101. Gallery Walk Definition A gallery walk involves a teacher placing stimulus questions on flip chart paper (butcher’s paper) around the walls of the classroom. The charts the teacher has put up are stations that students will stop at during the activity. The teacher places students into groups. If there Read more…
91. Word Wall Definition Word walls are sections on the walls of a classroom where teachers and students can record new vocabulary, quotes or key terms they encounter during a unit of work. Benefits Word walls can be visible evidence of progression through a unit. Students can refer to the Read more…
81. Brainstorming Definition Brainstorming involves asking students to come up with their initial thoughts on an issue. The thoughts do not have to be refined or correct. Instead, the students should use the brainstorming time to get their mind flowing and discussion started. Usually, this activity takes place using flip Read more…
71. Snowball Discussions Definition Snowball discussions are another twist on the think-pair-share method. For snowball discussions, students start in pairs and share their thoughts and ideas together. Then, the pairs join up with another pair to create a group of four. These four people share thoughts together, compare notes, debate Read more…
61. Graphic Organizers Definition Graphic organizers are visual aids in the classroom designed to help students visualize and conceptualize ideas and their relationships with other ideas. Examples of graphic organizers include flowcharts, mind maps and venn diagrams. Use them to help students think more deeply about topics. Benefits Very useful Read more…
51. Thumbs Down, Thumbs Up Definition Thumbs down, thumbs up is a simple strategy for getting immediate feedback from students. During a lesson, pause after each step to get instant thumbs down, thumbs up feedback on whether students understand the previous step. If there are thumbs down, the teacher should Read more…
41. Inquiry-Based Learning Definition Inquiry-based learning involves the teacher presenting a problem for the students to solve by making their own inquiries. It is similar to discovery learning, but is different in that inquiry based learning generally involves the teacher setting out a puzzling problem to solve at the start of the Read more…
31. Cooperative Learning (Group Work) Definition Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy that involves having students work together rather than in competition. Usually, this takes place in small groups where the success of the group is dependant on the students working together to achieve a common goal (also known as Read more…
21. Fill-In the Gaps (Cloze Passages) Definition A simple teaching strategy that involves asking students to fill-in an incomplete piece of text. This can happen verbally (starting a paragraph and asking students to complete it) and in writing (a traditional cloze passage). Benefits Helps students to jog their own memories Read more…
11. Guided Practice / Cognitive Apprenticeship Definition Students follow along with their teacher as an ‘apprentice’. By working side-by-side, they learn the subtle little things (‘tacit knowledge’) required to know in order to master a skill. Benefits Students get very close one-to-one interaction with an expert, helping them learn. By Read more…