7 core teaching strategies

Here is a list of 9 teaching strategies and a description of each. I have spent awhile researching this topic myself while filling out job apps so I thought I'd pass on the information. Most of the definitions I copied from websites, all of which are listed at the bottom. There is a lot more information on every site, if you want to take the time to browse. Best of luck to everyone reading this - unless we're interviewing

for the same job! ;) 1. Direct instruction A teacher centered model that focuses on student activities being guided by teacher directions and direct transmission of information. 2. Cognitive strategy instruction Cognitive Strategy Instruction is effective for a variety of learners, but particularly students with learning disabilities CSI is a tool intended to help

students develop the necessary skills to be selfregulated learners. "any effort on the part of the teacher or the instructional materials to help students process information in meaningful ways and become independent learners." Cognitive Strategy Instruction (CSI) is an instructional approach which emphasizes the development of thinking skills and processes as a means to enhance learning. The

objective of CSI is to enable all students to become more strategic, self-reliant, flexible, and productive in their learning endeavors (Scheid, 1993). CSI is based on the assumption that there are identifiable cognitive strategies, previously believed to be utilized by only the best and the brightest students, which can be taught to most students (Halpern, 1996). Use of these strategies have been associated with successful learning (Borkowski, Carr, & Pressley, 1987; Garner,

1990). 3. Whole language "Because knowledge doesn't exist separately from the people who construct it, whole language practitioners don't see curriculum as a prescribed course of study or a particular set of instructional materials. Instead, they see it as the cognitive experience each learner has. Whole language doesn't just include the specific content being thought about, it also includes how a student

"demonstrates" a particular task, as well as what he or she expects from a language learning situation. The fundamental concern of someone who uses language is making sense. To a learner, reading and writing are crucial to forming an understanding of the world. A whole language curriculum treats the learner as a legitimate conversation partner and someone who seeks meaning. Therefore, whole language practitioners support their students' efforts--even those that

aren't entirely accurate-rather than directing their thinking and language use." 4. Cooperative learning Students work in groups - ie: jigsaw In this approach, students share knowledge with other students through a variety of structures. Cooperative Learning, as a phrase, originated in the 1960's with the work of David and Roger Johnson. True cooperative learning includes five essential elements: positive

interdependence, face-to-face interactions, individual accountability, some structured activity, and teambuilding (group processing) skills. Similar to the Social Learning Model. " Research shows that both competitive and cooperative interaction are a healthy part of a child's repertoire of behavior. By second grade, however, urban children have effectively extinguished their cooperative behavior and persist in competition, even when it's counterproductive. By developing deliberately

cooperative techniques, educators aim to correct the unconscious societal and educational bias that favors competition. Research has also found an interesting racial implication in cooperative learning: Minority children are more likely to retain these cooperative strategies. In fact, when educators introduce cooperative learning into the classroom, minority learners show a disproportionate improvement in achievement.

5. Small group instruction Working with small groups based on ability level or interest (guided reading) 6. Inductive instruction Teaching that follows the cycle used in scientific inquiry. Steps usually include: searching the literature, making observations, generating hypotheses, designing and carrying out experiments, then analysis of results and restarting the cycle."

7. Inquiry-based Instruction A system in which students solve problems or answer questions by forming tentative answers (hypotheses), then collecting and analyzing data to provide evidence for or against their hypotheses. 8. Integrative instruction "A holistic approach that works to strengthen all aspects of a student's life (academic, physical, personal, and emotional). " 9. Interdisciplinary Teaching -

"Traditional elementary and secondary classrooms divide instruction into categories (disciplines) such as "reading," "math," and "social studies." Interdisciplinary teaching involves any effort on the part of an instructor to design learning activities with products and activities to related to more than one discipline."