What are some effective teaching strategies?
1 – Setting goals/objectives
Why are goals important? Consider how goals help you know what to achieve. Every lesson should have clear goals/objectives and these goals should be communicated to the learners so they know what the desired outcome is. Using goals, high-impact instructors clearly explain what the learners need to understand or do at the end of the lesson. Setting goals not only helps learners know what is expected of them but also allows instructors to better plan their learning.
Goals need to be meaningful, relevant, realistic and achievable for learners and should be designed to challenge their capabilities, i.e. goals should be different for different learners. It is also important that teachers acknowledge and reward any efforts learners make towards achieving their goals.
Bloom’s Taxonomy for Learning Objectives
Let’s see how you can put Bloom’s Taxonomy into practice to create engaging and purposeful objectives for corporate learning. Read our blog on how to create learning objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy.
2 – Lesson Structure
Structuring a lesson provides a structured approach to creating lesson plans that are engaging and meaningful to learners. Lesson structure provides learning for a variety of activities and includes a clear roadmap. Structuring a lesson links activities to learning objectives/goals and optimizes time. Lesson structure provides transparency and a predictable routine for learners.
A well-structured lesson plan begins by setting the lesson objectives/goals, stating clear outcomes and outlining the content to be covered. Transitions between learning modules should be smooth and clear. It is important to draw attention to key ideas throughout the lesson plan and end the lesson with a conclusion that summarises the main points.
Effective teaching strategies for instructors: How do you structure your lessons?
Training Roadmap – Read our blog on an amazing transformation journey for your organization.
3 – Clear instructions
Explicit instruction focuses on providing learners with clear, precise directions and explanations of the core concepts or ideas being taught. In other words, showing learners what to do and how to do it. Explicit instruction requires learners to apply skills and knowledge and show Deepen understanding through practice. When implementing explicit instruction:
- Set clear goals and
- Communicate clear goals to learners, and
- Use examples to explain how to achieve your goals.
Learners should then be given a chance to put what they learned into practice. At the end of the training lesson, review the content covered in the lesson, question and assess learner comprehension, and provide constructive feedback or additional support as needed.
4 – Case Studies
Case studies can be used to demonstrate how to complete a task or job function or solve an advanced problem. This allows learners to compare their own thinking and strategies with those of experts, giving them the opportunity to understand the thought process behind solving a problem.
Case studies show exactly what success looks like and provide a model of the problem-solving process that learners can refer to. This model reduces the cognitive load on learners and allows them to focus on understanding the process required to complete a task. Learners also get to practice with practical examples to help them. When presenting case studies, each solution should be clearly explained. Case studies should also be differentiated based on learners’ knowledge of the topic.
Effective Teaching Strategies for Instructors: What is a Case Study?
5 – Collaborative learning
Collaborative learning motivates learners to work together to master new skills, providing opportunities for hands-on use and collaboration with peers. This highly effective teaching strategy allows learners to build knowledge and skills through the exchange of ideas and encourages problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and teamwork. Collaborative learning can take many forms, including:
- Small group activities,
- Social learning,
- Learner-led discussion, or
- A group-wide project.
When developing group learning activities, be sure to incorporate team-building skills such as negotiation and collaboration. To encourage interaction, we recommend that you select members of each group based on the same interests, skill sets, or academic abilities. We also recommend that you assign roles to group members so that learners are responsible for their work, and design tasks that encourage learners to share information and expertise.
6 – Multiple Exposure
Multiple exposure is when a learner is exposed to the same content multiple times. When a learner is exposed to information multiple times, that information becomes more meaningful to them. Additionally, repeated exposure to material allows learners to build on what they already know and gain new perspectives on a topic, deepening their understanding.
The idea behind this strategy is to expose learners to a topic or material continually in different styles, yet relevant ways. Rather than introducing a topic once and expecting learners to understand it, multiple exposures provide learning opportunities over a longer period of time. When using multiple exposures, it is important to provide feedback to prevent learners from making the same mistakes over and over again.
7 – Questions
Questioning is a powerful way to engage and challenge learners. Questioning practice includes questions that encourage learners to think deeply and critically about concepts and topics. Questions can also be used to elicit constructive feedback on whether learning strategies are working. Questions encourage learners to relate different topics to real-life tasks or engage in meaningful conversations with other learners. By using questioning practice, instructors can help learners develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills and build on existing knowledge.
Questions should essentially be open-ended to encourage learners to explore, as questions with only one answer can foster critical thinking. Questions can be used to receive immediate feedback, check learners’ understanding of a topic, and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies. For questions to work, learners must feel comfortable sharing their opinions. This means fostering a respectful learning environment where learners are not judged for having a different view and feel comfortable contributing.
Read our blog exploring what formative assessment is.
8 – Feedback
Feedback can be used to check learner understanding, evaluate the effectiveness of a training approach, and aid learning. Although the ultimate goal of feedback is to improve learner learning, it is important that feedback goes both ways: from instructor to learner and from learner to instructor.
Two-way feedback allows learners to receive advice on how to improve their performance and enables instructors to see how their teaching is affecting learners. Feedback should be detailed and structured, provide specific guidance on how to improve and encourage further effort. Feedback should be focused on the lesson (not the individual) and can be provided by both the instructor and the learner’s colleagues.
Effective Teaching Strategies for Teachers: Choosing an Assessment Method
If you want to understand the role of feedback and know how mastering the art of feedback can transform the learning experience, read our blog on 5 key roles of feedback in improving the learning experience.
9 – Metacognitive strategies
Metacognitive strategies help learners to be more aware of their learning process. They understand how to learn better and can make more effective decisions regarding their learning. They also help other learners find motivation to learn. In other words, metacognitive strategies teach learners how to educate themselves. This increases the effectiveness of all other educational strategies. They also enhance learners’ ability to learn outside the classroom. Metacognitive activities include helping learners set goals and self-monitor their progress.
10 – Differentiated teaching approaches
Differentiated instruction emphasizes customized learning and teaching. This method involves designing and delivering customized training lessons that meet the unique needs of each learner. Differentiated lessons should cater to different interests, learning styles, abilities, and ways of thinking and learning. This allows learners to acquire knowledge at their own pace, meaning that all learners can be challenged and achieve success, regardless of their academic ability or learning style.
Differentiated instruction ensures that learners with special needs are accommodated and enabled to learn at par with their peers. Lesson plans should consider differentiated learning approaches and allow for adjustments based on the needs of different learners. To enable differentiated learning, ensure that learners are regularly assessed to monitor their progress and recognise if and where additional support is required.
Is there anything you’d like to add? Comment below!
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The benefits of using high-impact teaching strategies
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What are some effective training strategies?
answer: Highly effective instructional strategies are a collection of instructional methods that can be used to improve learning.
Q: What are some examples of effective teaching strategies you have implemented?
answer: A worked example is essentially a case study that provides a model of the problem-solving process that learners can refer to.
Q: How can feedback be used to inform effective teaching strategies?
answer: Feedback can be used to check learner comprehension, evaluate the effectiveness of a training approach, and aid learning.
