Teaching Strategies
Compare, Contrast, and Off the Chart- A Different Approach to Finding Solutions
Students identify what’s similar, what’s different (singular), and what’s entirely off the chart (meaning new and interesting ideas and approaches of their own design). This strategy is particularly beneficial coupled with a brainstorming approach as it allows a student to identify related concepts/ideas/problems/traits that may lead to novel connections and ideas or test the strength of previously accepted notions.
Fishbowl
Students for a small inner group to discuss a topic. Remaining students form a larger outer group to watch the discussion. While the inner group explores the topic, outer group explores the dynamics of the inner group’s discussion, including: points, evidence, connections, rationales, fallacies, and participation. After a specified time, the groups switch roles. Whole class discussion follows. Fishbowl works well in strengthening critical thinking and metacognition as well as raising awareness of accountability during discussion. How the topic’s content is addressed as well as how the inner circle’s claims, counterclaims, and discussion practice was (or was not) supported. Students in the outer circle have time to evaluate the points made without the pressure to respond right away. Students in the inner circle are more likely to perform well because they understand that the role of the audience will be to later evaluate both their talk and action.
Jigsaw
Each small group or partner set investigates a specific piece of a larger concept. Later all the groups/partners come together to share learning, combining the pieces in order to form a more complete whole. Jigsaw works well if participants are committed to deep investigation of their part and are ready to defend it. Groups need to be given time to preview content (in a poster, mini-guide, parking lot, etc.) and to construct questions for the other groups. Jigsaw presentations can also work by redistributing groups so that students in group A disburse throughout the classroom, each teaching to the other groups. Rotations continue until all questions are addressed.
Question and Response Musical Gallery Walk
Objects, paragraphs, literary works, art, photos, (etc.) are posted on or near the classroom walls at least a few feet apart. Students each stand in front of one exhibit. They have a set amount of time to examine the exhibit and place a question or comment about the display. When the music stops, they move on in a circular fashion and repeat the process. When every student has had at least three minutes to add their question or comment to each exhibit, we take a short break. Then, we complete the process, but this time we are responding to questions or comments others have written. At the end, we talk about how the exhibits go together and investigate some of the more interesting ones.
Reporter
Students are tasked to interview a real person with interesting open-ended questions that explore a certain subject. Then, students are tasked to use those same questions to interview a subject from history. They make up what they think responses should be, and then justify their answers with evidence from what that historical figure believed, stated, or did. This also works when students are asked to study a person currently alive (for example: former President Barack Obama, Senator Mitch McConnell, Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Trevor Noah, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) and construct responses to open-ended questions based on their past actions or words.
Project Better
Students design and implement a project that:
- Improves them personally
- Improves the school day
- Improves the classroom
- Improves the school
- Improves their neighborhood
- Improves a targeted community
This strategy depends upon several parts: identification of a problem, investigating its causes, researching what has been done to solve/improve the problem, finding a solution that could work to solve some part of the problem, creating an action plan, finding resources, publishing the project, and getting it started. Students who experience working on problems proactively have better chances of becoming proactive instead of reactive. They also become more confident and optimistic.
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