Teaching Strategies

Twenty-Four Teaching Strategies:

This list includes 24 general teaching strategies. The first twelve can widely be targeted to any kind of classroom. The second twelve are well targeted to an English Class. The first twelve strategies are listed in the form of an introduction to the concept, the steps involved, and the benefits instructors will see by employing each strategy. The ELA strategies begin with an introduction to the concept followed by the benefits. The steps to use the strategy are left out of the second list, as in many cases, they are somewhat self-explanatory.

See how these teaching strategies are applied in ITL 528 in the Evolution of Day One of a Five Day Lesson Plan.

12 General Teaching Strategies

1: Visualization: Visualization can help bring dull academic subjects to life. Examples of visualization can include using white boards, graphs, charts, and tables. But visualization can also be as interactive s taking students on field trips ("7 Effective Teaching Strategies for The Classroom - Quizalize Blog", 2018). The steps involved in visualization include:

1. Understanding special relationships.
2. Connecting them to a problem or question.
3. Constructing a visual representation of the system.
4. Using that representation to solve the problem.
5. And, encoding the answer (Yin, 2010).

Nearly 70% of our sensory input comes from the visual stimuli. This implies visualization is important before it is even brought up, since we rely so heavily on it. Used effectively it accelerates understanding and helps students grasp abstract concept ("Visualization to Improve the Speed of Understanding - mysimpleshow", 2019).

In practice, setting is an abstract concept, until the teacher instructs the students to imagine where the story takes place. In English Language Arts, visualization would be critical for understanding how figurative language paints a rich backdrop as a narrative unfolds. The once thing I would be cautious of though, is despite how much we rely on visualization, not everyone is a predominantly visual learner.

2: Inquiry-Based Learning: Inquiry based learning begins with giving students a problem to solve. That problem might be building a model car powered only by a rubber band. The students, through research and trial and error would design a model car that is powered by that rubber band. Then slowly, they would refine their product. Inquiry-based learning ends with a demonstration of some kind. In the case of the model cars, it would likely end with a contest to see which car could travel the furthest.

Inquiry-based learning involves four steps:

1. Developing a question, the students are anxious to answer.

2. Researching the topic on class time.

3. Presenting what the students have learn.

4. Reflecting on what the students have learned (Wolpert-Gawron, 2016).

While inquiry-based learning appears most often in the sciences, since it is so closely tied to the Scientific Method, it can also pop up in other courses like English. For instance, an English teacher may give the students the question: “Do all poems have to rhyme?” Students or collaborative groups would begin researching that question ("7 Effective Teaching Strategies For The Classroom - Quizalize Blog", 2018). Inquiry-based learning requires students to collect and interpret data. It is also student-centered and transfers some of the responsibility from the teacher’s shoulders onto the shoulders of the student. There are numerous benefits to inquiry-based learning. A few of those benefits include increased engagement, empowering student voices, fostering curiosity, teaching perseverance, deepening understanding, and allowing students to take ownership of their educational goals ("10 Benefits of Inquiry-Based Learning -", 2017).

3: Cooperative Learning: The Jigsaw Method: Using the jigsaw method each group member is responsible for each other’s learning. And each member has a unique contribution to the group. Moreover, each group has a unique contribution to the overall subject. Within each home group, one student may tackle the topic of habitats. Another student may tackle the topic of predators. Yet another might tackle the topic of producers. Afterwards, each home group breaks apart into expert groups. This is where every member of the class studying habitats comes together. Every student studying predators comes together. And, every student studying producers comes together. After the expert groups collaborate, the students bring back their expert knowledge to the home groups.

The steps of the Jig Saw Method include: 

1. Assigning Home Groups of 3 to 5 students.

2. Each student studies different subtopics of an overall subject

3. After initially studying the whole topic together, home groups break apart

4. Students studying the same subtopic collaborate

5. After their collaboration the expert groups break apart and rejoining their home group with their expert knowledge.

When each student brings their part of the presentation together, a complete picture of the ecosystem will form. Each student acts as a separate part of a jigsaw puzzle ("Jigsaw | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets", 2019). Students who are placed into collaborative groups tend to learn more than students who work alone. Additionally, student collaboration gives students practice in communication, problem solving, delegating, and critical thinking. All these skills will be critical throughout the students’ academic careers and beyond (Cox, 2019).

4: Technology Incorporation in the Classroom: While this is a broad tactic, it has a huge potential to impact teaching in a positive manner. The meaning of incorporating technology can be very broad. It may include the use of iPads, Chromebooks, Google Classroom, video editing software, or interactive eBooks ("7 Effective Teaching Strategies for The Classroom - Quizalize Blog", 2018).

An example of technology incorporation might include:

1. Finding the assignment on Google Classroom.

2. Downloading it to the student’s Chromebook.

3. Researching the topic online.

4. Responding to the document and resubmitting through a program like LBUSD’s School Loop.

When technology is incorporated into the classroom, it helps prepare students for their future careers. Additionally, it can often enhance communication between the instructor and the student’s peers. Finally, technology makes learning less passive, keeps students more up to date, and in general makes education more engaging (Mareco, 2017). Additionally, the incorporation of technology can easily be combined with other teaching strategies like Cooperative Learning: The Jig Saw Method.

5: Connect, Extend and Challenge: This strategy could almost be dubbed connect to prior knowledge. The strategy helps students connect new ideas and information to their prior knowledge about a topic. It engages students in metacognitive reflection by asking them to identify ideas and pieces of information that are consistent with their prior understanding of a topic helping students both deepen their understanding of a topic. They will also become more thoughtful and independent learners ("Connect, Extend, Challenge", 2019).

This process involves:

1. Selecting a source

2. Asking the students: How does what you read connect to what you already know?

3. Asking the students: How does the new information broaden your understanding of the topic.

4. Asking the students: How does the new information challenge what you already believed about the topic.

This strategy works best with topics that have already been discussed when new perspectives might challenge what the students understanding of the topic or what they already believe. This kind of teaching strategy will encourage students to continuously make connections and re-evaluate those connections to the text. In essence, it will significantly improve their critical thinking skills, while keeping them engaged.

6: Gallery Walks: In a gallery walk, students move from station to station throughout the classroom. In doing so they may explore many texts or images that are placed around the room. Because this strategy requires students to physically move around the room, it can be especially engaging to kinesthetic learners ("Gallery Walk", 2019). They will also appeal to students who have trouble remaining seated for extended periods of time.

The steps of setting up a Gallery Walk include:

1. Setting up stations around the room. These stations are usually posters that contain information the students will copy into their notes.

2. Having the students divide up and go to each station for a set length of time copying the information into their notes.

3. After the time is up, the students move onto the next station.

4. After students have visited each station, they return to their seats and debrief.

Gallery Walks have several additional benefits aside from simply appealing to kinesthetic learners. They emphasize collaboration because students work in teams to synthesize information taken a variety of sources or perspectives. It also promotes analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of new information as the students formulate questions about the subject matter while moving around the room ("Why Use Gallery Walk?", 2019). 

7: Differentiated Instruction: Instructors who do this understand there is no such thing as the average student. This concept is a myth, and everyone learns in different manners. Sometimes referred to as UDL, teachers who differentiate are catering to their student’s specific learning style. Teachers might set up stations that teach the same lesson, but in slightly different manners ("Top 5 Teaching Strategies", 2019). A simple way of working differentiation into any lesson plan is to incorporate the Universal Design for learning model into everything an instructor teaches.

The UDL model for teaching involves three separate ideas:

1. The instructor addresses the why of learning in many ways.

2. The instructor varies how the lesson is presented by catering to his or her students’ strengths, while steering away from their weaknesses.

3. The instructor allows the students to express what they learned in multiple ways ("CAST: About Universal Design for Learning", 2019).

The benefits of differentiation or UDL are widespread. First off, it is assessment based. To use differentiation, instructors are constantly gaging if the method the subject is being presented is effective for their class. Additionally, differentiation is proactive. Finally, differentiation is more qualitative than quantitative. This means the instructor can assess and address the students’ needs while giving them less work (Masten, 2017). Beyond that, UDL or differentiation is also a requirement to meet California’s adopted Teaching Performance Expectations, specifically for TPE 1.4 and 4.4.

8: Effectively Using Mistakes: Sometimes mistakes make for the best teachable moments in class. Neither any student, nor any student will go through their educational career without making mistakes. When teaching a new skill, instructors can make an example riddled with mistakes. The students learn by finding and fixing those mistakes (Goodwin, 2018). As a matter of fact, students have likely been learning this technique since they were in elementary school while correcting sentences in DOL exercises.

The steps to this teaching strategy include:

1. Creating a model of an assignment done correctly.

2. Creating a model of an assignment done wrong.

3. Setting each example side-by-side so students can see the difference.

4. Giving the students another assignment done incorrectly

4. Asking those students to identify those mistakes.

Mistake-based learning has several advantages for students. First off, it allows students to take risks that lead to personal growth. Mistake-based learning also strengthens the students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills. But most importantly, it removes a barrier that most students face when confronted with a fear of failure. When mistakes are honored instead of criticized students are more likely to make a concentrated effort to try to answer questions, even on those occasions when the student isn’t sure what the answer is (Pappas, 2015).

9: Think-Pair-Share: Using this strategy students begin by reflecting on a problem or question. After coming to an answer, the students pair up with another student. Within those two person groups, the students discuss how they answered the question or solved the problem (Guido, 2015). The steps in a think-pair-share exercise as they are built into the name of the teaching strategy itself.

Those steps are briefly: 

1: Think: Independently, answer a question or respond to a prompt.

2: Pair: Discuss your response with a partner.

3: Share: Share what you and your partner discussed with. 

The Think-Pair-Share strategy is useful for improving students' reading comprehension. It also gives them gives students time to think over their answer while activating prior knowledge. It enhances the students’ oral communication skills as they discuss their ideas. It also helps the students become active participants in learning and can include writing as a way of organizing thoughts generated from discussions ("Think-Pair-Share | Classroom Strategies | AdLit.org", 2019).

10: Exit Slips: Exit cards or exit slips require the students to answer a question related to the lesson before leaving the class. These can be used as a formative assessment. They can also be used as a strategy to keep the students accountable for what they have learned in class. The advantage of using exit slips is it gives the instructor immediate information to assess students’ understanding. The exit slips also work as a content review at the lesson ("Exit Cards", 2019).

The steps involved in creating exit slips are:

1. Prepare a brief and specific prompt examples include

a) What question did the lesson raise?

b) List three things you learned

2. Pass out index cards or half sheets of paper.

3. Have the students respond to the prompt before leaving class.

In addition to giving the instructor feedback on what the students have learned, exit slips also help the students reflect on what they have learned, allow the students to express how they feel about the lesson, and teach the students to think critically about the day’s lesson ("Exit Slips | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets", 2019). 

11: Collaborative Learning: Collaborative learning can appear in many different forms. It can be a peer-to-peer experience, a group project, or take place in even larger groups. However, generally it involves students working in small groups to discuss the lesson at hand. Researchers have found that through peer instruction, students teach each other. They also address each other’s misunderstandings and clarifying their misconceptions ("Collaborative Learning | Center for Teaching Innovation", 2019).

Collaborative Learning can appear in many formats. The earlier strategy, Jigsaw is a very specific kind of collaborative learning environment. However, in all cases the teacher will:

1. The instructor will assign the students into groups.

2. Often the grouping will be heterogeneous, so the students compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

3. Each group will be assigned a similar project, to a different end. For instance, a class studying about the American Revolution may have several groups doing projects on different colonies.

4. The group will divide up the work, as usually it is far too involved for one student to do alone.

The benefits of collaborative learning include honing the students’ oral communication and leadership skills. It also increases student interaction, thereby increasing the students’ knowledge of varied perspectives while preparing them for the challenges they will face in social settings as well as employment in the real world ("Collaborative Learning | Center for Teaching Innovation", 2019).

12: Community-Based Learning: This happens when educators connect what is being taught in schools to their surrounding communities. This can include those communities’ history, literature, and culture. Community-based learning is based on the  belief that all communities have educational assets and resources that can be connected to the lesson to enhance learning experiences for students ("What is Community-Based Learning? - Center for Teaching & Learning - Marshall University", 2019). Community based learning is also practical, especially in California where service hours are necessary for graduation. To put it quite simply, students must connect their education back to the community to graduate. So, building community-based learning into the lesson is somewhat of a given.

The steps involved in community-based learning may involve:

1. Meeting with a community partner.

2. Discussing expectations.

3. Offering real-world experience that compliments the lesson while mutually benefiting the community in which the student lives.

Community-Based learning has several major benefits. First and foremost, it empowers the students to make a difference in their own community. Additionally, it provides the students to apply what they have learned to real-world situations, and often to a positive end ("What is Community-Based Learning? - Center for Teaching & Learning - Marshall University", 2019).

12 Teaching Strategies for English

In addition to general teaching strategies, any English teacher will also need to have strategies aimed specifically at teaching English. With a variety of learning ability levels and unique needs these are a few methods to ensure everyone masters the content. That list can be found HERE.

* The resource list for both teaching strategies pages can be found HERE.