Ten best teaching practices

To make education meaningful and rich, these take time, training, resources and commitment,
but they’re worth trying the because they raise the quality of life for our kids. We need to prepare
Our children that things computers can’t do a like from problem solving, complex thinking and
collaboration. Children need to learn in social settings. We must begin to assess learning in the
context of how it’s going to be used-authentic assessment-its ongoing and truly tests long-term
memory
Learning in the classroom should be related to the world outside[ real world connections]
1. Creating an enriched and emotionally supportive environment : emotion and
cognitive learning aren’t separate from each other , they work in tandem with one
another .
Stress is one of the inhibitors for learning, a common reason for stress in students is threat. “
threat impairs brain cells , it also changes the body chemistry and impacts learning.”
Example of stress in classroom - anything that embarrasses a student, unrealistic deadlines,
Students inability to speak the language, create learning styles and an uncomfortable
classroom culture. We need to believe that all children can learn and then we communicate
and convince students of this fact. Students who feel threatened operate on survival mode.
[ flight / fight]
Classroom needs to be safe and secure. An enriched environment is better for the developing
brain. Enrichment from classroom comes primarily from feedback and challenge. Too little
challenge in the classroom breeds Boredom and too much can intimidate. It should be
filtered so that it provides stimulating and fun experience is that matched the ability level of
the students without causing the Frustration.
Feedback should be a part of learning about every 30 minutes. It takes on many forms
including peer evaluation, journal writing, predicting activities, and presentations and
rubrics.
Enriched environment means students are deeply involved in learning, they are not passive
receivers, factors that help to create an enriched and supportive environment include: a sense
of belonging, high level of support for achievement, a sense of empowerment - students
should have input into the decisions that affect their lives daily. Look at the policies And
rules in the classroom / school and as “ how many unnecessary and how many no longer
apply but are in place because at some point in the past they were deemed necessary ?
A win win solution means that all parties feel good about the decision and see them and to
the action plan. This sees life as a co- operative not competitive arena. We empower students
when we give them choices in the assignment and involve them in making classrules.
Teachers need to develop a rapport with their students [they can’t afford to be impersonal.

2. Use a variety of teaching strategies that address different learning styles

There are different learning modalities
 Auditory modality-new information should be taught in the first twenty minutes
of the class followed by activities or discussion to re-inforce learning.
 Visual modality-one of the most effective tools for these learners is the graphic
or concrete models.
 You can use these when you introduce an abstract concept
  To assess learning instead of having students list items from the learning, give
them a choice to mindmap “mindmap the key points we discussed in science class
today.”
 As a part of individual group projects , examples might be mind maps, flow charts
and attribute webs.
 To demonstrate creativity – have little trouble in adding creative touches to their
models
 To depict relationships between facts and concepts- cause and effect diagrams,
fishbones and venn diagrams are examples of mental maps that depict the relation
ships to generate and organize ideas for writing
 To depict the sessions between facts and concepts

 kinesthetic modality- kin aesthetic learners learn best through movement and
touching
Provide opportunities for your class to go outside
 Provide opportunities to go on field trips
 Provide opportunities to do role play
 Provide opportunities when ever possible for them to move around the classroom
to change groups or just stand

Teachers tend to teach the way they learn.

3. Strategies that have students make connections from prior learning and experiences to
new learning across disciplines
The brain’s process of making connections between old and new learning- transfer
Positive transfer-past learning aids/helps new learning
Negative transfer-past learning interferes with new learning
4 factors that influence rate of transfer –similarity, association, context/degree of original
learning, critical attributes
Always teach from known to unknown –simple to complex
 Association : emotion is so strong in the brain that it takes priority, therefore we’re likely to
remember something when we have an emotional tie to it
Ask questions to make the children connect to the new information, before introduction to the
new unit /lesson –ask students to brainstorm ideas / information that they already know about
the subject / topic
These thoughts are written in the first circle
Fro example:-for a unit on world hunger- you ask them to list everything they already know
about world hunger in the inner circle. Then ask them to look at the information that they have
listed and you ask them to place any information that would be related to transportation in the
category 1 circle, anything that would be related to politics in the second circle, anything related
to the medical conditions in the third circle and so on. You might give them a lead in or
emotional hook to create interest. You might say, “in this country we produce enough food
each year for every man, woman and child to have 2,200 calories per day, so why do we have
world hunger ?that its not a matter of food production , which of them thought – you hook them
into the learning.
From there you ask them what they’d want to know about world hunger
 You make a “want to know” list, during the lesson you keep referring back to the list to see
that their questions are being answered, by doing this you are giving them a personal connection
or association to the learning.
Cross curricular themes- integration is important

 Similarity :- relate the new information to something similar that they would understand
personally
Fro example-lesson on immigration, before you begin the lesson you ask, “what would have to
happen in your life to cause you to pick everything you can carry and move to a place where
you know no one and a place about which you know very little? Because students tend to give
the same kind of answers, you could then ask, “what would have to happen economically in this
country to make you leave? In the religious arena?
Politically ? medically ? students develop or build a connection for understanding

 Critical attributes :- characteristics that make one idea unique from all others. “unique” is
the key word here, since it is important that students identify it/ how its different- so that
retrieval is easier.
Use mnemonic devises, graphic models and mind maps or organization tables with key concepts
to help students form patterns for new learning. It’s important to include visual models to help
connect the learning.

 Context/ degree of original learning :- when original learning was well learned and accurate
new learning will be more powerful.
You need to teach a concept for mastery not merely to finish the syllabus.
“the brain thrives on meaning, not random information”

1. Teaching for long term memory is a primary goal

Memory drawers in the brain
Semantic- holds information from words
Episodic –deals with locations
Procedural – deals with processes
Automatic –deals with conditioned response
Emotional –takes precedence over all other types of memory

Semantic memory- the 1st hook is relevance / meaning, you can teach anything as long as you make
it relevant. Example-children learn a language because its relevant to their world. So we can create
meaning by modeling, by giving then examples from experience and through artificial meaning
such as mnemonic devices. 2nd hook for semantic memory is patterns-making sense of the
information.
“the ability to make meaningful sense out of countless bits of data is critical to understanding and
motivation”

Episodic memory –uses cues to recall

Procedural memory- example;- driving a car
28 day rule- if you repeat a behavior for 28 days- it becomes internalised – this rule draws on
procedural memory to change negative thinking to positive by repetition. PM is enhanced through
hands on activities, manipulatives, role-play and physical skills
Automatic memory[AM]/ conditioned response- automatic memory is triggered by stimuli.
For example- the ability to read, alphabet, multiplication tables etc.
Mnemonic devices act as triggers , if we weave a story around the information it’s more likely that
the students will remember it. For example- make up a story to teach parts of the body like
pulmonary artery

Emotion :- the brain tends to remember those things to which it has an emotional attachment
“ the stronger the emotion, the more the meaning” emotional experiences code our learning as
important
Make a purposeful strategy to engage positive emotions within the learner. Utilize the following in
class- enthusiasm, drama, role-playing, quiz shows, debates, larger projects, guest speakers, creative
controversy, impactful rituals and celebrations
Students should see application to real life so that they can buy into learning from the start.
Emotions, relevance, visual /graphic models assist students in their learning.

5.Integrating higher order thinking skills into learning

When integrating higher order thinking skills are a part of the learning, students use more complex
thinking processes. Critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving should be encouraged
and rewarded. The teacher should filter the material studied so that low level and extraneous
information are kept at a minimum to allow time for processing more complex skills. To the extent
possible, student products and assessments should be at the analysis level or above. Inductive
thinking skills such as cause and effect and making inferences should be a part of the lesson plans
and students should be provided opportunities to use deductive thinking skills such as logic and
syllogistic thinking.

Bloom’s level verb process product

Knowledge list, outline, recall the freedom included in as a newspaper
locate, describe the bill of rights ad to encourage
patriotism
comprehension explain, interpret slope to your class in such a way that
infer,demonstrate student news to class
would understand
application draw, classify, solve illustrate how to identify flowchart
use, apply &classify parallelograms
analysis analyze, construct the organizational structure of compare and contrast
generate, combine art from the renaissance period chart
synthesis create, differentiate using elements of short story an original short story
diagram,infer, simplify writing &info relating 2 compromises about the talks at
property aftermath Malta
evaluation judge,determine,evaluate the underlying reasons for a rank order chart with
weigh, rank world war 2 narrative

6.Colloborative learning is an integral part of cooperative learning strategies to be used in

lesson plans

7. Bridging the gap between all learners, regardless of race, socio economic status, sex or creed
Most importantly the climate in the classroom will be, at all times a supportive and nurturing one
where building relationships is a priority & where there will be no hidden agendas. Teachers make
conscious efforts to bridge the gap between all learners . Test data can be analyzed from a variety of
perspectives.

8.Evaluating learning through a variety of authentic assessments

Reframe assessments so that: it’s as much as possible, a continuous process that is a part of
instruction & not separate from it. It connects directly to learning & is introduced before or
simultaneously with material. It requires students to do more than simply remember[ex; develop
math formulas, produce exhibitions, write essays, write poetry, create a musical score, develop &
participate in debates or create & conduct experiments] student questions, at least in part drive the
process.
By authentic, it means the assessment –truly measures the students’ understanding & ability to use
the learning & that the learning is in long term memory
3 criteria to define authentic assessment
1.students construct meaning and produce knowledge
2.students use disciplined inquiry to construct meaning
3.students aim their work toward production of discourse, products or performances that have
value or meaning beyond success in school.
Formative evaluation should be ongoing and frequent. Summative evaluations should
evaluate the students’ understanding of material presented & their ability to use it in not only
the context in which it was taught but in other contexts as well.
Students should be able to use learning in different contexts. They should be able to use a
wide variety of inquiry skills to solve problems, create products and access information.
Rubrics to evaluate must be clear & provided to students.

9. promoting real world application for learning

a teacher has sign in her room that says, “I promise I will never teach you anything in this
classroom unless I can tell you how you are going to use it in the outside world”
example: when students studied slope, they went to handicap ramps to check if it’s a slope if
it met the criteria.
Example: when studying angles, they measured & set specifications for angles- parking
The teacher took concepts of ramps & parking which the students were already familiar &
connected them to the concepts of slope & angles

Ina classroom where real world application to the learning is actually applied there will be
evidence in the lesson that the knowledge has connected to authentic situations that occur
outside the class well as within.
Depth of understanding will be evident through journals, products & written materials & part
of the students assessment will be the students’ ability to tie the learning to real world
situations.

10. Seamless integration of technology for high quality instruction

Through the use of animation & visuals, teachers will be able to give the learning relevance
to a degree not possible in the past.
Example: talking about polar bears who live in southern regions has much less relevance then
taking them through a virtual classroom to a zoo or region where thay can see real polar
bears.