignment, as it fits into their own schedule, but a teacher is not online with them at the time they are completing or submitting the work. Teachers are still accessible through asynchronous learning but typically via email or a scheduled chat meeting, states the Library of Congress.

The final strategy to be discussed actually incorporates a few teaching strategies, so it’s almost like blended teaching. It starts with a concept that has numerous labels such as student-centered learning, learner-centered pedagogy, and teacher-as-tutor but all mean that an instructor revolves lessons around the students and ensures that students take a participatory role in the learning process, known as active learning, according to the Learning Portal .

In this model, a teacher is just a facilitator, meaning that they have created the lesson as well as the structure for learning, but the students themselves become the teachers or create their own knowledge, the Learning Portal says. As this is occurring, the instructor is circulating the room working as a one-on-one resource, tutor or guide, according to author Sara Sanchez Alonso from Yale’s Center for Teaching and Learning. For this to work well and instructors be successful one-on-one and planning these lessons, it’s essential that they have taken the time to know their students’ history and prior knowledge, otherwise it can end up to be an exercise in futility, Alonso said.

Some activities teachers can use are by putting students in groups and assigning each student a role within the group, creating reading buddies or literature circles, making games out of the material with individual white boards, create different stations within the classroom for different skill levels or interest in a lesson or find ways to get students to get up out of their seats and moving, offers Fortheteachers.org .

There are so many different methodologies and strategies that go into becoming an effective instructor. A consistent theme throughout all of these is for a teacher to take the time to know their students because they care, not because they have to. When an instructor knows the stories behind the students, they are able to design lessons that are more fun, more meaningful, and more effective because they were designed with the students’ best interests in mind.

There are plenty of pre-made lessons, activities and tests available online and from textbook publishers that any teacher could use. But you need to decide if you want to be the original teacher who makes a significant impact on your students, or a pre-made teacher a student needs to get through.

Read Also: – Blended Learning Guide – Collaborative Learning Guide – Flipped Classroom Guide – Game Based Learning Guide – Gamification in Education Guide – Holistic Education Guide – Maker Education Guide – Personalized Learning Guide – Place-Based Education Guide – Project-Based Learning Guide – Scaffolding in Education Guide – Social-Emotional Learning Guide

Pedagogy - Diversifying Your Teaching Methods, Learning Activities, and Assignments

Inclusive Teaching at a PWI is in a blue rectangle at the top. Below are three green circles for Climate, Pedagogy, and Content. Pedagogy is emphasized with key points: Diversify and critically assess teaching methods, learning activities, 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.

Caroline Hilk
Research and Resources
Why Use Active Learning?
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Addressing Active Learning Challenges
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The Complete List of Teaching Methods

Teaching Methods: Not as Simple as ABC

Teaching methods [teacher-centered], teaching methods [student-centered], what about blended learning and udl, teaching methods: a to z, for the love of teaching.

Whether you’re a longtime educator, preparing to start your first teaching job or mapping out your dream of a career in the classroom, the topic of teaching methods is one that means many different things to different people.

Your individual approaches and strategies to imparting knowledge to your students and inspiring them to learn are probably built on your academic education as well as your instincts and intuition.

Whether you come by your preferred teaching methods organically or by actively studying educational theory and pedagogy, it can be helpful to have a comprehensive working knowledge of the various teaching methods at your disposal.

[Download] Get the Complete List of Teaching Methods PDF Now >>

The teacher-centered approach vs. the student-centered approach. High-tech vs. low-tech approaches to learning. Flipped classrooms, differentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning, personalized learning and more.

Not only are there dozens of teaching methods to explore, it is also important to have a sense for how they often overlap or interrelate. One extremely helpful look at this question is offered by the teacher-focused education website Teach.com.

“Teaching theories can be organized into four categories based on two major parameters: a teacher-centered approach versus a student-centered approach, and high-tech material use versus low-tech material use,” according to the informative Teach.com article , which breaks down a variety of influential teaching methods as follows:

Teacher-Centered Approach to Learning Teachers serve as instructor/authority figures who deliver knowledge to their students through lectures and direct instruction, and aim to measure the results through testing and assessment. This method is sometimes referred to as “sage on the stage.”

Student-Centered Approach to Learning Teachers still serve as an authority figure, but may function more as a facilitator or “guide on the side,” as students assume a much more active role in the learning process. In this method, students learn from and are continually assessed on such activities as group projects, student portfolios and class participation.

High-Tech Approach to Learning From devices like laptops and tablets to using the internet to connect students with information and people from around the world, technology plays an ever-greater role in many of today’s classrooms. In the high-tech approach to learning, teachers utilize many different types of technology to aid students in their classroom learning.

Low-Tech Approach to Learning Technology obviously comes with pros and cons, and many teachers believe that a low-tech approach better enables them to tailor the educational experience to different types of learners. Additionally, while computer skills are undeniably necessary today, this must be balanced against potential downsides; for example, some would argue that over-reliance on spell check and autocorrect features can inhibit rather than strengthen student spelling and writing skills.

Diving further into the overlap between different types of teaching methods, here is a closer look at three teacher-centered methods of instruction and five popular student-centered approaches.

Direct Instruction (Low Tech) Under the direct instruction model — sometimes described as the “traditional” approach to teaching — teachers convey knowledge to their students primarily through lectures and scripted lesson plans, without factoring in student preferences or opportunities for hands-on or other types of learning. This method is also customarily low-tech since it relies on texts and workbooks rather than computers or mobile devices.

Flipped Classrooms (High Tech) What if students did the “classroom” portion of their learning at home and their “homework” in the classroom? That’s an oversimplified description of the flipped classroom approach, in which students watch or read their lessons on computers at home and then complete assignments and do problem-solving exercises in class.

Kinesthetic Learning (Low Tech) In the kinesthetic learning model, students perform hands-on physical activities rather than listening to lectures or watching demonstrations. Kinesthetic learning, which values movement and creativity over technological skills, is most commonly used to augment traditional types of instruction — the theory being that requiring students to do, make or create something exercises different learning muscles.

Differentiated Instruction (Low Tech) Inspired by the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), enacted to ensure equal access to public education for all children, differentiated instruction is the practice of developing an understanding of how each student learns best, and then tailoring instruction to meet students’ individual needs.

In some instances, this means Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with special needs, but today teachers use differentiated instruction to connect with all types of learners by offering options on how students access content, the types of activities they do to master a concept, how student learning is assessed and even how the classroom is set up.

Inquiry-Based Learning (High Tech) Rather than function as a sole authority figure, in inquiry-based learning teachers offer support and guidance as students work on projects that depend on them taking on a more active and participatory role in their own learning. Different students might participate in different projects, developing their own questions and then conducting research — often using online resources — and then demonstrate the results of their work through self-made videos, web pages or formal presentations.

Expeditionary Learning (Low Tech) Expeditionary learning is based on the idea that there is considerable educational value in getting students out of the classroom and into the real world. Examples include trips to City Hall or Washington, D.C., to learn about the workings of government, or out into nature to engage in specific study related to the environment. Technology can be used to augment such expeditions, but the primary focus is on getting out into the community for real-world learning experiences.

Personalized Learning (High Tech) In personalized learning, teachers encourage students to follow personalized, self-directed learning plans that are inspired by their specific interests and skills. Since assessment is also tailored to the individual, students can advance at their own pace, moving forward or spending extra time as needed. Teachers offer some traditional instruction as well as online material, while also continually reviewing student progress and meeting with students to make any needed changes to their learning plans.

Game-Based Learning (High Tech) Students love games, and considerable progress has been made in the field of game-based learning, which requires students to be problem solvers as they work on quests to accomplish a specific goal. For students, this approach blends targeted learning objectives with the fun of earning points or badges, much like they would in a video game. For teachers, planning this type of activity requires additional time and effort, so many rely on software like Classcraft or 3DGameLab to help students maximize the educational value they receive from within the gamified learning environment.

Blended Learning Blended learning is another strategy for teachers looking to introduce flexibility into their classroom. This method relies heavily on technology, with part of the instruction taking place online and part in the classroom via a more traditional approach, often leveraging elements of the flipped classroom approach detailed above. At the heart of blended learning is a philosophy of taking the time to understand each student’s learning style and develop strategies to teach to every learner, by building flexibility and choice into your curriculum.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) UDL incorporates both student-centered learning and the “multiple intelligences theory,” which holds that different learners are wired to learn most effectively in different ways (examples of these “intelligences” include visual-spatial, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, linguistic, musical, etc.). In practice, this could mean that some students might be working on a writing project while others would be more engaged if they created a play or a movie. UDL emphasizes the idea of teaching to every student, special needs students included, in the general education classroom, creating community and building knowledge through multiple means.

In addition to the many philosophical and pedagogical approaches to teaching, classroom educators today employ diverse and sometimes highly creative methods involving specific strategies, prompts and tools that require little explanation. These include:

Appointments with students
Art-based projects
Audio tutorials
Author’s chair
Book reports
Bulletin boards
Brainstorming
Case studies
Chalkboard instruction
Class projects
Classroom discussion
Classroom video diary
Collaborative learning spaces
Creating murals and montages
Current events quizzes
Designated quiet space
Discussion groups
DIY activities
Dramatization (plays, skits, etc.)
Educational games
Educational podcasts
Essays (Descriptive)
Essays (Expository)
Essays (Narrative)
Essays (Persuasive)
Exhibits and displays
Explore different cultures
Field trips
Flash cards
Flexible seating
Gamified learning plans
Genius hour
Group discussion
Guest speakers
Hands-on activities
Individual projects
Interviewing
Laboratory experiments
Learning contracts
Learning stations
Literature circles
Making posters
Mock conventions
Motivational posters
Music from other countries/cultures
Oral reports
Panel discussions
Peer partner learning
Photography
Problem solving activities
Reading aloud
Readers’ theater
Reflective discussion
Research projects
Rewards & recognition
Role playing
School newspapers
Science fairs
Sister city programs
Spelling bees
Storytelling
Student podcasts
Student portfolios
Student presentations
Student-conceived projects
Supplemental reading assignments
Team-building exercises
Term papers
Textbook assignments
Think-tac-toe
Time capsules
Use of community or local resources
Video creation
Video lessons
Vocabulary lists

So, is the teacher the center of the educational universe or the student? Does strong reliance on the wonders of technology offer a more productive educational experience or is a more traditional, lower-tech approach the best way to help students thrive?

Questions such as these are food for thought for educators everywhere, in part because they inspire ongoing reflection on how to make a meaningful difference in the lives of one’s students.

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In our free guide, you can learn about a variety of teaching methods to adopt in the classroom.

The Complete List of Teaching Methods eBook Cover

Master of Education

Teaching Methods Overview

The Faculty Center promotes research-based instructional strategies and classroom techniques that improve student performance and learning. Because instruction at UCF takes place in many formats, environments, and class sizes, there is no single most effective teaching method for all contexts. However, research does support a practical range of methods that can be adapted to the various circumstances in which we teach. These strategies fall somewhere on the continuum illustrated below between teacher- and student-directed. We hope the resources on these pages will help you develop a repertoire of evidence-based instructional strategies that meet your and your students’ needs. Refer also to our Learning Spaces pages for strategies and techniques to implement active learning in various classroom configurations . Finally, a synopsis of teaching and learning principles from various sources helps frame some beneficial strategies to improve student learning.

We have provided short descriptions and links to more information for best practice for some popular teaching methods below. They are presented in order from more teacher-directed to more student-directed. For a video discussion of the above, please view the following brief video:

Lecture—Showing/Telling

Direct instruction is a widely used and effective instructional strategy that is strongly supported by research. In direct instruction, the teacher

models an interaction with the subject, demonstrates an approach to an issue, or shows example solutions to problems,
provides opportunities for guided practice, often assigning small group work in class with an emphasis on constructive feedback, and
assigns independent practice with an emphasis on mastery learning.

Lecture can help students organize extensive readings, but it should not be used to simply duplicate those readings. Because learning results from what students do, lectures should be crafted so that students are intentionally active as much as is reasonable. Direct instruction can be easily combined with other teaching methods and can be transferred to online teaching by using videos for the modeling stage and discussion groups for the guided practice stage.

Worked Examples

Worked examples are step-by-step demonstrations of how to complete a problem or perform a task. Concepts are first introduced in their simplest form, then the teacher gradually progresses from simple to complex procedures. Worked examples are a way to impart information. Therefore, the process is considered a form of lecturing. Worked examples are particularly useful in STEM fields, and are most effective when learners are not already familiar with the processes being presented. Students must actually work their way through the examples, rather than skip over them to homework problems, in order to see real benefit.

This sample video from Khan Academy gives a sense of how worked examples play out in practice.

Interactive Lecture

Many instructors build their lectures around questions that students, individually or in small groups, can answer using colored flashcards or polling technologies like clickers or BYOD apps. The advantage to using polling technologies is their scalability, ease of providing collective feedback on student performance, and integration with the online gradebook for uploading participation or quiz points. Other interactive techniques involve short writing exercises, quick pairings or small group discussions, individual or collaborative problem solving, or drawing for understanding. We also have a list of suggested interactive techniques .

View the following video for some ideas about good practices for lecturing:

Flipped Classroom

In the basic structure of a “flipped classroom,” the students first engage the content online (through readings, video lectures, or podcasts), then come to class for the guided practice. It requires explicit communication of learning objectives, procedures, roles, and assessment criteria. It requires a detailed curriculum design organized around scaffolding learning toward mastery. Some critics equate direct instruction with just lecturing; however, here the term is used as “directing” student learning. In direct instruction, the role of the teacher is similar to that of a coach.

Many faculty opt to create video lectures using PowerPoint. The steps are simple: after the slides are ready, click the Slide Show tab and locate the “Record” icon near the middle. The slideshow will start, and audio will be captured for each slide. Upon completion, click File-SaveAs and switch the filetype from .pptx to .mwv or .mp4. After the video file is created, many faculty upload the video to YouTube for maximum accessibility, and link to it (or embed) from Webcourses.

For a basic introduction and resources on flipped classrooms, see https://www.edutopia.org/topic/flipped-classroom . For a more theory-based introduction, see Vanderbilt University’s discussion . Finally, please view our brief video:

Socratic Questioning

Socratic questioning involves the teacher’s facilitation of critical thinking in students by dint of carefully designed questions. The classic Greek philosopher, Socrates, believed that thoughtful questioning enabled students to examine questions logically. His technique was to profess ignorance of the topic in order to promote student knowledge. R. W. Paul has suggested six categories of Socratic questions: questions for clarification, questions that probe assumptions, questions that probe evidence and reasoning, questions about viewpoints and perspectives, questions that probe implications and consequences, and questions about the question.

See Intel.com’s article on the topic for a good overview of Socratic questioning, and view our following video:

Discussion-Based Learning

One of the primary purposes of discussion-based learning is to facilitate students’ meaningful transition into the extended conversation that is each academic discipline. Discussions allow students to practice applying their learning and developing their critical-thinking skills in real-time interactions with other viewpoints. Often, the challenge for the teacher is to get students to engage in discussions as opportunities to practice reasoning skills rather than simply exchanging opinions. One tip for addressing this challenge is to create a rubric for assessing the discussion and to assign certain students to act as evaluators who provide feedback at the end of the discussion. Students rotate into this role throughout the semester, which also benefits their development of metacognitive skills.

See the Tip Sheets at Harvard’s Bok Center for practice ideas on discussion questions and discussion leading.

The Faculty Center also offers the following brief video on discussion-based learning:

Case-Based Learning

Case-based learning is used widely across many disciplines, and collections of validated cases are available online, often bundled with handouts, readings, assessments, and tips for the teacher. Cases range from scenarios that can be addressed in a single setting, sometimes within minutes, to sequential or iterative cases that require multiple settings and multiple learning activities to arrive at multiple valid outcomes. They can be taught in a one-to-many format using polling technologies or in small teams with group reports. Ideally, all cases should be debriefed in plenary discussion to help students synthesize their learning.

For discipline-specific case studies repositories, check out the following:

National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (Science topics) http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/
Online based-based biology for community colleges (Biology/Ecology topics) http://bioquest.org/lifelines/cases_ecoenviro.html
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (History topics) http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/whmteaching.html
Science Case Net (Sciences) http://sciencecasenet.org/resources/
NASPAA Publicases repository (Public Administration, Public Policy topics) https://www.publicases.org/listing/

Collaborative Learning

Learning in groups is common practice across all levels of education. The value of learning in groups is well supported by research and is required in many disciplines. It has strong benefits for at-risk students, especially in STEM subjects. In more structured group assignments, students are often given roles that allow them to focus on specific tasks and then cycle through those roles in subsequent activities. Common classroom activities for groups include: “think-pair-share”, fishbowl debates, case studies, problem solving, jigsaw.

Center for Teaching at Vanderbilt University website

Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry-based learning encompasses a range of question-driven approaches that seek to increase students’ self-direction in their development of critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. As students gain expertise, the instructor decreases guidance and direction and students take on greater responsibility for operations. Effective teaching in this mode requires accurate assessment of prior knowledge and motivation to determine the scaffolding interventions needed to compensate for the increased cognitive demands on novices. This scaffolding can be provided by the instructor through worked scenarios, process worksheets, opportunities for learner-reflection, and consultations with individuals or small groups. Students are generally allowed to practice and fail with subsequent opportunities to revise and improve performance based on feedback from peers and/or the instructor.

For a basic definition and tips about inquiry-based learning, see Teach-nology.com’s resources.

Problem-Based Learning

Often referred to as PBL, this method is similar to the case study method, except the intention is generally to keep the problem, the process, and the outcomes more ambiguous than is comfortable for students. PBL asks students to experience and struggle with radical uncertainty. Your role as the teacher is to create an intentionally ill-structured problem and a deadline for a deliverable, assign small groups (with or without defined roles), optionally offer some preparation, and resist giving clear, comfortable assessment guidance.

To learn more about problem-based learning, go here: https://citl.illinois.edu/citl-101/teaching-learning/resources/teaching-strategies/problem-based-learning-(pbl)

Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning is similar to problem-based learning, and both can be referred to as PBL, but in project-based learning, the student comes up with the problem or question to research. Often, the project’s deliverable is a creative product, which can increase student engagement and long-term learning, but it can also result in the student investing more time and resources into creative production at the expense of the academic content. When assigning projects to groups that include novice students, you should emphasize the need for equitable contributions to the assignment. Assessments should address differences in effort and allow students to contribute to the evaluations of their peers.

Learn more about project-based learning here: http://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/project-based-learning/

An introduction to K – 12 teaching methods

A woman, smiling and looking at a child, who is holding a tablet

Principles, pedagogy, and strategies for classroom management vary from teacher to teacher. However different, all teaching methodology is deeply rooted in traditional styles. Teachers adapt their teaching methods based on educational philosophy, classroom demographics, subject areas, and the schools at which they teach.

During various stages of childhood and development, a student’s success in the classroom is largely dependent upon his or her own motivation, interest, persistence, and ability to understand and manage his or her emotions.

Since the 1980s, experts have identified different teaching methods that speak to the key areas of school readiness and the various stages of students’ cognitive, social, and emotional development. “Approaches to learning,” “executive functioning,” “habits of mind,” “grit,” “soft skills,” and “noncognitive abilities” have been used to describe these considerations of student development in the educational setting.

As Clancy Blair and Adele Diamond state, “In sum, learning occurs through a process of engagement and participation in a relationship with a caring and trusted other who models the process of and provides opportunities for self-directed learning. In acquiring the capacity for self-regulated learning, social-emotional skills that foster the relationship and executive function skills that promote self-regulation are quite literally foundational for learning.”

CATEGORIES OF TEACHING METHODS

It is generally understood that the first step necessary in determining which teaching methods are best for you is identifying your own strengths and weaknesses.

Teacher-Centered Approach vs. Student-Centered Approach

The teacher-centered approach views the teacher as the active party in the teacher-student learning relationship, as the teacher passes information to students, who passively receive it. Students are then assessed in various ways, such as through testing and performing different kinds of tasks. The teacher is the expert and authority of the classroom and teaches directly to the students.

On the other hand, in the student-centered approach, the teacher and student are seen as equals when it comes to the responsibility of teaching and learning. The teacher facilitates the learning and understanding of the material. Measures of student learning aren’t only formal tests but also more informal assessments, such as group projects, student portfolios, and seminar-style participation. Teaching and assessment are closely tied together as a metric of success in a student-centered classroom where cooperation is delegated.

High-Tech Material Use vs. Low-Tech Material Use

The classroom has drastically evolved throughout the past several decades because of technological advances. The high-tech method to teaching takes advantage of the abundance of digital resources available to aid students in their educational progression.

Teachers encourage children to use tablets, computers, and the web to further their studies and completion of assignments. Teachers have much more access to obtain assignments from their students and to learn new ideas for their curriculum. Many teachers even use gamification software for their students to learn new critical thinking skills.

Digital education enables teachers and students to be located anywhere in the world, and it sometimes removes the element of having a physical classroom altogether. Online coursework is one of the many high-tech teaching methods.

A downside of high-tech methods, as opposed to low-tech, is the way that students get used to having technology to bolster their learning. For instance, young kids who learn to write with an automatic spell-checker aren’t as keen to spelling and ultimately may have weaker writing skills than children who learn to read and write in a low-tech classroom.

Though there are many advantages to utilizing technology in the classroom, many teachers opt to stick to traditional approaches to education. There are many studies that show a low-tech teaching classroom a student’s ability to learn.

Students also have a stronger memory if they take hand-written notes rather than typing them out on an online program.

If technology isn’t as heavily emphasized in a classroom, kinesthetic learners may have a higher likelihood to thrive, since there is more flexibility for movement and interaction during learning exercises. Teachers should not only allow but encourage students to speak and move around the room.

Expeditionary learning, also known as “learning by doing,” provides students with hands-on experience and will enable them to better apply what they learn at school to the real world, as opposed to learning a lesson online and in the virtual realm.

TEACHING TO K-3

Kindergarten through third grade is arguably the most critical time during a child’s education, and the way children of this age are taught largely shapes their understanding of the world.

Social-Emotional Learning Method

When a child is in kindergarten through third grade, the child is developing his or her cognitive and social-emotional competencies. “SEL,” or “social-emotional learning,” is a common teaching method applied among this age group. Its core elements include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills. These characteristics that are actively built upon support a child’s progress in subjects such as math, literacy, technology, and social studies.

The level of a child’s SEL skills predicts the level of performance later on in his or her education. For example, a child’s early ability to self-regulate his or her emotions is tied to a higher skill level in math in the later years of the child’s academic career.

Although children have natural tendencies to be more interested in learning and attentive to developing their skills, teachers help build children’s competencies. Teachers can intentionally model enthusiasm for learning, persistence, and interest in subjects in order to evoke curiosity from their students.

They can also allow their students to make decisions that increase their participation in the classroom, which ultimately grows confidence within the children. When students are rewarded not only for their high achievements but also for their hard work, it will likely result in higher levels of work over periods of time.

Pillars of the K-3 “Approaches to Learning” Teaching Method

The “approaches to learning” teaching method derived from experts discussing cognitive and social development in young children in the 1980s. It focuses on tailored learning strategies for each age group and three pillars of specific tactics that serve as guidelines for teachers.

There are three key areas of teaching methods that K-3 grade teachers should focus on to best develop their students:

Problem-solving
Initiative and creativity

Methods for Teaching Engagement

engagement A kindergarten teacher, specifically, can do the following to see his or her classroom engaged and flourishing:

Define classroom routines, responsibilities, and behaviors to set expectations
Develop individual relationships with students to garner higher engagement
Provide students with tools to help themselves pay attention
Model the practice of sustaining focus and resisting distractions
Create scenarios in which students can make their own decisions and that promote participation
Set children up for success by doing short lessons, enabling them to focus for the entire time

As children move up through first, second, and third grade, strategies for teachers to encourage engagement and participation among their students are centered around activities that shift their focus from one thing to another, showing students lessons on how to persevere through challenges and difficulties, expanding expectations for focus, and practicing self-evaluation.

Methods for Teaching Problem-Solving

In addition to engagement, problem-solving skill development is critical during this stage of child development. Kids who understand from an early age how to work through the scenarios that life presents are better-suited to face adversity when they’re older.

Language and cognitive skills are closely linked to highly developed problem-solving skills. In the same way, mathematical and logistical thinking stems from being able to predict what is likely going to happen. Most importantly, the ability to plan and solve problems helps individuals to thrive socially. The teaching method of emphasizing problem-solving is connected to the belief that mindsets are grown.

In other words, some education professionals think that one’s mindset is “fixed” and cannot be improved upon, while others disagree and believe intelligence and abilities can be grown and developed through positive experiences in both school and the realm of work. In the growth mindset, failures or disappointments are seen as opportunities to learn and to be more readily prepared in the future. This mindset is preferred when executing the problem-solving method of teaching.

Teachers can apply teaching methods that focus on developing problem-solving skills, such as creating a routine for students to follow that also allows room for students to form their own conclusions on how to execute a task, and emphasizing individual planning in their styles of teaching.

One tactic for fostering impeccable problem-solving skills in a K-3 classroom is allowing time in each day for children to build individual and group plans. This will allow their skillsets to take root and grow in a social setting, which will translate well into logistical topics, such as mathematics. Another method is to provide alternate choices for a student to execute an assignment or task, allowing the individual to take the initiative to strategize accordingly.

Helping children through social problems they encounter at school can also allow them to learn to navigate social settings. This includes both sides of the spectrum: beneficial settings that uplift them and frustrating scenarios that reinforce growth. Posing questions in a game-like fashion can also engage students to access their logistical thoughts and allow them to explore how a scenario can result.

Teachers can observe problem-solving skills developing among their kindergarten students by encouraging students to do the following in their classrooms:

Plan their own involvement in short- and long-term play, as well as in learning activities
Apply familiar behaviors in new situations
Make and follow multistep plans for completing tasks
Apply different strategies to solve both academic and social problems with adult assistance
Regulate their own emotional responses to frustrating situations
Return to learning activities after becoming frustrated or angry

Among first through third-graders, teachers will observe students doing things such as developing new ways to remember information, adapting problem-solving strategies for new situations and contexts, evaluating original plans to make changes as needed, and applying results of previous plans toward future planning.

Methods for Teaching Initiative and Creativity

This area of focus within teaching is to encourage independence among individual students and to trigger creative thinking in new situations. Indicators of a child’s initiative and creativity progress are the challenging of oneself, the commitment to growing one’s learning, and becoming innovative as a learner in the classroom.

What makes the ability to take initiative so important from an early stage in education is how it separates an employee from his or co-workers when the motivation to grow comes from within. Those who have been responsible for society’s greatest leaps and bounds forward are those who have harnessed creativity and initiative, such as in the science, medicine, technology, and business sectors.

Teachers can support the development of initiative and creativity in their educational atmosphere by offering choices and letting children take initiative to circulate thought and arrive at a conclusion. Though rewarding achievement is important for students to understand that they have met expectations, it is also beneficial to reward the attempts made by children to think innovatively and outside of the box.

Children who are fueling creativity and initiative will demonstrate the following:

Curiosity through asking concrete questions
Attempts at new things with adult encouragement
Participation in the classroom and taking on leadership opportunities in group settings
Frequently bringing concepts from diverse areas of study together
Complex language to connect ideas

Teaching to 4th-6th

Teachers feel a heavy weight on their shoulders for the curiosity and ambition of fourth- through sixth-graders, particularly as these students enter middle school. A preferred method of teaching among this age group is known as the “differentiated instruction approach.”

This approach addresses student needs and tailors teaching styles to their learning preferences while also conforming to the intense demands of today’s standards of testing and systematic metrics of success. Encompassing process, strategy, and approach, among other elements that are supported by best practice and research, are signature perspectives of the differentiation approach.

Fourth- through sixth-grade teachers favor the differentiation approach because they can use a multitude of processes to meet the learning requirements of a more diverse student body and population. The strength of this popular teaching method is that it provides a variety of ways to meet the needs of many learners.

TEACHING TACTICS OF THE DIFFERENTIATION APPROACH

As a teacher, this teaching method requires planning ahead. In order to drive students to success, you need to set your expectations for your students ahead of teaching a lesson. One easy way to do this is to follow the KUD method: “Know, Understand, Do.” Before starting to teach each lesson, you need to decide what you want your students to know, understand, and do. It is a simple framework to remember the most important aspect of teaching this age group: setting expectations.

Another important tactic is to tier your lessons. In other words, when teachers tier their assignments, they make adjustments in their lessons to meet the needs of multiple students. Tiering lesson plans can challenge students and their ability levels. The tactic here is to make sure that all tasks, regardless of the tier level, are challenging and engaging to all students in the classroom. Assessments can be altered according to the level of complexity, pacing, amount of guidance, number of steps, and level of independence required.

The steps to implementing the differentiation approach are as follows:

Develop the basis for your tasks, including concepts, skills, and essential understandings that you want all students to obtain and reach.
Consider how you will cluster group activities among your students. Although you can create multiple levels of tiers, keep the number of levels consistent with your groups of students. It’s best to have the same number of tiers of the exercise as you have groups. For example, if you have two groups working at grade level and one working just below, then you should have three tiers in total.
Choose which part of your lesson plan you are going to tier. You can choose from challenge level, complexity, resources (e.g., materials and reading levels), process, or product.
Create the tier for the students who are learning at grade level.
Next, design a similar task for struggling learners to create a tailored environment to set them up for growth and, ultimately, success.
Once the first two tiers have been established, develop a third tier for more advanced students who have already mastered the on-grade tier or competency being addressed. This should require a higher cognitive ability to form conclusions.

For children going through a transitional time, such as moving up through elementary school and into middle school, the differentiation approach and its tactics will guide your classroom’s success.

Teaching to 7th-9th

This next transition period for students is just as integral as the previous. Students enter into adolescence and can encounter new emotions, social situations, and intellectual challenges. They also enter a period of their life where their performance has direct repercussions, as colleges are officially watching their grades.

Statics show that ninth grade has the highest number of students who fail among all grades, creating what is known as “the ninth-grade bump.” Being held back can be detrimental to students’ confidence and perception of themselves, viewing themselves as failures. In order to thrive in ninth grade, seventh- and eighth-grade experiences must build students up to be prepared for high school.

With proactive tactics in your teaching toolkit, you can develop a purposeful plan to strengthen students’ skillsets throughout seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. Teachers can isolate both strengths and weaknesses among students in their curricula, identify high-impact instructional and support strategies to keep this age group engaged in their studies, and always be actively creating next steps for their students to achieve goals.

The most important tactic for this age group is to identify weaknesses and tailor your attention to them. This will provide students with the confidence they need to have a smooth transition as they enter adolescence and find themselves in new situations, both socially and academically.

Teaching to 10th-12th

Because this is the last stop for students before beginning their post-high school graduate careers, it is critical that teachers strategize for success in their classrooms.

As the previously mentioned teaching methods can be applied to high school, particularly the differentiation approach, individual strategies that you apply to your educational setting may reap more rewards and see your students succeed.

One of the most important tactics to apply as a teacher of 10th- through 12th-graders is to be enthusiastic about what you are teaching. If you aren’t engaged in what you’re talking about, teenagers will not be either. Their attention spans are also shortening, so having lesson plans and lectures on the lighter side will be in your favor as a high school teacher.

Class discussion, also known as the Socratic seminar method, allows students this age to thrive by being given the opportunity to express their own opinions and thoughts. It also gives them their first dose of public speaking, something they may encounter much more frequently in a university setting. Collaborative work, reading and writing assessments, and problem-solving are all great strategies to implement in your teaching in order to have an engaged classroom of teenagers.

Regardless of your preferred teaching method, the most important thing to do as a new or experienced teacher is to read your classroom and tailor your teaching style to your students and the ways they best learn. Individual students respond better to some methods than others.

What is essential to every child’s development and ability to thrive in his or her education is a positive learning experience. By paying attention to an individual child’s strengths and areas in need of improvement, teachers can ensure progress.

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What is Your Teaching Style? 5 Effective Teaching Methods for Your Classroom

Every teacher has her or his own style of teaching. And as traditional teaching styles evolve with the advent of differentiated instruction, more and more teachers are adjusting their approach depending on their students’ learning needs.

But there are a few fundamental teaching styles most educators tend to use. Which one is yours?

You’ve Got Style

These teaching styles highlight the five main strategies teachers use in the classroom, as well as the benefits and potential pitfalls of each.

Infographic: Common teaching styles - classroom teaching styles. Authority or lecture style (teacher-centered), demonstrator or coach style (shows knowledge, includes activities and demonstrations), facilitator or activity style (promote self-learning, self-actualization, critical thinking skills), delegator or group style (best for lab activities and peer feedback activities), and hybrid or blended style (blends the teacher's personality and interests with students' needs).

The Authority, or lecture style

The authority model is teacher-centered and frequently entails lengthy lecture sessions or one-way presentations. Students are expected to take notes or absorb information.

Pros : This style is acceptable for certain higher-education disciplines and auditorium settings with large groups of students. The pure lecture style is most suitable for subjects like history, which necessitate memorization of key facts, dates, names, etc.
Cons : It’s a questionable model for teaching children because there is little or no interaction with the teacher. Plus it can get a little snooze-y. That’s why it’s a better approach for older, more mature students.

The Demonstrator, or coach style

The demonstrator retains the formal authority role by showing students what they need to know. The demonstrator is a lot like the lecturer, but their lessons include multimedia presentations, activities, and demonstrations. (Think: Math. Science. Music.)

Pros : This style gives teachers opportunities to incorporate a variety of formats including lectures and multimedia presentations.
Cons : Although it’s well-suited for teaching mathematics, music, physical education, or arts and crafts, it is difficult to accommodate students’ individual needs in larger classrooms.

The Facilitator, or activity style

Facilitators promote self-learning and help students develop critical thinking skills and retain knowledge that leads to self-actualization.

Pros : This style trains students to ask questions and helps develop skills to find answers and solutions through exploration; it is ideal for teaching science and similar subjects.
Cons : Challenges teacher to interact with students and prompt them toward discovery rather than lecturing facts and testing knowledge through memorization. So it’s a bit harder to measure success in tangible terms.

The Delegator, or group style

The delegator style is best suited for curricula that require lab activities, such as chemistry and biology, or subjects that warrant peer feedback, like debate and creative writing.

Pros : Guided discovery and inquiry-based learning place the teacher in an observer role that inspires students by working in tandem toward common goals.
Cons : Considered a modern style of teaching, it is sometimes criticized as eroding teacher authority. As a delegator, the teacher acts more as a consultant rather than the traditional authority figure.

The Hybrid, or blended style

Hybrid, or blended style, follows an integrated approach to teaching that blends the teacher’s personality and interests with students’ needs and curriculum-appropriate methods.

Pros : Inclusive! And it enables teachers to tailor their styles to student needs and appropriate subject matter.
Cons : Hybrid style runs the risk of trying to be too many things to all students, prompting teachers to spread themselves too thin and dilute learning.

Because teachers have styles that reflect their distinct personalities and curriculum—from math and science to English and history—it’s crucial that they remain focused on their teaching objectives and avoid trying to be all things to all students.

What you need to know about your teaching style

Although it is not the teacher’s job to entertain students, it is vital to engage them in the learning process. Selecting a style that addresses the needs of diverse students at different learning levels begins with a personal inventory—a self-evaluation—of the teacher’s strengths and weaknesses. As they develop their teaching styles and integrate them with effective classroom management skills, teachers will learn what works best for their personalities and curriculum.

Our guide encapsulates today’s different teaching styles and helps teachers identify the style that’s right for them and their students. Browse through the article or use these links to jump to your desired destination.

What is a teaching style inventory, and how have teaching styles evolved?
What teaching method is best for today’s students?

How does classroom diversity influence teachers?

Emergence of the teaching style inventory.

How have teaching styles evolved? This is a question teachers are asked, and frequently ask themselves, as they embark on their careers, and occasionally pause along the way to reflect on job performance. To understand the differences in teaching styles, it’s helpful to know where the modern concept of classifying teaching methods originated.

The late Anthony F. Grasha, a noted professor of psychology at the University of Cincinnati, is credited with developing the classic five teaching styles. A follower of psychiatrist Carl Jung, Grasha began studying the dynamics of the relationship between teachers and learning in college classrooms. His groundbreaking book, Teaching with Style , was written both as a guide for teachers and as a tool to help colleagues, administrators and students systematically evaluate an instructor’s effectiveness in the classroom.

Grasha understood that schools must use a consistent, formal approach in evaluating a teacher’s classroom performance. He recognized that any system designed to help teachers improve their instructional skills requires a simple classification system. He developed a teaching style inventory that has since been adopted and modified by followers.

Expert : Similar to a coach, experts share knowledge, demonstrate their expertise, advise students, and provide feedback to improve understanding and promote learning.
Formal authority : Authoritative teachers incorporate the traditional lecture format and share many of the same characteristics as experts, but with less student interaction.
Personal model : Incorporates blended teaching styles that match the best techniques with the appropriate learning scenarios and students in an adaptive format.
Facilitator : Designs participatory learning activities and manages classroom projects while providing information and offering feedback to facilitate critical thinking.
Delegator : Organizes group learning, observes students, provides consultation, and promotes interaction between groups and among individuals to achieve learning objectives.

Although he developed specific teaching styles, Grasha warned against boxing teachers into a single category. Instead, he advocated that teachers play multiple roles in the classroom. He believed most teachers possess some combination of all or most of the classic teaching styles.

How does differentiated instruction affect teaching styles?

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a professor at the University of Virginia, is an early advocate of differentiated instruction and a pioneer in the development of learning-based teaching styles. If Grasha laid the groundwork for 20th-century teachers to adopt styles tailored to match their personalities and strengths, Tomlinson has advanced this theme into the 21st century by focusing on differentiated instruction.

In the simplest terms, differentiated instruction means keeping all students in mind when developing lesson plans and workbook exercises, lectures, and interactive learning. These student-focused differences necessitate instructional styles that embrace diverse classrooms for students at all learning levels and from various backgrounds without compromising the teacher’s strengths.

What teaching style is best for today’s students?

Whether you’re a first-year teacher eager to put into practice all of the pedagogical techniques you learned in college, or a classroom veteran examining differentiated instruction and new learning methodologies, consider that not all students respond well to one particular style. Although teaching styles have been categorized into five groups, today’s ideal teaching style is not an either/or proposition but more of a hybrid approach that blends the best of everything a teacher has to offer.

The traditional advice that teachers not overreach with a cluster of all-encompassing teaching styles might seem to conflict with today’s emphasis on student-centered classrooms. Theoretically, the more teachers emphasize student-centric learning, the harder it is to develop a well-focused style based on their personal attributes, strengths, and goals.

In short, modern methods of teaching require different types of teachers—from the analyst/organizer to the negotiator/consultant. Here are some other factors to consider as teachers determine the best teaching method for their students.

Empty vessel : Critics of the “sage on the stage” lecture style point to the “empty vessel” theory, which assumes a student’s mind is essentially empty and needs to be filled by the “expert” teacher. Critics of this traditional approach to teaching insist this teaching style is outmoded and needs to be updated for the diverse 21st-century classroom.

Active vs. passive : Proponents of the traditional lecture approach believe that an overemphasis on group-oriented participatory teaching styles, like facilitator and delegator, favor gifted and competitive students over passive children with varied learning abilities, thereby exacerbating the challenges of meeting the needs of all learners.

Knowledge vs. information : Knowledge implies a complete understanding, or full comprehension, of a particular subject. A blend of teaching styles that incorporate facilitator, delegator, demonstrator, and lecturer techniques helps the broadest range of students acquire in-depth knowledge and mastery of a given subject. This stands in contrast to passive learning, which typically entails memorizing facts, or information, with the short-term objective of scoring well on tests.

Interactive classrooms : Laptops and tablets, video conferencing, and podcasts in classrooms play a vital role in today’s teaching styles. With technology in mind, it is imperative that teachers assess their students’ knowledge while they are learning. The alternative is to wait for test results, only to discover knowledge gaps that should have been detected during the active learning phase.

Constructivist teaching methods : Contemporary teaching styles tend to be group-focused and inquiry-driven. Constructivist teaching methods embrace subsets of alternative teaching styles, including modeling, coaching, and test preparation through rubrics scaffolding. All of these are designed to promote student participation and necessitate a hybrid approach to teaching. One criticism of the constructivist approach is that it caters to extroverted, group-oriented students, who tend to dominate and benefit from these teaching methods more than introverts; however, this assumes introverts aren’t learning by observing.

Student-centric learning does not have to come at the expense of an instructor’s preferred teaching method. However, differentiated instruction demands that teachers finesse their style to accommodate the diverse needs of 21st-century classrooms.

The ‘sage on the stage’ meets the ‘tiger mom’

The objective of blending teaching styles to leverage the teacher’s strengths while meeting the demands of diverse students has become increasingly difficult, as parents take a decidedly proactive role in child-learning techniques.

The traditional authoritative/expert, or “sage on the stage” lecture style, has come under attack by some parents—and contemporary educational leaders—who emphasize that a more diverse approach to teaching is necessary to engage students. This is compounded by the rise of “tiger moms,” a term made popular by parents devoted to improving the quality of education with laser-precision focus on A-list schools and a highly competitive job market.

Age of the proactive parent

Regardless of what style a teacher adopts, it’s important for teachers to develop positive attitudes, set goals, and establish high expectations for students.

“Assume students can excel!” education authors Harry and Rosemary Wong declare. As former teachers with a combined 80-plus years of educational experience, the Wongs emphasize in their best-selling book, The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher and their more recent, The Classroom Management Book that successful teachers share three common characteristics:

effective classroom management skills
lesson mastery
positive expectations

All instructors, when developing their teaching styles, should keep in mind these three goals, as well as the primary objective of education: student learning.

It is abundantly clear that today’s teachers are responsible for students with a diverse range of learning abilities. The 21st-century teacher does not have the luxury of “picking the low-hanging fruit” and then leaving the rest of the tree for experts who specialize in children with behavioral issues or learning disorders.

Today’s teachers must develop instructional styles that work well in diverse classrooms. Effective teaching methods engage gifted students, as well as slow-learning children and those with attention deficit tendencies. This is where differentiated instruction and a balanced mix of teaching styles can help reach all students in a given classroom—not just the few who respond well to one particular style of teaching.

The wonderment of teaching, what author/educator Dr. Harry Wong refers to as “that a-ha moment” when a child “gets it,” is one of the most rewarding and seemingly elusive benefits of becoming a teacher. This transfer of knowledge from expert to student is an art form and a skill. Fortunately, both can be learned and perfected.

Knowing how to engage students begins with selecting the teaching style that’s right for you. And remember, even though you may prefer one teaching style over another, you must find the style that works best for your students! Try different styles to meet different objectives, and always challenge yourself to find ways to reach each student.

Teaching Methods

Choosing optimal methods to support learning outcomes.

Learning outcome: Solve a complex math equation.
Learning environment: An in person, upper-level math course with 20 students.
Teaching method: Guided instruction. First, the instructor facilitates learning by modeling and scaffolding. Students take time to ask questions and receive clarifications. Next, students practice applying these skills together and then independently. The instructor uses formative assessment to check for understanding.

This example demonstrates alignment of what the instructor wants students to do, and how they are supported in these tasks. If the instructor choses a different teaching method, such as a traditional lecture, students would need to process the lecture’s content and apply principles simultaneously. This is very difficult to do and would lead to less successful outcomes.

Choosing the appropriate teaching method brings instruction to life while encouraging students to actively engage with content and develop their knowledge and skills.

The chart below provides a number of teaching methods to choose from. Teaching methods vary in their approach, some are more student-centered while others are more instructor centered, and you will see this reflected in the chart. Choose methods that will best guide your students to achieve the learning outcomes you’ve set and remember that your teaching approach, teaching methods and activities all work together.

Table adapted from: Nilson (2016)

Choose Your Methods

Using the Course Design Template explore the aspects that will likely affect your course.

Step 1: Review your learning outcomes.
Step 2: Identify the teaching methods that best align to these learning outcomes and fill in the appropriate column.
Step 3: Consider possible activities which will next be examined in further detail.

Now that you’ve reviewed a variety of teaching methods and considered which ones align with your learning outcomes, the next step is to consider activities.

Nilson, L. B. (2016). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (Fourth). John Wiley & Sons.

Active Learning

What is active learning.

Active learning is a term used to describe instructional strategies that promote students’ active participation in knowledge construction processes. Such strategies may include hands-on activities, brief writing and discussion assignments, problem solving tasks, information gathering and synthesis, question generation, and reflection-based activities, among others. Together, these approaches seek to engage learners’ higher order thinking skills through the production and articulation of knowledge, as opposed to through the passive transmission of facts and ideas.

Active learning strategies are built upon constructivist theories of learning, which emphasize the importance of building connections between one’s prior knowledge and new experiences and concepts. As such, active learning tasks are designed to tease out learners’ current understanding, make that understanding explicit, and then create opportunities for learners to integrate new knowledge into their understanding.

Typically, active learning strategies involve a mixture of individual and collaborative tasks, giving students the chance to reflect or predict outcomes, and then to share and discuss their ideas with peers. Activities can last anywhere from mere minutes to large segments of a class period; the point is simply to activate learners’ cognitive processes while they are in class. The information below will help you design and implement strategies that support this decidedly broad category of instructional methods.

What are the benefits?

Active learning helps students reflect on their understanding by encouraging them to make connections between their prior knowledge and new concepts. Often, active learning tasks ask students to make their thinking explicit, which also allows instructors to gauge student learning. Although most of the literature on active learning has focused on STEM disciplines, research suggests that active learning may benefit students in any field, particularly students who have had fewer educational opportunities, or encounters with active learning in high school. Several studies have shown that students in active learning classrooms have a lower rate of failure, and perform better on assessments than students in a traditional lecture.

Best practices

Because active learning encompasses so many different varieties of classroom activity, it is important to keep in mind a few core principles when designing active learning tasks:

Active learning tasks should help your students meet their learning objectives
Active learning tasks should create a low bar for student participation
Active learning tasks should provide students with feedback on their learning

Help students meet their learning objectives

Above all, active learning tasks should target specific learning objectives. That is, they should help students develop the knowledge and skills that they are expected to acquire in your course. Identifying an argument, using evidence to support a claim, organizing information, and defining a given problem are all skills that support complex learning objectives, such as writing and problem solving. Active learning tasks should aim to provide students with opportunities to practice and gain proficiency in such skills.

Encourage student participation

Active learning tasks should provide a low barrier-to-entry, and invite involvement among all students. Therefore, tasks should be simple or discrete. For more complex tasks, instructors should provide clear instructions that outline (and model) how students will participate in the activity. How will students engage with each other in the activity? What are the ground rules or guidelines for group interaction? Answering these questions explicitly will help students understand what is expected of their participation.

Provide opportunities for feedback and reflection

Ideally, feedback should not only target the skills and knowledge students are expected to acquire from the course learning objectives, it should clearly indicate how students can improve their performance or enhance their understanding of the topic at hand. While providing detailed, individual feedback is often time consuming for individual instructors, and therefore difficult to achieve in a single class period, feedback from an active learning task can come from a variety of sources. Personal Response Systems (e.g., “clickers”), for instance, can collect input on student thinking at large scale. Instructors can, in turn, compare this information with experimental data or examples of expert thinking to reveal “gaps” or discrepancies in student knowledge.

Peer-based discussions or review sessions in which students receive a rubric with which to assess their classmates’ learning also provide opportunities for students to both make their thinking explicit, and to obtain informal feedback. The purpose of feedback in such cases is to provide students with information on their understanding or performance that can guide them towards a desired learning goal. Whether it come from a digital tool such as a clicker, or from a classmate, active learning tasks should give students a sense of their learning progress, and help them hone further practice.

Examples of active learning

To be sure, there are many examples of classroom tasks that might be classified as “active learning.” Some of the most common examples include think-pair-share exercises, jigsaw discussions, and even simply pausing for clarification during a lecture. Members of the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching have created a useful list of active learning techniques , which they have sorted according to a “continuum” of complexity and time commitment. These techniques include:

Minute Papers: at some point during lecture, students are asked to for one or two minutes on a given topic.
Self-Assessment: similar to concept inventories and diagnostic assessments, these ungraded exercises, typically delivered at the beginning of a term or new unit, are used to help identify gaps in student understanding.
Interactive Lectures: often in the form of brief polls, these activities take place during lectures, giving students a chance to make predictions, solve short problems, etc.
Inquiry Learning: larger in scope, these exercises commonly involve having students conduct different aspects of scientific inquiry, such as observing phenomena, analyzing data, predicting outcomes, etc.
Video demonstrating active learning techniques in a large enrollment STEM course here at BU: https://mymedia.bu.edu/media/Active+Learning+in+Large+Classrooms/1_645lb6rt

For a full list of techniques, download the UMich CRLT’s handout on active learning .

Quick tips for getting started with active learning

What topics or ideas do students struggle with most in your course?
What data or information will help you understand what students are learning?
Which active learning strategies will provide this data, and ultimately help your students meet their learning objectives?
Prepare a timeline to help you manage the activity. Will it take place in the classroom? How long will it last? What instructions will students need to participate in the activity?
Establish ground rules for the activity. How should students interact with each other? What are they expected to do during the activity?
Consider any roadblocks or challenges that you and your students experienced in carrying out the activity. How might these be overcome?
Elicit feedback from students on whether or not the activity assisted in their learning. Did they find the activity helpful?
Assess the usefulness of the information the activity provided you. Did the students improve their understanding of the topic or concept? Can you use data from the activity to make further improvements to future activities or instruction in general?

Additional Resources

Overview and Examples of Active Learning (Harvard Bok Center for Teaching and Learning)

Steps to Creating an Active Learning Environment (NYU Center for the Advancement of Teaching)

Active Learning Resources and Research (UMich Center for Research on Learning and Teaching

You may also be interested in:

Assessing learning, student engagement part 2: ensuring deep learning, experiential learning, service learning, getting stared with generative ai, project-based learning, universal design for learning: an introduction, game-based learning & gamification.

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Lesson Methodologies

Jabberwocky

Methodology is the way(s) in which teachers share information with students. The information itself is known as the content ; how that content is shared in a classroom is dependent on the teaching methods.

The following chart lists a wide variety of lesson methodologies appropriate for the presentation of material, which I will discuss here. Notice how these teaching methods move from Least Impact and Involvement (for students) to Greatest Impact and Involvement.

As you look at the chart, you'll notice that lecture, for example, is a way of providing students with basic knowledge. You'll also note that lecture has the least impact on students as well as the lowest level of student involvement. As you move up the scale (from left to right), you'll note how each successive method increases the level of impact and involvement for students. At the top, reflective inquiry has the highest level of student involvement. It also has the greatest impact of all the methods listed.

Knowledge is the basic information of a subject; the facts and data of a topic. Synthesis is the combination of knowledge elements that form a new whole. Performance refers to the ability to effectively use new information in a productive manner.

Across the bottom of the chart are three categories: knowledge, synthesis, and performance. These refer to the impact of each method in terms of how well students will utilize it. For example, lecture is simply designed to provide students with basic knowledge about a topic. Reflective inquiry, on the other hand, offers opportunities for students to use knowledge in a productive and meaningful way.

Now let's take a look at each of those three major categories and the methodologies that are part of each one.

How do you present basic information to your students? It makes no difference whether you're sharing consonant digraphs with your first-grade students or differential calculus with your twelfth-grade students; you must teach them some basic information. You have several options for sharing that information.

Lecture is an arrangement in which teachers share information directly with students, with roots going back to the ancient Greeks. Lecture is a familiar form of information-sharing, but it is not without its drawbacks. It has been overused and abused, and it is often the method used when teachers don't know or aren't familiar with other avenues of presentation. Also, many lecturers might not have been the best teacher role models in school.

Often, teachers assume that lecturing is nothing more than speaking to a group of students. Wrong! Good lecturing also demonstrates a respect for the learner, a knowledge of the content, and an awareness of the context in which the material is presented.

Good lectures must be built on three basic principles:

Knowing and responding to the background knowledge of the learner is necessary for an effective lecture.

Having a clear understanding of the material is valuable in being able to explain it to others.

The physical design of the room and the placement of students impact the effectiveness of a lecture.

Lecture is often the method of choice when introducing and explaining new concepts. It can also be used to add insight and expand on previously presented material. Teachers recommend that the number of concepts (within a single lesson) be limited to one or two at the elementary level and three to five at the secondary level.

It's important to keep in mind that lecture need not be a long and drawn-out affair. For example, the 10-2 strategy is an easily used, amazingly effective tool for all grade levels. In this strategy, no more than 10 minutes of lecture should occur before students are allowed 2 minutes for processing. This is also supportive of how the brain learns (see Effective Learning and How Students Learn ). When 10-2 is used in both elementary and secondary classrooms, the rate of both comprehension and retention of information increases dramatically.

During the 2-minute break, you can ask students several open-ended questions, such as the following:

“What have you learned so far in this lesson?”

“Why is this information important?”

“How does this information relate to any information we have learned previously?”

“How do you feel about your progress so far?”

“How does this data apply to other situations?”

These questions can be answered individually, in small group discussions, or as part of whole class interactions.

The value of the 10-2 strategy is that it can be used with all types of content. Equally important, it has a positive effect on brain growth.

Lectures are information-sharing tools for any classroom teacher. However, it's critically important that you not use lecture as your one and only tool. You must supplement it with other instructional methods to achieve the highest levels of comprehension and utility for your students.

Reading Information

With this method, you assign material from the textbook for students to read independently. You may also choose to have your students read other supplemental materials in addition to the textbook. These may include, but are not limited to children's or adolescent literature, brochures, flyers, pamphlets, and information read directly from a selected website.

Related Resources

Collaboration Between General and Special Education Teachers

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The TeacherVision editorial team is comprised of teachers, experts, and content professionals dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and relevant information in the teaching space.

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Teaching Methods

QuickJump to Pedagogic Modules:

Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR)
Campus Living Laboratory
Classroom Experiments
Classroom Response Systems
Coached Problem Solving
ConcepTests
Context-Rich Problems
Cooperative Learning
Direct Measurement Videos
Documented Problem Solving
Using an Earth History Approach
Experience-Based Environmental Projects
The First Day of Class
Gallery Walk
Game-Based Learning
Guided Discovery Problems
Indoor Labs
Interactive Lectures
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching
Inventing and Testing Models
Investigative Case-Based Learning
Just-in-Time Teaching
Lecture Tutorials
Measurement and Uncertainty
Conceptual Models
Mathematical and Statistical Models
Peer Review
Peer-Led Team Learning
PhET Interactive Simulations
Process of Science
Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL)
Professional Communication Projects
Quantitative Writing
Role Playing
Service Learning
Socratic Questioning
Structured Academic Controversy
Strong Writing Assignments
Studio Teaching
Teaching Quantitative Reasoning with the News
Teaching Urban Students

Teaching with Data

Teaching with Data Simulations
Teaching with GIS in the Geosciences
Teaching with Google Earth
Teaching with Learning Assistants
Teaching with Simulations
Teaching with Spreadsheets
Teaching with Spreadsheets Across The Curriculum
Teaching with the Case Method
Teaching with Visualizations
Testing Conjectures
Undergraduate Research
Using an Earth System Approach
Using Media to Enhance Teaching and Learning
Using Socioscientific Issues to Teach Science

Each pedagogic approach is described succinctly so you can quickly understand how the technique might be relevant to your teaching. Written by fellow educators, these descriptions include tips for effectively using each technique, related research on their impacts on learning, as well as a set of example activities.

This list is by no means comprehensive. It reflects the interests and priorities of the partners and projects that have contributed to the library so far. If you'd like to contribute to the library and help this list grow we'd love to hear from you .

Assessment provides educators with a better understanding of what students are learning and engages students more deeply in the process of learning content. Compiled by William Slattery at Departments of Geological Sciences and Teacher Education, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

The approaches to assessment are presented in the following 2 categories: Assessment Strategies and Teaching and Assessing Communication.

Assessment Strategies

Calibrated Peer Review™ (CPR) is a web-based management tool that enables discipline-based writing with peer review in classes of any size. Compiled by Arlene A. Russell, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA.
Classroom Response Systems use technology that promotes and implements active and cooperative learning. Compiled by Joe Calhoun, Florida State University, then enhanced with the valuable assistance from S. Raj Chaudhury, Shelby Frost, Bill Goffe, KimMarie McGoldrick, Mark Maier, and Scott Simkins.
ConcepTests are conceptual multiple-choice questions that focus on one key concept of an instructor's learning goals for a lesson. When coupled with student interaction through peer instruction, ConcepTests represent a rapid method of formative assessment of student understanding. Compiled by David McConnell, North Carolina State University.
Peer Review uses interaction around writing to refine students understanding. Compiled by Laura Guertin, Pennsylvania State University Delaware County.
Peer-Led Team Learning engages teams of six to eight students in learning sciences, mathematics and other undergraduate disciplines guided by a peer leader. Peer leaders are drawn from the pool of students who have done well in the course previously. Compiled by Pratibha Varma-Nelson, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

Teaching and Assessing Communication

Professional Communication Projects ask students to effectively communicate scientific information in a genre that professional scientists are expected to master, such as with scientific posters, conference proposals or oral presentations. Compiled by Colleen H. Fava and Darrell Henry, Louisiana State University.
Strong Writing Assignments are a flexible means of demonstrating learning as well as a method of exploring one's thinking to stimulate learning, which is why the literature on writing instruction emphasizes both learning to write and writing to learn . Compiled by Carol Rutz, Carleton College.
Quantitative Writing engages students with numbers by asking them to analyze and use quantitative data in written reports and arguments. Compiled by John C. Bean, Seattle University.

Engaged Pedagogy

Engaged pedagogy refers to using teaching approaches that encourage student-student interactions. Often, the instructor takes on the role of facilitator as opposed to lecturer in these approaches. Typically, student learning is higher using these methods and students use more high-order thinking skills while learning material in depth.

The approaches to teaching are presented in the following 5 categories: Engaged Pedagogy, Visualizations, Field-Based Instruction, Classroom Labs, and Problem Solving.

Cooperative Learning involves students working in groups to accomplish learning goals. Compiled by Rebecca Teed and John McDaris, SERC at Carleton College, and Cary Roseth, University of Minnesota.
Using an Earth History Approach helps students understand how human impact on the Earth's systems has increased exponentially over time. Compiled by Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College.
The First Day of Class is your opportunity to stimulate excitement about the course, establish a positive classroom climate, and engage students with course content - right from the start. Compiled by Carol Ormand at SERC, Carleton College.
Gallery Walk activities get students out of their chairs to actively work together. Compiled by Mark Francek at Central Michigan University.
Game-Based Learning was written to assist geoscience faculty who want to start using games to help them teach. Compiled by Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College.
Interactive Lectures provide short activities that can break up a lecture. Compiled by Heather Macdonald, College of William and Mary and Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College and updated by Gail Hoyt, University of Kentucky, Jennifer Imazeki, San Diego State University, Barbara Millis University of Texas, San Antonio, and Jose Vazquez-Cognet University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations engage students in activities that confront their prior understanding of a core concept. The activity can be a classroom experiment, a survey, a simulation or an analysis of secondary data. Compiled by Dorothy Merritts and Robert Walter, Franklin & Marshall College, and Bob MacKay, Clark College. Enhanced by Mark Maier with assistance from Rochelle Ruffer, Sue Stockly, and Ronald Thornton.
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching entails the use and integration of methods and analytical frameworks from more than one academic discipline to examine a theme, issue, question or topic. Compiled by Art Goldsmith, Darrick Hamilton, Karen Hornsby, and Dave Wells.
Jigsaws are an option when you have several related data sets you would like students to explore. In a jigsaw, each student develops some expertise with one data set, then teaches a few classmates about it (and learns about related data sets from those classmates). Compiled by Barbara Tewksbury, Hamilton College.
Just-in-Time Teaching gets students to read assigned material outside of class, respond to short questions online, and then participate in discussion and collaborative exercises in the following class period. Compiled by Laura Guertin, Pennsylvania State University Delaware County.
Lecture Tutorials are short worksheets that students complete in class to make lecture more interactive. They are designed specifically to address misconceptions and other topics with which students have difficulties. Compiled by Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island, and Jessica Smay, San Jose City College.
Process of Science means going beyond the content to help students understand how we know what we know and giving them the tools they need to think scientifically. Compiled by Anne E. Egger, Stanford University.
Role Playing immerses students in debate around Earth science issues. Compiled by Rebecca Teed at SERC, Carleton College.
SCALE-UP is a Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs. Carefully designed studio classrooms facilitate student teamwork and instructor movement between groups. Developed by Bob Beichner, North Carolina State University, and Sharon Isern, Florida Gulf Coast University.
Socratic Questioning turns a lecture into a guided discussion. Compiled by Dorothy Merritts and Robert Walter at Franklin & Marshall College.
Studio Teaching can provide a quintessential active and cooperative learning environment. Compiled by Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota.
Teaching Urban Students assists educators of urban students to bring a rich set of experiences to the classroom that may be significantly different than those of students in small-town settings. Effective teaching of urban students requires instructors to tap into these rich experiences, cultural customs, and practical skills sets. Compiled by Wayne Powell, Brooklyn College, City University of New York.
Teaching with Learning Assistants incorporates talented undergraduate students, primarily in mathematics and the sciences, chosen for their broad interest in teaching and prepared to provide support for student learning in interactive classroom environments. Compiled by Stephanie Chasteen and Valerie Otero, University of Colorado at Boulder.
Undergraduate Research provides opportunities for students to collaborate with faculty on actual research projects, learning about both a particular topic in a field and the research process in general. Compiled by Elizabeth Perry-Sizemore, Randolph College with assistance from George Alter, Mary Borg, Steve DeLoach, Steve Greenlaw, KimMarie McGoldrick, Sheila Kennison, Mark Maier, and Scott Simkins.
Using an Earth System Approach introduces concepts and resources centered on space, air, water, land, life, and human dimensions.
Using Media to Enhance Teaching and Learning can engage students and produce more meaningful and deep learning experiences by using films, television shows, popular music, news stories, literature, documentaries, and videos from sources such as youTube. Compiled by G. Dirk Mateer, Penn State University, with help from Linda S. Ghent, Eastern Illinois University, Tod Porter, Youngstown State University, and Ray Purdom, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Using Socioscientific Issues to Teach Science combines the use of controversial socially-relevant real world issues with course content to engage students in their learning. Compiled by Sandra Latourelle, Alex Poplawsky, Brian Shmaefsky, and Susan Musante.

Visualizations

Direct Measurement Videos are short, high-quality videos of real events that allow students to easily and quantitatively explore physical phenomena. Peter Bohacek, Henry Sibley High School, and Matthew Vonk, University of Wisconsin - River Falls.
Models help students understand the relationships between data and Earth processes. Compiled by Bob MacKay at Clark College.
Conceptual Models are qualitative models that help highlight important connections in real world systems and processes. Compiled by Bob MacKay, Clark College.
PhET Interactive Simulations is a suite of research-based interactive computer simulations for teaching and learning physics, chemistry, math, and other sciences. Compiled by Sam McKagan, based on material from the PhET Team.
Teaching with Data Simulations allows students to visualize probability distributions, which in turn can make the processes associated with probability more concrete. Compiled by Danielle Dupuis, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
Teaching with GIS in the Geosciences shows how this powerful new tool can be used to help teach geoscience. Compiled by Brian Welch at Dept. of Environmental Studies, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.
Teaching with Google Earth provides detailed instructions for bringing rich imagery and interactive information into the classroom. Compiled by Glenn A. Richard, Mineral Physics Institute, Stony Brook University.
Teaching with Simulations uses a model of behavior to gain a better understanding of that behavior. Compiled by Betty Blecha, San Francisco State University and refined and enhanced by Mark McBride, Teresa Riley, Katherine Rowell, KimMarie McGoldrick, Mark Maier, and Scott Simkins.
Teaching with Visualizations helps students see how systems work. Compiled by Bob MacKay, Clark College.

Field-Based Instruction

Campus Living Laboratory uses the campus environment itself as a teaching tool. Compiled by Suzanne Savanick at SERC, Carleton College.
Experience-Based Environmental Projects get students involved in their own learning. Compiled by Karin Kirk at Montana State University.
Field Labs introduce students to complex natural systems, breaks down barriers among academic fields, encourages multiple observations, and introduces students to the area near their campus. Compiled by Mary Savina, Carleton College.
Service Learning offers the opportunity to link academic learning with community service. Compiled by Suzanne Savanick at SERC, Carleton College and enhanced first by Ed Laine, Bowdoin College, and then by Andrea Ziegert, Denison University, with assistance from Nancy Brooks, Emily Janke, and Mary Lopez.

Classroom Labs

Indoor Labs provide students with opportunities for structured investigations and experiments of materials, models, and other equipment. Compiled by Mary Savina, Carleton College.
Classroom Experiments are activities where any number of students work in groups on carefully designed guided inquiry questions. Compiled by Sheryl Ball, Virginia Tech, with assistance from Tisha Emerson, Jennifer Lewis, and J. Todd Swarthout.

Problem Solving

Coached Problem Solving is a class format in which professors provide a structured, guided context for students working collaboratively to solve problems. Compiled by Debby Walser-Kuntz, Sarah Deel and Susan Singer, Carleton College.
Context-Rich Problems are short realistic scenarios giving the students a plausible motivation for solving the problem. Compiled by Joann Bangs, St. Catherine University and enhanced by Jennifer Docktor and Ken Heller, University of Minnesota, Brian Peterson, Central College, and Rochelle Ruffer, Nazareth College.
Documented Problem Solving is an active learning assessment technique in which students become more aware about their learning and their problem-solving, resulting in a transition from the "steps used to solve a problem" to the application of analytical and critical thinking skills. Compiled by Linda Wilson, University of Texas at Arlington, with help from Amber Casolari, Riverside City College, Katie Townsend-Merino, Palomar College and Todd Easton, University of Portland.
Guided Discovery Problems offer intriguing puzzles to solve, structured hands-on activities, carefully worded leading questions, crucial hints, and just-in-time presentations of information in order to escort students step-by-step through the process of scientific discovery. Compiled by Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, California State University, Chico.
Investigative Case-Based Learning involves students in addressing real world problems. Compiled by Ethel Stanley, BioQUEST, Beloit College and Margaret Waterman, Southeast Missouri State University.
Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a research-based learning environment where students are actively engaged in mastering course content and in developing essential skills by working in self-managed teams on guided inquiry activities. Compiled by Rick Moog, James Spencer, Frank Creegan, Troy Wolfskill, David Hanson, Andrei Stroumanis, Diane Bunce, and Jennifer Lewis.
Structured Academic Controversy is a type of cooperative learning strategy in which small teams of students learn about a controversial issue from multiple perspectives. Compiled by Claudia Khourey-Bowers, Kent State University.
Teaching with the Case Method combines two elements: the case itself and the discussion of that case. Teaching cases provide information, but neither analysis nor conclusions. The analytical work of explaining the relationships among events in the case, identifying options, evaluating choices and predicting the effects of actions is the work done by students during the classroom discussion. Compiled by Ann Velenchik, Wellesley College.
Testing Conjectures is an effective way of engaging students in learning and helping them to develop their reasoning abilities. Compiled by Shirley J. Alt, The University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Teaching with Data presents instructors with a detailed map for how data can be incorporated into instruction. The module describes different levels of data integration from having students learn by watching an instructor work with data to having students manipulate and analyze data on their own. Compiled by Nathan Grawe, Carleton College.

Inventing and Testing Models approach uses Model-Eliciting Activities, which are posed as open-ended problems that are designed to challenge students to build models in order to solve complex, real-world problems. Compiled by Joan Garfield, Robert delMas and Andrew Zieffler, of the University of Minnesota.
Mathematical and Statistical Models involve solving relevant equation(s) of a system or characterizing a system based upon its statistical parameters. Compiled by Bob MacKay, Clark College.
Measurement and Uncertainty provides science educators with clearly written, effective material to teach introductory level students the fundamentals of effective measurement, and describes how to integrate these ideas into science teaching. This increases scientific literacy, helps students use data to understand science concepts during inquiry-based labs and activities, and prepares students for future science education. Compiled by Peter Bohacek and Greg Schmidt, Sibley Public High School.
Teaching with Data helps faculty find and integrate real data sets into their classes. Compiled by Robert MacKay, Clark College.
Teaching with Spreadsheets allows students to "get their hands dirty" by working with real-world data. Spreadsheets make abstract or complex models accessible by providing concrete examples and allowing "what if" analyses. Compiled by Miles Cahill, Depaw University, with help from Humberto Barreto, Depaw University, Semra Kilic-Bahi, Colby-Sawyer College, and David Schodt, St. Olaf College.
Teaching with Spreadsheets Across The Curriculum helps students build spreadsheets and apply elementary mathematics to solve problems in context. Compiled by Len Vacher at University of South Florida, Tampa.

Quantitative Reasoning

Quantitative Reasoning describes how an instructor can intentionally incorporate quantitative reasoning goals and objectives into their classes. It contains examples of strategies for designing and assessing student work. It also presents a collection of profiles of faculty across the curriculum who are already addressing quantitative reasoning in their courses. Compiled by Nathan Grawe, Carleton College.

Teaching Quantitative Reasoning with the News describes how one can use media articles as the main content for a course focused on honing students' ability to critically think about and analyze quantitative information. Compiled by Stuart Boersma, Central Washington University.

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List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples)

teaching strategies definition and examples, detailed below

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.

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/ 15 Animism Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 10 Magical Thinking Examples
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

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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Johanna Kawasaki

August 7, 2023

There’s no single way to teach English and, in fact, there have been many popular approaches over the years. These are a few of the top ESL teaching methods, including communicative language teaching (CLT) and total physical response (TPR), used in the classroom today. Learn more about these and other methods and how you can apply them to a real-life classroom in Bridge’s Professional Certificate courses .

Whether you’re new to the different teaching methods or you need a refresher, download this guide to popular ESL methodologies to brush up on the definition and applications of the latest approaches developed by industry experts.

Why learn ESL teaching methods?

There are many reasons why learning a few basic ESL teaching methods is a must for ESL teachers. Here are some ways that learning the most popular methods of teaching ESL can help you as an English teacher:

Demonstrating knowledge of these ESL teaching methods and strategies makes you more marketable.
Using TEFL/TESOL buzzwords during an interview can improve your chances of getting hired.
Using a variety of methods in the ESL classroom makes you a more effective and engaging teacher.
Understanding pedagogy helps you design better ESL materials and lessons.
Learning methodology can help you strategically use learning objectives that will benefit your students.

If you’re new to teaching, you’ll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL certificate . You can explore our online TEFL courses to get started!

What are some popular ESL teaching methods?

Method #1: direct method.

For the direct method, all teaching is done in the target language. Translations are not allowed in class, and the focus lies heavily on speaking instead of grammar. As a result, the direct method is a very student-centered strategy that has gained popularity in recent years.

Students are supposed to learn the target language naturally and instinctively, which is why the direct method is also called the “natural approach.” Mistakes are corrected as they happen in class, and teachers reinforce the correct usage of the language with praise. This method is frequently used when teaching English online . Many virtual ESL companies require teachers to only speak English during class to encourage an immersive experience.

Get more ideas for correcting students’ mistakes by taking Bridge’s 20-hour Micro-credential course: Error Correction in the EFL Classroom .

to teens participating in an ESL conversation activity.

Method #2: Communicative language teaching (CLT)

Communicative language teaching is perhaps the most popular approach among the methods of teaching ESL today. CLT emphasizes the student’s ability to communicate in real-life contexts. As a result, students learn to make requests, accept offers, explain things, and express their feelings and preferences.

Additionally, since CLT focuses on teaching language through real-world assignments and problem-solving, it’s less concerned with grammar accuracy and instead focuses on fluency.

Promote communication and fluency in your classroom with these ESL speaking activities.

Method #3: Task-/project-/inquiry-based learning

This teaching strategy for ESL students can sometimes be considered a part of CLT, but it heavily emphasizes the students’ independence and individuality. Inquiry-based learning is a modern approach that is becoming widely popular in schools all over the world. By asking questions and solving problems, with the teacher as a mere learning facilitator, student motivation and participation in tasks and projects are thought to increase.

Find out more about task-based learning.

ESL teacher Sallie, teaching online using the TPR method.

Method #4: Total physical response (TPR)

Next is the Total Physical Response (TPR) method. You may have heard of this teaching strategy for ESL before, but what exactly is TPR ? Total Physical Response has become a very popular approach in which students react to the teacher with movement. Some examples include miming, gesturing, or acting out the language.

For example, the teacher and students might make an exaggerated frown and pretend to cry when learning the word “sad.” TPR suggests that students learn the target language best through physical response rather than by analysis.

Additionally, TPR is often used when teaching English online and when teaching young learners, as it not only helps students remember vocabulary but also provides an outlet for their energy and helps them stay focused when sitting for long periods.

If you like TPR, you might also like using drama as an ESL teaching method.

Method #5: An eclectic approach

Many teachers choose from the collection of humanistic approaches (TPR, for example) and communicative approaches (the direct method and CLT). Often, they incorporate bits and pieces of many other teaching strategies for ESL learners and use what works best for their individual students. Generally speaking, there is no one-size-fits-all methodology. Each group of learners will have varying learning styles and preferences. For that reason, conducting a needs assessment is a great starting place for teachers who aren’t sure which methodology, or methodologies, to apply.

For example, a teacher who uses mostly the direct method may occasionally do a lot of grammar explanation when preparing students for English proficiency exams , such as teaching Pearson Test of English (PTE) test prep , or a CLT advocate may borrow some aspects of the direct method or use TPR.

Pro Tip: Another great way to combine or develop teaching methods is to frequently reflect on your teaching style by using a journal where you write down comments, note adjustments, and brainstorm how you can change certain methods or procedures if necessary.

The list of ESL teaching styles doesn’t have to end here! You can find your own favorite TEFL/TESOL method from among those listed above, combine several strategies for teaching your ESL students, or develop your own ESL teaching methods and techniques. For a full breakdown of the different methodologies and how to evaluate your students’ needs, download Bridge’s ESL Methodologies Guide .

Delve deeper into these and other ESL teaching methods and techniques with Bridge Professional TEFL/TESOL Certificate courses.

After backpacking Australia on a Working Holiday visa, Bridge graduate Johanna traveled to Japan for a year to teach English. She then moved to New Zealand for another two years before returning to her chosen home country, Japan, where she currently lives. Now, with more than eight years of professional English teaching experience, Johanna enjoys her expat life in Japan teaching teenagers at a private junior and senior high school, where she recently received tenure after only two years. When she’s not teaching, Johanna continues to travel regionally and explore new places.

Active Learning

What is active learning.

Active learning generally refers to any instructional method that engages students in the learning process beyond listening and passive note taking. Active learning approaches promote skill development and higher order thinking through activities that might include reading, writing, and/or discussion. Metacognition -- thinking about one’s thinking -- can also be an important element, helping students connect course activities to their learning (Brame, 2016).

Active learning is rooted in constructivist learning theory , or the idea that students (humans!) learn by connecting new information and experiences to their prior knowledge and experiences, allowing them to build, or construct, new knowledge and understandings (Bransford et al., 1999). Often, although not exclusively, active learning approaches also include collaborative and cooperative learning in small groups. These approaches stem from social constructivism , which emphasizes the importance of peer-to-peer interactions in learning (Vygotsky 1978).

Beyond the theoretical underpinnings, many studies across disciplines have explored the benefits of active learning approaches in college classrooms (e.g., Freeman et al., 2014; Prince et al., 2004). Active learning strategies provide valuable opportunities for students to develop disciplinary skills and expertise, including serving as sources of knowledge, formulating questions and articulating ideas, as well as fostering interactions with peers (Turpen & Finkelstein, 2009). Perhaps most notably, compared to traditional lecture alone, use of active learning approaches has been shown to increase student performance and decrease failure rates, particularly for students from underrepresented and excluded communities (Eddy & Hogan, 2014; Haak et al., 2011; Theobald et al., 2020).

What are some strategies that I might try?

There are many different active learning strategies that instructors might incorporate into their teaching. These can range from brief interactions during lecture, activities that may take 10-20 minutes, to strategies that could span multiple class periods. The table below outlines a variety of sample strategies with tips for both in-person and remote implementation in courses. The strategies are roughly organized based on potential time-intensity for implementation. Instructors might also explore these active learning designs as they consider opportunities for using each strategy.

Purposeful Pause

Quick write or “minute” paper, think-pair-share (tps), polling/peer instruction, concept map, case study/group problem solving, think-aloud problem solving, gallery walk, what can active learning look like in practice.

In this section, we’ve included several resources with videos that describe different types of active learning strategies and how to implement them. Many also demonstrate active learning strategies in action.

REALISE videos, SEER Center, University of Georgia

Scientific Teaching Series , iBiology

Community-building active learning strategies (remote context), OneHE

How might I get started?

Check out this active learning “cheat sheet” with 10 tips to help you get started, from choosing the “right” exercise to planning the logistics.
If you are new to active learning, you might start with identifying strategies to incorporate into your lecture (see these resources on lecturing and interactive lecturing ).
Have more questions, or interested in brainstorming for some ideas? Reach out to the Center for Teaching and Learning ( [email protected] ) for a consultation !

Request an Active Learning Classroom

Schedule a CTL Consultation Today!

What additional resources are available, active learning guides:.

Active Learning Teaching Guide , Vanderbilt CFT
Introduction to Active Learning , Michigan CRLT
Active Learning , Yale Poorvu Center

Advice and strategies related to remote active learning:

Hybrid active learning strategies , Eberly Center, CMU
Flipping the remote classroom , Berkeley CTL

For a deeper dive:

Check out these research summaries describing common active learning techniques.

Polling with a student response system:

This Clicker Resource Guide (see PDF ) has some helpful advice for using polling questions in class with a student response system (e.g., iClicker Cloud or Poll Everywhere), including tips for logistics and "choreography" for implementation. It also touches on writing effective conceptual questions that are multiple choice.

Additional group-based learning approaches:

Process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL)
Problem-based learning (PBL) (see also: the Problem Library ) and working in teams .

References:

Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom assessment techniques: a handbook for college teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Aronson, E.; Blaney, N.; Stephin, C.; Sikes, J., & Snapp, M. (1978). The jigsaw classroom. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publishing Company Aronson, Elliot. (2000) The jigsaw classroom. Retrieved from https://www.jigsaw.org/ . Barkley, Elizabeth F., K. Patricia Cross, and Clair H. Major. (2014) Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty. Jossey-Bass. (available online and downloadable through the UC Berkeley Library; includes adaptations for synchronous and asynchronous instruction). Brame, C. (2016). Active learning. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved March 10, 2021 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/active-learning/ . Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., and Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Christensen, C.R. (1987). Teaching and the case method. Boston: Harvard Business School. Crouch, C.H. and Mazur, E. (2001). Peer instruction: ten years of experience and results. Am. Journal of Physics 69, 970-977. Eddy, S. L., & Hogan, K. A. (2014). Getting under the hood: How and for whom does increasing course structure work?. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 13(3), 453-468. Fagen, A.P., Crouch, C.H., and Mazur, E. (2002). Peer instruction: results from a range of classrooms. Physics Teacher 40, 206-209. Francek, M. (2006). Promoting Discussion in the Science Classroom Using Gallery Walks. Journal of College Science Teaching, 36(1). Francek, Mark. "What is Gallery Walk?". Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience. Retrieved March 24, 2021. Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., and Wenderoth, M.P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 111, 8410-8415. Haak, D.C., HilleRisLambers, J., Pitre, E., and Freeman, S. (2011). Increased structure and active learning reduce the achievement gap in introductory biology. Science 332, 1213–1216. Handelsman, J., Miller, S., and Pfund, C. (2007). Scientific teaching. New York: W.H. Freeman. Herreid, C.F. (1994). Case studies in science: A novel method of science education. Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(4), 221-229 Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussions: the inclusion of all students. A. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming Digest, College Park: University of Maryland Press, pp. 109-113. Millis, B. J., & Cottell Jr, P. G. (1997). Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty. Series on Higher Education. Oryx Press, PO Box 33889, Phoenix, AZ 85067-3889. Nesbit, J.C. & Adesope, O.O. (2006). Learning with concept and knowledge maps: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 76(3), 413-448. Novak, J.D. and Canas, A.J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them. Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 2008-01 (retrieved from http://cmap.ihmc.us/docs/theory-of-concept-maps ). Prince, M. (2004). Does active learning work? A review of the research. Journal of Engineering Education 93, 223-231. Rivard, L. O. P. (1994). A review of writing to learn in science: Implications for practice and research. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(9), 969-983. Rowe, M.B. (1980). Pausing principles and their effects on reasoning in science. In Teaching the Sciences, edited by F. B. Brawer. New Directions for Community Colleges No. 31. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Ruhl, K., Hughes, C.A., and Schloss, P.J. (1987). Using the Pause Procedure to enhance lecture recall. Teacher Education and Special Education 10, 14-18. Smith, M. K., W. B. Wood, W. K. Adams, C. Wieman, J. K. Knight, N. Guild, and T. T. Su. (2009). “Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions.” Science, 323, 122-24. Tanner, K. D. (2012). Promoting student metacognition. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 11(2), 113-120. Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., ... & Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(12), 6476-6483. Turpen, C., & Finkelstein, N. D. (2009). Not all interactive engagement is the same: Variations in physics professors’ implementation of peer instruction. Physical Review Special Topics-Physics Education Research, 5(2), 020101. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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What are the 5 Teaching Methods? [2024]

December 29, 2023
Instructional Coaching

Have you ever wondered what the best teaching methods are? As educators, we are constantly searching for innovative and effective strategies to engage our students and help them succeed. In this article, we will explore the top 5 teaching methods that have proven to be successful in the classroom. Whether you are a new teacher looking for fresh ideas or a seasoned educator wanting to enhance your instructional practices, these methods are sure to inspire you. So, let’s dive in and discover the 5 teaching methods that will transform your classroom!

Quick Answer

The 5 teaching methods that we will explore in this article are:

Student-Centered Discussions
Making Connections
Increased Autonomy
Building Relationships
A Focus on Literacy

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these methods and how they can benefit your students.

Quick Tips and Facts

Before we delve into the details, here are some quick tips and facts about these teaching methods:

These methods can be used across grade levels and subject areas.
They promote active learning and student engagement.
They encourage critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
They foster a positive classroom environment and build strong relationships between teachers and students.
They can be adapted to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Now that we have a general understanding, let’s explore each teaching method in more depth.

1. Student-Centered Discussions

Student-centered discussions are a powerful way to promote active learning and encourage student participation. Instead of the traditional teacher-led lecture format, student-centered discussions allow students to take ownership of their learning and engage in meaningful conversations with their peers.

During these discussions, small groups of three or four students are created to answer questions or solve problems related to the topic being studied. This ensures that all students have an opportunity to participate and share their ideas. By actively engaging in discussions, students develop their comprehension, speaking, and listening skills.

Increases student engagement and participation.
Enhances critical thinking and communication skills.
Improves comprehension and retention of information.
Fosters a collaborative and inclusive classroom environment.
Requires careful planning and facilitation to ensure all students have an opportunity to contribute.
May take longer to cover content compared to traditional lecture-style teaching.

To implement student-centered discussions in your classroom, create a list of thought-provoking questions or problems related to the topic. Divide your students into small groups and provide them with the necessary resources to guide their discussions. As the facilitator, encourage active participation and ensure that all students have a chance to share their thoughts.

2. Making Connections

Making connections is a teaching method that aims to make learning interesting and relevant for students by relating it to real-life experiences. By connecting the content to their own lives, students are more likely to be engaged and motivated to learn.

For example, when teaching a play like “Macbeth,” you can focus on the idea of setting goals and examine how ambition can be both positive and negative. By discussing real-life examples of individuals who have achieved their goals or faced the consequences of their actions, students can make meaningful connections to the play and understand its relevance in their own lives.

Increases student motivation and interest in the subject matter.
Enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Promotes a deeper understanding of the content.
Helps students see the value and applicability of what they are learning.
Requires careful planning and creativity to make relevant connections.
May require additional time for discussion and reflection.

To incorporate making connections in your teaching, start by identifying real-life examples or scenarios that relate to the content you are teaching. Share these examples with your students and encourage them to discuss and reflect on the connections. This method can be applied to any subject area and grade level.

3. Increased Autonomy

Empowering students with increased autonomy in their learning is a teaching method that promotes student agency and ownership. By giving students choices and allowing them to make decisions about their learning, they become more engaged and invested in the process.

One way to implement increased autonomy is by providing students with options when completing assignments or projects. For example, instead of assigning a specific essay topic, allow students to choose from several prompts. Similarly, for research papers or projects, let students select their own topics within the scope of the curriculum.

Increases student motivation and engagement.
Develops critical thinking and decision-making skills.
Fosters a sense of responsibility and independence.
Encourages creativity and personal expression.
Requires clear guidelines and expectations to ensure students stay on track.
May require additional time for individualized feedback and assessment.

To incorporate increased autonomy in your classroom, provide students with clear guidelines and expectations for their assignments or projects. Offer choices that align with the learning objectives and allow students to take ownership of their learning. Provide support and guidance as needed, and encourage students to reflect on their choices and the impact on their learning.

4. Building Relationships

Building relationships in the classroom is a fundamental teaching method that has a profound impact on students’ behavioral and academic success. When students feel connected to their teacher and peers, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and willing to take risks in their learning.

Teachers can build relationships with their students by creating a positive and inclusive classroom environment. This can be achieved through various strategies, such as meeting with students during office hours, providing opportunities for one-on-one interactions, and implementing team-building projects like student videos or collaborative assignments.

Enhances student engagement and participation.
Improves classroom management and behavior.
Increases student confidence and self-esteem.
Fosters a supportive and inclusive learning community.
Requires time and effort to establish and maintain relationships.
May require additional resources or support to meet individual student needs.

To build relationships in your classroom, take the time to get to know your students on a personal level. Show genuine interest in their lives, listen actively, and provide support and encouragement. Create opportunities for collaboration and teamwork, and foster a positive and respectful classroom culture.

5. A Focus on Literacy

A focus on literacy is a teaching method that emphasizes the importance of reading and writing in all subject areas. By providing students with reading material that interests them and helps them understand the joys of reading for pleasure, teachers can foster a love for literacy and improve students’ reading and writing skills.

Incorporating a wide variety of texts, such as novels, short stories, articles, and poetry, into the curriculum can expose students to different genres and styles of writing. Additionally, ensuring that the classroom is well-stocked with books that young adults enjoy can create a positive reading culture and encourage independent reading.

Improves reading comprehension and fluency.
Enhances writing skills and vocabulary.
Develops critical thinking and analysis skills.
Fosters a love for reading and lifelong learning.
Requires access to a wide range of reading materials.
May require additional time for independent reading and writing activities.

To implement a focus on literacy in your classroom, provide students with a variety of reading materials that align with their interests and reading levels. Create opportunities for independent reading and book discussions, and incorporate writing activities that allow students to express their thoughts and ideas. Encourage students to explore different genres and authors, and celebrate their reading achievements.

What are the 5 major approaches in teaching?

The 5 major approaches in teaching are:

Direct Instruction: This approach involves explicit teaching and direct guidance from the teacher.
Inquiry-Based Learning: This approach encourages students to explore and discover knowledge through inquiry and investigation.
Cooperative Learning: This approach promotes collaboration and teamwork among students to achieve learning goals.
Problem-Based Learning: This approach focuses on solving real-world problems and applying knowledge to practical situations.
Differentiated Instruction: This approach involves tailoring instruction to meet the diverse needs and learning styles of students.

Read more about “What are the 6 Management Techniques That a Teacher Should Develop? …”

What are the 5 ways to teach?

The 5 ways to teach are:

Lecturing: This traditional teaching method involves the teacher presenting information to students through verbal instruction.
Demonstrating: This method involves showing students how to perform a task or solve a problem through visual or hands-on demonstrations.
Facilitating: This method involves guiding students through the learning process by asking questions, providing support, and facilitating discussions.
Collaborating: This method involves promoting collaboration and teamwork among students to learn from each other and solve problems together.
Coaching: This method involves providing individualized support and guidance to students to help them achieve their learning goals.

Read more about “… Your Ultimate Guide to the Top 10 Teaching Methods for Primary School”

What are the 5c teaching methods?

The 5c teaching methods are:

Communication: This method focuses on developing students’ communication skills through speaking, listening, reading, and writing activities.
Collaboration: This method promotes collaboration and teamwork among students to achieve learning goals and solve problems together.
Critical Thinking: This method encourages students to think critically and analyze information to solve problems and make informed decisions.
Creativity: This method fosters creativity and innovation by encouraging students to think outside the box and explore new ideas.
Citizenship: This method emphasizes the development of responsible and engaged citizens who contribute positively to their communities.

Read more about “What Are the Four Types of Instructional Methods? …”

What are the 3 main teaching styles?

The 3 main teaching styles are:

Authoritarian: This teaching style is characterized by strict discipline, high expectations, and a focus on teacher-led instruction.
Permissive: This teaching style is characterized by a relaxed and informal approach, allowing students to have more freedom and autonomy in their learning.
Authoritative: This teaching style combines elements of both authoritarian and permissive styles, with a balance of structure, guidance, and student-centered learning.

Read more about “… Modern Methods of Teaching: Revolutionizing Education in the Classroom”

In conclusion, the 5 teaching methods we explored in this article – student-centered discussions, making connections, increased autonomy, building relationships, and a focus on literacy – are powerful strategies that can transform your classroom and enhance student learning. By incorporating these methods into your instructional practices, you can create an engaging and inclusive learning environment that fosters critical thinking, collaboration, and a love for learning.

Remember, teaching is a dynamic and ever-evolving profession, and it’s important to continuously explore new strategies and adapt them to meet the needs of your students. So, embrace these teaching methods, experiment with them in your classroom, and watch your students thrive!

Reference Links

The 5 Best Teaching Methods I Used This Year
Nancy Barile
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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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The Complete List of Teaching Methods and Strategies

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The complete list of teaching methods and strategies.

Chloe Daniel
Published On: September 11 ,2021

Teachers are the main asset of a country because they are nation builders. Teachers and education systems play a vital role in building an individual’s character, and great teachers have set examples of changing their student’s lives. Therefore, one country should invest more in its educational institutes and teachers to succeed. You can find an endless amount of stories about how appropriate teaching methods and strategies have brought remarkable changes in a student’s life. The art of teaching matters a lot. To be a successful teacher, one should know all the possible teaching methods and strategies and use them correctly because students learn better when their teacher knows which teaching method will engage the students more.

Bertrand Russell has summed up the whole process in his quote as:

‘More important than the curriculum is the question of the methods of teaching and the spirit in which the teaching is given.’

After reading this blog, you will understand the difference between teaching methods and strategies, different teaching methodologies and strategies, their advantages and disadvantages, and how a teacher should prepare himself before the class lecture.

So let’s get started.

Difference between teaching methods and strategies

Methods and strategies are two different terms, but both are essential to make a class full of students of different caliber and understand the same subject. The method is a process, procedure, or way something is done or implementing a plan. While on the other hand, strategy is the goal, set of actions, or plans to achieve one aim or something. Let me clarify it with an example: strategy is how a teacher makes a whole year’s plan to complete a specific book or syllabus, and the method is how that teacher delivered the lecture or which way the teacher selects to do a task.

And there is a list of teaching methods and strategies acquired by the teachers or instructors that you will read below. The ideal teaching method is the one in which the learning of students occurs the most. Teaching and learning are considered the two sides of a coin, and for completing the teaching side, teachers should consider all the teaching strategies and methods.

Related Read: Hacks to Help Students Beat Procrastination

Types of teaching methods

The way of teaching is categorized into different types of teaching methods adopted by the teachers, and most of them are mentioned below:

Teacher centered method

It is the method where the teacher is the only expert or an authority figure for the learners or students. They rely on the expert and receive knowledge to achieve positive grades in the end exams or assessments. The lecture method is used in the teacher-centered method, and it requires very little involvement of students or learners during the teaching process. It is also called a closed-ended method if the involvement of learners or students is zero.

Learner-centered method

In this teaching method, the teachers play a dual role. They act as learners and teachers; they learn new things every day while delivering the lecture. The learner-centered method is beneficial for both teacher and the student. The best way to implement this method is to follow the class’s discussion, inquiry-based, or discovery strategies.

Content-focused methods

Among different teaching methodologies, the teacher can use the content-focused method when the content, set of information, or skill taught by the teachers or experts cannot be changed or altered. It means the content to be taught is so important or unimpeachable that both the learner and the teacher have to fit in the subject without being critical about the content.

Interactive or participative method

It is the type of learning method that is considered beneficial for both the learners and the teachers. The teacher’s responsibility is to explain the key points or the importance of following the interactive or participating method during class in general so that students may not resist following it. Many strategies are used in this teaching method like writing exercises, think-pair-share, debate, problem-based learning, or situation analysis.

The lecture method

One of the most commonly used formal or semiformal teaching methods is the lecture method. Teachers mostly use this method for a large class. In this method, the teachers pick a topic and explain its basic definitions, facts, events, principles and clarify the whole point of the subject or topic with relevant examples and problems. The students are allowed to take notes and ask questions at the end of a lecture, and the master of the subject has to answer them all. Thus, in this method, a teacher is the main role model for the large class, and it has a strong mastery of that specific subject.

The discussion method

The discussion method can only be followed when the teacher is highly skilled and disciplined. Because in this two-way communication method, students are prepared to listen to their fellow’s point of view and exchange ideas. The role of a teacher is to introduce disciplined group discussion techniques among students and clear the concept of the topic meanwhile. This method is mainly used to utilize the knowledge, experience, and creativity of each student. When the whole discussion ends, the teacher corrects the mistakes and clears the debatable concepts.

The study assignment method

It is one of those teaching methods that promote active learning. In this method, the teacher or an instructor assigns a task to students before the class. It can be a book or research paper reading, project analysis, or any relevant material review. This method enhances the research skill abilities of students, and the discussion part in class makes the teacher and students know different points of view of each other.

The tutorial method

It is a teaching method that can only be used when a teacher or an instructor teaches one student and works directly. This method is also known as online tutoring , and it demands more money and time, unlike other teaching methods. Those who follow such methods know the safety and active participation of both learner and the reader. The tutorial teaching methods are user-friendly. The students can skip or restart the lesson any time, leave the tutorial in between, or get access to it when they feel like learning or motivated. Mostly these are the recorded lectures.

The seminar method

The seminar method is one of the costly teaching methods used by the experts or teachers to guide or educate the students about a certain topic or project. In this method, the instructors make groups of students work on their projects and then ask them to exchange the information or techniques used while completing the project. Highly professional; or competent teachers must arrange a seminar method and then evaluate the study, research paper, or project.

The demonstration method

The demonstration method is the kind of teaching method in which the teacher has to perform something or an operation to make its learner understand deeply and clearly. It can be the functioning of a tool or equipment, teaching troubleshooting, performing a certain job or an operation or anything. This teaching method can only be proposed when the instructor explains the why, how, where, what, and when. If the highly competent teacher will choose the method and rehearse well before teaching, it will save time, and the clarity of operation will help the students perform right. The demonstration teaching method is mostly used in laboratories.

Direct teaching

The direct teaching method is commonly used in all institutions as it makes the teacher or an instructor directly communicate with their student within the school or institution premises. This method lessens the communication barrier between students and the teacher. It focuses on the immediate teaching process, and the students are allowed to ask questions or give suggestions in between, with certain time limitations.

Online teaching method

One of the most flexible teaching methods is the online teaching method. The teacher and the learner can offer a flexible timescale, which is unrestricted to time and place. Both can communicate with each other via email or any other digital support. The access to recorded lectures after the online session helps the students to listen to them later and understand better. The advancement of technology has turned learners into online learning in the last few decades.

Online and private tutors have their way of teaching concepts within a certain time limit. Students with jobs mostly use this teaching method to learn during their free time and achieve their desired goals without moving places.

Independent study or practice

Some teachers or an instructor follow the independent study or practice teaching method because this improves the self-learning or self-study abilities of the students. In such methods, teachers mostly assign the same task to each student to practice or study it from home on their own, and then the other day, teachers evaluate the task and solve the students’ queries.

Types of teaching strategies

Before moving to the teaching strategies, I would like to add a quote from Benjamin Franklin, which says:

‘Tell me and I forgot. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’

And this is how the teaching strategies work on students.

Classroom management

The very first strategy to engage all the students of a class is its management. The etiquette of a class is matters, and so does the management of the whole class. If you start listing down the classroom management strategies, the list will go on because it has its own set of techniques and different strategies to keep the class managed. Before moving to the teaching method, the teacher or an instructor should acknowledge the whole class management rules in dos and don’ts.

Develop an atmosphere of learning

The atmosphere of learning matters the most because no matter how well the teacher or an instructor delivers the lecture, it’s futile if the atmosphere does not support that all students are willing to learn or excited to start the new chapter or topic. So, to develop a learning atmosphere, the expert should get the whole class’s attention and inform them of the facts and purpose of reading the lecture. The more they will show interest in learning a subject, the more they will learn.

Celebrate achievements

Teachers should assign certain achievement levels with a reward to keep the whole class motivated to learn and do better. And the reward could be anything like the winning student will display their work in the school assembly or get to read the whole chapter and get candy from their teacher in return. The celebration can be small or big, it doesn’t matter, but the outcomes of celebrating success will make huge positive differences in a student’s life.

This teaching strategy is mostly used by the primary or secondary level student teachers to motivate and build students’ confidence. Teachers who make use of this strategy more often prepare the future winners. There is no failure. Only feedback. – Robert Allen

Flexible seating

The appropriate seating in the classroom that keeps the students comfortable is the utmost teaching strategy. Here the flexible seating of both the teacher and the learner matters. Institutions of all levels should follow many flexible seating ideas . Because if the students are sitting uncomfortably, then they will not be able to focus on the lecture.

It is more of an institution’s duty to take care of students’ sitting comfort and posture because students spend a lot of their day at schools or colleges.

Active learning

Active learning strategy is one of those strategies that not only help the students but the teachers too. The discussion break between the lecture and asking students to submit the clearest point after the lecture keeps the whole class attentive, and it’s called active learning. Their participation makes the teacher understand which part of the lecture has gotten more attention. Such smart tactics or quick questions in between lectures make the student learn better and faster.

Focus on student’s interests

When teachers focus on a student’s interests, it helps them understand the nature of their students way better, and ultimately, they follow the teaching method that can be more effective. And the constructive feedback on what students have done and what they have not mastered helped them determine how they could improve that mastery. This strategy makes the bond of student and teacher strong and improves the learning environment.

‘There is no failure. Only feedback. ’–Robert Allen

Differentiated instruction

One of the most useful teaching strategies is differentiated instruction. In this strategy, the teacher assigns tasks to each student based on abilities and interests. Doing so the students who are struggling will get the proper support or help, and the students with academic skills or capabilities will be assigned tasks that match their caliber. It ensures the dedicated behavior of teachers after knowing everyone’s learning gaps, and no student remains left behind.

Personalized learning

Teachers should focus on personalized learning strategy a bit too much. Students should review their content once learned. Sometimes, students’ queries remain unanswered and make all the students master their studies. Teachers should assign tasks to each individual according to their learning capability and style. This teaching strategy will help students develop reliability, motivation, self-learning, self-advocacy, and self-reflective abilities.

Peer teaching method

The teacher should follow the peer teaching strategy sometimes. It is being said that ‘to teach is to learn twice,’ which is the same case with this strategy. Peer teaching has its advantages and disadvantages, but it is worth pursuing a disciplined class atmosphere as it grows the student’s confidence and enhances communication skills.

“The best answer to the question, ‘what is the most effective teaching method?’ depends on the goal, the student, the content, and the teacher. But the next best answer is, ‘Students teaching other students’.” Wilbert J. MacKeachie

Response to intervention RTI

RTI, or Response to intervention, is one of the general teaching strategies that should be considered from day one of teaching. This strategy is to find out the learning and behavior needs of the students. Teachers should start the intervention process early in each class because the earlier the teacher understands the RTI strategies, the easier it will be to follow a better teaching method.

Project-based learning

Experienced teachers agree on the importance of getting students to recap the information learned during the lesson. And when it comes to project-based learning, it is important to educate students about what they need to learn to complete the assigned project. It is also crucial to get them to engage with the content actively. So, to foster their engagement, it is important to promote project-based learning in groups. Teachers should make the groups of students quite carefully and selectively as each student’s learning style and ability vary.

Classroom technology

Classroom technology is the best teaching strategy a teacher can use to keep the whole class engaged. This strategy can be used at any level or year of education because students get excited when they have to experience something new for the first time. Video lessons, virtual trips in geography or history class, animations to help kids learn basic skills, and many more adapt to this teaching strategy. Moreover, smart whiteboards, projectors should be used in classrooms.

Blended teaching and learning

In this modern era, teachers should go for a blended teaching strategy. It is a blend of online and offline teaching and uses digital strategies. Some students hesitate to speak up in the class, so blended learning works best for them. They contribute to an online class. Teachers like the blended teaching and learning strategy because it ensures that all voices are heard.

Humor in class

The use of humor should be one of the important teaching strategies, as dry lectures make the students feel bored and tiring and ultimately makes them lose interest. In such cases, a pinch of humor will not harm anyone. But teachers should be smart enough to quickly change the atmosphere of class back to lessons from fun. A comfortable and cozy class environment captures learners’ attention and results in better understanding and active learning.

Inquiry-based teaching

Interactive teaching enables students to be instructed by actively involving them in their learning process through regular teacher-student interaction, student-student interaction. And taking some time out of the class for inquiry-based questions helps improve students’ life skills like communication and problem-solving. The quality of questions matters a lot, and a teacher should ask the students to inquire with subject-based questions or other appropriate questions. However, the inquiry-based teaching strategy has guided inquiry, structured inquiry, open inquiry, and confirmation inquiry. These all promote the use of long-term memory of both teachers and learners.

Class gamification

It is observed that lessons learned while playing stays long in the student’s mind. This teaching strategy keeps the students more engaged and active in the class. Play and learn techniques should be in each teacher’s teaching method list. Age requirement shouldn’t be the barrier because class Gamification builds and improves the essential skills. A teacher can play any games to teach the basics like mind games, math multiplication games, problem-solving games, language learning games like ESL games , and many more.

Gamification has a future in education, and teachers or instructors should effectively use this strategy.

Convergent and divergent thinking

One of the main teaching strategies that all teachers should be aware of is two thinking methods: convergent thinking methods and divergent thinking methods. Teachers should educate their students about its difference as convergent thinking means there are multiple ways to reach one solution. On the other hand, the divergent teaching method makes the students learn and understand the base concepts to solve the given question or problem.

If the teachers and students know these differences, learning will be easier and better.

Problem-based learning

One of the essential teaching strategies a teacher or an instructor should follow is problem-based learning. They should prepare a list of problem-based open-ended questions before a class and ask the class to solve them in groups or teams. This technique helps in developing and improving the transferable and teamwork skills of students, respectively.

Media literacy

Students need to be educated about all the things happening around them. Like nowadays, students are very active on social media and get influenced quite easily. It’s the responsibility of the teachers to guide their students and understand what they are consuming from these platforms. Media literacy lets the students critically think and talk about the changes and innovations. Teachers should follow media literacy activities to bring out the creative side of students.

Visualization

Introducing visualization in class is the most advanced teaching strategy that institutions and teachers can use to make the students understand the textbook content with visuals and the real world. It lets the students experience the world while sitting in their classrooms. But again, it is just another strategy to keep the class engaged. The teacher has to play the main role, Bill Gates has said it too:

“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids to work together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important.”

Cooperative learning

Teachers should work on cooperative learning strategies in class, once a week at least. There are many ways to follow this strategy, such as solving mathematical puzzles, quick fraction questions, performing science experiments, short drama sketches, group presentations, or frequently asked question-answer sessions among students of the same class. This teaching strategy improves the verbal skills of students.

Behaviour management

Just like teaching methods, teachers should be acknowledged properly about the behavior management teaching strategy. Mutual respect of teachers and students is important to keep the class’s productive learning and disciplined environment. Institutions or teachers should reward students based on their behavior during class and overall interaction with their teachers and fellow mates. Teachers should be strict with this strategy because a noisy, disturbed, or undisciplined class cannot promote productive learning.

Professional development

Undoubtedly, teaching is a challenging job because you have to deliver the same knowledge to students with different mindsets and caliber simultaneously. It gets exhausting sometimes. To keep the teachers motivated and engaged, they should attend professional development seminars and people in the same field. These will keep the teachers updated about the new teaching tools, technologies, methods, and strategies.

How teacher should prepare for a lecture

Even after understanding the teaching strategies and teaching methods, teachers should prepare themselves before delivering a lecture. Just like a student rehearsing before giving a presentation. Because teachers too are presenting themselves and it is their job to keep the attention of the whole class throughout the lecture. So, to make the lecture qualitative, teachers should keep in mind that the lecture should not be too long as it exhausted the students and lost their attention. The whole theme and the purpose of studying certain topics should be explained before teaching, the teachers should use maximum examples or illustrations to make it easy to understand, usages of approaches and fluency of lecture should match with the student’s existing knowledge, so they relate to it and understand more clearly.

Other than considering these points, the teacher should make notes and rehearse the follow of lecture in advance, checklist the important points, keep all the relevant textbooks, tools, or other things prepared which need to be utilized during the lecture, pick the teaching strategy or teaching method that will go with the topic. Meanwhile, the teacher should also ensure that if all the students can see or hear him clearly, he should use the entire why, how, tell, and show techniques to explain the lecture or the assigned topic.

Lastly, class discipline matters a lot, and teachers should already tell the students to write down the question if any crosses their mind during the lecture, and in the last 15 minutes of discussion, they can ask freely one by one. And it is how the discipline of class and the flow of the lecture will not be disturbed. And if all the students have not got their answers due to a shortage of time or any other reason, it’s the teacher’s responsibility first to solve the queries the other day and then teach a new topic. That’s the complete preparation process of a teacher before delivering a qualitative lecture.

Here we summed up the difference between teaching strategies and teaching methods that all teachers should know. Knowing these teaching methodologies and strategies will make the classrooms a more creative and dynamic place for students to get qualitative education; furthermore, if you are a teacher and learning new teaching strategies or methods from this page, then make sure to use them in your classroom.

In this rapidly changing world, teachers should be given proper guidelines to transform the smart, creative, and tech knowledge into their students. And the personality of the teacher should inspire the students to learn from them and be a better addition to this world. The truth is teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions, so educational institutions should invest in providing proper guidelines on types of teaching methods and teaching strategies from time to time to keep their teachers updated to the modern world.

Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today. Malcolm X

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English Language Teaching: Approaches, Methods, and Techniques

Written by: Mike Turner

June 15, 2021

Time to read 5 min

When we are looking at the effectiveness of our teaching, we often get tied up in the minutiae of classroom practice. However, sometimes it’s useful to take a bit of a step back and examine what we are doing more broadly.

In order to look at our different options as teachers, it is handy to use a consistent framework. I am indebted to several writers on TEFL methodology, but I have chosen specifically to apply the useful distinctions between approach , method , and technique made by Richards and Rogers in their 1986 work Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (London: CUP). Although the book is now 25 years old, it still provides one of the neatest and most accessible descriptions of some of the most influential approaches. The terminological distinctions they draw are particularly useful and are summarised below. I have then applied them, as succinctly as I can, to a variety of current and historical approaches. The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but I hope it will allow teachers to contextualise their own practice.

Approach, Method & Technique

An approach describes the theory or philosophy underlying how a language should be taught; a method or methodology describes, in general terms, a way of implementing the approach (syllabus, progression, kinds of materials); techniques describe specific practical classroom tasks and activities. For example:

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach with a theoretical underpinning that a language is for communication.

A CLT methodology may be based on a notional-functional syllabus, or a structural one, but the learner will be placed at the centre, with the main aim being developing their Communicative Competence. Classroom activities will be chosen that will engage learners in communicating with each other.

CLT techniques might include role-plays, discussions, text ordering, speaking games, and problem-solving activities.

Some Different Approaches, Methods & Techniques

The audiolingual approach.

The Audiolingual Approach is based on a structuralist view of language and draws on the psychology of behaviourism as the basis of its learning theory, employing stimulus and response.

Audio-lingual teaching uses a fairly mechanistic method that exposes learners to increasingly complex language grammatical structures by getting them to listen to the language and respond. It often involves memorising dialogues and there is no explicit teaching of grammar.

Techniques include listening and repeating, and oral drilling to achieve a high level of accuracy of language forms and patterns. At a later stage, teachers may use communicative activities.

CLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning

CLIL is an approach that combines the learning of a specific subject matter with learning the target language. It becomes necessary for learners to engage with the language in order to fulfil the learning objectives. On a philosophical level, its proponents argue that it fosters intercultural understanding, meaningful language use, and the development of transferrable skills for use in the real world.

The method employs immersion in the target language, with the content and activities dictated by the subject being taught. Activities tend to integrate all four skills, with a mixture of task types that appeal to different learning styles.

Techniques involve reading subject-specific texts, listening to subject-based audio or audio-visual resources, discussions, and subject-related tasks.

CLT - Communicative Language Teaching (The Communicative Approach)

CLT emphasises that the main purpose of language is communication, and that meaning is paramount. The goal of the Communicative Approach is to develop learners’ communicative competence across all four skills. It has been the dominant approach in mainstream language education for many decades.

Most methodologies use an amalgamation of a structural and a functional syllabus, with a relatively common consensus emerging concerning the order in which language elements should be taught. Language is generally contextualised, and communication is encouraged from the start. Native speaker input is seen as highly desirable, though not essential. Much teaching is learner-centred.

Techniques are an eclectic mix - with techniques often borrowed from a range of other approaches. Because of this, it is often criticised for a lack of robust theoretical underpinning. Specific activities and games are chosen for their perceived effectiveness in relation to the knowledge or skills being taught. Typical activities include physical games such as board races and running dictations, information exchange activities, role-plays – and any tasks and games that involve communication between learners.

DOGME is a humanistic communicative approach that focuses on conversational interactions where learners and the teacher work together on the development of knowledge and skills.

In terms of method, it generally eschews the use of textbooks and published materials in favour of real communication and the development of discourse-level skills. Language may be scaffolded by the teacher, with attention paid to emergent forms. Topics are chosen based on their relevance to the learners.

Techniques include conversational activities and exposure to the language through real-life texts, audio, and video materials.

Grammar Translation

An approach to language study is generally used to prepare students for reading classical texts, notably Latin, in their original. It is thought that students benefit from learning about the ideas of classical thinkers, and from the rigour of rote learning and the application of grammatical rules.

The method commonly involves students learning grammar rules plus vocabulary lists based on the content of chosen texts. These are then applied to the written translation of texts from and into the target language. The teaching is usually done in the student’s native language. There is little emphasis on speaking, other than to recite sections of text.

Techniques include rote learning and drilling, translation activities, and recitation.

This approach is not really used in teaching Modern Foreign Languages but is still sometimes the basis for the teaching of classical languages such as Latin or Greek.

The Lexical Approach

An approach based on the notion that language comprises lexical units (chunks, collocations, and fixed phrases). Grammar is secondary and is acquired through learning these chunks.

The method focuses on learning sets of phrase-level, multi-word vocabulary and linguistic frames that can be manipulated by the learner using substitutions and adaptations. This can be done through adapting many standard EFL activities.

Techniques could include searching texts for lexical units, collocation matching games, lexical drills and chants, story-telling, role plays using fixed and semi-fixed expressions, activities with de-lexical verbs and examining concordances.

The Natural Approach

An approach to language learning that seeks to mirror how we learn our first language.

Methods focus on the possibility of ‘acquiring’ a second language rather than having to learn it artificially. Teaching is by a native-speaker teacher; the syllabus mirrors the order in which we acquire our first language; there is an initial ‘silent phase’ when the learner assimilates aspects of the language, before moving on to producing it. Errors are seen as important attempts to form and use appropriate rules.

Techniques focus on meaningful interactions and may include listening and following instructions; ordering activities; memory games; miming activities; and describing and guessing games.

The Silent Way

The Silent way sees the process of learning a second language as a cognitive task, with learners as intelligent autonomous individuals, who can infer language use from well-structured input.

The methodology employs a graded structural syllabus, with the elements of language presented in a deliberately artificial way, using teaching aids such as charts and Cuisenaire rods.

Techniques involve, for example, mapping individual sounds and sequences onto the colours or physical characteristics of the teaching aids, and then having students infer rules based on recognising the systematic similarities and differences in the input material.

Situational Language Teaching (SLT)

This approach views language as a purposeful means of achieving goals in real-life situations.

The method employs oral practice of sentence patterns and structures related to these specific situations. It often uses props and realia in practice activities.

Techniques include drills, repetition and substitution activities, spoken dialogues, and situational role-plays. Oral practice aims towards accuracy and mastery of the situational language, moving at a later stage to the other three skills.

Teaching, Learning, & Professional Development Center

Teaching Resources
TLPDC Teaching Resources

How Do I Create Meaningful and Effective Assignments?

Prepared by allison boye, ph.d. teaching, learning, and professional development center.

Assessment is a necessary part of the teaching and learning process, helping us measure whether our students have really learned what we want them to learn. While exams and quizzes are certainly favorite and useful methods of assessment, out of class assignments (written or otherwise) can offer similar insights into our students' learning. And just as creating a reliable test takes thoughtfulness and skill, so does creating meaningful and effective assignments. Undoubtedly, many instructors have been on the receiving end of disappointing student work, left wondering what went wrong… and often, those problems can be remedied in the future by some simple fine-tuning of the original assignment. This paper will take a look at some important elements to consider when developing assignments, and offer some easy approaches to creating a valuable assessment experience for all involved.

First Things First…

Before assigning any major tasks to students, it is imperative that you first define a few things for yourself as the instructor:

Your goals for the assignment . Why are you assigning this project, and what do you hope your students will gain from completing it? What knowledge, skills, and abilities do you aim to measure with this assignment? Creating assignments is a major part of overall course design, and every project you assign should clearly align with your goals for the course in general. For instance, if you want your students to demonstrate critical thinking, perhaps asking them to simply summarize an article is not the best match for that goal; a more appropriate option might be to ask for an analysis of a controversial issue in the discipline. Ultimately, the connection between the assignment and its purpose should be clear to both you and your students to ensure that it is fulfilling the desired goals and doesn't seem like “busy work.” For some ideas about what kinds of assignments match certain learning goals, take a look at this page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons.
Have they experienced “socialization” in the culture of your discipline (Flaxman, 2005)? Are they familiar with any conventions you might want them to know? In other words, do they know the “language” of your discipline, generally accepted style guidelines, or research protocols?
Do they know how to conduct research? Do they know the proper style format, documentation style, acceptable resources, etc.? Do they know how to use the library (Fitzpatrick, 1989) or evaluate resources?
What kinds of writing or work have they previously engaged in? For instance, have they completed long, formal writing assignments or research projects before? Have they ever engaged in analysis, reflection, or argumentation? Have they completed group assignments before? Do they know how to write a literature review or scientific report?

In his book Engaging Ideas (1996), John Bean provides a great list of questions to help instructors focus on their main teaching goals when creating an assignment (p.78):

1. What are the main units/modules in my course?

2. What are my main learning objectives for each module and for the course?

3. What thinking skills am I trying to develop within each unit and throughout the course?

4. What are the most difficult aspects of my course for students?

5. If I could change my students' study habits, what would I most like to change?

6. What difference do I want my course to make in my students' lives?

What your students need to know

Once you have determined your own goals for the assignment and the levels of your students, you can begin creating your assignment. However, when introducing your assignment to your students, there are several things you will need to clearly outline for them in order to ensure the most successful assignments possible.

First, you will need to articulate the purpose of the assignment . Even though you know why the assignment is important and what it is meant to accomplish, you cannot assume that your students will intuit that purpose. Your students will appreciate an understanding of how the assignment fits into the larger goals of the course and what they will learn from the process (Hass & Osborn, 2007). Being transparent with your students and explaining why you are asking them to complete a given assignment can ultimately help motivate them to complete the assignment more thoughtfully.
If you are asking your students to complete a writing assignment, you should define for them the “rhetorical or cognitive mode/s” you want them to employ in their writing (Flaxman, 2005). In other words, use precise verbs that communicate whether you are asking them to analyze, argue, describe, inform, etc. (Verbs like “explore” or “comment on” can be too vague and cause confusion.) Provide them with a specific task to complete, such as a problem to solve, a question to answer, or an argument to support. For those who want assignments to lead to top-down, thesis-driven writing, John Bean (1996) suggests presenting a proposition that students must defend or refute, or a problem that demands a thesis answer.
It is also a good idea to define the audience you want your students to address with their assignment, if possible – especially with writing assignments. Otherwise, students will address only the instructor, often assuming little requires explanation or development (Hedengren, 2004; MIT, 1999). Further, asking students to address the instructor, who typically knows more about the topic than the student, places the student in an unnatural rhetorical position. Instead, you might consider asking your students to prepare their assignments for alternative audiences such as other students who missed last week's classes, a group that opposes their position, or people reading a popular magazine or newspaper. In fact, a study by Bean (1996) indicated the students often appreciate and enjoy assignments that vary elements such as audience or rhetorical context, so don't be afraid to get creative!
Obviously, you will also need to articulate clearly the logistics or “business aspects” of the assignment . In other words, be explicit with your students about required elements such as the format, length, documentation style, writing style (formal or informal?), and deadlines. One caveat, however: do not allow the logistics of the paper take precedence over the content in your assignment description; if you spend all of your time describing these things, students might suspect that is all you care about in their execution of the assignment.
Finally, you should clarify your evaluation criteria for the assignment. What elements of content are most important? Will you grade holistically or weight features separately? How much weight will be given to individual elements, etc? Another precaution to take when defining requirements for your students is to take care that your instructions and rubric also do not overshadow the content; prescribing too rigidly each element of an assignment can limit students' freedom to explore and discover. According to Beth Finch Hedengren, “A good assignment provides the purpose and guidelines… without dictating exactly what to say” (2004, p. 27). If you decide to utilize a grading rubric, be sure to provide that to the students along with the assignment description, prior to their completion of the assignment.

A great way to get students engaged with an assignment and build buy-in is to encourage their collaboration on its design and/or on the grading criteria (Hudd, 2003). In his article “Conducting Writing Assignments,” Richard Leahy (2002) offers a few ideas for building in said collaboration:

• Ask the students to develop the grading scale themselves from scratch, starting with choosing the categories.

• Set the grading categories yourself, but ask the students to help write the descriptions.

• Draft the complete grading scale yourself, then give it to your students for review and suggestions.

A Few Do's and Don'ts…

Determining your goals for the assignment and its essential logistics is a good start to creating an effective assignment. However, there are a few more simple factors to consider in your final design. First, here are a few things you should do :

Do provide detail in your assignment description . Research has shown that students frequently prefer some guiding constraints when completing assignments (Bean, 1996), and that more detail (within reason) can lead to more successful student responses. One idea is to provide students with physical assignment handouts , in addition to or instead of a simple description in a syllabus. This can meet the needs of concrete learners and give them something tangible to refer to. Likewise, it is often beneficial to make explicit for students the process or steps necessary to complete an assignment, given that students – especially younger ones – might need guidance in planning and time management (MIT, 1999).
Do use open-ended questions. The most effective and challenging assignments focus on questions that lead students to thinking and explaining, rather than simple yes or no answers, whether explicitly part of the assignment description or in the brainstorming heuristics (Gardner, 2005).
Do direct students to appropriate available resources . Giving students pointers about other venues for assistance can help them get started on the right track independently. These kinds of suggestions might include information about campus resources such as the University Writing Center or discipline-specific librarians, suggesting specific journals or books, or even sections of their textbook, or providing them with lists of research ideas or links to acceptable websites.
Do consider providing models – both successful and unsuccessful models (Miller, 2007). These models could be provided by past students, or models you have created yourself. You could even ask students to evaluate the models themselves using the determined evaluation criteria, helping them to visualize the final product, think critically about how to complete the assignment, and ideally, recognize success in their own work.
Do consider including a way for students to make the assignment their own. In their study, Hass and Osborn (2007) confirmed the importance of personal engagement for students when completing an assignment. Indeed, students will be more engaged in an assignment if it is personally meaningful, practical, or purposeful beyond the classroom. You might think of ways to encourage students to tap into their own experiences or curiosities, to solve or explore a real problem, or connect to the larger community. Offering variety in assignment selection can also help students feel more individualized, creative, and in control.
If your assignment is substantial or long, do consider sequencing it. Far too often, assignments are given as one-shot final products that receive grades at the end of the semester, eternally abandoned by the student. By sequencing a large assignment, or essentially breaking it down into a systematic approach consisting of interconnected smaller elements (such as a project proposal, an annotated bibliography, or a rough draft, or a series of mini-assignments related to the longer assignment), you can encourage thoughtfulness, complexity, and thoroughness in your students, as well as emphasize process over final product.

Next are a few elements to avoid in your assignments:

Do not ask too many questions in your assignment. In an effort to challenge students, instructors often err in the other direction, asking more questions than students can reasonably address in a single assignment without losing focus. Offering an overly specific “checklist” prompt often leads to externally organized papers, in which inexperienced students “slavishly follow the checklist instead of integrating their ideas into more organically-discovered structure” (Flaxman, 2005).
Do not expect or suggest that there is an “ideal” response to the assignment. A common error for instructors is to dictate content of an assignment too rigidly, or to imply that there is a single correct response or a specific conclusion to reach, either explicitly or implicitly (Flaxman, 2005). Undoubtedly, students do not appreciate feeling as if they must read an instructor's mind to complete an assignment successfully, or that their own ideas have nowhere to go, and can lose motivation as a result. Similarly, avoid assignments that simply ask for regurgitation (Miller, 2007). Again, the best assignments invite students to engage in critical thinking, not just reproduce lectures or readings.
Do not provide vague or confusing commands . Do students know what you mean when they are asked to “examine” or “discuss” a topic? Return to what you determined about your students' experiences and levels to help you decide what directions will make the most sense to them and what will require more explanation or guidance, and avoid verbiage that might confound them.
Do not impose impossible time restraints or require the use of insufficient resources for completion of the assignment. For instance, if you are asking all of your students to use the same resource, ensure that there are enough copies available for all students to access – or at least put one copy on reserve in the library. Likewise, make sure that you are providing your students with ample time to locate resources and effectively complete the assignment (Fitzpatrick, 1989).

The assignments we give to students don't simply have to be research papers or reports. There are many options for effective yet creative ways to assess your students' learning! Here are just a few:

Journals, Posters, Portfolios, Letters, Brochures, Management plans, Editorials, Instruction Manuals, Imitations of a text, Case studies, Debates, News release, Dialogues, Videos, Collages, Plays, Power Point presentations

Ultimately, the success of student responses to an assignment often rests on the instructor's deliberate design of the assignment. By being purposeful and thoughtful from the beginning, you can ensure that your assignments will not only serve as effective assessment methods, but also engage and delight your students. If you would like further help in constructing or revising an assignment, the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center is glad to offer individual consultations. In addition, look into some of the resources provided below.

Online Resources

“Creating Effective Assignments” http://www.unh.edu/teaching-excellence/resources/Assignments.htm This site, from the University of New Hampshire's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, provides a brief overview of effective assignment design, with a focus on determining and communicating goals and expectations.

Gardner, T. (2005, June 12). Ten Tips for Designing Writing Assignments. Traci's Lists of Ten. http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/034.shtml This is a brief yet useful list of tips for assignment design, prepared by a writing teacher and curriculum developer for the National Council of Teachers of English . The website will also link you to several other lists of “ten tips” related to literacy pedagogy.

“How to Create Effective Assignments for College Students.” http:// tilt.colostate.edu/retreat/2011/zimmerman.pdf This PDF is a simplified bulleted list, prepared by Dr. Toni Zimmerman from Colorado State University, offering some helpful ideas for coming up with creative assignments.

“Learner-Centered Assessment” http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_resources/tips/learner_centered_assessment.html From the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo, this is a short list of suggestions for the process of designing an assessment with your students' interests in mind. “Matching Learning Goals to Assignment Types.” http://teachingcommons.depaul.edu/How_to/design_assignments/assignments_learning_goals.html This is a great page from DePaul University's Teaching Commons, providing a chart that helps instructors match assignments with learning goals.

Additional References Bean, J.C. (1996). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Fitzpatrick, R. (1989). Research and writing assignments that reduce fear lead to better papers and more confident students. Writing Across the Curriculum , 3.2, pp. 15 – 24.

Flaxman, R. (2005). Creating meaningful writing assignments. The Teaching Exchange . Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008 from http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Sheridan_Center/pubs/teachingExchange/jan2005/01_flaxman.pdf

Hass, M. & Osborn, J. (2007, August 13). An emic view of student writing and the writing process. Across the Disciplines, 4.

Hedengren, B.F. (2004). A TA's guide to teaching writing in all disciplines . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Hudd, S. S. (2003, April). Syllabus under construction: Involving students in the creation of class assignments. Teaching Sociology , 31, pp. 195 – 202.

Leahy, R. (2002). Conducting writing assignments. College Teaching , 50.2, pp. 50 – 54.

Miller, H. (2007). Designing effective writing assignments. Teaching with writing . University of Minnesota Center for Writing. Retrieved Jan. 9, 2008, from http://writing.umn.edu/tww/assignments/designing.html

MIT Online Writing and Communication Center (1999). Creating Writing Assignments. Retrieved January 9, 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/writing/Faculty/createeffective.html .

Contact TTU

The impact of transformational leadership on classroom interaction in UAE secondary schools

Open access
Published: 16 May 2024

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Haifaa Y. Abuhassira 1 ,
Ahmad Zabidi Abdul Razak 1 &
Kazi Enamul Hoque ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8152-9250 1

Department heads play a critical role in executing school plans, particularly in adopting contemporary instructional methods, integrating technology, assessing student progress, and maintaining high standards of classroom interactions. They facilitate essential interactions within the classroom, spanning teacher-student, student–student, and student-content interactions, aligning with transformational leadership practices. This study explores the influence of department heads' transformational leadership on classroom interaction, mediating teachers' teaching experience in enhancing leadership capacity. Using a straightforward random sampling procedure, 374 teachers from 226 privately owned secondary schools were selected. Descriptive statistics were employed to represent the extent of department heads' engagement in transformational leadership practices. Findings indicate that teachers' role in clarifying activities and assignments to encourage classroom involvement received the highest average rating, emphasizing the importance of diverse instructional approaches. The study reveals a significant, positive influence of teachers' years of experience as a moderating factor in the relationship between department heads' transformational leadership and classroom interaction. A positive correlation was observed between student–teacher interactions and department heads' use of transformational leadership practices, with teachers' experience levels shaping these relationships. Notably, the study suggests that teachers' experience partially affects this phenomenon. The research concludes with recommendations for policymakers and educators to leverage their pedagogical expertise in fortifying the impact of school leadership on heightened student participation within the classroom.

Educational Leadership in the Twenty-First Century

Evolution of Teacher Leadership as a Challenging Paradigm in Rethinking and Restructuring Educational Settings

Shaping Professional Development of Educators: The Role of School Leaders

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Despite the critical significance of the department head's role within educational institutions, the academic literature has shown a relatively limited focus on delineating the characteristics of an effective department head (Coats, 2000 ; Williams, 2001 ). Yielder and Codling ( 2004 ) assert that academic leadership, encompassing department heads, requires a more precise definition. Middle leadership or management in schools primarily comprises department heads (Shaked & Schechter, 2017a ), who bear responsibility for achieving educational objectives, fostering collaboration, and guiding specific academic activities. Consequently, establishing a comprehensive definition of the role of the department head is imperative to address pertinent issues in this domain. In academia and management, multifaceted leadership and decision-making processes emerge. These terms encompass determining future directions, objectives, visions, and goals. An ethical approach by the department head is essential to foster an environment of ethical, professional, and interpersonal interactions among personnel in leadership positions (Osseo-Asare et al., 2005 ).

Building on Middlehurst ( 1993 ), Gordon and Patterson ( 2006 ) underscores five pivotal academic leadership dimensions: 1. accountability, 2. mentoring, 3. achieving results, 4. personnel management, and 5. distinguishing leaders from their counterparts. This study adopts the nomenclature "Department Head (DH)" to signify a leadership role within the school, responsible for collaborating with school leadership to uphold high standards in teaching and learning practices under the guidance of the Head of Curriculums (Bolam & Turner, 2003 ). Furthermore, department heads necessitate appropriate training not only in their administrative roles but also in curriculum development and pedagogy. This expectation often leads to perceptions among teachers that department heads are primarily faultfinders (Alkutich, 2017 ).

In line with these demands, it is critical that department heads receive further training in the ever-evolving curriculum (Tapala, 2020 ) to ensure effective teaching and support for personnel development (Christie et al., 2007 ; Mampane, 2017 ). Thorpe and Bennet-Powell ( 2014 ) emphasize the primary responsibility of department heads in enhancing curriculum leadership to elevate the performance of students and teachers, thereby facilitating effective handling of various classroom situations and educational content.

The department head's role assumes a pivotal position in bridging the gap between classroom dynamics and school objectives. This is achieved by providing necessary resources, professional development opportunities, and facilitating the teaching and learning process. Department heads play a crucial part in implementing school plans, especially when it comes to adopting contemporary instructional methods, technology, student progress assessment, and maintaining high standards of classroom interactions (Tapala, 2019 ). They are also responsible for conducting classroom visits and lesson observations to ensure qualitative and quantitative curriculum implementation (Ogina, 2017 ). Their role extends to monitoring syllabus coverage in each subject, necessitating substantial training and development (Tapala, 2020 ).

While the leadership of department heads holds a delicate position due to its significant impact on daily educational operations and goal attainment (Tapala et al., 2022 ), it remains imperative to elucidate the direct influence of department heads on classroom participation. Leadership styles have evolved to address the multifaceted challenges encountered, with department heads emerging as key figures in achieving and sustaining educational reform. The extent of their responsibilities varies according to school size and the scope of their duties. They may oversee one or more subjects and departments, ensuring positive learning outcomes and teacher performance (Ogina, 2017 ; Tapala, 2020 ). Their oversight extends to managing the divisions they lead (Bambi, 2012 ), and they bear the ultimate accountability for student and teacher performance (Manasseh, 2016 ). As part of their curriculum leadership responsibilities, department heads must supervise and moderate the work of teachers and students.

In a related study by Al-Ghamdi ( 2008 ), it was observed that department heads have developed extensive educational competencies, particularly in student assessment methods, teaching method diversity, and classroom interaction, albeit with moderate proficiency in planning and the utilization of teaching aids. These findings underscore the need for a transformational leadership role for department heads to enhance classroom interaction by supporting teachers throughout the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes and by providing solutions and proposals to elevate the quality of classroom interaction.

In many educational systems across the globe, the position of the Department Head occupies a significant role within the framework of middle leadership or management in schools (Shaked & Schechter, 2017b ). These individuals are also variously referred to as curriculum leaders, subject leaders, subject coordinators, and, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as department heads (MoE, 2017 ). The role of an educational department head is defined as "a facilitator and advisor appointed by the school administration to aid teachers in their personal and professional development" (Al-Balawi, 2011 ). Procedurally, an educational department head is designated as a teacher appointed by the school administration to oversee the educational process with the objective of achieving academic and educational goals, improving teachers' performance, and enhancing their professional competence through various supervisory techniques.

The contemporary understanding of the role of department heads, which the department head and school administration should embrace, revolves around the fundamental notion that all teachers possess the potential for professional growth provided they are placed in an environment conducive to making informed choices for effective teaching and goal attainment (Mulford, 2003 ). Consequently, the traditional practices of department head leadership, which primarily involve advice and direction, have given way to a more modern and nuanced concept of leadership (Bennett, 2008 ).

These definitions closely mirror the description of department heads in the UAE, where they are perceived as facilitators, observers, developers, supervisors, and guides in the teaching and learning process. Nevertheless, department heads are often encumbered with numerous administrative tasks, which, at times, reduce their capacity to effectively manage their departments and actively engage in subject development activities (Fullan, 2015 ; Flückiger et al., 2015 ; Lárusdóttir & O'Connor, 2017 ; Javadi et al., 2017 ).

In their study, Elyakim et al. ( 2023 ) identified four modalities of the principal's ongoing leadership presence in social media networks: branding and communicative, transformational, supportive-protective, and enforcement presence. In this study, transformational leadership is employed as a focal variable, aligned with the UAE perspective, given the prevalent utilization of transformational leadership by school leaders in the UAE (Alshammari & Al-Mahdy, 2018 ; Al-Taneiji & McLeod, 2019 ; Alzaydi & Alghamdi, 2019 ). A comparison of leadership styles among 22 principals in public and private schools in the UAE indicated that transactional and passive/avoidant leadership styles were less frequently practiced (Al-Taneiji & McLeod, 2019 ). Furthermore, research conducted by Ibrahim and Al-Taneiji ( 2012 ), examining the relationships between the principal's leadership style (transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire) and school performance, underscored the predominance of transformational leadership over other styles. Consequently, the selection of transformational leadership as the focus of this study is substantiated.

From a UAE perspective, studies have yielded mixed results regarding the use of dimensions of transformational leadership. Burns ( 1978 ) transformational leadership traits, which encompass idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, personalized attention, and inspirational motivation, resonate with the practices of department heads. Idealized influence, as defined by Bass ( 1985 ), signifies the transformative leader's ability to convey a compelling vision and motivate followers effectively. In the UAE, Al-Taneiji and McLeod ( 2019 ) conducted a study involving 22 private and public school principals, revealing Burns ( 1978 ) dimensions, including idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, personalized attention, and inspirational motivation in the practices of UAE school leaders. However, a study by Alshammari and Al-Mahdy ( 2018 ) involving 30 public school principals produced slightly different findings, highlighting patterns of idealized influence and individualized consideration among school leaders. In their qualitative study of ten public schools, Alzaydi and Alghamdi ( 2019 ) identified the presence of inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation practices among UAE school principals. Consequently, this study incorporates all the dimensions of transformational leadership, acknowledging the variability in study results.

Classroom interaction" encompasses the dynamic exchanges that transpire among educators and learners or between learners themselves (Eisenring & Margana, 2019 ; Li, 2023 ; Tsui, 2001 ). It may also encompass the interactions between educators. Historically, studies on classroom interaction primarily centered on the language employed by instructors and students, the resulting interactions arising from this language use, and the consequential impact on students' learning capabilities (Waring, 2017 ; Sert, 2019 ). Recent research endeavors have ventured beyond these surface-level analyses to explore the underlying factors that mold classroom interaction. These influencing factors include the beliefs held by educators and students, the socio-cultural backgrounds of educators and students, and the psychological dimensions of the learning process (Sundari, 2017 ; Tsui, 2001 ). Moore's model has been the basis for the development of subsequent interaction models (Anderson, 2003a , 2003b ; Hirumi, 2013 ), encompassing various forms of interaction, such as teacher-student interaction and student-interface interaction. Research suggests that learning is a product of students' interactions with educators and peers, irrespective of the context of these interactions (Tirri & Kuusisto, 2013 ).

Both student–teacher and student–student interactions entail multifaceted communication processes involving two or more individuals. Student–student interaction involves the reciprocal exchange of ideas, information, and knowledge related to the subject matter. Teacher-student interaction pertains to communication between educators and students, which can take on various forms, including assessment, feedback, guidance, and support. "Student-content interaction" pertains to the relationship between students and the educational material as they engage with and reflect upon it (Moore & Kearsley, 1996 ; Anderson, 2003a , 2003b ; Miyazoe & Anderson, 2010 ). Overbaugh and Nickel ( 2011 ) also underscore the significance of interactions between educators and students in fostering a sense of community and, consequently, enhancing student satisfaction (Kuo et al., 2014 ). This study places its focus on the interactions occurring within the classroom, encompassing teacher-student, student–student, and student-content interactions. It aims to elucidate the influence of department heads' transformational leadership practices in effectively facilitating classroom interactions by fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.

Moreover, studies have indicated that experienced teachers tend to be more responsive to the directives of department heads compared to their less experienced counterparts. In the realm of school improvement activities, research by Leithwood et al. ( 2002 ) emphasized that experienced teachers aligned their activities more closely with school leaders' mission and vision. Similarly, the OECD ( 2019 ) found that experienced teachers placed greater value on school leaders' feedback and support than those with less experience. Notably, head teachers often encounter challenges in acquainting new teachers with the curriculum instruction, as reported in a study by Edutopia ( 2020 ). Teachers with over 15 years of experience were found to engage less effectively in cooperative activities concerning instructional plans (Ronfeldt et al., 2015 ), requiring leadership support and a sense of significance in their work compared to their less experienced counterparts (Walker & Slear, 2011 ). Additionally, teachers with over seven years of experience encountered challenges beyond the classroom, necessitating greater teaching support (Louws et al., 2017 ). Thus, understanding how teaching experience can influence the relationship between leadership and classroom interactions is of paramount importance.

Based on this conception, the following research questions were formulated to investigate the impacts of department heads' transformational leadership practices on classroom interaction in UAE secondary schools:

What is the Department heads' transformational leadership practice level in UAE private secondary schools?

What is the level of classroom interaction among teachers-students and students-students, and student-content in UAE private secondary schools?

Do department heads’ transformational leadership practices significantly impact classroom interaction?

Does teachers’ teaching experience moderate the relationships between the department heads’ transformational leadership and classroom interaction?

2 Literature review

2.1 department heads’ transformational leadership.

In many countries, the Department Head is part of the school's middle leadership or management structure (Shaked & Schechter, 2017b ). They are also termed curriculum leaders, subject leaders, subject coordinators, and departmental heads, as they are called in UAE (department heads) (MoE, 2017 ). The educational department head is "the facilitator and advisor appointed by the school administration, who helps teachers develop themselves personally and professionally" (Al-Balawi, 2011 ). The educational department head is procedurally defined as a teacher assigned by the school administration to supervise the educational process to achieve its academic and educational goals to improve teachers' performance and raise their professional levels through various supervisory methods.

The modern concept of the department head that the department head and head of the school should adopt is based on the fundamental idea that all teachers have the potential for professional development to the extent that they can make the right choices to plan effective learning and accomplish their goals if they work in the right environment (Mulford, 2003 ). Consequently, the traditional practices of the department head's leadership, based on advice and direction, have replaced a more contemporary idea of leadership (Bennett, 2008 ).

All the previous definitions are identical to the description of the department head in the UAE, as the department head is considered a facilitator, an observer, a developer, a supervisor, and a guide to the teaching and learning process. In addition, department heads are nevertheless needed to carry out a lot of administrative tasks while spending less time managing their departments and participating in subject development activities (Fullan, 2015 ; Flückiger et al., 2015 ; Lárusdóttir & O'Connor, 2017 ; Javadi et al., 2017 ). This study used transformational leadership as a study variable from the UAE perspective because it is evident that UAE school leaders mostly use transformational leadership in their practices (Alshammari & Al-Mahdy, 2018 ; Al-Taneiji & McLeod, 2019 ; Alzaydi & Alghamdi, 2019 ). While comparing the methods of different leadership styles, such as transformational, transactional, and passive/avoidant leadership styles of 22 principals in UAE public and private schools, transactional and passive/avoidant leadership styles exhibited less practice (Al-Taneiji & McLeod, 2019 ). Similarly, Ibrahim and Al-Taneiji ( 2012 ) examined the relationships between the principal's leadership style (transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire) and school performance, which indicated the dominance of transformational leadership over others. Thus, the use of transformational leadership for this study is more justified.

Different studies found mixed results from UAE perspectives regarding the use of dimensions of transformational leadership. Burns ( 1978 ) transformational leadership traits—idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, personalized attention, and inspiring motivation—apply to these department heads. Bass ( 1985 ) defines idealized influence as the transformative leader's ability to communicate a vision and motivate followers convincingly. In the UAE, Al-Taneiji and McLeod ( 2019 ) conducted a study on 22 principals in private and public schools concerning transformational leadership practices. They found the presence of Burns ( 1978 ) dimensions, such as idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, personalized attention, and inspiring motivation in the practices of UAE school leaders. However, Alshammari and Al-Mahdy's ( 2018 ) study on 30 public school principals showed slightly different results in that they found patterns of idealized influence and individualized consideration among school leaders. In their qualitative study on ten public schools, Alzaydi and Alghamdi ( 2019 ) found inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation practices among UAE school principals. This study employed all the dimensions of transformational leadership, as different study results are inconsistent.

2.2 Classroom interaction

Classroom interaction refers to the interaction between the instructor and the learners or among the learners (Eisenring & Margana, 2019 ; Li, 2023 ; Tsui, 2001 ). It may also refer to the contact between the teacher and other teachers. The earlier study on classroom interaction mainly focused on the language that the instructor and the students used, the interaction that emerged from the language, and the impact of the interaction on the student's ability to learn (Waring, 2017 ; Sert, 2019 ). Recent studies have begun to examine the underlying factors that shape classroom interaction. These factors include beliefs held by teachers and students, the social and cultural backgrounds of teachers and students, and the psychological aspects of learning (Sundari, 2017 ; Tsui, 2001 ;). Based on Moore's model, further interaction models have been constructed by (Anderson, 2003a , 2003b ; Hirumi, 2013 ), including models for various types of interaction (teacher-student interaction, student-interface interaction). According to research, learning occurs whenever students connect with teachers and other students, regardless of the contact situation (Tirri & Kuusisto, 2013 ).

Both student–teacher and student–student interactions include a process of communication between two or more individuals. Student–student interaction is a two-way street where students share Ping, ideas, information, and knowledge about the course. Interaction between students and teachers refers to communication between them. It may take various forms, including assessment, feedback, and direction or assistance. "Student–content interaction" refers to the relationship between students and the course material as they develop and reflect on it (Moore & Kearsley, 1996 ; Anderson, 2003a , 2003b ; Miyazoe & Anderson, 2010 ). Overbaugh and Nickel, ( 2011 ) also mentioned that the interaction between students and teachers is critical for fostering a feeling of community and, as a result, increasing student happiness. Effective teacher-student interaction (TSI) is crucial for promoting learning efficiency and fostering harmonious interpersonal relationships between teachers and students (Jiang et al., 2023 ; Kuo & Yu-Chun, 2014 ).

This study focuses on the interactions that occur in the classroom with the interaction forms between teacher-student, student–student, and student-content, which reflects the department heads' transformational leadership practices in enabling classroom interaction effectively by fulfilling the DHTL roles and responsibilities.

2.3 Department heads’ transformational leadership practices and classroom interaction

Interactions between school leaders and teachers have undergone tremendous changes ((Ping et al., 2023 ). Evidences show that transformational leadership fosters frequent interaction with teacher which significantly promote teachers’ job satisfaction, student learning, and participation in the classroom (Bolkan & Goodboy, 2009 ; Liang & Zhang, 2021 ). Hallinger’s ( 2003 ) research on educational leadership has linked leadership behaviors that indirectly affect student academic achievement development through their behaviors and actions and affect what is going on in the class. It also has an impact on the effectiveness of teachers' performance. This highlighted the role of leadership in promoting students' continuing education and teachers' professional development. Effective educational leadership is of great importance to achieving success for the school, and many programs have been adopted around the world to train academic leaders in schools to achieve this success and, thus, the educational institution's success (Hallinger, 2005 ). Hallinger also concluded that progress had been made in finding a model through which the tasks performed by the academic leader can be determined and that have an impact on the learning process, as well as in his possession of competencies, experiences, and visions in which he can develop the learning in collaboration with the rest of the members the learning community to ensure the dissemination and achievement of the school's vision and goals. (Hallinger, 2011 ). Alkutich ( 2017 ) examined the impacts of the Department head's (DH) leadership on Arabic language instruction at two Abu Dhabi private schools. In this study, teachers viewed them as fault finders, needing to lead by example and continuous professional development. Leithwood ( 2016 ) examined 42 studies from traditional literature searches to determine how department-head leadership affects student learning, how departments compare to schools as change agents, and the barriers to significant department-head leadership. The study found schools and school administrators have less impact on classroom interaction than department heads. Well-performing departments may improve without school leaders. Leithwood ( 2016 ) also identified reasonable departmental and personal leadership procedures. These strategies and materials reflect a proven school leadership model. In its mini-dissertation data, Rajoo ( 2012 ) suggests that the HoD/middle manager/curriculum increases learning and teaching. As middle management, the Head of Department (HoD) should have the vision to attain academic excellence in a subject area and holistically develop learners.

In New Zealand, Highfield's ( 2012 ) surveys identified five intermediate leadership traits: teamwork, clear goals and objectives, student academic achievement, resource management, and a pleasant learning environment for students and instructors. In addition, among 30 departments in 10 institutions, the results showed that certain variables positively correlated with academic achievements and others adversely. Middle leaders had better certification scores but not NCEA Level 1 (15-year-old) outcomes. Goals, resource management, and a good learning environment predict academic performance.

2.4 The role of teaching experience in enhancing leadership capability and interaction

Teaching experience helps students understand leaders' instructions (Hallinger & Heck, 1996 ), receive effective guidance and support (Leithwood et al., 2004 ), and thus influence classroom practices and student achievement. In line with this, Robinson et al. ( 2008 ) revealed teaching experience as one of the factors that help HoDs enhance a conducive and orderly learning environment. A study by Day et al. ( 2009 ) explored the relationship between school leaders’ professional development, learning, and capacity building and their impact on student outcomes. They discovered that experienced teachers developed a shared vision and collaboration with leadership, which enhanced teaching and learning quality. In connection with better student achievement in mathematics, reading, and science in PISA, Hallinger et al. ( 2014 ) discovered a strong association between more experienced teachers and leadership instructions. Based on this evidence, this study assumed that teachers’ experiences (moderating variable) might influence the HoD’s transformational leadership style (independent variable) and classroom interaction (dependent variable).

3 Materials and methods

3.1 research design and data collection.

The present quantitative study employs a correlational methodology to examine the association between the department heads and classroom interaction and the moderation of teachers' teaching experience in UAE private secondary schools. The questionnaire was distributed to more than the required sample, so about 400 questionnaires were sent to ensure that all the required data were collected. Two hundred were sent via a Google form, and two hundred through schools were done on paper. The questionnaire instrument comprised three different existing questionnaires, from which the research instruments were adapted and adopted for use in this study. The questionnaire consists of two main subsections: demographic variables, Department Heads' Transformational Leadership, and Classroom interaction. This research conducted a comprehensive survey among educators to assess the extent to which department heads' transformational leadership practices impact classroom interactions within private secondary schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These private schools encompass various curricula, including American, British, Indian, Asian, and Arabic, where the roles and responsibilities of department heads tend to be more subject/department-specific. To ensure the questionnaire's reliability and validity, a pilot study was conducted with a random sample of 30 participants from a secondary school in Ras Al-Khaimah. The participants provided feedback and comments on the questionnaire's clarity and comprehension. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, resulting in a coefficient of 0.934 for the instrument developed for teachers, which consisted of 23 items. Several modifications were made to enhance the questionnaire's clarity and comprehensibility, including reorganizing instructions and providing definitions for terms participants found challenging to understand, such as "classroom interaction types."

3.2 Participants

Based on the statistical data available for the year 2020, the study's population was initially estimated, revealing approximately 6,452 teachers within the secondary education sector of private schools in the UAE. The research sample consisted of 226 private secondary schools and a total of 374 teachers.

In terms of their teaching experience, 85 teachers (22%) of the participants have years of experience from (1–5) years, whereas 114 of the teachers (31%) had teaching experience between 4 to 7 years. In the meantime, 126 teachers (33.6%) have years of experience from (6–15) years, while 93 teachers (25%) and 43 teachers (11%) of the participants have (21–25) years, and (11%) also have (more than 25 years of experience) in the field of teaching (Table 1 ).

3.3 Instruments

The questionnaire used in this study was developed based on an extensive literature review to investigate the impact of department heads' transformational leadership practices on classroom interaction. It aimed to identify the critical competencies for department heads to lead the teaching and learning process effectively.

The questionnaire consists of three sections. The first section collects demographic information, including participants' gender, to assess whether gender plays a role in department heads' leadership. The second section comprises the Department Heads' Transformational Leadership Scale (DHTL), which includes ten items. The third section covers the Classroom Interaction Scale (CI), which measures various aspects of classroom interaction, including teacher-student, student–student, and student-content interactions, and their influence on learning. This section consists of thirteen items. Respondents used a five-point Likert scale (ranging from "Strongly agree" to "Strongly Disagree"), where a higher score (5) indicates a stronger presence of the construct. In comparison, a lower score (1) suggests a weaker presence of the construct.

3.3.1 Department heads’ transformational leadership (DHTL)

A total of 10 items were used in the study to validate the instrument to examine Department heads' leadership (DHL) in schools. Previous research has shown that the dimensions included in the Leithwood leadership survey are reliable, with Cronbach's alpha scores ranging from 0.78 to 0.85 (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2006 ). Four dimensions of the Leithwood School Leadership Survey exhibit internal solid consistency, according to a recent study by Boberg and Bourgeois ( 2016 ). The researchers reported Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each dimension: a) defining goals: 0.93, b) developing people: 0.93, c) reorganizing the company: 0.94, and d) enhancing the company: 0.95. A Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.98 was reported for the complete scale of Transformational School Leadership. According to the study conducted by Boberg and Bourgeois in 2016, it was found that.

3.3.2 Classroom interaction (CI)

A total of (13) items were used in the study to validate the instrument to examine classroom interaction. A previous study used Cronbach's alpha to perform the reliability test, with scores ranging from 0.713 to 0.913. These findings indicate that the items in each factor have high internal consistency or may be used to test the same underlying meaning of the factors, indicating that the factor analysis is adequate. The original scale consisted of three dimensions: 'Teacher-student,' 'student–student,' 'student-content'. The number of items under each dimension comes from a) 4 items for 'Teacher-student' based on the study of (Balagová & Haláková ( 2018 ), b) 4 items for 'student–student' from Lasfeto, ( 2020 ) study, and c) 5 items from the study of Çakiroğlu et al. ( 2009 ) for the 'student-content.'

3.4 Data collection and analysis procedures

Multiple data collection methods were employed in this research study. Initially, a total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to teachers. The first stage involved obtaining consent letters from the faculty, followed by supervisor approval. Questionnaires with proper authorization were submitted to the UAE Ministry of Education for approval to conduct research within educational institutions. School administrators subsequently granted permission for questionnaire distribution to instructors. Instructors were selected using a basic random sampling technique. Each participant received a physical copy of the questionnaire and was given sufficient time to complete it, with a seven-day response period. The data collection faced challenges, particularly in transporting and collecting questionnaires from the seven Emirates (cities). The online Google Form survey was distributed via email and WhatsApp groups to expedite responses. Data collection began in September 2022 and extended over several months due to unforeseen difficulties in some schools, including teachers' heavy professional commitments and the end of the academic year. To ensure sufficient data collection, more than the required sample of 400 questionnaires were sent, resulting in a response rate exceeding 85%. In total, 374 responses were collected, surpassing the target population size.

The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 29) to address the research questions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to uncover findings. Central tendency and data dispersion were assessed, and measurement reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Descriptive analysis was employed to identify prevalent practices, while regression analysis examined the associations between dependent and independent variables. The mean scores in this research were categorized into three levels of interpretation: a mean value between 1 and 2, considered in the lower range; values from 3 to 3.99, classified as moderate; and values ranging from 4 to 5, commonly regarded as high, following the categorization proposed by Hoque et al. ( 2020 ).

In order to assess the extent of transformational leadership practices and classroom interaction among department heads, descriptive statistics, specifically percentages. The research used a method of item-level analysis wherein the perceptions categorized as 'strongly agree' and 'agree' were combined into a single positive perception, represented as percentages. The mean and standard deviation were utilized to determine the level of each variable, as well as their respective dimensions (sub-constructs) and items.

To ascertain the direct relationship or effect between the variables under study, the researchers utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study employed a hierarchical component model (HCM) consisting of reflective-formative and reflective-reflective constructs, necessitating a two-stage analysis approach. The researcher used a two-stage hierarchical component model (HCM) analysis, utilizing a repeated indicator approach and latent scores to address the challenges associated with this particular analytical framework (Hair et al., 2017 ). During the initial phase, a methodology known as the repeated indicator approach was employed to obtain the latent variable scores about the subconstructs or lower-order components (LOC). Subsequently, the latent inconsistent scores are utilized as indicators, specifically manifest variables, within the higher-order construct (HOC) measurement model in the subsequent phase of the analysis. The evaluation of the structural model was initiated by examining the presence of collinearity issues within the model. Path coefficients were estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to assess the direct relationship between variables. This involved regressing endogenous variables on their corresponding antecedent variables or constructs. The hypothesized relationships among the variables in the present study were directional.

The research employing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) must take measures to verify that the analyzed data do not show a substantial departure from normality. This can be accomplished by evaluating the degree to which the data deviate from a distribution that adheres to the normal distribution. Hence, normality can be evaluated by obtaining skewness and kurtosis values, as proposed by Hair et al. ( 2017 ). Hence, the determination of data normality in this study was predicated upon the statistical analysis of skewness and kurtosis. Table 2 shows skewness and kurtosis values for the overall variables of the study (Table 3 ).

4.1 Respondents’ experience

The inclusion of experience is considered a crucial component in providing support for this study. Most teachers who participated in this study possessed ample teaching experience. A total of 85 participants, constituting 22% of the sample, reported having 1 to 5 years of teaching experience. Additionally, 114 teachers, accounting for 31% of the participants, indicated having teaching experience ranging from 4 to 7 years. Altogether 126 teachers, accounting for 33.6% of the participants, possess 6 to 15 years of teaching experience. Additionally, 93 teachers (25%) have accumulated between 21 and 25 years of experience, while 43 (11%) fall within the same range. Furthermore, 11% of the participants have acquired more than 25 years of experience in teaching.

4.2 Level of department heads’ transformational leadership practices

Table 4 shows that the teachers' opinion of their department heads’ transformational leadership had a mean score of 3.945. According to the data above, mean values indicate a moderate level of satisfaction in most areas.

Table 4 shows participants' first axis paragraph replies. Item 1, "Department Head seeks high expectations for your teaching," obtained the highest average score of 4.12. Participants strongly feel the Department Head values good teaching standards. Teacher performance is directly affected by such expectations. Paragraph (5), where the department head promotes best practices in teaching and learning to meet curricular goals, took second place. The arithmetic mean of 4.05 shows that the department head's support and motivation of people and staff are vital to curricular goals. Paragraph (2) emphasizes the department head's role in encouraging innovative teaching concepts, ranking third. This paragraph averaged 4.01 with a standard deviation of 1.091. To sum up, the department head's support as a form of transformational leadership style is essential for encouraging new and varied teaching methods that foster creative and good thoughts .

4.3 Level of classroom interaction

The level of classroom interaction was measured at a high rate (4.204). The first item, on teacher-student interaction, highlighting the teacher's role in clarifying activities and assignments to encourage classroom involvement by presenting examples and explanations, had the highest average rating of 4.307. Student–student interaction significantly impacts educational outcomes, highlighting its importance. The third item about integrating students into group class activities had the highest arithmetic mean of 4.214. After that, the third item on student-content interaction, "pictures and shapes help students engage in the classroom." The arithmetic mean was 4.25%. This emphasizes the need to add forms, diagrams, and visuals to interest students. Overall, the study found that the teacher's role in clarifying activities and assignments to encourage classroom involvement by presenting examples and explanations, had the highest average rating which emphasizes the need to add forms, diagrams, and visuals to interest students.

4.4 DHs’ Transformational Leadership Practices and Classroom Interaction

The regression analysis has been performed to determine the effect of DHTLP on CI. The results show that DHTLP significantly impacts classroom interaction (β = 0.659). The results of the study are presented in Tables 5 .

As shown in Table 7 , as a whole, the model is significant (R2 change = 0.434, F = 0.000, p < 0.05). The coefficient table (Table 6 ) shows the impact of the independent variable (TL) on Classroom interaction (CI). The β value of TL (β = 0.588, p ≥ 0.05) significantly impacts CI. It means TL explains 58.8% of the variance in CI.

4.5 Teaching Experience as a Moderator

Table 7 shows the interaction between department heads' transformational leadership practices and teachers' years of teaching experience (t-value = 0.476) significantly and positively influences the relationship between DHTLP and classroom interaction (CI).

This finding underscores the importance of considering teachers' years of teaching experience as a moderating factor when exploring the impact of DHTLP on CI.

Additionally, the interaction coefficient between department heads' transformational leadership practices and teachers' years of teaching experience was negative (β = -0.036), indicating that the interaction effect has a negative influence on the relationship between department heads' transformational leadership practices. In this context, it suggests that as teachers' years of teaching experience increase, the impact of department heads' transformational leadership practices on the outcome becomes less favorable or more negative (Fig. 1 ).

Moderation analysis

5 Discussion

This study emphasizes the crucial role of department heads' support, a form of transformational leadership, in promoting diverse teaching methods that nurture creativity and critical thinking. Leithwood and Jantzi ( 2000 ) propose a direct connection between transformational leadership and student learning, with Harvey et al. ( 2003 ) highlighting its positive impact on student learning. Research, including Cheng and Tam ( 1997 ), underlines the correlation between transformational leadership strategies employed by department heads and increased student engagement and classroom interaction.

Similarly, Wang et al. ( 2019 ) investigation shows a positive association between the adoption of transformational leadership strategies and enhanced collaboration among teachers, as well as increased student engagement. The study contends that department heads' transformational leadership practices directly influence classroom interaction by fostering a positive school climate, encouraging collaboration among teachers, setting high expectations, and providing personalized support to both students and teachers.

In contrast, comparative studies, like Alkutich's ( 2017 ), reveal discrepancies in recognizing the impact of department heads' transformational leadership on classroom interaction within some UAE societies. This study acknowledges the need for further research to understand the varying effects of department heads' transformational leadership in diverse UAE communities. Cultural and social factors, such as differing perspectives on teacher autonomy and the role of department heads in instructional leadership, may contribute to these variations.

The research also explores the moderating effect of teachers' experience on the relationship between department heads' transformational leadership and classroom interactions. It suggests that as teachers gain more experience, the influence of department heads' leadership may diminish due to increased teacher autonomy, aligning with OECD findings ( 2019 ). Moreover, the study underscores the importance of leadership education for department heads, advocating policy-level actions to enhance their skills.

Notably, the research observes concerns among instructors regarding department heads' involvement in curriculum and unit creation in centralized systems. It suggests that department heads' formative input and collaborative efforts are underutilized transformational leadership techniques in UAE secondary schools.

6 Practical implications

The findings of the current study bear significant implications for theories, policymakers, and practitioners, particularly school leadership and department heads in UAE schools. Distinguished by its unique exploration of department heads' transformational leadership and its impact on classroom interaction in UAE secondary schools, this study stands out as one of the most critical in the country. The practical implications derived from these findings extend to department heads, who are urged to employ transformational leadership practices to foster classroom interactions conducive to student learning. However, the choice of leadership style should be attuned to the diverse personal and contextual needs of teachers.

In supporting blended learning practices, department heads can cultivate a collaborative working atmosphere among teachers, fostering knowledge sharing, peer support, and the exchange of innovative teaching practices. This collaborative approach instills a sense of shared purpose and collective growth, ultimately enhancing classroom interactions. Additionally, department heads are encouraged to actively support and motivate teachers by providing tailored professional development opportunities and resources. This proactive support empowers teachers, boosting their confidence and enthusiasm for implementing effective teaching practices, thereby positively influencing classroom interactions.

The study underscores the evidence supporting the adoption of transformational leadership by department heads, emphasizing the promotion of collaboration, motivation of teachers, and provision of individualized support to create an environment that values and supports classroom interactions. By doing so, department heads can effectively enhance classroom interactions, contributing to a positive and engaging learning experience for both teachers and students.

7 Limitations

The study acknowledges some limitations. The generalization of results is limited to UAE secondary schools, and the context specificity may vary. The inclusion of qualitative research methods, such as phenomenological or case studies, could provide deeper insights into how department heads' transformational leadership influences classroom interaction in the specific sociocultural context of UAE secondary schools.

8 Conclusion

The study establishes that the transformational leadership practices of department heads exert a significant influence on classroom interaction. Moreover, the research affirms that department heads' transformational leadership acts as an indicator of classroom interaction. These findings offer fresh insights into the pivotal role played by department heads' transformational leadership in advancing classroom interaction. The study underscores the importance of providing leadership education to department head candidates for the enhancement of their leadership skills. Advocating for policy-level actions, the study suggests initiatives such as developing a clear school vision, instituting staff evaluation systems, and adopting self-assessment techniques to improve the leadership abilities of department heads. The research concludes that the positive impact of department heads' transformational leadership practices on classroom interactions is evident in their contribution to fostering a conducive educational atmosphere, encouraging teacher collaboration, setting high expectations, and providing personalized support to both students and teachers.

For department heads to effectively promote classroom interaction, they must employ well-established and well-practiced transformational leadership methods. Particularly during periods of significant educational reform, such as the adoption of new UAE secondary schools, implications connected to both theory and practice become crucial drivers of essential changes. When incorporating the study's conclusions, it is imperative to carefully assess its limitations. A long-term investigation would provide valuable support for the research's conclusions.

Data availability

Data are preserved with the authors. They will be available upon request.

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Haifaa Y. Abuhassira, Ahmad Zabidi Abdul Razak & Kazi Enamul Hoque

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Abuhassira, H.Y., Razak, A.Z.A. & Hoque, K.E. The impact of transformational leadership on classroom interaction in UAE secondary schools. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12701-3

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There's a surprising reason why many schools don't have a single Black teacher

Middle school educator Jeffrey Lee is the only Black male English teacher at his school, which serves about 815 students northwest of Philadelphia.

" It can be a lonely existence. I almost feel like the last dinosaur that roamed the Earth," Lee said. "I have students say, 'You’re the first African American or male teacher of color' they’ve ever had."

Seventy years after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in public schools, Lee's story illustrates a lingering imbalance at schools nationwide: Students of color now make up more than half of America's students, but the number of teachers and principals of color has not kept apace.

An analysis of state-by-state data from The New Teacher Project , a nonprofit organization working to redesign education to meet the needs of students of color and students living in poverty, shows that across a majority of U.S. campuses, nearly one-fourth of public schools did not have an educator of color on staff. Meanwhile, students of color were the majority at public schools.

Teacher representation hasn't kept up: about one-fourth of the nation's teachers identified as people of color, according to the nonprofit's analysis . Research conducted by scholars has shown the imbalance impedes learning , since students across the board and especially students of color , do better academically when they have teachers from diverse backgrounds.

While the reasons for the disparities are varied, education experts told USA TODAY the imbalance is part of a legacy, an unintended consequence, of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

How Brown v. Board contributed to teacher diversity imbalance

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children based on race in public schools was inherently unequal and violated the right to Equal Protection under the 14th Amendment.

Outlawing segregation in schools was a victory for the civil rights movement, but it enraged Southern white leaders, school superintendents, parents and others.

Before the Brown v. Board ruling, Black teachers made up 35 to 50 percent of the workforce in the 17 states with segregated school systems, Education Week reported . Following the decision, many Black schools closed, thousands of Black educators were pushed out of the field and less-qualified white teachers replaced them , wrote Leslie Fenwick, the dean emerita of the Howard University School of Education and a professor of education policy, i n an op-ed for Politico .

The precipitous drop in the number of Black educators in the workforce was an unintended consequence of the ruling, said Tequilla Brownie, CEO of the nonprofit organization The New Teacher Project.

"Our nation’s current lack of educator diversity is a direct result of Brown (v. Board )," Brownie said. "It had a devastating effect not only on the school building and its demographics but also on Black communities and families. Educators of color were the lynchpin to creating the middle class in communities."

Diversity in the workforce also limited opportunities for Latino educators after the 1947 Mendez vs. Westminster ruling, in which a circuit judge in California ruled the forced segregation among Mexican American and white students was unconstitutional. That case set a precedent for Brown v. Board of Education , according to the Zinn Education Project, a collaboration of historical content from the groups Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change .

There would be reverberations from both cases for decades to come.

Many other factors propel the teacher diversity imbalance

Beyond the landmark events, several factors limited access to the workforce for teachers of color, preventing them from entering the workforce, making their careers as educators difficult to sustain or pushing them out of the field, experts told USA TODAY. They include:

Teacher layoffs : Schools are laying off teachers en masse as they prepare to lose COVID-19 funding in the fall. Many schools hired educators of color in recent years who work at schools with "last in, first out" policies where the last teachers hired are laid off will be cut from their roles. (The financial cliff is expected to affect students of color and students of low-income communities most, research from the national nonprofit the Brookings Institution shows.)
Burnout and frustration : Over the last several years, some teachers of color have left the profession , citing burnout and low morale, pandemic-related stressors and a toxic climate amid political attacks on schools. Educators and education leaders of color conveyed to Sharhonda Bossier, CEO of Education Leaders of Color , that they are also worried about school safety issues, such as shootings and increased misbehavior among kids.
Financial concerns : Low pay , costly teacher training programs and difficult exams have prevented people of color interested in teaching from entering the workforce, several education experts told USA TODAY.
A lack of representation in leadership roles : U.S. schools face a pipeline issue, said Jean Desravines, CEO of New Leaders, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to train and develop "transformational, equity-minded" school leaders. Teachers of color are being blocked from leadership roles, which means they're missing the chance to lift up others , Desravines said.
Diversity, equity and inclusion program cuts : Conservative lawmakers passed measures requiring schools to axe their diversity, equity and inclusion programs which resulted in educators of color being cut from those jobs .

What's needed to close the gap?

To close the gap, American schools would need to hire about 1 million teachers of color and 30,000 leaders of color, according to an analysis of federal data from the school year 2017-2018. The analysis was published by the One Million Teachers of Color Campaign , which was created by a consortium of education organizations advocating for an increase in teacher diversity.

Education experts have outlined a number of ways the federal government, states and schools can work together to improve access for educators of color.

One approach would be to change how schools conduct layoffs: Some want to see schools remove "last in, first out" layoff policies to avoid pushing out teachers of color who are newly hired when funds disappear.

States could also fund programs that help recruit teachers of color, including "grow your own" programs which incentivize paraprofessionals to become teachers at the schools where they're already employed. Another solution: districts could fund teacher residencies that allow people with a bachelor's degree to teach alongside a teacher in a classroom while working to earn their certification or completing fellowships and apprenticeships.

Another route to fixing the imbalance would be to pay teachers better. Some people of color are worried that encouraging young people to enter into a teaching career with low-paying jobs will exacerbate the racial wealth gap, Bossier said. Bossier left her position as a teacher years ago, in part because of the earning gap she experienced among her peers. While working as a teacher, she recalled, she had to wait tables to supplement her income.

It would also help to invest in recruiting, training and hiring school leaders of color who would be more likely to hire, promote and support teachers whose backgrounds align with the demographics of their students, Desravines said.

One such funding source is readily available, according to Education Department Secretary Miguel Cardona. Cardona has also repeatedly called on states to spend COVID-19 funds to increase diversity in the teaching workforce . Some states have made investments in the teacher pipeline to close these gaps over the last few years. However, those funds are drying up soon – which leaves the trajectory of success uncertain.

One method experiencing success

In California, which has invested in teacher residency programs, Peter Watts' Village Initiative program provides Black male teachers with housing, mentorship and resources so they can teach in Los Angeles neighborhoods they live in and connect with the kids in their classrooms without worrying about financial strife.

One of the teachers in the program teaches U.S. history at a charter school in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and can afford to live there because of financial and mentorship support from the program, according to Watts from the Village Initiative.

Fontae Smith said he was inspired to pursue the role by the Black male teachers in the schools he grew up attending. Now, he's one of the only Black male educators at the school where he teaches – in a similar position to Lee at the middle school in Pennsylvania.

Smith and Lee both said they'd experienced uncomfortable comments or remarks about their race from students in their classrooms, but they felt the role was rewarding and could expose kids to Black male leaders they respected. Black teachers inspired both of them to enter the workforce.

"You have to be the type of person that's like, 'It's bigger than me,'" Smith said. He said it keeps him going to know he may inspire as many as 150 students each year and they will go on to inspire others.

"It spreads like wildfire," Smith said.

Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected] . Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.

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‘It Would Have Been Easier To Look Away’: A Journalist’s Investigation Into Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela

Off-camera, director Juan Ravell asks Venezuelan journalist Roberto Deniz, “Has this investigation been worth it?”

Deniz considers the question and then answers, “Professionally, I always say it’s been worth it.”

“And personally?” Ravell asks.

“That answer is more complicated,” Deniz says, adding, “… It would have been easier to look away.”

That conversation is part of FRONTLINE’s new documentary, A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela , made in collaboration with the independent Venezuelan news site Armando.info . The 90-minute documentary, which premieres on streaming platforms and PBS stations May 14 ( check local listings ), tells the story of a corruption scandal spanning from Venezuela to Europe to the U.S. and what has happened to the journalists who helped uncover the story, including Deniz.

As Deniz recalls in the excerpt above, “I didn’t know who I was investigating. I didn’t understand all the connections I would find or the sheer size of the operation.”

In the documentary, Deniz details how an Armando.info investigation into complaints of the low quality of food distributed by a Venezuelan government program uncovered a connection to Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who was a close associate of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the biggest contractor for the food program.

The food program, known as Local Committees for Supply and Production (Comité Locales de Abastecimiento y Producción or CLAP), had been implemented by President Maduro in 2016 when the Venezuelan economy was in freefall and the country was consumed by hunger. As the documentary reveals, Deniz and his colleagues uncovered how the CLAP program was enriching Saab.

In the aftermath of Armando.info’s reporting in early 2017, Saab sued Deniz for criminal defamation and denied the facts of their reporting. Facing threats, harassment and possible jail time, Deniz and his editors made the hard decision to leave Venezuela.

Nonetheless, Deniz continued his reporting from exile. As he began to untangle the web of Saab’s business network, Deniz would come to find that he was not the only one investigating the Colombian.

Across the world, other journalists and governments were also looking into Alex Saab.

The journalists’ work helped expose a larger corruption scandal that reached into the highest ranks of Venezuelan government and spanned continents drawing the attention of law enforcement.

Pursuing this story made Deniz and his colleagues targets of the Maduro government. In addition to being sued for criminal defamation by Saab, Deniz has a warrant out for his arrest as a result of his reporting, and his family’s home was raided.

As Deniz notes in the excerpt, “Alex Saab’s story shows us how a regime maintains power.”

A Dangerous Assignment is a story about corruption in Venezuela, and what happens when journalists investigate the powerful.

For the full story, watch A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela . The documentary will be available to watch at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS App starting May 14, 2024, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations ( check local listings ) and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel at 10/9c and will also be available on the PBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel . The documentary is an Assignment Film production for GBH/FRONTLINE in association with Armando.info. The director is Juan Ravell. The producer is Jeff Arak. The reporter is Roberto Deniz. The executive producer for Armando.info is Ewald Scharfenberg. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Max Maldonado , Tow Journalism Fellow, FRONTLINE/Newmark Journalism School Fellowships , FRONTLINE

Where Does School Segregation Stand, 70 Years After Brown v. Board of Education?

‘A Dangerous Assignment’ Director and Reporter Discuss the Risks in Investigating the Powerful in Maduro’s Venezuela

FRONTLINE's Reporting on Journalism Under Threat

Risks of Handcuffing Someone Facedown Long Known; People Die When Police Training Fails To Keep Up

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