Instructional Strategies and Teaching Strategies in Your Classroom

Instructional strategies are research-based methods that teachers use to deliver content to students and improve their instructional practice. But it also goes further than that, because by combining classroom management strategies, assessment strategies, and other brain-based and memory-based strategies to support students, they all work together to improve the classroom and increase learning.

What Are Instructional Strategies and Teaching Strategies?

Instructional strategies (often used interchangeably with teaching strategies) are the specific, intentional techniques and methods a teacher uses to help students learn. If curriculum and standards describe what students should learn, instructional strategies are the how behind learning. The how encompasses many aspects of a teacher’s responsibility: how to introduce new content to students, how to promote active prior knowledge, how to promote discussion and discourse between students, how to differentiate lessons for all students, how to check for understanding of concepts, and many more ways to guide students towards mastery of a learning objective.

Technically, teaching strategies are a bit different. If instructional strategies are the how behind learning, teaching strategies are more the how behind your teaching, or the guiding philosophy and structural approach to your classroom. Teaching strategies, in the broader sense, can be considered the way teachers shape how the classroom is structured, how relationships are built, how expectations are set in the classroom, and ultimately which instructional strategies should be chosen to reach each student in the first place. While teaching strategies encompass a broader range of strategies used in the classroom, instructional strategies are typically (though not always) meant to define the specific strategies that happen only in delivering content.

You can group instructional or teaching strategies in a variety of ways. For example, strategies for structuring the learning environment can be categorized by instructional delivery model: direct instruction, demonstration, cooperative learning, discovery / inquiry-based learning, and project-based learning. Another example might be to structure strategies by organizational level: classroom management strategies, learning strategies, and extension and differentiation strategies. Still others categorize instructional and teaching strategies by their purpose in the classroom; for example, a teacher may want to think about strategies specifically based on the needs of his classroom, from how to present new content to how to reach every learner. Later in this article, you will see that we organize strategies by purpose; however, any other categorization method you may see elsewhere is equally as valid!

Why Instructional Strategies Matter

Decades of research on teacher effectiveness point to the same conclusion: the teacher is the single most important in-school factor in student achievement, and how a teacher teaches matters as much or even as more as what is actually taught (RAND Corporation (opens in a new tab)). A well-chosen instructional strategy engages your students, improves learning, and reduces gaps in content knowledge within your students. With strong and well-implemented strategies across your classroom, you can reach and improve the outcomes for all your students, including your students with disabilities, English language learners, and gifted students.

The most effective strategies, of course, are grounded in the science of learning, in which cognitive research informs classroom practice. Within the main instructional strategy categories, practices like retrieval practice and spaced repetition for memory improvement, explicit and direct instruction for improving learning, positive reinforcement for increased behaviors in the classroom, productive struggle, chunking instruction, and so many more theories and concepts are proven effective in research and, with practice, can be effective in your classroom as well. The information you find in this article provides you with only a starting point for strategies and ideas that can enhance and improve your instruction.

Teaching Struggles and a Way Forward

Even highly knowledgeable teachers can struggle to translate content expertise into effective instruction and then actually sustain it in the classroom. In addition, with behavioral issues, diverse student needs, non-teaching requirements that take time away from your planning and instruction, and a diverse range of other issues that might impede your instruction on a daily basis, actually grasping onto strong instructional strategies and implementing them well over time can sometimes be daunting and difficult! Also, new teachers frequently enter the classroom with deep subject knowledge but a limited repertoire of strategies, since they don’t have the luxury of time or experience implementing strategies. So much professional development offered to teachers today is delivered as one-off workshops that are hard to implement the next day. Strategies learned in these sessions aren’t always aligned with objectives and assessments, so it can be difficult for teachers to apply them effectively in their own situations and classrooms. And as classrooms grow more diverse and learning loss persists, the pressure to differentiate and reach every learner only increases.

Building an effective instructional practice means developing a flexible, well-rehearsed toolkit of strategies that are mastered and practiced over time. Teachers need to be able to align instructional strategies to learning objectives and assessments; choose intentionally between active and passive learning activities; differentiate content, process, and product; group and pair students purposefully; check for understanding continuously and use that data to adjust instruction; scaffold rigor so students move from recall to higher-order thinking; facilitate academic discourse and collaboration; and manage behavior and classroom procedures. It can be daunting to think about the multifaceted components of teaching and learning that must happen in your classroom daily! But the solution to these classroom needs is to identify a place to start, like a single strategy you’d like to practice and master until it is effective before moving on to others. How? Seeking out your own professional learning, reading more articles, analyzing resources and research, and then trying these ideas out in the classroom, while continuing to practice and refine those strategies, is the most effective way to improve.

How this Article is Organized

The remaining article is organized around nine purposes in your classroom so you can narrow down to an area where you may feel you need more support. Like other organizational methods, this is not the only way to organize by purpose, and you will see other groups organize content in different ways. The organizational structure is intended to address most of your concerns and needs in the classroom. For the remainder of this article, you will learn about what that purpose is and how it is important for student learning in your classroom, then be presented with example Model Teaching articles, resources, and courses to support you in improving your practice.

Teaching Strategies by Purpose

Evaluate each strategy category below to understand how it is important in your classroom, then access various sample Model Teaching articles, resources, and courses that can help address specific needs for that purpose category.

1

Plan & Align Instruction

The alignment of your objectives, lesson content, and assessments is required for effective student learning. Starting from a goal of what you expect your end result or student outcome will be, and working backward to fill in the components of your lesson has been argued to be a very strong framework for designing instruction (ASCD (opens in a new tab)). The strategies in this category focus on methods that align with “backwards design”: start from the desired result, then choose your assessment methods to determine mastery, and finally choose instruction last, so every strategy utilized in your lesson is aligned with a clear learning goal. Teachers who focus planning time here typically waste less class time and see strong connections between their teaching and student performance.

Articles

• ArticleBackwards Design in the Classroom: Planning with the End in Mind

  The article walks you through the backwards-design method: objective first, then assessment, then instruction.

• ArticleHow to Write Learning Objectives

  This article provides you step-by-step instructions for writing clear, measurable objectives, which is the first step in the backwards design process.

• ArticleThe Value of Rubrics for Assessment

  This focuses on how well-built rubrics keep instruction, assessment, and feedback aligned to your objective.

Resources

• Backwards Design Planning Tool

  This resource is a planning tool that walks you through backwards design: objective first, then assessment, then instruction.

• Learning Objective Checklist

  This is a checklist for pressure-testing whether an objective is clear, measurable, and standards-aligned.

• Analytic Rubric Samples

  This resource is a sample analytic rubrics for detailed, criterion-based assessment.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Writing Effective Learning Objectives

  This course describes how to write clear, measurable objectives, which is the goal that every assessment and lesson strategy aligns to.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Choosing the Right Assessments for Your Students

  Select assessments that accurately measure whether students met the objective in this course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Planning for Instructional Strategies & Learning Activities

  This course focuses on five main instructional strategies, categorized by delivery model, that describe how to choose activities that align with objectives and assessments and reach every learner.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

2

Present & Model New Content

This category focuses on how you actually deliver and present the content itself. We know that a clear presentation, examples that students can see worked out by the teacher, modeling of concepts, and other methods are important for delivering content in a way that is accessible to students (American Educator, Rosenshine (opens in a new tab)). The strategies below are a few suggestions and ideas to help you present and model content clearly.

Articles

• ArticleChoosing a Skill for Explicit Instruction in Reading

  Explicit instruction is one of the most well-researched instructional delivery methods. This article focuses on reading and shows how to select a discrete skill and teach it through explicit, direct instruction.

• ArticleExplicit, Systematic, and Sequential Reading Instruction

  Another reading-focused article, this one unpacks the core delivery principles behind the science of reading and what they look like when teaching students to read.

• ArticleConstant Time Delay: Steps to Master Multiplication Facts

  This article is a math-specific source to understand a step-by-step explicit-modeling technique: the teacher demonstrates the correct response, then uses a consistent time delay before prompting students.

• ArticleUsing Word Banks to Support ELL Vocabulary

  This is a simple tool for building English learners’ vocabulary and supporting their writing and talk.

• Article4 Engaging Strategies to Teach the Alphabet

  Playful, active routines for teaching letter recognition in early grades is outlined in this article.

• ArticleIncorporating Technology Using the SAMR Model

  The SAMR model is an instructional approach when using technology in the classroom and helps you understand how to present and model content using technology.

Resources

• Vocabulary Building Templates

  These are templates for explicit vocabulary instruction across content areas.

• Direct Instruction Lesson Plan Template

  This resource is a structured template for planning explicit lessons with modeling, guided practice, and independent practice.

• Demonstration Lesson Plan Template

  This resource is a lesson-plan template for planning a demonstration or modeling lesson, focusing on structuring what you will show, think aloud, and have students replicate.

• Constant Time Delay Tools

  This resource contains ready-to-use tools for running the constant time delay demonstration routine.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

  This course focuses on the “I do, we do, you do” framework for scaffolding from modeling to independence.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Reading Instruction and Intervention

  This course teaches you about explicit, systematic, sequential, multisensory reading strategies grounded in the science of reading.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Simple ELL Vocabulary Strategies

  Easy-to-implement vocabulary strategies for English learners.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Teaching Methods for Solving Word Problems in Mathematics

  Methods and strategies for teaching students to solve math word problems.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

3

Engage Students

Engaging your students is critical in the classroom because you can deliver content in any way to students, but if they are not actually engaged in your lesson, the learning will not stick with them, or they may not even learn at all! Students learn more when they are doing the cognitive work, and not passively watching (PNAS (opens in a new tab)). Focusing on active learning has been shown to raise exam scores and decrease failure rates across hundreds of studies. Further, strategies focused on structured talk require students to retrieve, reason, and put their thinking into words, and the act of engaging together can deepen student understanding of course concepts.

Articles

• ArticleThink-Pair-Share – More Than a Discussion Starter

  This article reframes Think-Pair-Share as a powerful engagement and formative-assessment tool, with tips for intentional discussion at each step.

• ArticlePutting Student Discourse to Work in the Classroom

  This is another article on discussion but focuses on accountable academic conversations as a whole to help students reason out loud.

• ArticleRe-Energizing Classroom Discussion Through Round Table Circles

  A different way of engaging students in discussion is presented in this article, and it introduces Round Table Circles as a discussion structure that distributes participation evenly and re-engages quiet students.

• ArticleThe Pyramid Analysis: A Grouping Strategy for Engagement & Dialogue

  This article describes a grouping routine that builds consensus and gets every student talking.

• Article“Where’s My Partner?” Grouping and Pairing Strategies for the Classroom

  This article provides some quick, purposeful methods for forming pairs and groups so collaborative time is efficient and tied to learning goals.

• ArticleCooperative Writing – An Engaging Paired Writing Strategy

  Read about a collaborative writing routine that supports struggling writers and English language learners while building classroom community.

• ArticleNumber Talks: The 10-Minute Math Exercise

  Read more about short daily math discourse that builds flexible, expert problem-solvers.

• ArticleBuilding Community in an Online Classroom

  This article describes strategies to build connection and engagement in virtual and blended settings.

Resources

• Grouping Students Resource Cards

  This resource is a set of quick cards for forming purposeful pairs and groups on the fly.

• Turn & Talk Prompts

  This resource provides a bank of ready-to-use discussion prompts that make partner talk purposeful.

• Flexible Grouping Chart

  This chart is an organizer for planning and rotating flexible groups so grouping stays intentional and data-informed.

• Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan Template

  This lesson-plan template includes structures for roles, interdependence, and individual accountability.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Student Engagement in the Classroom

  The three types and levels of engagement, with strategies to promote authentic participation, are discussed in this course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Introduction to Student Discourse

  This course provides an overview of academic talk, which provides questioning prompts, grouping, and supports for rich discussion.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Academic Discussions in the Classroom

  This is a deep dive into academic discussions and describes how to turn discourse into measurable learning with a complete plan for effective discussion.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Collaborative Learning Models in the Classroom

  This course provides six low-prep models for planning and implementing collaborative, discussion-rich learning.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Move to Learn

  Integrate purposeful physical movement into any content area to boost focus and retention in this interesting course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Outdoor Education: Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls

  This course teaches you how to plan outdoor learning experiences that enrich instruction across subjects.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

4

Explore, Inquire & Apply

Incorporating opportunities for inquiry, problem-solving, projects, and activities that require application of skills can increase conceptual understanding and improve cognition. Engagement, content retention, and the ability to apply knowledge in a variety of settings can be increased when projects and inquiry-based learning are incorporated into the classroom (PBLWorks (opens in a new tab)). Inquiry and project-based learning, as well as other exploratory methods, can also improve collaboration in students and increase grit and persistence through challenges.

Articles

• ArticleInquiry-Based Learning: What It Looks Like in a Classroom Setting

  This article provides a concrete picture of true inquiry, including how to structure questions, investigation, and reflection.

• ArticleA Glimpse at Project-Based Learning in the Classroom

  This is an introduction to project-based learning and how authentic, extended projects drive engagement and deep understanding.

• ArticleThe Scientific Investigation Framework

  This article outlines a framework for structuring genuine scientific investigation by requiring students to ask questions, test ideas, and discover concepts through inquiry.

• ArticleChain Reaction STEM Activities: Simple Machines

  This article describes a hands-on design challenge that shows what a rich STEM task can look like in practice.

• ArticleOpen-Ended Math Problems in the Primary Classroom

  This article describes how problems with multiple paths and answers push young students to reason and explain.

Resources

• Discovery / Inquiry-Based Learning Lesson Plan Template

  This resource is a lesson-plan template for designing inquiry and discovery experiences.

• Inquiry-Based Learning Infographic: What True Inquiry Looks Like

  Review a quick visual that helps you tell authentic inquiry from activities that only look like it.

• CER Student Graphic Organizer

  This is a claim-evidence-reasoning organizer that helps students turn an investigation into an evidence-based conclusion.

• Project-Based Learning Lesson Plan Template

  This is a detailed template for mapping a project-based unit that includes things like a driving question, milestones, and an authentic product.

• Poster Presentation Template

  Utilize this template for the culminating product of many types of projects that will require presenting findings on a professional poster.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Inquiry-Based Learning

  This course describes how to plan and execute inquiry-led lessons where students investigate and construct understanding in this course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Project-Based Learning

  This course describes a full PBL lesson cycle including components, misconceptions, and a project you can implement now.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) in the Science Classroom

  Teach the CER framework for constructing scientific explanations from evidence in this detailed course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Effective Lab Reports: A Tool for Problem-Based Learning

  This quick course describes how lab reports can support problem-based learning and scientific reasoning.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Flipped Learning

  Learn how to deliver direct instruction outside of class so that class time is freed for the active application of concepts.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

5

Practice & Master Content

Once you have your lesson design completed and your engaging activities planned, you also need to consider how you might require students to master concepts through various studying and practice techniques. This is especially important for classes where deep factual knowledge is required for application, like mastering math facts before engaging in word problems. It isn’t enough for students to just engage with your content or show they can extend their thinking in various ways. They also need to be able to retain and recall information. Focusing on memory and learning strategies to improve recall specifically is a critical component of student learning, and there are a multitude of strategies you can incorporate into your regular lessons (American Educator, Dunlosky (opens in a new tab)). Building strong study routines into instruction is a critical component of student learning.

Articles

• ArticleThe Levels of Processing Theory

  This article connects cognitive science to daily practice, where focusing on deeper, more meaningful processing of information leads to stronger, longer-lasting memory.

• ArticleThe Testing Effect Theory (Retrieval Practice)

  This article explains the testing effect and how low-stakes quizzing and retrieval practice improve memory and content retention.

• ArticleBuilding Geography Knowledge: Retrieval Practice of Countries, Regions & Features

  This article explains how retrieval practice is helpful for students to master countries, regions, and geographic features.

• ArticleBuilding Math Fact Fluency: A New Model Teaching Math App

  This article explains the importance of math-fact recall and how that works within math fact fluency.

• ArticleImproving Writing Fluency in Reluctant Writers

  Routines that build writing volume, confidence, and fluency.

Resources

• Memory Palace Graphic Organizer

  This is a graphic organizer for teaching the memory palace technique and applying how memory works to make content stick.

• KWL Chart

  This chart is the classic Know-Want to know-Learned chart that activates prior knowledge before new learning.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Applying Memory Theories in the Classroom

  Teach with encoding, storage, and retrieval in mind to make learning durable in this interesting and comprehensive course.

  PD hours
• The Notecard System

  Learn how to build durable study skills with a retrieval-based notecard routine aligned to objectives.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Utilizing Retrieval Practice in Math

  This course teaches you how to apply retrieval practice in math to strengthen retention and understanding.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Recitation Through Rote Memorization of Text

  Use this course to consider recitation and memorization to build fluency, confidence, and language.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Aligning Homework to Instruction

  This course helps you design purposeful homework that reinforces and aligns with classroom objectives.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

6

Deepen Thinking

Moving past recall of facts to improve memory, rigorous thinking, and tasks is another integral component of a well-rounded educational experience for students. Rather than focusing on what might be considered “harder content”, we consider how to teach students to engage in deeper cognitive learning tasks. Critical thinking can be taught and includes a strong background knowledge, where students work with deliberately designed tasks to move activities toward higher-order thinking (American Educator, Willingham (opens in a new tab)). Popular frameworks like Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge help move questions and tasks beyond recall toward analysis, evaluation, and creation. Planning for rigor by introducing specific strategies to extend thinking can raise expectations for all students and improve learning.

Articles

• ArticleWhat Is Rigor? Understanding Rigor Through Webb’s DOK

  This article defines what academic rigor really means and uses Webb’s Depth of Knowledge to help teachers design tasks and questions that move students beyond recall into deeper thinking.

• ArticleUsing Text Evidence to Respond to Questions

  Evaluate how to teach students to cite and reason from text, focusing on higher-order comprehension.

• ArticleClaim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER)

  This article covers the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning framework so students build and defend evidence-based arguments

• ArticleA Literary Response Activity for Grades 3–8

  This article describes a structured routine for deeper written response to literature.

• ArticleReverse Brainstorming: A Method to Build Creativity

  A divergent-thinking routine that flips a problem to spark creative ideas is presented in this interesting article.

• ArticleStrengthening Peer Reviews Through Growth Mindset

  This article describes how growth mindset can help impact peer feedback.

Resources

• Bloom’s Taxonomy Guide

  This is a quick-reference guide to Bloom’s levels with question stems and verbs for designing higher-order tasks.

• Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Guide

  A companion guide to Webb’s DOK that helps teachers calibrate the rigor of tasks and assessments.

• Frayer Model Template

  This resource is a four-square graphic organizer for deep vocabulary and concept development.

• ACE Anchor Chart

  An “Answer-Cite-Explain” anchor chart that describes how to construct a complete, evidence-based written response.

• Reverse Brainstorming Graphic Organizer

  This organizer allows for a reverse-brainstorming creativity routine.

• Divergent Thinking Activity Resource Packet

  This packet provides activities that build creative, divergent thinking.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• A Guide to Bloom’s Taxonomy

  This course teaches you to design objectives and questions that move students up the cognitive ladder.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• A Guide to Webb’s DOK

  This course teaches you to use Depth of Knowledge to calibrate the rigor of tasks and assessments.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Productive Struggle

  You will learn about how to create appropriately challenging tasks and the supports that keep struggle productive.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Fostering Divergent Thinking

  Methods for fostering divergent thinking and creativity in students is discussed in various ways in this course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

7

Check Understanding & Give Feedback

Progress monitoring and supporting your students are important for you to understand what students still need to learn, and how to help them evaluate their own misconceptions so they can work to improve them (Edutopia (opens in a new tab)). Frequent, low-stakes methods to check for student understanding in various ways ensure you know exactly what your students know and don’t know. With that information, you can provide targeted and actionable feedback to help address misconceptions or improve learning.

Articles

• ArticleThe 3-2-1 Strategy to Check for Student Understanding

  This article describes a simple, flexible formative-assessment routine that requires students to record three takeaways, two questions, and one connection.

• ArticleThe Four Corners Strategy: A Verbal, Active Check for Understanding

  This article provides a fun way to check understanding using the four corners strategy.

• ArticleThe Student Response System: A Verbal Strategy to Check for Understanding

  Read about how a structured verbal response system lets a teacher check the understanding of every student at once.

• ArticleA Formula for Student Feedback

  This article describes how you can provide student feedback using repeated steps so it is timely, specific, and targeted.

• ArticleUsing Aggressive Active Monitoring to Maximize Student Learning

  This article discusses a technique for circulating with purpose during guided and independent practice to actively monitor and address student misconceptions.

• ArticleExit Tickets

  This article describes how exit tickets can be used as a quick end-of-lesson check that captures what students learned and what to reteach.

• ArticleThe Value of Rubrics for Assessment

  Read about how well-built rubrics keep instruction, assessment, and feedback aligned to the objective.

Resources

• Checking for Understanding Strategy Guide

  This resource is a comprehensive reference guide to verbal, written, and demonstration checks for understanding, with when-and-how guidance across a lesson cycle.

• CFU Planning Worksheet

  This planning template prompts teachers to build deliberate checks for understanding into a lesson in advance.

• 3-2-1 Summary Template

  This resource is a ready-to-print template for the 3-2-1 routine

• Exit Ticket Templates

  This resource provides a comprehensive set of flexible exit-ticket formats for closing a lesson and checking for student mastery of concepts.

• Student Feedback Template

  This structured template helps you deliver specific, actionable feedback that tells students what they did well and what to improve.

• Strategic Monitoring Tracker Template

  This resource allows you to plan and record active monitoring of targeted students and skills during a lesson.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Strategies to Check for Understanding

  This course focuses on the verbal, written, and demonstration checks for understanding, and describes how to use data to drive instruction.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Checking for Understanding in Elementary Math

  This course provides the steps required to implement appropriate checks for understanding and correct common misconceptions in elementary math.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Providing Actionable Feedback to Students

  This detailed course provides you with specific insights into collecting evidence and writing feedback that supports and improves student learning.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Varied Assessment Methods for Gifted Students

  This course describes several varied and challenging assessment methods appropriate for gifted learners.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

8

Reach Every Learner

We all know that differentiation is an integral component of effective teaching, since no single lesson delivery method necessarily reaches every student. Flexibility in teaching is required from the start, and considering ways to engage students, represent ideas in various ways, and allow for multiple forms of output and expression can improve learning (CAST UDL Guidelines (opens in a new tab)). Incorporating layers of differentiation into your lessons and utilizing tiered supports like MTSS/RTI ensures that content is still rigorous but appropriate to many different types of learners.

Articles

• ArticleDifferentiation in the Classroom: Content, Process, or Product?

  This article provides a straightforward guide to the three dimensions of differentiation: what students learn, how they learn it, and how they demonstrate mastery.

• ArticleTech Tools to Support Differentiation in Your Classroom

  Read about how certain classroom technology can make differentiation manageable, effective, and accessible to students.

• ArticleAI Prompts for Differentiated Lesson Plans

  This article describes some ready-to-use AI prompts that help teachers quickly generate tiered, differentiated versions of a lesson.

• ArticleUnderstanding Students with Reading Struggles

  Read about how teachers can recognize the underlying skill gaps behind reading struggles and respond with evidence-based reading instruction.

• ArticleMulti-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

  This article explains how MTSS organizes instruction and intervention into tiers, matching the intensity of support to student need.

• ArticleCreating a Sensory-Friendly Classroom for Students with Autism

  This describes the design for a structured, predictable, sensory-aware environment that supports students with autism.

Resources

• Student Differentiation Profile Template

  This resource is a profile template for capturing each student’s readiness, interests, and learning preferences.

• The MTSS Model Infographic

  This infographic is a visual overview of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework.

• Small Group Lesson Plan Template

  This lesson-plan template helps build targeted small-group interventions that a tiered support system depends on.

• Reading Strategies Checklist

  This is a student-facing checklist of comprehension strategies to apply before, during, and after reading.

• SMART IEP Goal Graphic Organizer

  This resource explains clear, measurable, standards-aligned IEP goals.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Ideas and Tools for Differentiation

  This course focuses on the core components of differentiated instruction for a mixed-ability classroom.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Planning for Differentiation

  This course helps you select the right differentiation methods for different student types, including special needs.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• A Look into Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

  Learn how to design lessons up front with UDL so every learner can access rigorous content.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Educating Diverse Student Populations

  This course explores how you can meet the needs of culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse learners.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)

  This course explains the MTSS framework for tiered academic and behavioral supports.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Intro to Response to Intervention (RTI)

  The fundamentals of RTI and progress monitoring are discussed in this course.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Understanding & Grouping English Language Learners

  Learn about ELL proficiency levels and flexible grouping to support language learners.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Understanding and Supporting Students with Dyslexia

  This course is focused on evidence-based strategies for supporting students with reading difficulties.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Understanding and Supporting Students with ADHD

  This course is focused on how ADHD affects learning, plus classroom strategies and accommodations.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

9

Build a Positive, Well-Managed Environment

For learning to occur, students must be in an orderly, well-managed space and feel safe at school. Efficient routines and clear behavior expectations are critical for effective instruction, while a strong classroom culture allows students to be more engaged in the lesson. In addition, a focus on social-emotional learning that helps students manage themselves and their relationships helps build a strong classroom (CASEL (opens in a new tab)). Management and classroom culture set the conditions for student learning and should be a first consideration as you plan strategies for your classroom.

Articles

• ArticleUsing Behavioral Momentum to Improve Student Behaviors

  This article discusses a research-based management strategy that builds compliance by sequencing small, easy requests before a harder one.

• ArticleThe ABCs of Behavior

  Read about the Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence framework so you can analyze why misbehavior happens and respond proactively.

• ArticleEstablishing Classroom Procedures

  This article describes the specific routines, procedures, transitions, and more that are required for an effective classroom.

• ArticleThree Daily Practices to Promote Social-Emotional Learning

  This describes simple, sustainable daily routines that build social-emotional skills and create the best classroom conditions for student learning.

• ArticleThe Importance of a Growth Mindset for Students

  Read about why a growth mindset matters for learning, and how to cultivate it.

• ArticleThe Marble Jar Reward System

  This fun article describes one whole-class positive-reinforcement routine for building desired behavior in young students.

• ArticleBuilding a Better Classroom, One Strategy at a Time

  Read about a practical approach to steadily strengthening classroom management.

Resources

• Behavior Contract Templates

  Explore these ready-to-use behavior contracts for setting expectations, choosing reinforcers, and tracking progress.

• Classroom Procedures Plan Template

  This is a planning template for mapping the routines and procedures that maximize instructional time.

• Mood Meter

  This colorful resource is a student-facing tool for naming and regulating emotions

• Calming Techniques Student Tool

  This student tool describes calming strategies that support self-regulation in a trauma-informed classroom.

• SEL Components Quick Reference

  This is a one-page reference describing the core components of social-emotional learning.

Model Teaching Course Suggestions

• Student-Led Classroom Management

  This course describes how to foster student independence while building strong culture, expectations, and behavior responses.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Efficient Classroom Processes

  This course identifies six strategies for building the routines to help maximize your instruction.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Strategies to Support Social-Emotional Learning

  Take this course if you want to learn how to embed SEL into instruction to improve emotional intelligence and academic success.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies (Gr 6–12)

  This course describes trauma and some strategies to address it at the secondary level.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Trauma-Informed Teaching Strategies (PreK–5)

  This course describes trauma and some strategies to address it at the elementary level.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Behavior Contract Design

  In this course, you will create individualized behavior contracts with clear expectations and incentives.

  PD hoursGraduate credit
• Understanding and Managing the Behaviors of Students with Special Needs

  This course focuses on the functions of student behavior and how to use data analysis to improve behaviors in your classroom.

  PD hoursGraduate credit

The Model Teaching Bundle

If you have license renewal needs, salary advancement needs, or simply continuing education needs to improve your classroom practice, Model Teaching has courses and bundles for you.

Access our full course menu here, which includes 100+ courses like the ones suggested in this article, plus the university-credit version of every course as well. You can also access our full menu bundle pack to choose the strategies and professional learning support that is right for you, significantly saving money by bundling multiple courses at once.

• For individuals PD level bundle

  Learn more about the PD level bundle here.

• For individuals Credit level bundle

  Learn more about the credit level bundle here.

Are you interested in utilizing Model Teaching courses for on-campus professional development? Learn more about how we support schools and offer online course access at the campus and district levels.

• Public schools Schools & districts

  For those working in a public school system, learn more here.

• Private · charter · religious Private, religious & charter systems

  For those working in a private, religious, or charter system, learn more here.

Frequently Asked Questions About Instructional Strategies

Common questions about instructional strategies, teaching strategies, and Model Teaching courses.

Definitions What is the difference between instructional strategies and teaching strategies?

The terms are often used interchangeably. In this article, we describe instructional strategies as the how behind learning, and teaching strategies as the how behind teaching.

Categories What are the purpose-focused categories for instructional and teaching strategies discussed in this article?

This article describes 9 categories of strategies bucketed by purpose: Plan & Align Instruction, Present & Model New Content, Engage Students, Explore, Inquire & Apply, Practice & Master Content, Deepen Thinking, Check Understanding & Give Feedback, Reach Every Learner, and Build a Positive, Well-Managed Environment.

New teachers How can new teachers build a strong set of instructional strategies?

Begin with a foundational, sequenced learning path rather than isolated tips. Identify the purpose in your instruction first, or what you are trying to achieve. Then, narrow down a few strategies you can implement and master. As you master implementation of more strategies, you will begin to improve instruction through various methods. You can utilize the articles, resources, and courses suggested in this article as a starting point.

Bundles How do Model Teaching course bundles work?

The Build-Your-Own Bundle lets you combine any courses from the full menu to reach the number of credits or PD hours you need, saving you a significant amount of money compared with buying individual courses. They are great for teachers who need support in various instructional and teaching strategies and can also be utilized at the school and district level to support the whole campus.

Credit & renewal Do Model Teaching courses count toward teacher license renewal or salary advancement?

In most states, yes. Courses can be applied toward license renewal either as graduate credit or as professional development hours, depending on your state’s requirements. And most districts accept our credit courses to apply to a salary change to increase your salary.

Course format Are the courses self-paced and online?

Yes, every course is 100% online with immediate access, so you can start anytime, work at your own pace, pause whenever you need, and keep access for a full year. You still get access to a live instructor who reviews your coursework and provides you with feedback. Our courses combine video, reading, and practical assignments you can apply in your classroom right away.