10 Tips To Up Your Teaching Game

As if it couldn't get any higher.

1. Use Metaphors

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Metaphors clarify new ideas because they draw comparisons and similarities which leads to abstract understanding.

→ Why it’s useful: it makes learning more interesting, it allows students to draw connections, and it makes the content more relatable to the kids.

2. Use Examples

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Examples are familiar, relevant, and create complex pictures for your students. Build new content around things they already know.

→ Why it’s useful: it makes learning more visual and relatable.

3. Use Personification

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Personification allows for role playing, and it lets students step into a different mindset.

→ Why it’s useful: it makes content fun and relevant, allows students to feel safe, builds cognition and language skills, students will use a different perspective, it builds connections to concrete experiences, and knowledge is better acquired when students do something interesting with it.

4. Use Controversial Statements

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Use controversial statements within your lessons and pose controversial questions upon your students.

→ Why it’s useful: students like to argue, it ignites thinking and the use of academic language, controversial ideas tend to stick, and multiple experiences are portrayed.

5. Use Co-Shape Conversations

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Respond to your students questions and conversations with academic language. Be sure to rephrase what’s important and make corrections where necessary.

→ Why it’s useful: it allows for academic language within a social setting.

6. Use Repetition

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Repetition emphasizes the importance of what you're trying to convey.

→ Why it’s useful: Students can gather what’s important based upon the fact that you are continuously repeating something specific. It also allows for students to hear the important information over and over again, which helps them memorize and internalize the information.

7. Use Rephrasing

Rephrasing is a slight change to a student response while keeping the same meaning. Rather than cutting students off in conversation, respond by rephrasing what they are saying in a more advanced and academic sense.

→ Why it’s useful: it upgrades academic language and it models it for the student.

8. Use Meta-Discussions

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Meta-Discussions are full classroom discussions that focus on how the class could improve in communication and learning.

→ Why it’s useful: Students can voice their opinions and feel like they have autonomy within the classroom, as well as flex their academic language among their peers.

9. Deepen Academic Talk Within the Classroom

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1. Remind students on the purpose of the lesson

2. Put up key terms on the wall

3. Use relevant examples

4. Use quick writes to get thoughts out

5. Use groups to promote talking/output

10. Now Get Out There and EDUCATE THE CHILDREN

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