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Helps us refer back to writing efficiently objectives.

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Example of differentiation around classroom using stations

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Station Rotation: Differentiating Instruction to Reach All Students

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Math 150 Lesson Template (5th Grade)

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Differentiated instruction that helps teachers best help English Language Learners

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Differentiated Instruction for English Language Learners

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Each student comes to school, not only with unique academic needs, but also with unique background experiences, culture, language, personality, interests, and attitudes toward learning. Effective teachers recognize that all of these factors affect how students learn in the classroom, and they adjust, or differentiate, their instruction to meet students' needs.

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Checks for understanding, gives teacher an idea on how to check for student comprehension.

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Checks for UnderstandingIndependent PracticeClosing Activities - The Teacher Toolkit

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5th grade ELA standards. Helps us find standards when needed.

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The Backwards method that helps understand objectives

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Lesson Planning With Your Objective in Mind

As an educator, your lesson plans are the very foundation upon which your students' education is built, but how effective are your lesson plans? To answer this question, one must first identify the objective(s) to be achieved and evaluate the success of reaching said objective(s). This type of lesson planning is called Backwards Design, a method of lesson planning that is derived from student-centric learning objectives rather than solely focusing on state and national standards.

Traditional Lesson Plans vs. Backwards Design

You may be wondering what the difference is between traditional lesson plans and lesson plans that were created using Backwards Design. Using traditional methods, teachers tend to begin the planning process by reviewing state and national standards and learning objectives, planning instructional activities around them, and implementing assessments that aren't always tied directly to the activities students engaged in or the standards that have been set. Oftentimes, assessments using this method are more of an afterthought and may not be implemented at all. Lesson plans created using Backwards Design, however, begin with the end in mind. Lesson plans using this method require the teacher to create content objectives and plan the corresponding assessment(s) first, creating lesson plans that are more effective in obtaining favorable results.

Backwards Design: A Step-by-Step Process

Step One: Creating Student-Centric Learning Objectives

To create student-centric learning objectives, one must first ensure that they are clear, specific, and easily measurable. As such, each objective consists of three parts: the desired behavior you would like the student to do, the method by which they will perform this behavior (a formula, a learning tool, etc.), and the specific level of performance to demonstrate content mastery (percentage of correct responses, amount of action taken during a time limit, etc.). Once determined, you can take a look at your standards and begin to formulate the building blocks of your student-centric objectives. Want to put this into practice? Here's an example of a third-grade state reading, writing, and communicating standard:

"Apply knowledge of spelling patterns (orthography), word meanings (morphology), and word relationships to decode words and increase vocabulary."

This standard isn't necessarily specific or measurable in its current state, so the goal is to break it down to the three elements of a student-centric learning objective to make it easier to apply in the classroom and evaluate success. First, let's take a look at the desired behavior, which is to apply knowledge of spelling patterns, word meanings, and word relationships. To make this a little more specific, perhaps a teacher could identify a real-world application such as writing a letter to a pen pal. Taking such action requires the student to apply what they have learned about spelling, demonstrate their knowledge of the word meanings, and form relationships among words based on their level of understanding.

Next, we have to determine the method by which students are to complete the desired action. Using the above example, the teacher knows that their students will need to be provided vocabulary pertinent to the subject matter of the letter to equip students with what they need to properly execute the task. As such, providing a list of vocabulary words and their meanings would be the method students will use to arrive at the correct answer.

Last but not least, teachers will need to determine how they will evaluate mastery of this concept. Perhaps the teacher decides that their students will need to write a letter to a pen pal in a different country. As such, the teacher's student-centric objective will be:

"When given the proper vocabulary list, students will write a letter to a pen pal that uses correct spelling, word meanings, and connections among words."

This objective is clearly linked to state standards but takes it a step further in providing specificity in how it is to be demonstrated, the means by which to take action, and the metrics to evaluate mastery.

Step Two: Determine Assessment Methods

Now that you have decided on an appropriate student-centric objective, it is time to determine what type of assessment will provide an accurate depiction of student mastery. It is important to note that this does not refer to a single evaluation or test, but rather refers to assessments on an ongoing basis prior to introduction to new content. There are three types of assessments to consider when completing this step:

Pre-assessment: This type of assessment focuses on measuring prior knowledge students have of a particular subject to determine if they are prepared to be exposed to the content in question. Using the example above, a teacher may ask their students to write a journal prompt about the desired subject matter. Once received, these responses will allow the teacher to cater their lesson to fill the gaps in understanding.

Check for understanding: As previously stated, assessments of mastery should be ongoing, even while the information is still being taught. A check for understanding focuses on the progression of student understanding, identifying misconceptions your students may have, and allowing an opportunity to provide immediate feedback to combat them. This allows you to guide the learning process even while it is still underway as another means of keeping things on track. In alignment with our example above, the teacher may check in weekly on student progress using a multiple-choice activity at the end of class regarding the vocabulary their students are currently learning and use what they learn to cater to the gaps in understanding they find.

Final assessment: This assessment focuses on depicting the level of student mastery of the concept. This is where a teacher may pull in the mastery measurement they deemed sufficient such as successfully using the vocabulary words properly in their letter to a pen pal.

Step Three: Targeted Activities

Once you determine what your student-centric objectives are and how you plan to evaluate student mastery of these objectives, you are ready to create your lesson plans. With objectives in mind, teachers are able to determine the proper instructional methods. These instructional methods could include a variety of tactics such as direct instruction, watching informational videos, or interactive games to continue to build their skills.

No matter what the goal is, using Backwards Design lesson plans truly helps teachers focus on the goals they hope to achieve, making their time in the classroom more intentional and their lesson plans more effective in the production of the desired result.

References:

1. Model Teaching. "Backwards Design in Lesson Planning - Model Teaching." Model Teaching, Model Teaching, 19 Aug. 2019, https://www.modelteaching.com/education-articles/lesson-curriculum-planning/backwards-design-in-lesson-planning.

2. "2020 Colorado Academic Standards Online." Colorado Academic Standards Online, Colorado Department Of Education, 2020, https://www.cde.state.co.us/apps/standards/4,8,11/6,5,0/6,2,0.

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Effective Lesson Plans: The Backwards Design Way | Learning A-Z

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Lesson Planning With Your Objective in Mind As an educator, your lesson plans are the very foundation upon which your students' education is built, but how effective are your lesson plans? To answer this question, one must first identify the objective(s) to be achieved and evaluate the success of reaching said objective(s).

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Lesson plan for a 4th grade Math class.

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Summative vs Formative Assessments PowerPoint

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Lesson plan with objectives for a 4th grade math class

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Differentiation Bank assignment. Helps to understand certain techniques to differentiate around the classroom.

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7 tips for creating motivating assessments article

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Assessments have much wider implications than just being a tool to judge attainment and progress. Good assessments drive independence and learning, as well as motivate and shape students into being receptive and responsive to feedback. Bad assessments can embed fixed mindsets, negatively affect confidence, and result in a loss of trust.

It's important to prepare our students for challenging assessments by teaching them the necessary skills for success. In this article, I discuss some steps that middle and high school teachers can take to plan purposeful and motivating assessments.

7 Tips for Improving High School Assessments

1. Secure success by making it achievable: Student learning has been affected by the pandemic, with learners who need additional support being most negatively impacted. As a result, these students are now trying to build new knowledge and skills on shaky or absent foundations. Of course, we try to adapt our classroom teaching to account for this and support our students as best we can. So it follows that we should also adapt our assessments with student success in mind.

Assessments that students score poorly in can be hugely demotivating, resulting in negative associations with the subject, as well as embedding fixed mindsets-we have all heard students say things like "I just can't do it" and "There isn't any point in trying" after doing poorly in a test.

Research shows that a success rate of 80 percent is optimal for learning -it motivates students by helping them to feel successful. It gives them confidence and shows them that there is still room for progress in the future. Designing our assessments with this 80 percent benchmark in mind may require us to increase the accessibility for students by reducing the challenge until they're ready to tackle more complex questions and tasks.

2. Make sure your students know how to study: As we make our way through the ceaseless curriculum, we sometimes overlook the importance of teaching students how to study independently. Prioritize teaching study skills-whether you spend a small chunk of a time here and there or devote whole lessons to it. It will probably be more impactful in the lives of your students in the long run than the depth of content you might have to sacrifice in that period of time.

In my own practice, I teach a unit of work, which usually comprises around 10-15 lessons, following which I give students an end-of-unit assessment. About a week prior to this assessment, I will devote an entire hourlong lesson to study skills and revision. This can include, for example, modeling how to construct a concept map, revision games, showing students where to find study resources such as Quizlet, and encouraging them to share ideas and practice using new learning techniques in a supportive and safe environment.

3. Make sure your students know what to revise: Prepare a list of topics that might come up in the assessment, and share it with your students. If you have a class that is struggling with confidence, the more detailed you can be with this study list, the better. Help them to feel that their time spent studying is worthwhile in order to build them up to a place where they have the motivation to study on their own, even when they know not every topic will be assessed.

4. Complete the assessment yourself first: It goes without saying that you should proofread assessments before students take them, and it's even better to complete the assessment yourself. I find this most useful for open-ended assessments that I've written myself, as it allows me to put myself in the student's place. I can assess whether it's clear or confusing, and if it has covered an appropriate range and depth of topics on the study list.

I've found that doing this has been really important in reducing the stress and frustration that my students might feel when they're given a suboptimal assessment, and it has strengthened their trust in the assessment process.

5. Model and scaffold: When completing your assessment, make a note of the skills and exam techniques required to answer the questions. Then consider if you and your students have covered these techniques in enough detail. Just like with the content of the test, there shouldn't be any surprises. For each skill and technique, make sure that students have been exposed to models of good work, so that they know what success looks like. They'll also feel more confident during future assessments if they previously had the opportunity to apply these skills and techniques in a supported environment so that they know that they're capable of achieving success.

6. Allow students to make mature decisions about the assessment date: When assessment dates aren't fixed, give students some options for dates and times. You can also encourage students to take more responsibility for organizing their time in the run-up to the assessment by asking them to point out potential clashes with other deadlines or important dates.

7. Factor in choice within the assessment: Within the assessment, you might be able to provide students with a choice of questions to answer or tasks to complete. I usually give my high school students a choice of two extended-answer questions to complete in their end-of-unit assessments. I then set the question they chose not to answer as an open-book homework task.

The downside of providing choice within an assessment is that it can be harder to standardize, but the upside is that you confer a much greater feeling of control to the student, which in turn can be highly motivating.

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7 Tips for Creating Motivating Assessments

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Teachers can take small actions to ensure that the tests they give build students' confidence, refine skills, and encourage independence.

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Technology tools when assessing students

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Assessment is at the heart of our teaching practice. We use backward planning and start with the end in mind. We ask ourselves questions like, "what do we want our students to know?" and "what will our students be able to do?" Because assessment is so important, it's no surprise that there are a ton of tech tools for assessment. Trying to find what you're looking for is time-consuming! That's why we've picked the ten best tech tools for student assessment, keeping your goals in mind.

Goal: I want to find out what my students learned

I wish we could read students' minds, but since we can't, we use exit tickets. If you rely on this best practice to plan your next instructional move, you have a lot of options. I love Google or Microsoft Forms. They are easy to use, and you can create multiple choice or short answer questions for students to complete. All the data is there for you.

Learn more:

Goal: I want to hear from my students and watch them share what they've learned

Flipgrid is a social media-style video discussion platform great for generating class discussion around topics, videos, or links posted to the class grid. Students can video record their responses to share with the teacher or class. It's a great tool for supporting your students to make their thinking visible.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to do a quick check in during my lesson

Mentimeter lets you add polls, word clouds, Q&As, and more to presentations and create an interactive experience for students, who can vote on/respond to questions and engage with the presentation in real time. This made our list because there's so much variety in the types of formative assessments you can give in real time.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to see my students' thought process and their answer

Jamboard is a digital whiteboard that is compatible with the GSuite services. It's a game changer for emphasizing the process of learning over the product. Math teachers love how students solve and explain their solution. If you don't use Google, Padlet is our runner up.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to listen to my students' read to assess fluency

Students read aloud and answer questions on their device (almost any device works). Within 24 hours, you get a running record with scores for accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. A free basic account includes 10 reading assessments/month.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to include checks for understanding as my students learn

EdPuzzle is a video editor that allows both teachers and students to add voice-overs, comments, resources, and quizzes to existing or self-created online videos. Best part? All the students' answers are gathered for you so you can quickly assess.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to put checks for understanding in my slides

Pear Deck is an interactive presentation and lesson delivery tool. Students use their devices to follow along with the teacher's slideshow on a classroom screen. Throughout, teachers can pause at points where they've added interactive questions and collect real-time data about student understanding.

Goal: I want my students to give each other feedback

Once you set up your assignment, pick a feedback rubric (or create your own), and select your assignment. Your students take it from there. They submit work, review each others', and then act on the feedback. Best part? There's a teacher overview where you can see it all.

Learn More:

Goal: I want to give a quiz or test

There are a lot of options with this tool. You can include multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions. I love how you see students' results in real time, and you can add explanations if students get a question wrong. Students can get instant feedback, or you can make the quiz self-paced or lead it yourself. My favorite feature: Space Race, a group quiz where students "race" to cross the finish line.

Learn More:

Goal: I want grading to take less time

No matter what grade and subject you teach, grading takes time that we don't have. Enter Floop. This tool is a cloud-based website where students get annotated feedback from you and their classmates. Using any internet-connected device, students upload images of an assignment to the platform, and you put markers in places where you want feedback. Students are able to see and respond to comments, creating a feedback loop.

Learn More:

Goal: I want one tool that does different types of assessment

Spiral is a free suite of four apps. Use Quickfire to give a formative assessment in real time and hear from all of your students. Discuss makes your slides more interactive for students. Team Up supports student collaboration, and Clip turns public-facing videos into a live chat with questions and quizzes.

Learn More:

Plus, check out 50 Free Seesaw Activities and Resources For Every Kind of Classroom

Want more articles like this? Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you can get our latest picks.

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The 10 Best Tech Tools for Student Assessment

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Assessment is at the heart of our teaching practice. We use backward planning and start with the end in mind. We ask ourselves questions like, "what do we want our students to know?" and "what will our students be able to do?"

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Math common core standards, helps us locate standards

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For more than a decade, research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have concluded that mathematics education in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country. To deliver on this promise, the mathematics standards are designed to address the problem of a curriculum that is "a mile wide and an inch deep."

These new standards build on the best of high-quality math standards from states across the country. They also draw on the most important international models for mathematical practice, as well as research and input from numerous sources, including state departments of education, scholars, assessment developers, professional organizations, educators, parents and students, and members of the public.

The math standards provide clarity and specificity rather than broad general statements. They endeavor to follow the design envisioned by William Schmidt and Richard Houang (2002), by not only stressing conceptual understanding of key ideas, but also by continually returning to organizing principles such as place value and the laws of arithmetic to structure those ideas.

In addition, the "sequence of topics and performances" that is outlined in a body of math standards must respect what is already known about how students learn. As Confrey (2007) points out, developing "sequenced obstacles and challenges for students...absent the insights about meaning that derive from careful study of learning, would be unfortunate and unwise." Therefore, the development of the standards began with research-based learning progressions detailing what is known today about how students' mathematical knowledge, skill, and understanding develop over time. The knowledge and skills students need to be prepared for mathematics in college, career, and life are woven throughout the mathematics standards. They do not include separate Anchor Standards like those used in the ELA/literacy standards.

The Common Core concentrates on a clear set of math skills and concepts. Students will learn concepts in a more organized way both during the school year and across grades. The standards encourage students to solve real-world problems.

Understanding Mathematics

These standards define what students should understand and be able to do in their study of mathematics. But asking a student to understand something also means asking a teacher to assess whether the student has understood it. But what does mathematical understanding look like? One way for teachers to do that is to ask the student to justify, in a way that is appropriate to the student's mathematical maturity, why a particular mathematical statement is true or where a mathematical rule comes from. Mathematical understanding and procedural skill are equally important, and both are assessable using mathematical tasks of sufficient richness.

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For more than a decade, research studies of mathematics education in high-performing countries have concluded that mathematics education in the United States must become substantially more focused and coherent in order to improve mathematics achievement in this country.

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An instructional method teachers can use to boost vocabulary

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4 Strategies to boost vocabulary acquisition and uses

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Vocabulary acquisition and uses are critical for student learning. Explore vocabulary acquisition strategies and activities for teaching.

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1) Greeting students every morning.

2) Visual aids that help students understand transitions and classroom rules.

3) Model classroom rules and expectations.

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Small Miracles - High Quality Preschool Education

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Creating a Positive Kindergarten Classroom | Outer Limits School

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Learn how to build a positive kindergarten classroom with clear rules, SEL, and simple routines that support student safety, focus, and growth.

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Think Pair share is an appropriate learning strategy for students that are currently in 3-5th grade. This helps students learn from each other and help answer any questions they may have.

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Learning strategies refer to a range of strategies that can be implemented to improve learning. Examples include using memory cards, spaced repetition, practice tests, strategic highlighting, and reciprocal questioning.
Although there are numerous learning strategies available for students to try, none of them should be considered "the best." Each one can be applied to a given learning situation and some methods may work better for some students than others.

In practice, students should use multiple learning strategies when studying a subject. Over time, students will discover which ones work best for them.

Learning Strategy Examples

Spaced Studying - many students try to learn all of the material the night before the exam. It is far better to study sections of the material over several weeks.

Dual Coding - instead of just reading text, it is better to input information through more than one modality. So, in addition to reading, also use visuals such as graphs to help understand information. Videos and listening to audio explanations of material are also extremely helpful.

Acronyms -Memorizing lists in the form of an acronym is a very effective way of taking a large amount of information and condensing into just one "chunk" of data. An example is ROYBGIV to remember the colors of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo, violet.

Tactile Learning - being able to touch and feel an object that is connected to a concept works very well for some students, especially younger ones.

Reciprocal Questioning - this involves students working in pairs; one acts as the teacher and asks the other student questions about the topic, reading assignment, or class lesson.

Strategic Pauses - teachers can help students consolidate information during lectures by pausing every 10-15 minutes and letting students reflect upon the material or go back through their notes.

Reading Buddies - this is a cooperative learning strategy good for younger learners where pairs of students read the same passage together. They can help each with pronunciation and understanding the definition of specific words.

Outlining - after taking notes during a lecture, it is a good idea to help organize your understanding by creating an outline of the material. This can help you see how concepts are related and may also point-out concepts that you missed.

Highlighting - using a highlighter to emphasize key points in a text is one of the oldest learning strategies ever created. The problem is that most students highlight way too much text. Two or three-word phrases and a few key terms in a paragraph are more than enough.

Practice Testing - taking a practice test or responding to the reading comprehension questions at the end of a chapter improves memory and helps students identify areas they need to study again.

Cognitive tools - Students use technology to help stimulate learning, such as by using computer games or computational software. See a full explanation on our cognitive tools article.

Think-pair-share - Students individually brainstorm a topic, then share their idea with a peer and discuss, then the pair share their ideas with the whole class.

Role playing - Students can role play a scenario in order to mock being 'in the moment' - for example, they could role play being the teacher, being a scientist, or being an engineer.

Gamification - Gamification refers to implementing game-based incentives into a learning scenario. For example, students can 'level up', use a token economy, or receive awards for reaching checkpoints.

Active learning - Active learning refers to the process of learning by doing - such as conducting tests, doing a project, or inquiry-based learning. This helps contextualize and consolidate knowledge (see also: advantages of active learning).

Brainstorming - Brainstorming can help a learner push through a blockage by generating ideas (in a process called divergent thinking) that could subsequently lead to lightbulb moments

Concept mapping - Concept mapping helps learners to identify connections between ideas, which adds context and deepens the learning experience.

Thinking aloud - Thinking aloud can help push through brain blocks because the act of speaking and writing is a cognitive sorting process.

Learning Strategy Case Studies

1. Rotating Chair Discussion
This is a learning strategy that encourages students to actively listen to each other and participate in a class discussion. It improves student engagement, communication skills, and enhances understanding of complex material.
One student starts by acting as the class "chair." They define the key issue for discussion and express their opinion. Then other students that want to express their views raise their hand and wait (patiently and quietly) to be called upon by the chair.

When the chair has selected the next speaker, that person stands and summarizes the previous chair's remarks. Then they express their own.

It's important that everyone in the class listens completely to each speaker without interrupting. Only the acting chair can select the next speaker. No one can be selected twice until all those that want to participate have had a turn.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, this learning strategy also teaches students about civility and respecting the views of others even though they disagree with us.

2. The Pre-reading Skim
Most students open their book to the first page of the chapter and immediately start reading. This might seem like a good idea because it gets right to the task at hand, but there are better ways to approach a new chapter.
For example, before jumping right in, take a few moments and browse the chapter first. Read the subheadings, take a look at the photos and graphs, and read the captions. If there is an index of key words or concepts at the end of the chapter, take a few moments to skim those as well.

The pre-reading skim gets your mind ready for the upcoming information. It activates your memory and creates a context for all that data that will be bombarding your mind later.

Although it might seem like this takes too long, it will actually save time later because you will be able to remember information more easily and efficiently. You won't have to spend as much time trying to rehearse information because it was already stored more strongly in the beginning.

3. Mind Mapping
This technique involves creating a diagram that visually represents the information being studied. It is a relatively simple learning strategy, but has numerous benefits.
The procedure is simple. First, draw a circle in the center of a sheet of paper that represents the central concept you want to study. Then, start brainstorming all of the other concepts you can think of that are related. Put each one in their own circle around the central circle. Don't worry about organization or relevance yet.

Next, go around the map and list any facts associated with each concept. Keep these statements short and simple.

Draw lines connecting the concepts that are related. If you want, make the lines thicker to represent concepts that are more strongly connected.

The benefits of mind mapping are numerous. Not only does it improve memory of concepts and related facts, but also helps organize the information and understand how concepts are related.
TPS is a cooperative learning strategy that stimulates cognitive processing and interest. It was first described by Frank Lyman (1982) as a way to increase student motivation.
The steps are relatively simple. First, the teacher explains the activity and then presents an open-ended question. Then, students think about the question on their own, quietly, and jot down their thoughts.

Next, the students form pairs and share their notes with each other. After each student has taken a turn, they summarize the key points and then share with the class. They can identify points of agreement or disagreement, or areas of shared confusion.

The class discussion can then help students hone in on key concepts and clarify any misunderstandings.

5. The After-Class One-Minute Paper
Reviewing class notes is one way to help strengthen memory of a lot of material that has just be presented in a short period of time. However, it is still a relatively passive exercise. To make this strategy more active and engaging, the one-minute paper makes for an effective alternative.
At the end of class, write a summary of that day's material. Allow yourself one minute to complete the summary. Try not to go over this time limit because it will force you to be succinct and focused on the highlights.

Writing is a much more active learning process than reading notes. It forces you to recall information and then reproduce it in the form of a written sentence.

This will call attention to concepts that you don't understand thoroughly. It's also a great way to improve writing skills and train yourself to be concise.

Conclusion

There are a lot of very effective learning strategies for students to choose from. Some of them have been around since the beginning of the printable text.

Other strategies are a little more recent and have been created by experts in cognitive science and education.

The fundamental premise behind most of these strategies is that learning that involves deep cognitive processing is more effective than learning that is passive. Therefore, the more the strategy requires active engagement in the material, the better.

Mind maps, one-minute papers, and taking practice tests are just a few examples of ways to consolidate information and identify areas that require more study time.

References

Amer A. A. (1994). The effect of knowledge-map and underlining training on the reading comprehension of scientific texts. English for Specific Purposes, 13, 35-45.

Anderson R. C., Hidde J. L. (1971). Imagery and sentence learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 526-530.

Bretzing B. H., Kulhavy R. W. (1979). Notetaking and depth of processing. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 4, 145-153.

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion. In A. S. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming digest (pp. 109-113). College Park, MD: University of Maryland College of Education.

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Learning strategies refer to a range of strategies that can be implemented to improve learning. Examples include using memory cards, spaced repetition,

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One way to support an EL student in the classroom is to have them work in groups. Working collaboratively not only helps them learn from each other, but also helps them understand the content from their peers.

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Boost Engagement in Your ELL Classroom | Proven Strategies

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Transform your ELL classroom with proven student engagement strategies that foster active learning, improve participation, & drive success for English learners

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The "After-class one Minute Paper" helps students summarize what was taught in the period. It also helps students practice their writing skills, serves as a learning tool for teachers to see if the student understood the content of the lesson.

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Learning strategies refer to a range of strategies that can be implemented to improve learning. Examples include using memory cards, spaced repetition, practice tests, strategic highlighting, and reciprocal questioning.
Although there are numerous learning strategies available for students to try, none of them should be considered "the best." Each one can be applied to a given learning situation and some methods may work better for some students than others.

In practice, students should use multiple learning strategies when studying a subject. Over time, students will discover which ones work best for them.

Learning Strategy Examples

Spaced Studying - many students try to learn all of the material the night before the exam. It is far better to study sections of the material over several weeks.

Dual Coding - instead of just reading text, it is better to input information through more than one modality. So, in addition to reading, also use visuals such as graphs to help understand information. Videos and listening to audio explanations of material are also extremely helpful.

Acronyms -Memorizing lists in the form of an acronym is a very effective way of taking a large amount of information and condensing into just one "chunk" of data. An example is ROYBGIV to remember the colors of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo, violet.

Tactile Learning - being able to touch and feel an object that is connected to a concept works very well for some students, especially younger ones.

Reciprocal Questioning - this involves students working in pairs; one acts as the teacher and asks the other student questions about the topic, reading assignment, or class lesson.

Strategic Pauses - teachers can help students consolidate information during lectures by pausing every 10-15 minutes and letting students reflect upon the material or go back through their notes.

Reading Buddies - this is a cooperative learning strategy good for younger learners where pairs of students read the same passage together. They can help each with pronunciation and understanding the definition of specific words.

Outlining - after taking notes during a lecture, it is a good idea to help organize your understanding by creating an outline of the material. This can help you see how concepts are related and may also point-out concepts that you missed.

Highlighting - using a highlighter to emphasize key points in a text is one of the oldest learning strategies ever created. The problem is that most students highlight way too much text. Two or three-word phrases and a few key terms in a paragraph are more than enough.

Practice Testing - taking a practice test or responding to the reading comprehension questions at the end of a chapter improves memory and helps students identify areas they need to study again.

Cognitive tools - Students use technology to help stimulate learning, such as by using computer games or computational software. See a full explanation on our cognitive tools article.

Think-pair-share - Students individually brainstorm a topic, then share their idea with a peer and discuss, then the pair share their ideas with the whole class.

Role playing - Students can role play a scenario in order to mock being 'in the moment' - for example, they could role play being the teacher, being a scientist, or being an engineer.

Gamification - Gamification refers to implementing game-based incentives into a learning scenario. For example, students can 'level up', use a token economy, or receive awards for reaching checkpoints.

Active learning - Active learning refers to the process of learning by doing - such as conducting tests, doing a project, or inquiry-based learning. This helps contextualize and consolidate knowledge (see also: advantages of active learning).

Brainstorming - Brainstorming can help a learner push through a blockage by generating ideas (in a process called divergent thinking) that could subsequently lead to lightbulb moments

Concept mapping - Concept mapping helps learners to identify connections between ideas, which adds context and deepens the learning experience.

Thinking aloud - Thinking aloud can help push through brain blocks because the act of speaking and writing is a cognitive sorting process.

Learning Strategy Case Studies

1. Rotating Chair Discussion
This is a learning strategy that encourages students to actively listen to each other and participate in a class discussion. It improves student engagement, communication skills, and enhances understanding of complex material.
One student starts by acting as the class "chair." They define the key issue for discussion and express their opinion. Then other students that want to express their views raise their hand and wait (patiently and quietly) to be called upon by the chair.

When the chair has selected the next speaker, that person stands and summarizes the previous chair's remarks. Then they express their own.

It's important that everyone in the class listens completely to each speaker without interrupting. Only the acting chair can select the next speaker. No one can be selected twice until all those that want to participate have had a turn.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, this learning strategy also teaches students about civility and respecting the views of others even though they disagree with us.

2. The Pre-reading Skim
Most students open their book to the first page of the chapter and immediately start reading. This might seem like a good idea because it gets right to the task at hand, but there are better ways to approach a new chapter.
For example, before jumping right in, take a few moments and browse the chapter first. Read the subheadings, take a look at the photos and graphs, and read the captions. If there is an index of key words or concepts at the end of the chapter, take a few moments to skim those as well.

The pre-reading skim gets your mind ready for the upcoming information. It activates your memory and creates a context for all that data that will be bombarding your mind later.

Although it might seem like this takes too long, it will actually save time later because you will be able to remember information more easily and efficiently. You won't have to spend as much time trying to rehearse information because it was already stored more strongly in the beginning.

3. Mind Mapping
This technique involves creating a diagram that visually represents the information being studied. It is a relatively simple learning strategy, but has numerous benefits.
The procedure is simple. First, draw a circle in the center of a sheet of paper that represents the central concept you want to study. Then, start brainstorming all of the other concepts you can think of that are related. Put each one in their own circle around the central circle. Don't worry about organization or relevance yet.

Next, go around the map and list any facts associated with each concept. Keep these statements short and simple.

Draw lines connecting the concepts that are related. If you want, make the lines thicker to represent concepts that are more strongly connected.

The benefits of mind mapping are numerous. Not only does it improve memory of concepts and related facts, but also helps organize the information and understand how concepts are related.
TPS is a cooperative learning strategy that stimulates cognitive processing and interest. It was first described by Frank Lyman (1982) as a way to increase student motivation.
The steps are relatively simple. First, the teacher explains the activity and then presents an open-ended question. Then, students think about the question on their own, quietly, and jot down their thoughts.

Next, the students form pairs and share their notes with each other. After each student has taken a turn, they summarize the key points and then share with the class. They can identify points of agreement or disagreement, or areas of shared confusion.

The class discussion can then help students hone in on key concepts and clarify any misunderstandings.

5. The After-Class One-Minute Paper
Reviewing class notes is one way to help strengthen memory of a lot of material that has just be presented in a short period of time. However, it is still a relatively passive exercise. To make this strategy more active and engaging, the one-minute paper makes for an effective alternative.
At the end of class, write a summary of that day's material. Allow yourself one minute to complete the summary. Try not to go over this time limit because it will force you to be succinct and focused on the highlights.

Writing is a much more active learning process than reading notes. It forces you to recall information and then reproduce it in the form of a written sentence.

This will call attention to concepts that you don't understand thoroughly. It's also a great way to improve writing skills and train yourself to be concise.

Conclusion

There are a lot of very effective learning strategies for students to choose from. Some of them have been around since the beginning of the printable text.

Other strategies are a little more recent and have been created by experts in cognitive science and education.

The fundamental premise behind most of these strategies is that learning that involves deep cognitive processing is more effective than learning that is passive. Therefore, the more the strategy requires active engagement in the material, the better.

Mind maps, one-minute papers, and taking practice tests are just a few examples of ways to consolidate information and identify areas that require more study time.

References

Amer A. A. (1994). The effect of knowledge-map and underlining training on the reading comprehension of scientific texts. English for Specific Purposes, 13, 35-45.

Anderson R. C., Hidde J. L. (1971). Imagery and sentence learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 526-530.

Bretzing B. H., Kulhavy R. W. (1979). Notetaking and depth of processing. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 4, 145-153.

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

Lyman, F. (1981). The responsive classroom discussion. In A. S. Anderson (Ed.), Mainstreaming digest (pp. 109-113). College Park, MD: University of Maryland College of Education.

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Boost Engagement in Your ELL Classroom | Proven Strategies

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Transform your ELL classroom with proven student engagement strategies that foster active learning, improve participation, & drive success for English learners

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Assigning a "Buddy partner" to EL and Sped students can help them with anxiety and behaviors. It can also help with any language barriers a child must have.

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Ellevation: EL Program Management Tools for K-12

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Increasing EL engagement: Strategies to encourage classroom participation | Ellevation

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For English learners (ELs), opportunities to learn and practice language are crucial for their language acquisition. But it can be intimidating to practice these skills in a room full of peers, and often language learners may shy away from engaging in discussions or participating aloud in class.

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The teacher toolkit provides teachers ideas for formative and summative assessments; it also helps teachers provide tools for the classroom

1) Notice and Wonder Chart

2) Chalk Talk

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Engaging techniques for effective teaching

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Khan Academy helps students learn math with additional support. It provides videos, detailed descriptions about how to best solve problems and it also has a chat that students can use as support.

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By having students participate in digital learning lessons and have them competing against each other, it creates motivation for them to try their best and engage with the content.

It also differentiates the learning to not just being pencil and paper.

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By adding quizzes on a digital platform helps student test their knowledge by using technology.

Knowledge checks that are used digitally can help teachers reteach any content or provide small group group.

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AdaptedMind.com helps students learn different topics when it comes to math. Parents are able to help and do it with the students. Adapted minds provides help with prek, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade.

It also reads the problems to the students and is able to move them up based on their performance.

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AdaptedMind is a customized online math curriculum, problems, and worksheets that will significantly improve your child’s math performance, guaranteed. We make learning fun, game-oriented, and give you ways to get involved.