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Students are more invested and curious when the teacher poses a discussion question to grab students' attention-but not a "central question."

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When I was a student, I was really impressed with how one of my teachers set up a sort of partner discussion system. Even to this day I have not been able to effectively recreate it no matter how hard I have tried. It flowed so well the way he did it. We would always have to answer questions with out partner whenever he would start a lesson, or throughout the lesson to check for understanding. It was fun, interactive, and kept us constantly engaged.

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When I was a student, I was really impressed with how one of my teachers set up a sort of partner discussion system. Even to this day I have not been able to effectively recreate it no matter how hard I have tried. It flowed so well the way he did it. We would always have to answer questions with out partner whenever he would start a lesson, or throughout the lesson to check for understanding. It was fun, interactive, and kept us constantly engaged.

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Recently, I have observed a teacher that constantly and consistently reminds her students of her expectations and routines in her room so that students almost have no choice but to follow the rules.

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My favorite teachers were so passionate about their subjects--their excitement about the content (no matter how boring it may have been to anyone else) was what kept students engaged.  They always found ways to pull us in and get us excited too.

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In the past I have used a number of different techniques that have been effective. Appointing row leaders has always been a common practice of mine. These leaders would be responsible for helping to coordinate and assist their peers who were in their row. This system helped me a lot with organizing group work, distributing materials, and also with gaining students' attention.

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In the past I have used a number of different techniques that have been effective. Appointing row leaders has always been a common practice of mine. These leaders would be responsible for helping to coordinate and assist their peers who were in their row. This system helped me a lot with organizing group work, distributing materials, and also with gaining students' attention.

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I recently observed a fellow teacher in gifted education who liked to use songs for transitions between activities. It was interesting to see how it actually worked for 7th graders because she used tunes from modern day songs that the kids would recognize. Her directions were sort of just put to specific tunes and it just worked.

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I recently observed a fellow teacher in gifted education who liked to use songs for transitions between activities. It was interesting to see how it actually worked for 7th graders because she used tunes from modern day songs that the kids would recognize. Her directions were sort of just put to specific tunes and it just worked.

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I love using stations to break up lessons.  It's lovely for the short attention span of teenagers, it can cover lots of ground/topics, and it get us up and moving. It's especially nice in my inclusion classes or when I have a student teacher because we can have adults at each station guiding students and keeping them engaged.

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Surprising my Students with a Random Activity

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Surprising my Students with a Random Activity

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Using a curriculum is difficult when trying to stay on pace, so there is not always time for fun activities and creativity. When I do those things, I try to plan for them effectively and keep my students' interests.

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A colleague of mine does lots of projects that involve student choice or projects that are student-led. She's a gifted teacher of juniors, and they get really into taking an assignment in the direction THEY want it to go. She gives a few parameters, but mostly, the students create, learn, and present entirely on their own with very little guidance or intervention.

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As a student I always felt the best way that I learned and enjoyed the class. Being curious of what was coming next. The teacher's passion helped a lot too If they were excited then I was excited.

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As a teacher, I enjoy creating new activities for them that are engaging and fun. I am passionate so that helps when I am excited they are also excited. Then just using a variety of methods to meet students learning needs is a central part of my classroom.

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In other classrooms, one of my favorite things I saw and implemented was students who were in charge in the classroom. They can sign out to go to the bathroom and come back, they can talk while doing their work, they can sit anywhere. But they are always on task.

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My favorite math teacher had his class ran so smoothly. We would have lecture where we learned the history of the math, he modeled the problems, we worked together as a class, then we switched to individual practice. He would circle the room and we would conclude the class. He had a great way of knowing when we were ready to work alone to where we never felt lost.

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Sometimes, it is so difficult to get students interested in math. I have found that creative questioning and linking back to prior lessons has really helped me get my lessons started. For example, I would write a problem on the board, ask the kids what is familiar, then have them discuss with thier groups. I would ask, "Do you see anything familiar, what have we learned that you think would help us tackle or even solve this problem?" Students find that through this discussion and probing, that all of our math is intertwind and they might even be able to figure out how a new topic works before I fully teach it!

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Instead of using the exit tickets for the teacher to guage how the kids are doing, she allowed the students to work the exit ticket and grade themselves. Before the teacher picked up the exit tickets, she made the students explain why (if so) they got a problem wrong and how they felt about moving forward.

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When I started teaching AP classes, I had a mentor who told me that if I wanted my students to do well on the written section of the AP test, they needed to see quality writing. She encouraged me to have students read anonymous writing samples and grade them using released AP rubrics. We start by reading through and discussing the scoring guidelines as a class. Then, I give small groups of students a set of 4-5 writing samples that they have to evaluate and assign a score, using the scoring guidelines. Afterward, students provide evidence from the writing samples to justify their scores in a class discussion. I also started using this strategy with my LEAP students and have seen huge improvements in their writing.

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As a student, I always enjoyed when teachers would give us the freedom to choose how to demonstrate our knowledge, like the type of activity we were going to complete or the topic of a research paper. I had one high school teacher in particular who was piloting an art-integration program. At end of every unit, there was a culminating art project where we had the ability to choose the topic and the medium in which to present our work. These projects are what I remember most from her class. I still show a silent film I made in her class to my own students.

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I once worked with a teacher at my first school who had a daily theme for every day of the week. I don't recall the theme for each day, but I do remember two. Wednesdays were "Writing Wednesdays," so the lesson always had some writing practice built in. And Fridays were "Fun Fridays," so there was always some kind of game that day, even if it was only for 10 minutes. I know his students really liked having a general idea of what to expect from his classes each week. I haven't yet incorporated this into my regular classes, but I do something similar in my instructional focus period each day.

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One of the most effective teaching practices that I remember from my experience as a student was when my teacher modeled the lesson of the day. I can say that from a young age I could not stay focused and would often be bored in my classes when it was a paper and pencil type of lesson. When she presented a new subject to me that included a demonstration, I performed better on my test. This was especially helpful to me in the subject area of math. While some students were able to grasp new concepts by hearing the information, I needed to see it.

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"Teaching strategies often give you plenty of structure regarding how to teach a class, but not how to control it".

You may not agree with me on this one but to be an effective classroom teacher, you must know how to manage your student's behavior. Every start of a new school year, I have an opportunity to present on what I feel is of the most importance and I always present on "Classroom Management".  If you do not have a system in place that outlines your daily procedures and consequences your class will not be able to function.

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One of the things that I like to observe teachers do is to use the data from their students' assessments to guide their instruction forward and/or remediate their students to address his/her needs. Since, we are teaching in a data driven school kind of era and test students weekly, one of the things that I find too often is teachers who keep their students' data to themselves. If I run across a teacher who is discussing their students' performance with them, I make a BIG deal out of it because doing so allows the students to take ownership of their work.

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I model my own teaching after my own 3rd grade teacher. I can remember sitting in her class and loving being there. She made every single day fun with her enthusiasm and love of learning. We were always exploring new things and encouraged to "think outside the box." I loved the freedom to control my own learning. We were greeted each day with a smile and hug. But as fun and exciting she was, she was also consistent and firm with expectations and discipline. To this day, everything I do in my own classroom reminds me of Mrs. McGee!

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I have always been the teacher willing to try new things-new innovations in teaching that I've learning through research or fellow colleagues, new curriculum, even just "hmmm, I wonder if this will work?" Sometimes I get the best teaching ideas when I take a step back, look at what we are currently doing in class, and try something completely new and fresh.  I'm always assessing what we are doing, what is working, and what is not.  I set clear rules and expectations from the start.  I am not afraid to try something new.

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As educators, the best thing we can do is learn from each other. I am very fortunate that I have found a fellow colleague that teaches and thinks exactly the same way I do. We bounce ideas off each other every single day. We lesson plan together and share materials constantly. We are always assessing what worked, what didn't work, and how we can improve. I believe EVERY single educator needs someone like this! We are always better together!

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One of the key components in effective teaching practices I believe is making it relevant!  Students are more engaged and become better critical thinkers when skills/concepts are real-world and relevant to them at that particular time

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I find my most effective/engaging lessons are when students encompass a variety of tasks throughout the lesson. For example, class may start out as a lecture for the first 10-15 minutes then transition to partner work or rotation stations. Another strategy I use to get students moving and thinking is that the "take a stand" strategy. I post possible answers all over my classroom. During the lesson, I'll ask the question. Students have 30 seconds to find their answer and go stand by their answer. Each student has a chance to defend why they chose their answer. It gets students moving and talking...which they're going to do regardless so why not make it meaningful??

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I've observed some teachers that teach challenging concepts to really low students and have awesome success, and I've seen some teachers teach a simple concept to those same children and did not experience the same level of success. The difference between the two was the relationships they had with both! The challenging teacher made it a point to build relationships with each and every one of her students and put their physical and mental well-being over the subject being taught. It was truly amazing to see those same students with the teacher that did not build relationships with them. Completely opposite!

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So I have to be honest and say that I don’t really remember anything from my childhood. I experienced pretty severe trauma as a child that has caused me to completely block out most of my childhood. I have been told that is the brain’s way of protecting us. I do remember flashes but they usually come on when I hear an old song or smell something that reminds me of the past. I can remember a flashback of a teacher hugging me and thinking to myself that they loved me. As a teacher now, I hug my students every morning and throughout the day. I tell them I love them every single day without fail. At the end of the day, they won’t always remember what you taught them, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

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I have tried many different teaching practices through four teaching career and the most effective teaching practice with the best results would definitely be hands-on learning. I teach 1st and 2nd grade at a public Montessori school and we are required to use hands-on materials with every topic they learn. The main reason I believe this is the most effective is because the student is literally engaged is so many teaching styles, that you are bound to hit one of them that meets their learning style. First, the teacher models the lesson in a small group or one on one setting using engaging Montessori materials. Then. the student goes back to their rug (which is their desk) and practices the skill manipulating those materials. They work the problems/skill, then they write it and then when we check their work, they read it to us. There is even movement because students are getting up and walking around the room to gather their materials needed for their work job. This style of teaching and learning addresses visual, auditory, reading and writing style, and kinesthetic learners as well.

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Effective strategies from other teachers

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Effective strategies from other teachers

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This is such a great question. I have been fortunate to observe some really truly amazing teachers out there. One of the best ways to learn to be a better teacher is to observe others. I have seen teachers use Whole Brain teaching strategies, Kagan strategies, learning menus, escape rooms, anchor charts, interactive notebooks, project based learning, and the list goes on. The one thing that each of these effective teachers had in common was they each possessed a passion for teaching and they built relationships with each and every one of their students.

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My favorite teachers were the ones who made things relate to my own life. For instance, math is not my strong suit. But when I was taught with examples from things in my life that made it make sense I found that most effective!

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As a student I never really focused or noticed the teaching practices my instructors gave. I do however remember the more my instructors reviewed the information the better I could recall the information. Therefore, the most effective teaching practice from my experience as a student would be the way instructors reviewed the information taught.

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So beings I teach from a pretty scripted curriculum it is difficult to deviate and make it my own. With teaching younger children I do try hold students accountable when reading so I almost always have them in partners reading aloud even if it calls for silent reading. I find this is most effective because they practice fluency, as well as they can help if their partner is struggling with a word. It also keeps them engaged as far as following alongs so that they know when their next turn will be. 

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So beings I teach from a pretty scripted curriculum it is difficult to deviate and make it my own. With teaching younger children I do try hold students accountable when reading so I almost always have them in partners reading aloud even if it calls for silent reading. I find this is most effective because they practice fluency, as well as they can help if their partner is struggling with a word. It also keeps them engaged as far as following alongs so that they know when their next turn will be. 

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I'm going to add to what someone else already mentioned. The teachers I remember most from elementary all the way to high school are the ones who treated me as one of their own, and not as though they were there just to teach. They showed love and care for all their students. I am still in contact with some of those teachers today and they are the reason I became a teacher. I aspire to be that same type of teacher every day for my own kids.

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As a teacher the most effective teaching practice I have is encouraging student to student support. I encourage this in the way my desks are grouped, seating charts, and final reviews are designed. I find many students are more receptive to student suggestions and help. This also helps my students to become more comfortable in my class. I have seen many shy students come out of their shell due to this practice.

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When I was a resident teacher, I seen my mentor teacher using different technology in her classroom. This practice of using different technology in her lessons kept the students very interested and added to her class.

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Every time I would walk into a new co-teacher's room I would hear soft music playing. She said it helped to keep her class calm and quiet throughout the day. I actually recently began doing it myself and I love it. It helps with my anxiety throughout the day because it's a relaxing music and the students love it. I play Vitamin String Quartet while my students are working and it's been a game changer for me. I'm so thankful she helped me discover this!

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Since my first year of teaching I have learned so much and am still learning new things about how I can become a better teacher for my students daily! The most important thing I've learned is that nothing else matters if you do not have a relationship with your students. The students I build true, strong relationships with always work the hardest for me, regardless of how good they may or may not be at math.

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My first memory of having actual fun in a classroom was my fourth grade year. This particular teacher made it a point to make every single day enjoyable. He created games for us, had competitions, allowed us to be hands-on/create things in science. It was wonderful! I always think back to him when I plan lessons to make sure my lessons always incorporate some element of fun to make it engaging for students.

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I am my best teacher self when my students come to school and WANT to learn from me.  I could preach and preach the importance of relationships to any and everyone I talk to about education. Do your students or your staff like being around you? If the answer is no, I'm not sure how effective you can actually be.

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As a student I enjoyed learning activities that required moving around the classroom. One of my all time favorites would probably be the gallery walk. We were able to move around the room and take notes rather than sitting in a desk listening to the teacher lecture. I think it kept me on my toes and was a lot more interactive.