We often look to teachers and researchers as we source innovative teaching practices and strategies that require out-of-the-box thinking but lead to big impacts in the classroom: greater academic independence, for example, or high-order thinking and reasoning.
In an effort to highlight some of these more surprising insights, we’ve put together a list of six effective and evidence-based practices, backed by educators and by research.
1. Assess More, Grade Less
It’s common to think that assignments and formal grading go hand-in-hand, but if it’s true that practice makes perfect and also true that every assignment requires your input, then you’ve stumbled into an unavoidable contradiction: The more you have to grade, the less you can assign.
2. Give Students Texts They Aren’t Prepared to Read
One popular philosophy of reading—often referred to as leveled reading—suggests that the best way to improve reading comprehension is to match students with books they can get through comfortably and slowly build up their capacity.
3. Design Failure Right Into Your Lessons
“When students are stuck, they feel all sorts of emotions—shame, guilt, and frustration, for example,” says Manu Kapur, learning scientist and father of the concept of productive struggle. “Our research has shown that if you think positive emotions are always positive for learning and negative emotions are always negative for learning—that’s not true.” In fact, if you’re not sometimes frustrated or struggling, he told Edutopia in a 2022 interview, “that means you’re probably not learning.”
4. Quiz Students Before They Learn the Material
Asking students to take a practice test before they’ve even encountered the material on the test might seem cruel. But a 2021 research study shows that the approach, called pretesting, can actually be more effective than other, more typical review strategies. In the study, students who took a practice test before learning material outperformed peers who studied more traditionally by 49 percent on a follow-up test. Making a lot of mistakes on pretests is key to the strategy’s success, the researchers concluded, as it spurs students’ curiosity and pushes them to search for the right answers when they finally do encounter the new material.
5. Don’t Answer Student Questions
Reducing the amount of time you commit to answering student questions, while gently guiding them to direct their own inquiry, solutions, and discussion, can reap academic rewards and boost student confidence. One of the conclusions of the 2000 National Reading Panel, for example, is that younger learners, whose oral language tends to outpace their ability to read and write, need time and space to connect the rigorous reading and writing they do to speaking and listening, ideally with their peers.
6. Encourage A Little Noise
An always-quiet, always-composed classroom can look like success but actually disguise disinterest, or even boredom, veteran teachers tell Edutopia. Typically, letting kids chat in class is discouraged because it’s thought of as distracting.
Activity: Group Problem-Solving Challenge
Objective: To promote collaboration, critical thinking, and active learning by engaging students in a group problem-solving challenge related to the current curriculum topic.
Materials needed: Problem-solving scenario or question, whiteboard or chart paper, markers, and a timer.
Steps:
- Introduce the activity: Explain the purpose of the activity to the students, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, critical thinking, and active learning in problem-solving.
- Divide the class into groups: Break the class into small groups of 3-4 students. Encourage students to work with peers they may not usually interact with to promote diverse perspectives and ideas.
- Present the problem: Introduce a challenging problem or scenario related to the current curriculum topic. The problem should be complex enough that it requires group discussion and critical thinking to solve.
- Set the ground rules: Explain that you will not be answering questions during the activity and encourage students to rely on their peers for support and guidance. Remind them to respect each other's ideas and to actively listen when others are speaking.
- Begin the problem-solving process: Give the groups a set amount of time (e.g., 15-20 minutes) to discuss and work on the problem together. Encourage students to use the resources available to them, such as textbooks or online materials, to help with their problem-solving.
- Monitor and facilitate: As the students work, circulate around the room, monitoring their progress and offering gentle guidance when needed. Encourage groups to stay on task and maintain a productive level of noise.
- Share solutions: Once the allotted time has passed, ask each group to present their solution or approach to the class. Encourage discussion and questions from other groups to deepen understanding and explore alternative strategies.
- Reflect on the process: After all groups have shared their solutions, engage the class in a reflection on the problem-solving process. Ask students to discuss what they learned, what challenges they faced, and how they overcame them through collaboration and critical thinking.
This activity promotes active learning, collaboration, and critical thinking while allowing students to engage in productive noise and self-directed inquiry. By working together to solve a challenging problem, students develop essential problem-solving skills and learn to appreciate diverse perspectives.
Benefits for students:
- Improved collaboration
- Enhanced critical thinking
- Active learning
- Greater independence
- Increased engagement
- Appreciation for diverse perspectives
Benefits for teachers:
- Insight into student understanding
- Opportunities for formative assessment
- Enhanced classroom dynamics
- Promotion of student-centered learning
- Reduced reliance on direct instruction
- Professional growth
