Teaching

Albert Einstein said, 
                 “once you stop learning, you start dying.” 

Ideas & Strategies for Teaching 

1.      Lecture by teacher (and what else can you do!)

2.      Class discussion conducted by teacher (and what else!)

3.      Recitation oral questions by teacher answered orally by students (then what!)

4.      Discussion groups conducted by selected student chairpersons (yes, and what else!)

5.      Lecture-demonstration by teacher (and then what 145 other techniques!)

6.      Lecture-demonstration by another instructor(s) from a special field (guest speaker)

7.      Presentation by a panel of instructors or students

8.      Presentations by student panels from the class: class invited to participate

9.      Student reports by individuals

10.  Student-group reports by committees from the class

11.  Debate (informal) on current issues by students from class

12.  Class discussions conducted by a student or student committee

13.  Forums

14.  Bulletin boards

15.  Small groups such as task oriented, discussion, Socratic

16.  Choral speaking

17.  Collecting

18.  Textbook assignments

19.  Reading assignments in journals, monographs, etc.

20.  Reading assignments in supplementary books

21.  Assignment to outline portions of the textbook

22.  Assignment to outline certain supplementary readings

23.  Debates (formal)

24.  Crossword puzzles

25.  Cooking foods of places studied

26.  Construction of vocabulary lists

27.  Vocabulary drills

28.  Diaries

29.  Dances of places or periods studied

30.  Construction of summaries by students

31.  Dressing dolls

32.  Required term paper

33.  Panel discussion

34.  Biographical reports given by students

35.  Reports on published research studies and experiments by students

36.  Library research on topics or problems

37.  Written book reports by students

38.  Flags

39.  Jigsaw puzzle maps

40.  Hall of Fame by topic or era (military or political leaders, heroes)

41.  Flannel boards

42.  Use of pretest

43.  Gaming and simulation

44.  Flash cards

45.  Flowcharts

46.  Interviews

47.  Maps, transparencies, globes

48.  Mobiles

49.  Audio-tutorial lessons (individualized instruction)

50.  Models

51.  Music

52.  Field trips

53.  Drama, role playing

54.  Open textbook study

55.  Committee projects--small groups

56.  Notebook

57.  Murals and montages

58.  Class projects

59.  Individual projects

60.  Quizdown gaming

61.  Modeling in various media

62.  Pen pals

63.  Photographs

64.  Laboratory experiments performed by more than two students working together

65.  Use of dramatization, skits, plays

66.  Student construction of diagrams, charts, or graphs

67.  Making of posters by students

68.  Students drawing pictures or cartoons vividly portray principles or facts

69.  Problem solving or case studies

70.  Puppets

71.  Use of chalkboard by instructor as aid in teaching

72.  Use of diagrams, tables, graphs, and charts by instructor in teaching

73.  Use of exhibits and displays by instructor

74.  Reproductions

75.  Construction of exhibits and displays by students

76.  Use of slides

77.  Use of filmstrips

78.  Use of motion pictures, educational films, videotapes

79.  Use of theater motion pictures

80.  Use of recordings

81.  Use of radio programs

82.  Use of television

83.  Role playing

84.  Sand tables

85.  School affiliations

86.  Verbal illustrations: use of anecdotes and parables to illustrate

87.  Service projects

88.  Stamps, coins, and other hobbies

89.  Use of community or local resources

90.  Story telling

91.  Surveys

92.  Tutorial: students assigned to other students for assistance, peer teaching

93.  Coaching: special assistance provided for students having difficulty in the course

94.  Oral reports

95.  Word association activity

96.  Workbooks

97.  Using case studies reported in literature to illustrate psychological principles and facts

98.  Construction of scrapbooks

99.  Applying simple statistical techniques to class data

100.          Time lines

101.          "Group dynamics" techniques

102.          Units of instruction organized by topics

103.          Non directive techniques applied to the classroom

104.          Supervised study during class period

105.          Use of sociometric text to make sociometric analysis of class

106.          Use of technology and instructional resources

107.          Open textbook tests, take home tests

108.          Put idea into picture

109.          Write a caption for chart, picture, or cartoon

110.          Reading aloud

111.          Differentiated assignment and homework

112.          Telling about a trip

113.          Mock convention

114.          Filling out forms (income tax, checks)

115.          Prepare editorial for school paper

116.          Attend council meeting, school boar meeting

117.          Exchanging "things"

118.          Making announcements

119.          Taking part (community elections)

120.          Playing music from other countries or times

121.          Studying local history

122.          Compile list of older citizens as resource people

123.          Students from abroad (exchange students)

124.          Obtain free and low cost materials

125.          Collect old magazines

126.          Collect colored slides

127.          Visit an "ethnic" restaurant

128.          Specialize in one country

129.          Follow a world leader (in the media)

130.          Visit an employment agency

131.          Start a campaign

132.          Conduct a series

133.          Investigate a life

134.          Assist an immigrant

135.          Volunteer (tutoring, hospital)

136.          Prepare an exhibit

137.          Detect propaganda

138.          Join an organization

139.          Collect money for a cause

140.          Elect a "Hall of Fame" for males

141.          Elect a "Hall of Fame" for females

142.          Construct a salt map

143.          Construct a drama

144.          Prepare presentation for senior citizen group

145.          Invite senior citizen(s) to present local history to class including displaying artifacts (clothing, tools, objects, etc.)

146.          Prepare mock newspaper on specific topic or era

147.          Draw a giant map on floor of classroom

148.          Research local archaeological site

149.          Exchange program with schools from different parts of the state

150.          In brainstorming small group, students identify a list of techniques and strategies that best fit their class.
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How to Maximize Student Learning Time.

 Most teachers would argue that they never have enough time to reach every student, particularly the ones that are below grade level. Therefore, every second a teacher has with their students should be a meaningful and productive second. 

Successful teachers establish procedures and expectations that minimize wasteful downtime and maximize engaging learning opportunities.

Teachers can utilize the following strategies to maximize student learning time and minimize downtime.

BETTER PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Effective planning and preparation are essential in maximizing student learning time. Too many teachers under-plan and find themselves with nothing to do for the last few minutes of class. Teachers should get in the habit of over-planning— too much is always better than not enough. In addition, teachers should always have their materials laid out and ready to go before students arrive.

Another important—and often overlooked—component of planning and preparation is practice.

  Many teachers skip this essential element, but they shouldn't. Independent practice of lessons and activities allows teachers to work out the kinks beforehand, ensuring that minimum instructional time will be lost.

BUFFER THE DISTRACTIONS

Distractions run rampant during school hours. An announcement comes over the loudspeaker, an unexpected guest knocks on the classroom door, an argument breaks out between students during class time.

There is no way to eliminate every single distraction, but some are more easily controlled than others. Teachers can evaluate distractions by keeping a journal over the course of a two-week period. At the end of this period, teachers can better determine which distractions can be limited and formulate a plan to minimize them.

CREATE EFFICIENT PROCEDURES

Classroom procedures are an essential part of the learning environment. Those teachers who operate their classroom like a well-oiled machine maximize student learning time. Teachers should develop efficient procedures for every aspect of the classroom. This includes routine activities such as sharpening pencils, turning in assignments, or getting into groups. 

ELIMINATE “FREE TIME”

Most teachers give “free time” at some point during the school day. It is easy to do when we may not be feeling the best or we under-plan. But we know when we give it, we are not taking advantage of the precious time that we have with our students. Our students love “free time”, but it is not what is best for them. As teachers, our mission is to educate. “Free time” runs directly counter to that mission.

ENSURE QUICK TRANSITIONS

Transitions occur every time you switch from one component of a lesson or activity into another.

Transitions when poorly executed can slow a lesson down tremendously. When done right, they are practiced procedures that are quick and seamless. Transitions are a major opportunity for teachers to gain back some of that valuable time. Transitions may also include changing from one class to another. In this case, students must be taught to bring the correct materials to class, use the bathroom or get a drink, and be in their seats ready to learn when the next class period starts.

GIVE CLEAR AND CONCISE DIRECTIONS

A major component in teaching is providing your students with clear and concise directions. In other words, directions should be easy to understand and as simple and straightforward as possible. Poor or confusing directions can stymie a lesson and quickly turn the learning environment into total chaos.

This takes away valuable instruction time and disrupts the learning process. Good directions are given in multiple formats (i.e. verbal and written). Many teachers select a handful of students to summarize the directions before turning them lose to get started on the activity.

HAVE A BACKUP PLAN

No amount of planning can account for everything that could go wrong in a lesson. This makes having a backup plan critical. As a teacher, you make adjustments to lessons on the fly all the time. Occasionally, there will be situations where more than a simple adjustment is needed. Having a backup plan ready can ensure that learning time for that class period will not be lost. In an ideal world, everything will always go according to plan, but the classroom environment is often far from ideal. Teachers should develop a set of backup plans to fall back on should things fall apart at any point.

MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

Many teachers lose valuable instructional time because they have poor classroom management skills. The teacher has failed to gain control of the classroom environment and establish a relationship of mutual trust and respect with their students. These teachers are continuously having to redirect students and often spend more time correcting students than teaching them. This is perhaps the most limiting factor in maximizing learning time. Teachers must develop and maintain effective classroom management skills where learning is valued, the teacher is respected, and expectations and procedures are set and met beginning on day one.

PRACTICE PROCEDURAL STEPS WITH STUDENTS

Even the best intentions fall by the wayside if students do not truly understand what is being asked of them. This problem can be easily taken care of with a little practice and repetition. Veteran teachers will tell you that the tone for the year is often set within the first few days. This is the time to practice your expected procedures and expectations over and over. Teachers who take the time within the first few days to drill these procedures will save valuable instructional time as they move throughout the year.

STAY ON TASK

It is easy for teachers to get distracted and veer off topic from time to time. There are some students who, frankly, are masters at making this happen. They are able to engage a teacher in a conversation about a personal interest or tell a funny story that captivates the classes attention but keeps them from completing the lessons and activities scheduled for the day. To maximize student learning time, teachers must maintain control of the pace and flow of the environment. While no teacher wants to miss out on a teachable moment, you don't want to chase rabbits either.

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The Best Strategies to Handle a Disruptive Student

1. Prevention First

2. Stay Calm and Emotion Free

3. Be Firm and Direct

4. Listen Carefully to Student

5. Remove the Audience

6. Give Student Ownership

7. Conduct a Parent Meeting

8. Create a Student Behavior Plan

9. Get an Administrator Involved

10. Follow Up

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10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies

An effective teacher or family child care provider chooses a strategy to fit a particular situation. It’s important to consider what the children already know and can do and the learning goals for the specific situation. By remaining flexible and observant, we can determine which strategy may be most effective. Often, if one strategy doesn’t work, another will. Acknowledge what children do or say. Let children know that we have noticed by giving positive attention, sometimes through comments, sometimes through just sitting nearby and observing. (“Thanks for your help, Kavi.” “You found another way to show 5.”) Encourage persistence and effort rather than just praising and evaluating what the child has done. (“You’re thinking of lots of words to describe the dog in the story. Let’s keep going!”) Give specific feedback rather than general comments. (“The beanbag didn’t get all the way to the hoop, James, so you might try throwing it harder.”) Model attitudes, ways of approaching problems, and behavior toward others, showing children rather than just telling them (“Hmm, that didn’t work and I need to think about why.” “I’m sorry, Ben, I missed part of what you said. Please tell me again.”) Demonstrate the correct way to do something. This usually involves a procedure that needs to be done in a certain way (such as using a wire whisk or writing the letter P). Create or add challenge so that a task goes a bit beyond what the children can already do. For example, you lay out a collection of chips, count them together and then  ask a small group of children to tell you how many are left after they see you removing some of the chips. The children count the remaining chips to help come up with  the answer. To add a challenge, you could hide the chips after you remove some, and the children will have to use a strategy other than counting the remaining chips to come up with the answer. To reduce challenge, you could simplify the task by guiding the children to touch each chip once as they count the remaining chips. Ask questions that provoke children’s thinking. (“If you couldn’t talk to your partner, how else could you let him know what to do?”) Give assistance (such as a cue or hint) to help children work on the edge of their current competence (“Can you think of a word that rhymes with your name, Matt? How about bat . . . Matt/bat? What else rhymes with Matt and bat?”) Provide information, directly giving children facts, verbal labels, and other information. (“This one that looks like a big mouse with a short tail is called a vole.”) Give directions for children’s action or behavior. (“Touch each block only once as you count them.” “You want to move that icon over here? Okay, click on it and hold down, then drag it to wherever you want.” =================================================================================== 20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples   As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, many teachers don’t always have the time to plan lessons that use differentiated instruction (DI) to suit their distinct aptitudes. This can involve adjusting: Content — The media and methods teachers use to impart and instruct skills, ideas and information Processes — The exercises and practices students perform to better understand content Products — The materials, such as tests and projects, students complete to demonstrate understanding To help create lessons that engage and resonate with a diverse classroom, below are 20 differentiated instruction strategies and examples. Available in a condensed and printable list for your desk, you can use 16 in most classes and the last four for math lessons. Try the ones that best apply to you, depending on factors such as student age. 1. Create Learning Stations Provide different types of content by setting up learning stations — divided sections of your classroom through which groups of students rotate. Each station should use a unique method of teaching a skill or concept related to your lesson. For example, students can rotate between stations that involve: Watching a video Creating artwork Reading an article Completing puzzles Listening to you teach To help students process the content after they’ve been through the stations, you can hold a class discussion or assign questions to answer. 2. Use Task Cards Like learning stations, task cards allow you to give students a range of content. Answering task cards can also be a small-group activity, adding variety to classes that normally focus on solo or large-group learning. First, make or identify tasks and questions that you’d typically find on worksheets or in textbooks. Second, print and laminate cards that each contain a single task or question. Or, use Teachers Pay Teachers to buy pre-made cards. Finally, set up stations around your classroom and pair students together to rotate through them. You can individualize instruction by monitoring the pairs, addressing knowledge gaps when needed. 3. Interview Students Asking questions about learning and studying styles can help you pinpoint the kinds of content that will meet your class’s needs. While running learning stations or a large-group activity, pull each student aside for a few minutes. Ask about: Their favourite types of lessons Their favourite in-class activities Which projects they’re most proud of Which kinds of exercises help them remember key lesson points Track your results to identify themes and students with uncommon preferences, helping you determine which methods of instruction suit their abilities. 4. Target Different Senses Within Lessons A lesson should resonate with more students if it targets visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic senses, instead of only one. When applicable, appeal to a range of learning styles by: Playing videos Using infographics Providing audiobooks Getting students to act out a scene Incorporating charts and illustrations within texts Giving both spoken and written directions to tasks Using relevant physical objects, such as money when teaching math skills Allotting time for students to create artistic reflections and interpretations of lessons Not only will these tactics help more students grasp the core concepts of lessons, but make class more engaging. 5. Share Your Own Strengths and Weaknesses To familiarize students with the idea of differentiated learning, you may find it beneficial to explain that not everyone builds skills and processes information the same way. Talking about your own strengths and weaknesses is one way of doing this. Explain — on a personal level — how you study and review lessons. Share tactics that do and don’t work for you, encouraging students to try them. Not only should this help them understand that people naturally learn differently, but give them insight into improving how they process information.   6. Use the Think-Pair-Share Strategy The think-pair-share strategy exposes students to three lesson-processing experiences within one activity. It’s also easy to monitor and support students as they complete each step. As the strategy’s name implies, start by asking students to individually think about a given topic or answer a specific question. Next, pair students together to discuss their results and findings. Finally, have each pair share their ideas with the rest of the class, and open the floor for further discussion. Because the differentiated instruction strategy allows students to process your lesson content individually, in a small group and in a large group, it caters to your classroom’s range of learning and personality types. 7. Make Time for Journaling A journal can be a tool for students to reflect on the lessons you’ve taught and activities you’ve run, helping them process new information. When possible at the end of class, give students a chance to make a journal entry by: Summarizing key points they’ve learned Attempting to answer or make sense of lingering questions Explaining how they can use the lessons in real-life scenarios Illustrating new concepts, which can be especially helpful for data-focused math lessons As they continue to make entries, they should figure out which ones effectively allow them to process fresh content. 8. Implement Reflection and Goal-Setting Exercises An extension of journaling, have students reflect on important lessons and set goals for further learning at pre-determined points of the year. During these points, ask students to write about their favourite topics, as well as the most interesting concepts and information they’ve learned. They should also identify skills to improve and topics to explore. Based on the results, you can target lessons to help meet these goals. For example, if the bulk of students discuss a certain aspect of the science curriculum, you can design more activities around it. 9. Run Literature Circles Organizing students into literature circles not only encourages students to shape and inform each other’s understanding of readings, but helps auditory and participatory learners retain more information. This also gives you an opportunity to listen to each circle’s discussion, asking questions and filling in gaps in understanding. As a bonus, some students may develop leadership skills by running the discussion. This activity makes written content — which, at times, may only be accessible to individual learners with strong reading retention — easier to process for more students. 10. Offer Different Types of Free Study Time Free study time will generally benefit students who prefer to learn individually, but can be slightly altered to also help their classmates process your lessons. This can be done by dividing your class into clearly-sectioned solo and team activities. Consider the following free study exercises to also meet the preferences of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners: Provide audiobooks, which play material relevant to your lessons Create a station for challenging group games that teach skills involved in the curriculum Maintain a designated quiet space for students to take notes and complete work Allow students to work in groups while taking notes and completing work, away from the quiet space By running these sorts of activities, free study time will begin to benefit diverse learners — not just students who easily process information through quiet, individual work. 11. Group Students with Similar Learning Styles Heterogenous grouping is a common practice, but grouping students based on similar learning style can encourage collaboration through common work and thinking practices. This is not to be confused with grouping students based on similar level of ability or understanding. In some cases, doing so conflicts with the “Teach Up” principle, which is discussed below. Rather, this tactic allows like-minded students to support each other’s learning while giving you to time to spend with each group. You can then offer the optimal kind of instruction to suit each group’s common needs and preferences. 12. Give Different Sets of Reading Comprehension Activities Instead of focusing on written products, consider evaluating reading comprehension through questions and activities that test different aptitudes. Although written answers may still appeal to many students, others may thrive and best challenge themselves during artistic or kinesthetic tasks. For example, allow students to choose between some of the following activities before, during and after an important reading: Participating in more literature circles Delivering a presentation Writing a traditional report Creating visual art to illustrate key events Creating and performing a monologue as a main character or figure Offering structured options can help students demonstrate their understanding of content as effectively as possible, giving you more insight into their abilities. 13. Assign Open-Ended Projects Similar to evaluating reading comprehension, give students a list of projects to find one that lets them effectively demonstrate their knowledge. Include a clear rubric for each type of project, which clearly defines expectations. Doing so will keep it challenging and help students meet specific criteria. By both enticing and challenging students, this approach encourages them to: Work and learn at their own paces Engage actively with content they must understand Demonstrate their knowledge as effectively as possible As well as benefiting students, this differentiated instruction strategy will clearly showcase distinct work and learning styles. 14. Encourage Students to Propose Ideas for Their Projects As well as offering set options, encourage students to take their projects from concept to completion by pitching you ideas. A student must show how the product will meet academic standards, and be open to your revisions. If the pitch doesn’t meet your standards, tell the student to refine the idea until it does. If it doesn’t by a predetermined date, assign one of your set options. You may be pleasantly surprised by some pitches.   After all, students themselves are the focus of differentiated instruction — they likely have somewhat of a grasp on their learning styles and abilities. 15. Analyze Your Differentiated Instruction Strategy on a Regular Basis Even if you’re confident in your overall approach, Carol Ann Tomlinson — one of the most reputable topic thought-leaders — recommends analyzing your differentiated instruction strategies: Frequently reflect on the match between your classroom and the philosophy of teaching and learning you want to practice. Look for matches and mismatches, and use both to guide you. Analyze your strategy by reflecting on: Content — Are you using diverse materials and teaching methods in class? Processes — Are you providing solo, small-group and large-group activities that best allow different learners to absorb your content? Products — Are you letting and helping students demonstrate their understanding of content in a variety of ways on tests, projects and assignments? In doing so, you’ll refine your approach to appropriately accommodate the multiple intelligences of students. 16. “Teach Up” Teaching at a level that’s too easily accessible to each student can harm your differentiated instruction efforts, according to Tomlinson. Instead, she recommends “teaching up.” This eliminates the pitfall being stuck on low-level ideas, seldom reaching advanced concepts: We do much better if we start with what we consider to be high-end curriculum and expectations — and then differentiate to provide scaffolding, to lift the kids up. The usual tendency is to start with what we perceive to be grade-level material and then dumb it down for some and raise it up for others. But we don’t usually raise it up very much from that starting point, and dumbing down just sets lower expectations for some kids. Keeping this concept in mind should focus your differentiated teaching strategy, helping you bring each student up to “high-end curriculum and expectations.” Differentiated Math Instruction Strategies and Examples 17. Use Math EdTech that Adjusts Itself to Each Student Some EdTech tools — such as certain educational math video games — can deliver differentiated content, while providing unique ways to process it. For example, Prodigy adjusts questions to tackle student trouble spots and offers math problems that use words, charts and pictures, as well as numbers. To the benefit of teachers, the game is free and aligned with CCSS, TEKS, MAFS and Ontario curricula for grades 1 to 8. You can adjust the focus of questions to supplement lessons and homework, running reports to examine each student’s progress. Create and sign into your free teacher account here: 18. Relate Math to Personal Interests and Everyday Examples Clearly linking math to personal interests and real-world examples can help some learners understand key concepts. Working with 41 grade 7 students throughout an academic year, a 2015 study published by the Canadian Center of Science and Education  used contextual learning strategies to teach integers and increase test scores by more than 44%. Striving for similar benefits may be ambitious, but you can start by surveying students. Ask about their interests and how they use math outside of school. Using your findings, you should find that contextualization helps some students grasp new or unfamiliar math concepts. 19. Play a Math-Focused Version of Tic-Tac-Toe Help students practice different math skills by playing a game that’s a take on tic-tac-toe. Prepare by dividing a sheet into squares — three vertical by three horizontal. Don’t leave them blank. Instead, fill the boxes with questions that test different abilities. For example: “Complete question X in page Y of your textbook” “Draw a picture to show how to add fraction X and fraction Y” “Describe a real-life situation in which you would use cross-multiplication, providing an example and solution” You can hand out sheets to students for solo practice, or divide them into pairs and encourage friendly competition. The first one to link three Xs or Os — by correctly completing questions —  wins.  So, depending on your preferences, this game will challenge diverse learners through either individual or small-group practice. 20. Create Learning Stations, without Mandatory Rotations Provide differentiated math learning opportunities for your students by setting up unique learning stations across your classrooms, but forgoing mandatory rotations. The idea  comes from a grade 9 teacher in Ontario, who recommends creating three stations to solve similar mathematical problems using either: Data — Provide spreadsheets, requiring students to manipulate data through trial and error People — Group students into pairs or triads to tackle a range of problems together, supporting each other’s learning Things — Offer a hands-on option by giving each student objects to use when solving questions Only allow students to switch stations if they feel the need. If they do, consult them about their decision. In each case, you and the student will likely learn more about his or her learning style. Supplemented by your circulation between stations to address gaps in prior knowledge, this activity exposes students to exercises that appeal to diverse abilities. ===================================================================================

20 Online Teaching Strategies for Virtual Learning Environments

1. Use High Quality Video

Another way to keep your students engaged ­­especially the visual and auditory learners ­­is to use only high ­quality video and sound. You can start by using an HD webcam in the case of live interactions and high ­definition video for recorded sessions. In the production of these segments, you want to make sure to use a steady tripod and clean backgrounds in a quiet setting. Create balanced lighting by using a light source in front of the instructor and one of each side. These should be shadow­ and flicker­-free. Finally, make sure to connect with students and make eye contact by looking straight into the camera.

2. Organize Course Material

Make sure your learners don’t have to do extra work to understand where to find material or what assignment is due next. Create a course that is well-­organized

 and easy to follow, with a consistent structure that follows a logical progression (either chronological or topical) and study materials that are easy to find. Also, ensure that each unit has an overview with clear objectives and information on assignments, activities, evaluations, and resources. Each folder, link, and label should have a clear title in accordance with a consistent naming system.

3. Establish and Communicate Expectations

As with face-to-­face learning, online learning requires you set clear expectations from the very beginning. Establish how often and through what means you will communicate with students, as well as how much time learners should spend per week on course assignments and activities. For example, some teachers let students know that they should receive a response to a question within 24 hours. It is also good practice to make these types of answers accessible to all students since someone else might have the same question as another participant. Before big projects or assessments, teachers should also communicate if they will be accessible to students via live classroom, live chat, email or phone.

4. Use a Wide Variety of Course Material

Odds are that you will have many types of learners in your class, including visual and auditory students. In order to ensure that you cater to everyone’s needs, provide a wide variety of course material in different formats. For example, you can have written resources, such as PDFs and summary text documents or visual ones, such as slideshows and images. You can also provide podcasts for students to listen to while they commute. Useful resources that save time such as checklists and templates are always welcome. Just make sure that these materials are accessible from all students’ computers and that multimedia material is closed captioned to ensure greater clarity.

5. Create a Supportive Online Community

One of the biggest challenges to creating a supportive online learning environment is developing a sense of community. Since research indicates that we are social beings who learn best in social communities, an effective online teaching strategy is fostering communication both between students and between the teacher and learners. First, you can open the class with an introductory post in which both teacher and students share their professional experiences, personal information, and a picture of themselves. You can also establish open forums, discussion areas, and help areas in which students can post requests for help and receive assistance from fellow students. Alternatively, you can also organize students in groups of 3 or 4 so that they can mentor each other.

6. Incorporate a Variety of Assessments

One of the most effective online teaching strategies for reaching learning objectives is to incorporate frequent assessments in a variety of formats and provide timely feedback. This not only encourages active learning and allows learners to practice the concepts learned, it also helps students monitor their own progress throughout the course. Be sure to include assessment criteria and clear instructions, including checklists, rubrics, or sample submissions. In online learning environments, it is also important to use tools that discourage academic dishonesty and help instructors monitor tests in real time.

7. Increase Instructor Presence

“On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog,” observed a New Yorker cartoon in 1993. One of the common pitfalls of online learning environments is the lack of a sense of who other people really are. In order to add a personal touch to your conversations and interactions, try adding a little personality by sprinkling your discussions with references to your personal life. An obvious but often overlooked strategy in online education is to simply be present. It is easy for instructors to forget that online teaching is similar to face-­to-­face instruction: It requires addressing students’ concerns, being present at the course site at least a few times a week and caring about who their learners are. A good online teaching strategy is to develop three types of presence; social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive/content presence.

8. Use Conversational Language

A study on online learning found that one of the factors that makes online instructional videos more compelling is the use of conversational language and humor. Creating a connection­­, even a bond­­ with students is vital to ensuring they remain engaged from beginning to end. One of the ways to do this is revealing your personal side and not being afraid of making small mistakes on camera ­­this reveals your humanity and, in many cases, endears you to students. Also, you want to draw on real­ life experiences to make abstract or theoretical concepts more relatable and understandable.

9. Connect Videos Directly to Course Assignments

If students know that watching a certain video is necessary to complete an assignment or an assessment, you can be sure they will pay more attention to it. The key to keeping students engaged not only with the instructor and the social community course activities and objectives.

10. Support Text with Audio and Video

One of the common mistakes instructors make is to use audio and visual elements to repeat what has already been stated within the written text. Be sure to use each medium to communicate a unique message that is supported by alternative formats; this way, you’re sure to engage all types of learners and make each piece of content relevant to students. Also, use visuals to break up your lessons so that they don’t become long and tedious.

11. Give Feedback Frequently

One of the best ways to keep your students motivated is to offer frequent feedback. This is often lacking in online environments, so learners will highly value your concrete input and timely responses to their questions and concerns.

12. Incorporate Interactive Exercises

Another key to increasing student engagement is replacing passive learning with active learning. Interactive exercises such as live chat, discussion topics, quizzes, and multimedia activities can go a long way in stimulating students and keeping them on their toes so they never become bored or disengaged.

13. Give Students Choices

You can also liven up students’ experience by offering them choices in the learning process. For example, instead of making all students answer a single discussion topic question, you can offer them different questions to choose from. This will not only add an element of interactivity to the learning process, it will empower students in their quest to mastering the content.

14. Apply a Student­-Centered Approach

In line with offline teaching trends, shift from a content­-centered approach to a student-­centered approach. This simply entails creating a course with the student in mind­­not just the content matter or the learning objectives. At every step along the course creation process, ask yourself: How will students process this information? How will this advance their career and professional goals?

15. Use Case Studies

As stated previously, using real ­life examples can go a long way in making seemingly irrelevant material come alive in students’ minds. The use of case studies is one of the proven ways to effectively enhance student understanding and retention of course material.

16. Set Up Chat Rooms

One of the best ways to emulate a face-­to-­face, social learning environment is to set up multiple chat rooms around different topics. This not only promotes active learning and community building, it turns the learning experience into a discovery process that allows students to find their own answers to their questions. You can also use forums and discussion boards to do the same.

17. Implement Group Activities

As in traditional learning, implementing group activities in online learning environments can enhance the learning process by encouraging students to collaborate and learn from each other. Just because all of the course participants aren’t in the same room doesn’t mean that they can’t meet virtually to work on projects and assessments.

18. Ask Students for Early Feedback