List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples) (2022).pdf

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List Of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples)
By Chris Drew (PhD) / November 30, 2022
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!
Contents [ show ]
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Example

1. Assign a video introducing a concept for homework.
2. Spend the first 10 minutes of the lesson assessing students’ comprehension of the video
3. Jump straight into student-centered practice tasks
4. Walk around the class helping students who need additional support for the rest of the lesson
For More
See my full article on Flipped Classrooms Pros and Cons.
Related Article: 25 Teaching Styles Examples
2. Play-Based Learning
Description
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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)
Theoretical Link
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).
Example
1. 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.
2. Provide students with the puzzles and allow free unstructured play time
3. Mingle with the students, helping them with prompting and guiding questions
4. End the lesson with a whole group discussion of what they learned during the lesson.
For More
See my full article on Play Based Learning Pros and Cons.
3. Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Definition
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.

Benefits
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.
Challenges
Students tend to have increased freedom using this approach. So, students need to learn self-
regulation skills before beginning the task.
Theoretical Link
Constructivism: 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.
Example
1. Teacher assigns students a research question, such as “What are the key characteristics of
mammals?”
2. Students work in small groups to come up with an idea for a poster, diagram, or presentation project
on the topic.
3. Teacher approves or asks for amendments of students’ proposed projects.
4. Students are provided a series of lessons over a 2-week period in computer labs and in resource-rich
classrooms to complete their project.
5. Teacher checks-in intermittently to ensure standards are upheld and to stimulate students to improve
upon their projects.
6. The project concludes with students presenting their project to their parents.
4. Authentic Learning

Definition
Authentic learning involves having students learn about concepts in real-life (or near real-life)
environments.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Constructivism: Authentic learning environments are designed for students to be active learners who
‘construct’ knowledge through personal experience.
Example

1. An ESL teacher provides students with a set of conversational tasks to complete during a day’s field
trip to the city.
2. Students complete the tasks in the ‘real world’ by walking around the city asking for directions, buying
lunch, etc.
3. 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
Definition
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..
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link

Construcitivism: Students generate their own knowledge through engagement with their environment rather
than having truths ‘told’ to them by an authority figure.
Example
1. 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.
2. Teacher transparently presents the lesson objectives to the students, i.e. “What is heavier – sand or
water?”
3. Students are given minimal guidance, but sent to the learning stations to try to answer the prompt
themselves.
4. Teacher provides minimal guidance, recognizing that making mistakes and trying the ‘wrong thing’ is
also a part of the discovery experience.
5. Students get together at the end of the class to discuss what they ‘discovered’.
6. High Expectations
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Example
1. Measure students’ prior knowledge to ascertain their current developmental level.
2. Have students aim to achieve at or above their current ability in a given task.
3. If students underperform, provide formative feedback and insist they readdress their work to make
edits and improvements.
4. Allow students to progress to subsequent tasks only when their work has met or exceeded the
minimum standard you set for that individual.
For More
See my full article on High Expectations in the Classroom.
7. Parent And Community Engagement
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.

Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.
Example
1. Teacher does networking to find community members willing to come into the classroom.
2. Teacher finds relevant curriculum links that community members can help them teach about.
3. Teacher and community members meet to discuss a lesson idea.
4. Community members and teachers team-teach in the classroom.
5. Students are given the opportunity for one-on-one time with community members.
6. Students present the results of their lesson to community members before community members
leave.
8. Unconditional Positive Regard
Definition
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.
Benefits

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’.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Humanist theory of Education: Humanist Carl Rogers invented this approach. He believed unconditional
positive regard was necessary for building students’ self-confidence.
Examples
1. “Even though you did not do well today, I expect that you will come to school doing better tomorrow.”
2. “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.”
For More
See my full post on the Humanist approach to Education.
9. Modeled Teaching
Definition
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.

Benefits
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.
Challenges
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
Theoretical Link
Bandura’s Behaviorism: Bandura blends behaviorism with constructivism by showing that learning can occur
through observation only.
For More
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
Definition
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.
Benefits

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)
Challenges
In large groups, students may fall behind at Steps 2 and 3.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural Theory: Students learn through social interaction with a more knowledgeable other (see: Lev
Vygotsky).
Example
1. Teacher asks all students to sit on a mat at the front of the class.
2. Teacher models the steps required to complete the day’s task (I Do).
3. 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)
4. Teacher asks students to complete the task in small groups. Teacher walks around providing support
(We Do)
5. Students complete the lesson by doing the task alone. Teacher only intervenes for the few students
who are still struggling (You Do)
For More
See my full guide on implementing the I Do, We Do, You Do method.
11. Guided Practice / Cognitive Apprenticeship
Definition

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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.
Example
Common in trade schools for students studying to be mechanics, engineers, etc.
For More
See my full guides on the Guided Practice teaching strategy and cognitive fexibility.
12. Scaffolding
Definition

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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
May require a lot of one-to-one support, which can be difficult to provide in a classroom environment.
Theoretical Link
Socio-Cultural Theory: Scaffolding was invented by Jerome Bruner (not Vygotsky).
Example
1. The teacher models a task before students try it themselves.
2. The teacher provides the student with a visual aid (the scaffold, in this instance) that breaks the task
down into small parts.
3. 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)
Definition
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.
Benefits

Provides clear and direct knowledge to students
Is sometimes the only way to teach something, particularly when introducing a new idea.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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)
Definition
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.
Benefits
Repetition commits information to memory, and is often one of the only ways to ensure something is
truly remembered long-term.
Challenges
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.

Theoretical Link
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’.
For More
See my full post on Behaviorism in Education.
15. Spaced Repetition
Definition
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.
Benefits
Provides long-term support to ensure students remember information over a sustained period of time.
Perfect for revision and standardized test preparation.
Challenges
Can be disengaging and boring for students who tend to prefer active learning.
Doesn’t account for social and cognitive aspects of learning.
Theoretical Link

Behaviorism: Spaced repetition was invented by behaviorist theorist Ebbinghaus in 1885.
Example
1. Provide students with a sprinkle of review tasks as a part of their weekly homework.
2. Start lessons (or set aside some time each week) with revision of tasks from months previously to jog
students’ memory.
16. Prompting
Definition
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.
Benefits
Prompts are used regularly by teachers to get beyond blocks in student learning. Without prompts,
students may never develop or improve.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.

Examples
1. A teacher might ask a question to get the student to look at the task from a different perspective.
2. A teacher may point at a section of a diagram and ask them about that section.
3. A teacher might start a sentence and ask a student to finish it.
4. Etc.
17. Differentiation
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.

Examples
1. 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.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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’).
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link

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.
Examples
1. 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.
2. Colored beads can be used to help students in early childhood learn to recognize patterns.
3. Froebel’s Gifts are 9 manipulative toys that students can use to solve developmentally appropriate
puzzles.
19. Prior Knowledge Assessment
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Socio-Cultural Theory: Interactions between teachers and students are important to learning within the
socio-cultural approach.
Example
1. 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)
Definition
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).
Benefits
Helps students to jog their own memories by prompting them slightly.
Enables teachers to quickly assess students’ knowledge (just-in-time assessment).
Challenges
Cannot be a consistently used strategy as students also need to learn through more challenging
approaches such as discovery learning and project-based learning.
Examples
1. Paper cloze passages involving a story in which the key phrases are removed.
2. Prompting questions like: “Can you finish this sentence? The first king of England was …”
22. Peer Assisted Learning (PAL)
Definition
Has the teacher step aside and allows students to take charge of the learning environment.
Benefits
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!

Challenges
Peer assisted learning is not the same as the students doing the teaching. Students should continue
to view each others as partners in learning.
Theoretical Link
Socio-Cultural Theory: students learning through collaborative discussion fits firmly into the sociocultural
theory of education.
Example
1. Invite students from a grade level above to come into the classroom and act as moderators of
discussions on topics of interest.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges

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.
Example
1. Have students work in groups to write up their knowledge in a visually engaging way.
2. Then, have each group verbally present their poster to the class.
24. Two-Minute Presentation
Definition
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.
Benefits
An effective, fast way of doing summative assessment.
Challenges
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.
Example
1. Use the two-minute presentation method for the final lesson in a series of lessons on one topic.
2. Have students read over their notes from previous classes and write a summary of the top 10 points.

3. Have students prepare their two-minute presentations by adding the notes to palm cards. With 10
points, students have about 12 second per point!
4. 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.
5. 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
Definition
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
1. White hat: Provide the facts.
2. Yellow hat: Explore the positives.
3. Black hat: Explore the negatives (devil’s advocate).
4. Red hat: Express your feelings and intuitions. Include concerns, dislikes and likes.
5. Green hat: Be creative. Come up with new ideas and alternatives.
6. Blue hat: The manager who ensures all the hats are sticking to their lane.
Benefits
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.
Challenges

I often find it’s hard to get groups of 6, so sometimes one student has to use two hats.
Example
1. Introduce a contentious topic with a video or reading.
2. Distribute hats to the students.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
May worry some students who are unprepared.
27. Democratic Vote

Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Progressive Education: Progressive educators such as Alfie Kohn advocate for empowering students
through increased democracy in the classroom.
For More
See my full post on Citizenship Education.
28. Non-Verbal Gestures
Definition
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.

Benefits
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.
Challenges
Cultural sensitivity required. Different cultures ascribe different meanings to non-verbal gestures.
Examples
1. Nods of approval can let a student know you have recognized their good work without disrupting the
flow of the lesson.
2. Pointing can be used to direct students’ attention toward prompts around the room or on worksheets
that may help stimulate thinking.
3. Tapping a watch can remind students to pay attention to time limitations of a lesson.
29. Environmental Manipulation
Definition
Environments have a strong impact on learning. Temperature, lighting, seating plans, colors and posters on
the walls can all affect learning.
Benefits
A non-intrusive way of supporting learning.
Helps students feel more comfortable in the classroom.
Challenges

Your classroom has limitations which may prevent the ideal environmental settings.
Different students may work better in different environments (e.g. heat settings)
Theoretical Link
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.
Example
1. 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.
2. Ensure the classroom is not too dark. A dark classroom can impede reading, especially for students
who do not have perfect eyesight.
3. Heat and noise can both prevent learning.
4. Calm colors on the walls can help students relax into the learning environment.
30. Associative Learning
Definition
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.
Benefits
Is very effective during revision for an exam.

Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.
Examples
1. The teacher presents students with rhyming pairs to help a student associate one word with another.
This can be effective in teaching vocabulary.
2. When attempting to recall a fact, you can try to reflect on where you were and what else you were
talking about when that fact was first introduced to you.
31. Cooperative Learning (Group Work)
Definition
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).
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Any benefits that may arise lack scientific backing.
Example

1. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Examples
1. 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
Definition
Directing attention involves diverting students away from negative non-learning behaviors and towards
positive behaviors by presenting them with engaging learning materials or ideas.

Benefits
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.
Challenges
Tends to be more effective with younger children than older children.
Example
1. 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
Definition
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.
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).
Challenges

A visual aid needs an educational purpose. Consider why you are using the visual aid before deciding
to use it.
Example
1. Posters
2. Graphic Organizers
3. Mind maps
4. Educational toys (see: Manipulatives)
35. Flexible Seating
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.)
Challenges
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.
Example

1. This approach is very common in the Agile Learning Spaces and Flexible Classrooms movement.
For More
See my full post on the Common Classroom Seating Arrangements.
36. Formative Assessment (A.K.A Assessment For Learning)
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Can be time consuming to constantly assess students’ abilities.
Formative assessments often lack the authority of summative assessment pieces.
Examples
1. Formative assessments can be simple stops to get feedback and ongoing questioning of students.
2. They can also take the form of pop quizzes or student-teacher conferences.
37. Summative Assessment

Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Example
1. Standardized tests.
2. Assessments for student portfolios.
3. End-of-year exams.
4. Entry exams.
38. Gamification
Definition
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.
Benefits
Gamification can make boring lessons fun, thereby increasing the engagement and motivation of
students.
Challenges
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.
Examples
1. Get your students into two groups and have them compete in a trivia contest based on your lesson
content.
2. Give students table groups and reward tables with points depending oh how well they do.
For More
See my full article on the pros and cons of digital play.
39. Game-Based Learning
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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’.
Example
1. Minecraft is a very popular computer game that is used in classrooms.
2. Sim City is a popular game for city design courses.
3. Use card games to teach counting. I teach ESL students counting using the game UNO.
For More
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
Definition
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.
Benefits
Student-centered: the student is the focus and the teacher is the supporter.
Personalized: each student will get unique feedback based on their performance.
Challenges
Sometimes the teacher needs to introduce new ideas, meaning coaching may not be as useful as
another approach such as modeling or direct instruction.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural Theory: In sociocultural theory, teachers tend to encourage active learning and provide social
support.
41. Inquiry-Based Learning
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.

Challenges
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.)
Theoretical Link
Constructivism: Students learn through constructing ideas in their heads rather than being told the facts.
42. Reciprocal Teaching
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Requires a lot of pre-teaching so students have the required skills for these sorts of lessons to work.

Theoretical Link
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)
1. The teacher should model the four roles required in front of the whole class, with several volunteers
to act as the demonstration group.
2. The teacher assigns groups and the four group roles: questioner, clarifier, summarizer and predictor.
3. 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.
4. Allow the students to work in independent groups – walk around and help groups who are struggling.
43. Blended Learning
Definition
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
Benefits
Gives the teacher flexibility to teach partially during homework time and partially in class.
Challenges
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.

Examples
1. Used regularly for distance learning students and rural and remote students.
2. Used regularly at university level.
3. 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.
For More
See my List of 10 Pros and Cons of teaching Online.
44. Growth Mindsets
Definition
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.
Benefits
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
Challenges
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.
Examples
1. 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.
2. Celebrate success to show students that they are competent and capable.
45. Culturally Responsive Teaching
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link

Sociocultural theory: sociocultural theory believes
Examples
1. Have role models from minority backgrounds come into the classroom to share their backgrounds.
2. Consult with parents about ideal teaching methods within their culture.
3. Avoid nonverbal gestures that have different meanings in different cultures.
4. Another example: eye contact is considered respectful in Western cultures but acts of defiance in
Indigenous Austealian culture.
46. Teaching To Mastery
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.

Theoretical Link
Humanism: there are elements of unconditional positive regard in this approach (see Carl Rogers).
Examples
1. An example.may be that all students must get 80% on a test to progress to the next unit of work.
2. This approach is common for getting a “handwriting license” in primary / elementary school.
47. Stimulus Materials And Props
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.

Theoretical Link
Constructivism: constructivists encourage the use of props so that students can ‘learn by doing’ and be
‘hands on’ in their learning.
Examples
1. 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.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.

Theoretical Link
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.
Example
1. Prepare your students in the classroom. Consider having organizers or community members come
into the classroom to tell the students what to expect.
2. 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.
3. Have students complete their service learning / voluntary work in groups or individually.
4. Meet with the students intermittently during the service learning and have student-teacher
conferences on how it is progressing. Intervene where needed.
5. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits

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.
Challenges
Not practical as a teaching strategy in classrooms. It works best as an apprenticeship model for new
graduates from university.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural theory: the situated learning approach emphasizes the importance of learning from ‘more
knowledgeable others’.
50. Sixty-Second Strategy
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Students need to know how to be positive in feedback and not be hurtful.

Example
1. Have the student who is presenting their work give their presentation.
2. The students who watched the presentation have 60 seconds to write their thoughts on the topic that
was presented.
3. Next, the students have 60 seconds to write down feedback on the presenter’s work.
4. Then the students have 60 seconds to provide positive affirmation and praise.
5. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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

Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
The biggest risk here is in the teacher ‘putting words in the student’s mouth’. This may give the
student a free pass.
Examples
1. 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.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
Having something complex or theoretical demonstrated can be exciting to link theory to practice.
Challenges
Demonstrations may require expensive field trips or inviting experts and expert equipment into the
classroom.
Example
1. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
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.
Examples
1. Male teachers may role model positive masculinity, such as politeness and respect to all people
regardless of gender.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits

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.
Examples
1. At the start of a lesson (before introducing too much information), ask students what they think will
happen during the lesson.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.

Examples
1. Create intentional spelling errors in your worksheets and powerpoint presentations.
2. Mispronounce a word and see if students realize.
3. Flip two words in a sentence and see if anyone realizes.
57. Reflection-In-Practice / Immediate Feedback
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
In large groups, one-to-one feedback can be difficult.
Teachers need to be able to think on their feet to make immediate adjustments.
Theoretical Link
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.

Examples
1. Asking for a thumbs up / thumbs down from students to see if they understand something.
2. Looking over the shoulder at children’s work to see how they’re coming to their conclusions.
3. Accepting ‘hands up’ questions at any point during an explanation or lecture.
58. Whole Group Class Discussion (A.K.A Circle Time)
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Examples
1. 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.

2. Use discussion circles so that all students can see each other when talking.
3. If conversation is slow to start, consider asking individual students direct questions.
4. Use open-ended questioning to force students to answer in full sentences.
59. Concentric Circles
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
There needs to be an even number of students in the class so each student has a partner to work
with.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural theory: students learn by interacting with others to help them test, challenge and extend their
own ideas.

60. Hot Seat
Definition
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.
Benefits
Students explore topics from perspectives other than their own, helping them to develop lateral
thinking skills.
Challenges
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.
Examples
1. 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
Definition
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.

Benefits
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.
Challenges
Don’t stick to just one framework as the frameworks narrow the scope of thinking in exchange for
depth. Mix up your graphic organizers.
Theoretical Link
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
Examples
1. Flow charts
2. Mind maps
3. Venn diagrams
4. Concept maps
5. Network or family tree
6. Spider diagram
7. Compare-contrast matrix
8. Continuum
9. Series of events chain
10. Cycle map
11. Character charts
62. Think Pair Share

Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural theory: learning through conversation allows students to see diverse perspectives and
therefore improve on their own perspectives.
Examples
1. Step 1: Think. Students are given 2 minutes to think about the topic on their own and take 5 bullet
points on their own.
2. 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.
3. 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
Definition
Assigning group roles when students 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.
Benefits
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
Challenges
Students must be explicitly taught the group roles and need time to practice them.
Theoretical Link
Sociocultural Theory: By communicating with peers, students widen their perspectives and (with more
knowledgeable peers) have their knowledge scaffolded.
Example
1. 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.
2. 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

Definition
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).
Benefits
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.
Challenges
It may be beneficial to prevent students from taking a neutral “I don’t know” stance without sufficient
defence of this position.
Theoretical Link
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.
Examples
1. Introduce a complex or controversial issue through a book, video or class discussion.
2. Ask students to stand on an imaginary line from 0 to 10 representing their opinion.
3. 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
Definition

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.
Benefits
Educational technologies can help us do things we couldn’t do without them.
Can engage students who love computers and technology in learning tasks.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link
Cognitive Constructivism: this approach, invented by david Jonassen, emphasizes that computer
technologies should be used to extend and promote higher-order cognition.
Examples
See my full article: Examples of Congitive Tools in Education.
66. Anticipation / Guestimation
Definition
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
Benefits

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.
Challenges
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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link

Sociocultural theory: we learn and extend our knowledge through social interaction. By seeing others’ points,
we can improve or amend our own.
Examples
1. 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?
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
Encourages students to see their own blind spots or misunderstandings.
Helps students to see a diversity of points of view.
Improves students’ debating skills.
Challenges
Students and parents may interpret you devil’s advocate position as an attempt to teach unsavory
views in the classroom.
Theoretical Link

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.
Examples
1. The teacher can note in their lesson plan moments when they believe there are opportunities to play
devil’s advocate role promote debate.
2. 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
Definition
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.
Benefits
An excellent classroom management strategy
Encourages students to think and not rely on teacher prompting
Emphasizes important points
Challenges
Can leave students confused
Requires follow-up and knowledge testing
Theoretical Link

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’).
Examples
1. Pause after a question for 10 seconds before discussing the answer.
2. 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.
3. Slow speech with sufficient pauses between ‘chunks’ of information (seeL ‘chunking’ strategy) can
help students arrange information in their minds appropriately.
70. Chunking
Definition
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.
Benefits
Less students will be left behind, confused and disillusioned in the classroom if they are given
consolidation time.
Challenges

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.
Theoretical Link
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.
Examples
1. Only teach two or three key points per lesson.
2. Provide a lot of discussion and practice time before moving on to presenting new information.
3. Consistently use formative assessment and reflection in action during the lesson to see when is the
ideal time to move on.
71. Snowball Discussions
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.

Challenges
The class group needs to be large (20+) for enough rounds of this strategy to happen.
Theoretical Link
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
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
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.
Theoretical Link

Behaviorism: repetition over time helps memory retention.
73. Active Listening
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Some students (such as students with autism) need stress balls, fidget toys, etc to help them
concentrate.
Examples
Examples that show active listening include:
1. Facing the speaker square-on
2. Eye contact
3. Nodding
4. Asking questions
5. Repeating, paraphrasing or summarizing the speaker’s statement.
74. Connect, Extend, Challenge

Definition
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?
Benefits
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.
Challenges
Requires prompting and scaffolding
Theoretical Link
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).
Examples
1. 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
Definition

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.
Benefits
Helps students identify the key point of a lesson, forcing them to think about what is really important
in the lesson.
Challenges
Some issues are complex and refining it down to one sentence may risk simplification.
Extension
To extend this activity, have students write a journalistic piece to go under the headline.
76. Lesson Objective Transparency
Definition
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.
Benefits
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.

List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples) (2022).pdf

List of 107 Classroom Teaching Strategies (With Examples) (2022).pdf

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