Teaching Strategies

There are a variety of teaching strategies

that instructors can use to improve
student learning.

1. Active Learning - Active Learning is

anything that students do in a
classroom other than merely
passively listening to an instructor's
lecture. Research shows that active
learning improves students'
understanding and retention of
information and can be very
 effective in developing higher order
cognitive skills such as problem
solving and critical thinking.
2. Collaborative/Cooperative Learning
- Cooperative and collaborative
learning are instructional
approaches in which students work
together in small groups to
accomplish a common learning
goal.They need to be carefully
planned and executed, but they
don't require permanently formed
groups.
3. Critical Thinking - Critical thinking is
a collection of mental activities that
include the ability to intuit, clarify,
 reflect, connect, infer, and judge. It
brings these activities together and
enables the student to question
what knowledge exists.
4. Discussion Strategies - Engaging
students in discussion deepens their
learning and motivation by
propelling them to develop their
own views and hear their own
voices. A good environment for
interaction is the first step in
encouraging students to talk.
5. Experiential Learning - Experiential
learning is an approach to
education that focuses on "learning
by doing," on the participant's
 subjective experience. The role of
the educator is to design "direct
experiences" that include
preparatory and reflective
exercises.
6. Games/Experiments/Simulations -
Games, experiments and
simulations can be rich learning
environments for students.
Students today have grown up
playing games and using interactive
tools such as the Internet, phones,
and other appliances. Games and
simulations enable students to
solve real-world problems in a safe
 environment and enjoy themselves
while doing so.
7. Humor in the Classroom - Using
humor in the classroom can
enhance student learning by
improving understanding and
retention.
8. Inquiry-Guided Learning - With the
inquiry method of instruction,
students arrive at an understanding
of concepts by themselves and the
responsibility for learning rests with
them. This method encourages
students to build research skills that
can be used throughout their
educational experiences.
9. Interdisciplinary Teaching -
Interdisciplinary teaching involves
combining two different topics into
one class. Instructors who
participate in interdisciplinary
teaching find that students
approach the material differently,
while faculty members also have a
better appreciation of their own
discipline content.
10.Learner-Centered Teaching -
Learner-Centered teaching means
the student is at the center of
learning. The student assumes the
responsibility for learning while the
instructor is responsible for
 facilitating the learning. Thus, the
power in the classroom shifts to the
student.
11.Learning Communities -
Communities bring people together
for shared learning, discovery, and
the generation of knowledge.
Within a learning community, all
participants take responsibility for
achieving the learning goals. Most
important, learning communities
are the process by which individuals
come together to achieve learning
goals.
12.Lecture Strategies - Lectures are the
way most instructors today learned
 in classes. However, with today’s
students, lecturing does not hold
their attention for very long, even
though they are a means of
conveying information to students.
13.Online/Hybrid Courses - Online and
hybrid courses require careful
planning and organization.
However, once the course is
implemented, there are important
considerations that are different
from traditional courses.
Communication with students
becomes extremely important.
14.Problem-Based Learning - Problem-
based Learning (PBL) is an
 instructional method that
challenges students to "learn to
learn," working in groups to seek
solutions to real world problems.
The process replicates the
commonly used systemic approach
to resolving problems or meeting
challenges that are encountered in
life, and will help prefer students
for their careers.
15.Service Learning - Service learning is
a type of teaching that combines
academic content with civic
responsibility in some community
project. The learning is structured
and supervised and enables the
 student to reflect on what has taken
place.
16.Teaching Diverse Students -
Instructors today encounter a
diverse population in their courses
and many times need assistance in
knowing how to deal with them.
17.Teaching with Cases - Case studies
present students with real-life
problems and enable them to apply
what they have learned in the
classroom to real life situations.
Cases also encourage students to
develop logical problem solving
skills and, if used in teams, group
interaction skills. Students define
 problems, analyze possible
alternative actions and provide
solutions with a rationale for their
choices.
18.Team-Based Learning - Team-based
learning (TBL) is a fairly new
approach to teaching in which
students rely on each other for their
own learning and are held
accountable for coming to class
prepared. Research has found that
students are more responsible and
more engaged when team-based
learning is implemented. The major
difference in TBL and normal group
activities is that the groups are
 permanent and most of the class
time is devoted to the group
meeting.
19.Team Teaching - At its best, team
teaching allows students and faculty
to benefit from the healthy
exchange of ideas in a setting
defined by mutual respect and a
shared interest in a topic. In most
cases both faculty members are
present during each class and can
provide different styles of
interaction as well as different
viewpoints.
20.Writing Assignments - Writing
assignments for class can provide
an opportunity for them to apply
critical thinking skills as well as help
them to learn course content.