Teaching and Learning Strategies

In this area of the website you will find information on some of the best researched and the most widely implemented methods of helping all students to learn more successfully. The information includes a description of how the teaching and learning strategies work, where they have been applied, results, and where to find further information from experts in the field, books, websites, and other resources. They have been demonstrated to be successful with students of all ages and ability levels, including those with various kinds of disabilities and those who do not learn in traditional ways. Following are links to different teaching and learning strategies, a description of how they work, where they have been applied, results, and where to find more information from individuals, books, web sites, and other resources.

Accelerated Learning Techniques
Action Research
Applied Learning
Arts in Education
Assessment Alternatives
Character Education
Cognitive Coaching
Cooperative Learning
Democratic Classrooms
Differentiated Instruction
Emotional Intelligence
Environmental Education
Environments for Learning
Graphic Tools
Instrumental Enrichment
Keeping Fit for Learning
Learning Styles
Literacy
Multicultural Education
Multiple Intelligences
Service Learning

Teaching for Understanding
Technology in Education
Thinking Skills

These strategies are most successful when they are implemented in a system that encourages collaboration among staff and students, and in which each is a part of a well-planned whole system. In some of the most successful sites, teachers themselves have become in-house experts in specific practices which they share with their colleagues. It is important to recognize that while these strategies are useful, little will be accomplished in implementing them unless there is ongoing documentation of their results. There must also be efficient methods of feeding that information back into the system so that there will be continuing progress in teaching and learning. It is also certain that these strategies are most effective when they are applied in positive, supportive environments where there is recognition of the emotional, social and physical needs of students and where individual strengths are recognized, nurtured, and developed. We welcome your feedback as we continue to build the Teaching and Learning Strategies area as an effective resource for teachers and students focusing on improved academic achievement and striving to meet new academic standards.

Recommended Reading:

In recent years, there has been an explosion of new research coming directly from applying in schools and adult training programs the most effective ways of teaching and learning. Following is a list of books that present such research in an informative and practical manner. Please click on the title for a description of each book.

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning Edited by John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking, with additional material from the Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice ­ Editors: M. Suzanne Donovan, John D. Bransford, and James W. Pellegrino Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education and the National Research Council, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000

How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice
Edited by M. Suzanne Donovan, John D. Bransford, and James W. Pellegrino Committee on Learning Research and Educational Practice Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000
This is a smaller book that summarizes the findings of the book above, How People Learn. It also offers a research agenda to strengthen the link between what we know about learning and what goes on in America's schools. We believe all educators should keep this book close at hand and refer to it frequently.

Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement
Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollock

Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education
James Banks and Cherry A. McGee Banks, editors

Diversity Within Unity: Essential Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural Society
James A. Banks, Peter Cookson, Geneva Gay, Willis D. Hawley, Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, Sonia Nieta, Janet Schofield, and Walter Stephan.

Scientifically Based Research Supported by U.S. Department of Education   David Thomas
The USDE calls for research based solutions to improve the nation's schools.

Teaching to Change the World
Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton

So Each May Learn: Integrating Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences
Harvey F. Silver, Richard W. Strong, and Matthew J. Perini

Quantum Teaching: Orchestrating Student Success
Bobbi DePorter, Mark Reardon, and Sarah Singer Nourie

The Learner's Way: Brain Based Learning in Action
Anne D. Forester and Margaret Reinhard

Qualities of Effective Teachers   James H. Stronge

Related links:

What Works In the Classroom
by Robert J. Marzano, Barbara B. Gaddy, and Ceri Dean, 2000.  A summary of the long-awaited report on effective practices linked to academic achievement from Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL).  
*Note: It is necessary to have the most current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system in order to view this document. It is available as a free download at Adobe.

The Center for Social Organization of Schools
The web site for the educational research center at Johns Hopkins University. You'll find the latest research and reports on new and old strategies posted here.

The Michigan Teachers Network
Best practice, professional development and standards-based resources.