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Selecting Teaching Strategies

Once you have decided on the learning goals, student learning objectives, selected content and determined assessment strategies and activities, the next step would be to determine the teaching strategies you will be using to engage students with the material, interact with them and meet your instructional objectives. These are strategic decisions which are tailored to your course and strategies can be implemented during class, in the lab or studio or as homework assignments.

Guiding Questions

  • “What do I know about my students that will affect my teaching strategies?”
  • “How will the level of the course objectives influence my teaching strategies?”
  • “Which kinds of strategies will work the best for my content?”
  • “How do I motivate students to learn and keep engaged with the content?”

Aligning Teaching Strategies with Learning Objectives

  • Teaching strategies, when designed to align with the level of your objectives, can facilitate student learning towards meeting those objectives.
  • In an introductory course, for example, you may wish for students to master the names and descriptions of certain topics. At this lower level of learning you would choose strategies which involve recognition, repetition, and giving examples.
  • In a more advanced course, you may wish for students to analyze problems related to introductory concepts introduced in earlier courses. In this case you would use strategies like case studies, modeling expert behavior, and have students in groups evaluating effectiveness of possible derived solutions.

Guiding Question

“Are my teaching strategies for this unit a fit with my desired student learning objectives?”

Example

Course context: You have 20 students in a 200 level general education course. Your assigned classroom seats 25 students with movable desks. Field trips to community gardens are pre-arranged. Classroom has white boards, and computer and projector.
Goal: Students will design a garden 
Objective: Given a site and theme for a garden, students will be able to develop a plan for a garden that is appropriate to the location and climatic conditions. 
Blooms Outcome Level: (Higher-Level) Analysis, Synthesis 
Example Course Topics: 

  • Course context: You have 20 students in a 200 level general education course. Your assigned classroom seats 25 students with movable desks. Field trips to community gardens are pre-arranged. Classroom has white boards, and computer and projector.
  • Goal: Students will design a garden 
  • Objective: Given a site and theme for a garden, students will be able to develop a plan for a garden that is appropriate to the location and climatic conditions. 
  • Blooms Outcome Level: (Higher-Level) Analysis, Synthesis 
  • Example Course Topics: 
    • Steps of the planning process
    • Climate zones and influences on local gardening
    • Types of plants, shrubs and trees
    • How to select plants for a garden
  • Example Teaching Strategy: Group work
    • Students will be working in small groups. Each small group will find background information on one of these key components of planning a garden: planting zones, NC climate, types of plants which grow locally, etc. 
    • Students will share information gathered. Information will be shared on basis of a planning template.
    • Each small group of students will develop a garden plan, as well as a plan implementation process, using the information gathered.

Examples of Teaching Strategies

  • Active Learning: Move beyond passive listening with strategies that challenge students to analyze, synthesize, and apply course concepts in real time. (Link to new Active Learning page to replace the current external link)
  • Inquiry-Based Learning: Foster critical thinking by guiding students through the investigation of complex, real-world problems.
  • Group Discussions: Facilitate meaningful dialogue by balancing cognitive goals with the social and emotional dynamics of the classroom.
  • Group Projects: Implement effective structures for team-based work, from initial formation to fair and transparent assessment.
  • Collaborative Learning: Leverage the power of peer-to-peer engagement through structured study teams and cooperative work.

Online Learning & Technology

  • Digital Learning: Connect with NC State’s extensive DELTA resources to explore accessibility tools, our learning management system, and digital media integration.
  • Online Instructional Strategies: Master the nuances of the digital environment with strategies specifically designed to maintain engagement, rigor, and community in a virtual space.
  • Blended and Hybrid Learning: Create a seamless educational experience by integrating traditional face-to-face methods with purposeful online activities for a unified, flexible instructional approach.