by Terry Heick Consistently getting the best work from your students Typical strategies for getting the best work from students focus on extrinsic motivation and gamification—points, grades, badges, certificates, stars, trophies, glowing feedback, encouragement, pep talks, ‘pressure,’ and other … Continued
And they’re often excited for different reasons, of course. Elementary students are learning holiday traditions and enjoying festive songs and stories, while middle and high school students are eagerly counting down the days to vacation! And with Thanksgiving and … Continued
Bloom’s Taxonomy can be a powerful tool to transform teaching and learning. By design, it focuses attention away from content and instruction, and instead emphasizes the ‘cognitive events’ in the mind of a child. And this is no small … Continued
How you can help students retain what they learn? What sort of teaching strategies, curriculum mapping techniques, or other changes can you use to help them remember and apply information? Most broadly, this is a matter of understanding and … Continued
Allowing students to be involved and take control of their education gives them the tools to be much more successful. As educators, the idea of giving students control can seem like a crazy move, but it actually gives them … Continued
contributed by Lisa Chesser, Our views of what it should look like and how it should materialize depend on our value of it and our experience with it. What if a class consisted of words that led to information … Continued
From reminding us of what to pack for a trip to helping doctors perform surgery, checklists are crucial for projects that require sequential steps or a series of tasks. Checklists break down complex tasks and also ensure consistency … Continued
Direct Instruction (Low Tech) Direct instruction is the general term that refers to the traditional teaching strategy that relies on explicit teaching through lectures and teacher-led demonstrations. In this method of instruction, the teacher might play one or all … Continued
Differentiated Instruction (Low Tech) Differentiated instruction is the teaching practice of tailoring instruction to meet individual student needs. It initially grew popular with the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensured all children had equal access to public … Continued
The term teaching method refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction. Your choice of teaching method depends on what fits you — your educational philosophy, classroom demographic, subject area(s) and school mission statement. Teaching theories … Continued