Defining the Instructional Strategies (listed in order of impact)

Category

Definition

1. Identifying similarities and differences

Enhance students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge by engaging them in mental processes that involve identifying ways items are alike and different.

2. Summarizing and note taking

Enhance students’ ability to synthesize information and organize it in a way that captures the main ideas and supporting details.

3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition

Enhance students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing students’ attitudes and beliefs about learning. Provide students with rewards or praise for their accomplishments related to the attainment of a goal.

4. Homework and practice (our emphasis is on practice)

Extend the learning opportunities for students to practice, review, and apply knowledge. Enhance students’ ability to reach the expected level of proficiency for a skill or process.

5. Nonlinguistic representation

Enhance students’ ability to represent and elaborate on knowledge using mental images.

6. Cooperative learning

Provide students with opportunities to interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning.

7. Setting objectives and providing feedback

Provide students a direction for learning and information about how well they are performing relative to a particular learning goal so that they can improve their performance.

8. Generating and testing hypotheses

Enhance students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge by engaging them in mental processes that involve making and testing hypotheses.

9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers

Enhance students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize what they already know about a topic.

From: Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works byHoward Pitler, Elizabeth R. Hubbell, Matt Kuhn, and Kim Malenoski.