Instructional Strategies

Right now I am reading Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience by Jay McTighe and Judy Willis.  While it's not a light read, it has a lot of thought-provoking research behind it and ideas and resources and SO MANY ACRONYMS.  Education does not need more acronyms, but these might actually be helpful.  Here's some great takeaways.

Instructional Strategies website - this website has instructional strategies listed by topic and content area.  There's also a big long list, but it's overwhelming.

For The Teachers - this website has instructional strategies categorized by the goals of the task - monitor progress, compare and contrast, adapt content, share opinions.  It also has a great page on Differentiation.

WHERETO - This acronym gets to the heart of a lesson. 
W stands for question words - why, where, what and questions to ask include How will I help students know where we are headed in this lesson?
H stands for hook, or how will you capture the students' attention.  Ask yourself, How can I tap into the brain's natural curiosity to hook learners around this new topic?
E stands for equip, or what learning experiences will equip students to meet performance goals.  Ask yourself, How will I equip students to be able to transfer their learning in performance tasks?
R stands for rethink or revise, such as using formative feedback to garner the mastery and the gaps in their understandings.  Ask yourself, How will I provide helpful feedback to help students improve their products and performances through revision?
E also stands for evaluate.  Ask yourself, How can I encourage students' metacognition by monitoring and self-evaluating their performance?
T stands for tailor, as in how will you personalize the experience for students.  Ask yourself, What connections can we make to what matters to them?
O stands for organize, sequencing the lesson to create maximum efficiency and effectiveness.  Ask yourself, How can I make the lesson flow in a brain-friendly manner?

These are just a few of my takeaways from this book.  There are others, including AMT (acquisition, meaning making, transfer), memory scaffolds, and tips for designing effective rubrics so if you are interested in reading it, please reach out and you can borrow my copy!