Tips for teachers - Univ. of Phoenix

1. Power Down to Power Up!
Getting students to think critically and creatively!!

2. Direct students to
do a brainstorming
activity as soon as
they walk into the
class and sit down.
• Don’t waste class time
• Get students focused quickly
• Set the tone for the class

3. • English Class
• Journaling Activity
• Vocabulary Word of the Day
• Math Class
• Daily Story Problem
• Puzzle
• History Class
• Response to a Current Event

4. Start with the small stuff….
Use low-level
questions to build
students’ confidence
and knowledge base.
Questions that start with:
• Who
• What
• Where
• Why
• When

5. “So this is what happens when….”
Study guides can be
used to help students
glean and gain
knowledge about the
subject area or topic
being studied that
day. Lay the
foundation….

6. Work your way up the ladder….
Create a go-to
list of open-
ended, higher-
thinking level
questions to use
for each topic or
lesson.

7. Examples of open-ended questions
for discussion of Shakespearean plays:
Through this character, what is Shakespeare
saying about the treatment of women during
the Elizabethan time period?
How does Shakespeare use language to make
us laugh? Make us understand a character’s
personality?
How does Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony
in this scene enhance the plot?

8. It’s a team effort!!!
Put students in groups
where they compare
notes, discuss and
debate their ideas,
and answer assigned
questions, as well as
their own.

9. Now that I’ve got them thinking
critically,
how do I get them thinking
creatively?

10. “So…what do YOU think?”
Group students together,
perhaps with peers who are
outside of their personal
circles, so that they can
“teach” each other about the
material at hand. This could
open them up to ideas or
observations they would not
have made on their own or
with their own friends.

11. “Yes, but how does that pertain to
me?”
Make the facts
contained within
the lesson you’re
teaching, along with
the ideas your are
attempting to
convey, meaningful
and relevant to your
students.

12. “You want me to what?”
Give students
questions and
materials that
encourage them
to “think outside
the box” and
come up with
creative answers.

13. Keep the group dynamics dynamic!
Use group dynamics
to lead you down
instructional paths
you didn’t know
were there to
encourage the
group’s journey to
their own answers.

14. “What’s the good word?”
Encourage
students, both as
individuals and
within their group
settings, with
positive, and
specific, complimen
ts and guidance.

15. Now, “make it work!”
Photo courtesy of www.nypost.com, Sept. 23, 2010