Effective Teaching Methods
- Begin the lesson with a short statement of goals and a brief review of previous and/or prerequisite learning.
- Provide well-organized and clear links and connections between, among, and across content.
- Determine when to use explicit instruction, and then plan to present new material in small steps, with student practice after each step.
- Determine when to use discovery learning, and then plan to ensure sufficient monitoring and feedback is occurring.
- Provide clear and detailed instructions and explanations, including modeling that makes overt the teacher’s thinking processes.
- Alert students when new patterns of information are going to be presented, such as "There are four components of... ."
- Actively engage students in multiple and varied practice activities.
- Frequently dialogue with students by asking questions (including higher-order thinking skill questions, such as why) and checking for understanding from all students.
- When students are initially learning new content, provide more guidance as students are acquiring new knowledge and skills.
- Use specific and elaborated feedback that promotes students’ understanding, extends learning, and enhances the probability that students can self-evaluate.
- Ensure that directions and instructions are clear and use multiple formats to communicate directions and instructions (e.g., verbal directions, written directions or checklists, show a model, demonstrate what to do).
- Monitor students’ performance and interactions during independent and group work so that you can provide feedback and ensure students are appropriately engaged in the task.
- Plan for subsequent review of previously learned content, including extensions or applications of that content in meaningful and novel ways.
- Link content to real-life applications to increase students’ understanding of why they need to learn the content and how the content applies to them.
- Ensure that students have sufficiently mastered prerequisite or newly learned content prior to building on new information.
- Convey high expectations for all students that are challenging, appropriate, and relevant for each learner.
- Minimize or eliminate non-instructional time or activities to maximize instruction and learning.
- Conduct lessons with an appropriate pace so that students’ engagement time is maximized.
- Ensure that positive and respectful behaviors are communicated, modeled, and practiced.
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