Instructional Strategies Instructional Activities

Instructional strategies are Instructional activities refer to the teacher-guided instructional tasks or assignments
tactics used to promote for students. Activities are things that are done to utilize a strategy.
learning. They are
generalizable across academic
disciplines, types of students,
and educational settings.

Teacher Clarity Provide clear learning targets

Use performances of understanding
Create and communicate student success criteria (look-fors) using checklists/rubrics
Check for understanding throughout the lesson
Use formative assessments

Specific and Timely Feedback Hold individual conferences

Use rubrics
Circulate taking anecdotal notes and providing specific feedback to students
Use student self-assessment structures (LT Tracker) and goal setting
Use peer-assessment opportunities

Active Engagement Use Total Participation Techniques

Link new information to prior knowledge
Use physical manipulatives and visual supports
Have students ask and answer questions including higher order questions
Use advanced organizers and graphic organizers
Have students take notes
Read and write for authentic purposes
Provide relevant choices for students in processes, products, and content
Provide instruction that is novel, varied, and authentic
Use a variety of authentic audiences to share student work

Explicit Instruction Identify and analyze cause and effect

Identify and analyze similarities and differences
Provide examples and nonexamples
Create analogies
Generate and test hypotheses
Use teacher and student modeling (shared reading and writing, physical models)
Teach strategies to access content

Multiple Exposures Student rehearsal (go over material until it can be remembered)
Student review (go over materials learned previously)
Provide time for students practice with specific and timely feedback

Knowledge Application Provide guided practice

Engage students in problem-solving, sense-making activities, and/or inquiry learning
Apply previously learned knowledge and skills to new knowledge and skills
Teach students how to solve problems (Understand the problem, develop an action
plan, implement, review results)
Summarize learning

Student Collaboration Use cooperative/collaborative learning

Engage students in classroom discussions (Think-Pair-Share, literature circles,
Socratic Seminar, Inside-Outside Circle, etc)
Engage students in role-plays
Engage students in collaborative support (peer tutoring, editing partner, etc.)
Use technology to collaborate (Google docs, Skype, etc.)

Self-Efficacy Provide emotional and intellectual safety for all students

Recognize effort & provide recognition (teacher to student/student to self & others)
Maintain a growth mindset (teacher and student)
Student reflection on strategies: before, during, and after use
Developed by Luella Anderson, Dina Fricke, and Linda Humphries based on the work of John Hattie and Robert Marzano