Education Assistance
Please review the attachments, this is due within 10 hours!
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 1/26
Home » Teaching Strategies » 10 Evidence-Based Teaching
Strategies – �e Core List
10 Evidence-Based
Teaching Strategies – The
Core List
January 2, 2014 By Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)
Most teachers care about their students’ results, and if you are
reading this article, you are undoubtedly one of them. If you want
to make a larger di�erence to how well your students do, then learn
about this core list of 10 evidence-based teaching
strategies.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/teaching-strategies/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/author/shaunkillian-id-au/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 2/26
What is an evidence-based teaching
strategy?
An evidence-based teaching strategy is any approach to
teaching that is supported by research. However, research
shows that some strategies have far more impact than others.
O�en, reviews of research and meta-analyses can shed light on
these strategies.
�ere is no doubt that teachers make a di�erence in how well their
kids do at school. However, when you explore the thousands of
research studies on the topic, it is clear that some teaching
strategies have far more impact than others. �ese evidence-based
teaching strategies are grounded in solid research.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 3/26
I wrote this article because you (and other teachers) have far too
many demands on your time to si� through decades worth of
research. At the same time, I wanted to help you step outside of
your personal philosophies about teaching and the fancy jargon
being peddled by authorities, to discover the science of what works.
For core list of teaching strategies to make it on this list, they had
to:
Be supported by hard research, rather than anecdotal case
studies or untested theories
Have an impact on student results that it is substantially
higher than typical strategies
Be able to be used on a wide range of subject areas and in all
year levels
�e results may surprise you.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 4/26
Evidence Based Teaching Strategy
1: Clear Lesson Goals
It is crucial that you are clear about what it is you
want your students to learn during each lesson.
�e e�ect that such clarity has on student results
is 32% greater than the e�ect of holding high
expectations for every student (and holding high
expectations has a sizeable e�ect).
Lesson goals state what you want your students to:
Know and understand
Be able to do
Clear lesson goals help you (and your students) to focus every other
aspect of your lesson on what matters most.
EBT Strategy 2: Show & Tell
1
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 5/26
�e second core teaching strategy in this list is show and tell. You
should start most of your lessons with some show and tell. Put
simply:
Telling involves sharing information or knowledge with your
students
Showing involves modelling how to do something.
Your lesson goals clarify what you want your students to know and
be able to do by the end of the lesson. Now, you need to tell them
what they need to know and show them how to do the things you want
them to be able to do. You don’t’ want to spend your entire lesson
have the kids and listening to you, so it is essential to focus your
show and tell on things that matter most. To do this, have another
look at your lesson goal.
Show and tell is the essence of the I Do phase of the I Do – We Do –
You Do model. and it is intergal to true teacher clarity.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
Teacher Clarity: A Potent Yet Misunderstood Teaching Strategy
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 6/26
EBT Strategy 3: Questioning to
Check for Understanding
Once you have told students what they need to know, you need to
check their understanding before moving on. You can do this using:
Random sampling
All student response system
Random sampling involves asking a �uestion, pausing and then
randomly choosing a student to answer. �e pause is to allow all
students to think of their answer. And, the random sampling can be
as simple as names out of a hat. Other popular techni�ues include
popsicle sticks In sand and an online name picker.
By using random sampling regularly, students get used to having to
have an answer ready in case you select their name. By asking a
small number of �uestions about the content you have just shared
and randomly selecting students to answer them, you can get a
reasonable estimate of the class’s understanding.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 7/26
�e other option is to use some form of all student response
system. �ese systems include the following.
EBT Strategy 4: Summarise New
Learning In A Graphical Way
Save
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 8/26
Graphic outlines include things such as mind
maps, �ow-charts and Venn diagrams. You can
use them to help students to:
Summarise what they have learned
Understand the interrelationships between the aspects of
what you have taught them
Discussing a graphical summary is a fantastic way to �nish o�
your show and tell. You can then refer to it one more time at the end
of your lesson.
Research shows that graphical ways of organising and reorganising.
Studies show that it doesn’t seem to matter who makes the
summary graphic, be it you or your students, provided the graphic
is accurate.
Discussing a graphical summary is a fantastic way to �nish o�
your show and tell. You can then refer to it one more time at the end
of your lesson.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Self_regulated_Learning_for_Academic_Suc.html?id=OdFYQwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 9/26
See also: How to Use Concept Mapping in Your Classroom: �e
Complete Guide
EBT Strategy 5: Plenty of Practice
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Practice helps students to retain the knowledge and skills that they
have learned during your show and tell.
�erefore, you need to choose practice tasks related to your lesson
goal. Doing so also gives you another opportunity to check for
understanding. You can then use this opportunity to:
Re-explain things to the class or groups
O�er personalised feedback to individual students
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 10/26
However, research also shows that students do better when you give
them multiple opportunities to practice spread out over time.
So, you need to build in opportunities to practice past material
either as:
Part of the lesson
Stand-alone sessions by themselves
For more on this, see my articles:
Distributed Practice & Massed Practice
Deliberate Practice In Education
EBT Strategy 6: Provide Your
Students With Feedback
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://amzn.to/2RY5OuF
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 11/26
Feedback is the breakfast of champions, and it is the breakfast
served by extraordinary teachers around the world.
Giving feedback involves telling a student:
How they have performed on a particular task
along with ways that they can improve.
Feedback is di�erent to praise. Praise focuses on the student rather,
but feedback focuses on what your student did. It provides your
students with a tangible understanding of:
What they did well
Where they are at
How they can improve
In John Hattie’s view, any teachers who seriously want to boost
their children’s results should s�art by giving them dollops and dollops
of feedback.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00049441920360010
2
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 12/26
If you want to learn more about giving feedback, subscribe to our
email list. You will then receive a free copy of our eBook How to
Give Feedback to Students: �e Advanced Guide. You should also
check out our student feedback infographic.
EBT Strategy 7: Be Flexible About
How Long It Takes to Learn
�e idea that given enough time, every student can learn is not as
revolutionary as it sounds. It underpins the way we teach martial
arts, swimming and dancing. It is also the central premise
behind mastery learning, a techni�ue that has the same e�ect on
student results as socio-economic status and other aspects of home
life .
When you adopt mastery learning, you di�erentiate di�erently. You
keep your learning goals the same but vary the time you give each
child to succeed. Within the constraints of a crowded curriculum,
2
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 13/26
this may be easier said than done; however, we can all do it to some
degree.
�erefore, I encourage you to make use of this seventh evidence-
based teaching strategy whenever and however you can.
Evidence Based Teaching Strategy
8: Productive Group Work
Group work is not new, and you can see it in every classroom.
However, productive group work is rare. And, it is this productive
group work that forms our eighth evidence-based teaching strategy.
Why isn’t all group work productive? Put simply, some students do
all the work and all the learning, while others do very little at all.
�ere are several reasons this can happen, but 2 of the main one are
that some students are more:
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 14/26
Eager than others
Competent than others
To increase the productivity of your groups, you need to be
selective about the:
Tasks you assign to them
Individual role that each group member plays
If you want to use the evidence-based teaching strategy of
productive group work, you should:
Only ask groups to do tasks that all group members can do
successfully
Ensure each group member personally responsible for one
step in the task
For example, when teaching students to multiply a 2 digit ´ 2 digit
number:
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 15/26
1. Start by showing the class what to and telling them why
each step is important. �en check for unders�anding.
2. �en get your students to complete some practice Again,
check for understanding a�er they have done so. Only
when all students are starting to develop competence
should you give them groupwork.
3. Place your students into groups of 3, as there are 3 steps
involved in 2 digit ´ 2 digit multiplication. �en have each
group member to decide to choose a letter, A, B or C.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 16/26
Evidence Based Teaching Strategy
9: Teach Strategies Not Just
Content
Save
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 17/26
Earlier, I highlighted the importance of the second evidence-based
teaching strategy – show and tell.
However, the focus was on teaching content. You can also increase
how well your students do in any subject by explicitly teaching
them how to use relevant learning strategies. When teaching
students to:
Write you o�en teach them strategies such as making a plan
and checking for transition words.
Read you o�en teach strategies that will deepen their
comprehension.
Mathematics, you o�en teach them problem-solving
strategies.
From assignments and studying, to characterisation, there are
strategies that will help your students perform better.
And, just as with content, you need to:
Tell students about these strategies
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
7 High-Impact Learning Strategies You Must Teach Your Students
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 18/26
Show them how to use them
Give them guided practice and feedback before asking them
to use them independently
Evidence Based Teaching Strategy
10: Nurture Meta-Cognition
�e tenth and �nal evidence-based teaching strategy in this list is
me�a-cognition. Many teachers believe they are encouraging
students to use me�a-cognition when they are not. O�en, they are
just asking their students to use strategies. For example:
Making connections when reading
Self-verbalising when solving problems
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 19/26
Such strategies are useful. However, on their own, they are not
meta-cognition.
Meta-cognition involves thinking about your options, your choices
and your results. And it has an even larger e�ect on student results
than teaching them strategies.
When using meta-cognition your students may think about:
What strategies they could use (options)
What strategies they will use (choices)
How e�ective their choices were (results)
Whether to continue with or change their chosen strategies
What Teaching Strategies Didn’t
Make the Top 10?
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 20/26
Some evidence-based teaching strategies that didn’t make the top
ten are still worth adopting. Research shows that a few of these
teaching strategies have a signi�cant positive impact on student
results. For example, holding high expec�ations of students . �ey just
have less of an e�ect than those that made the top ten list.
Other evidence-based teaching strategies didn’t make the list for a
di�erent reason. �ey can only be used within a single subject. For
example, reciprocal teaching. Don’t assume that a teaching strategy is
no good just because it isn’t in the top ten. You can �nd other
examples of subject-speci�c strategies in the article How to Teach
Writing to Adolescents.
�at said, there are some popular teaching strategies that do
not have a large e�ect on student results. �ese include whole
language, teaching test �aking and discovery-based learning.
3
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 21/26
Note on this Core List of
Evidence Based Teaching
Strategies
I �rst published this article in 2015. Since then there has been
additional research. Check out my more recent article 6 High
Impact Teaching Strategies.
The Top 10 Evidence Based
Teaching Strategies In Brief
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 22/26
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 23/26
Embed This Graphic on Your Website
Save
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 24/26
Courtesy of Evidence-
Based Teaching
Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)
Shaun Killian is an experienced teacher and principal with
a passion for helping students to excel. He believes that
assisting teachers to adopt evidence-based education is the
best way to make this happen. Shaun is committed to
bringing you practical advice based on solid research.
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/author/shaunkillian-id-au/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/author/shaunkillian-id-au/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1943258412600294/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunkillian/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 25/26
References
1 In John Hattie’s Visible Learning, the e�ect size for high
expec�ations is 0.43, while the e�ect size for teacher clarity is
0.75
2 See Visible Learning by John Hattie
3 See for example, Rubie-Davies, C. M. (2007). Classroom
interactions: Exploring the practices of high- and low-
expectation teachers. British Journal of Educational
Psychology, 77, 289–306; see also, Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset.
New York: Random House, and Pygmalion in the
Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupil’s Intellectual
Development.
Filed Under: Educational Articles, Feature, Teaching Strategies
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://amzn.to/2XrmdO2
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/feature/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/teaching-strategies/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
2/27/2021 Evidence Based Teaching Strategies – The Core List
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/evidence-based-teaching-strategies/ 26/26
Connect With Us
Privacy Policy | Glossary
Copyright © 2021 Australian Society For Evidence Based Teaching
EVIDENCE-BASED TEACHING
H O M E H E L P F U L A RT I C L ES A B O U T
Search this website
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1943258412600294/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunkillian/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/glossary/
https://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/category/educational-articles/
Directions: Answer each discussion question in 150 words and each response in 100 words. The attached document can used as a guide.
Discussion Question 1: Identify one learning strategy you feel best meets the needs of students with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia or dyscalculia. Identify one instructional strategy that you feel best meets the needs of students identified as gifted. Explain why you selected these strategies and how you know they work.
Response 1:
Allecia wrote : A learning strategy that would be beneficial to all students, but especially students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, would be the strategy of “show and tell”. According to Killian (2014), “telling involves sharing information or knowledge with your students and showing involves modeling how to do something”. The majority of students will benefit from modeling, or a visual aspect to teaching rather than just listening to directions or content lecture. Modeling provides clarity and comfort as students take their first steps to complete a new task.
Incorporating classroom discussion, both large group and small group, as a learning strategy would be beneficial to those who are identified as gifted. Discussion between peers includes sharing diverse viewpoints and ideas to further understanding of content and also encourage creativity and critical thinking skills. This is especially true within my content of art. We take time weekly to do small group critiques and discussions about each student’s work. This is time for me as a teacher to share my feedback, but also equally important, for students to share their ideas and feedback to take an art work to another level as well.
Response 2:
Wade wrote: it is not clear why the author of this DQ asks in the one instance about a learning strategy and then, in another, about an instructional strategy. Obviously, learning and instruction are not the same, nor are the strategies related to them the same. I suspect the author was just being careless in choice of language and that what we are going for here are instructional strategies in both instances. I do wish, though, that things didn’t always have to be confusing.
Anyway…
RTI is an instructional strategy that I might use for students suffering from any kind of learning disability. RTI is great (n/a, n/a).
For gifted students, I would not use any instructional strategy per se. I would simply make sure to keep such students interested, engaged, and challenged. I could do this by increasing the difficulty level of assignments and/or by providing supplemental learning material.
Discussion Question 2: Research indicates that engagement is integral to a student’s mental readiness and motivation to learn. How might you go about noticing that students are not engaged? Explain a strategy that would help a teacher quickly monitor engagement and adjust instruction.
Response 1:
During instruction, there are some key things to watch for to see if students are engaged. If the lesson is teacher directed, students should be paying attention (consider body language – are they upright and following you with their eyes?), taking notes as needed, listening, asking good questions, reacting to lesson content, and answering questions. During student directed learning, students are engaged if they are reading critically, asking questions, explaining, evaluating, interacting with other students and more (Johnson, 2012). On the converse, if students are sleeping, not watching the teacher, and showing general lack of interest, they are likely not engaged in the lesson. Some effective ways to encourage student engagement is to incorporate games and activities that require participation, incorporate student interest into the lesson, and incorporate student choice into the lesson. I have found that this is something that I really enjoy about teaching – creating exciting and engaging lessons in my content area of art. Since being online, I have struggled, as I am sure most all other teachers have, to keep students engaged while teaching over Zoom. This period in education shows how essential in person learning with engaging and effective teachers truly is.