How Can I Effectively Use the Note Check Strategy to Facilitate Learning in the Classroom?
Note check is a pedagogic strategy that facilitates learning within the classroom. In this strategy, students are instructed to pair up and review, discuss and compare their notes with each other. The aim of the strategy is to help students develop good note taking skills, summarize key information and clarify misconceptions through discussions […]
How Can I Make My Presentations in the Classroom More Effective?
Many teachers already use presentations through programs such as PowerPoint and Keynote to aid in classroom instruction. Consider ways that presentations might be used more effectively. A general rule of thumb is that the the presentation (slides) should not speak for the presenter. The slides should supplement and highlight main points. Never put […]
Appreciating Students
In every classroom, there are a whole range of personalities. You have students who just can’t keep quiet and other students who hesitate to share. There are students whose behavior always demands your attention, and then some who stay in the background just because they are always so good.
As a teacher, it’s sometimes […]
How can I help Students with ADHD Follow Written Instructions?
It is possible for students with ADHD to have trouble sustaining focus with their eye muscles. For this reason, students with ADHD face difficulties in written instructions. If the material is not interesting the students tend to get bored easily and tediousness commences.
A number of students with ADHD tend to skip or quickly […]
How can I Introduce Focused Listening to Promote Learning in the Classroom?
There is a distinct difference between ‘listening’ and ‘hearing.’ Though seemingly similar, the two words are different with emphasis on the conscious effort taken by students. Hearing is a function of the ears, while listening requires a conscious effort from our side to hear and understand what is being said. With the entry […]
How do we use Analogies in the Classroom?
The analogy method in the classroom is the teaching of a new topic by connecting it with familiar information. For example, we might rely on portraying the white blood cells of our body as soldiers in our defense system. Here we use the analogy of soldiers (known information) to help teach the concept […]
What must be kept in Mind to Develop a Framework while Integrating Standards?
When integrating standards school-wide, we must pay careful attention across disciplines and grade levels in order to align what is taught to the curriculum. A framework can help ensure that this alignment occurs not only vertically across grades but horizontally within one grade as well.
Approaching the standards through an integrated approach can only […]
How can I Enhance Learning by Teaching Students to become Curriculum Reviewers?
Having students act as curriculum reviewers helps to really engage students at a meta-cognitive level and encourages more active involvement in learning. Writing a book review is a task that is often assigned, but how many students are asked to review the curriculum and think about what and how they are learning?
An elementary […]
What is the SLANT Strategy and How does it Improve Student Achievement?
It is important that a teacher studies a student’s body language. It helps them gauge if students are attentive, interested, and understand the lesson being taught. Sitting slouched, fidgeting and doodling are sure signs that the student is inattentive. This adversely affects the process of learning. The crux of the SLANT strategy is […]
How can I use Socratic Questioning to Support Learning in the Classroom?
Socrates believed that using thought provoking questions could stimulate students to scrutinize ideas logically and arrive at the right answers. This idea paved the way for Socratic questioning or Dialectal approach, a technique in which the instructor feigns ignorance of the topic and assists students in learning through questioning.
The technique encourages students to […]
