Teaching Strategies

Teaching with research based methods increases student engagement and understanding of material. For each teaching method find information about what makes the method effective and a collection of example lessons.

Note: the list of teaching strategies below have been chosen for their application in K-12 classrooms from a larger list of research-based pedagogies on the SERC site.

Conducting Science with Students

The following methods take different approaches to assisting educators in conducting science with students. In some methods, students collect data and analyze it following a series of guided questions. In another, students are made aware of how they can conduct science outside the classroom. Whichever method is used, students learn how scientific knowledge is gained and learn to interpret data.

Process of Science- Teaching the process of science means taking the aspects of how science is conducted and making these ideas explicit for students, allowing them to discover how scientific knowledge is gained.
Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning - In this approach, groups of students work together through data and questions to discover a scientific concept. A similar resource is titled Classroom Experiments.
Guided Discovery Problems - Guided Discovery Problems lead students through a progression of questions with supporting diagrams from simple to complex to build student's understanding of a concept as they discover it themselves.
Campus Based Learning - Campus-based projects can provide hands-on, real-world projects that can be accomplished without a field trip budget or transportation by using buildings and grounds as teaching tools.

Group Work Methods

Group work is a way of getting students to work together to solve a problem or learn new information. By using group work, educators teach students how to learn from one another's ideas. Since scientists do not work in isolation, using group work in a structured way can teach students skills in collaboration and accountability, similar to skills scientists must have.

Cooperative Learning - Cooperative Learning involves structuring classes around small groups that work together so that each group member's success is dependent on the group's success.
Jigsaws - In a jigsaw, teams of students prepare separate but related assignments. Teams regroup and peers then teach each other about their prepared portion of the learning.
Gallery Walks - In a Gallery Walk, questions are posted at stations around the room. Teams of students rotate around the classroom, composing answers to questions while reflecting upon the answers given by other groups.

Innovative Methods for Application and Analysis

Students ability to respond to higher order questioning demonstrates the degree to which they understand a particular topic. In the following methods, students are required to justify answers, apply information, or analyze ideas. These methods are very useful for eliciting student's understanding of what they have been taught and also for identifying any remaining misconceptions students may hold.

Documented Problem Solving- This process requires students to record their thought process as they solve a problem. Instead of simply presenting a solution, students must explain their reasoning for arriving at their solution.
Game Based Learning - In game based learning, students compete to learn material. Included in this resource are tips for making a meaningful game, making rules fair, and grading.
Interactive Lecture Demonstrations- This resource provides formatting for scaffolding learning from demonstrations. Students predict an outcome, observe the demonstration and reflect on their previous assumptions of the outcome.
Socratic Questioning - Educators present thoughtful questions for students to discuss which cause them to think critically about a topic or issue. The educator then requires students to justify their responses.

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