Teaching Strategies

Strategies that show their working.

Every card says what the research supports, what it does not, and how to try the strategy in a real classroom. Open a card to see the full detail.

Two kinds of strategy

Direct research base: The technique itself has been tested in controlled studies, including reviews or meta-analyses.
Assembled routine: A classroom routine built from several principles. The parts have research behind them; the routine as a whole has had little direct testing.

Strategy library

PrototypeSix strategy cards are published. Categories with no cards yet are shown with a count of zero. Cards have had internal editorial review only.

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Classroom variations by school level

Short versions taken from the training modules, each linked to the labelled research claims it draws on.

Showing 18 of 18 strategies

Elementary5 minutes · lesson opening
Picture-cue recall
Show a single image from a previous lesson and ask pupils to tell a partner everything they remember about it.
1. Display one familiar image without labels.
2. Pupils whisper what they remember to a partner.
3. Gather ideas aloud and confirm or gently correct each one.
Adapt
Offer sentence starters such as “I remember that…” for pupils who need language support.
Watch for
Keep it playful and ungraded; the aim is effortful recall, not performance.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
Elementary3–6 minutes · any point
Show-me boards
Every pupil writes or draws an answer on a mini whiteboard and holds it up at the same time.
1. Ask one short question about earlier learning.
2. Allow quiet thinking time before anyone writes.
3. On “show me”, all boards go up; address common errors immediately.
Adapt
Accept drawings, single words or symbols where writing is still developing.
Watch for
Avoid public comparison of individual boards; focus feedback on the whole class.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established finding
Middle School8 minutes · lesson opening
Retrieval grid
A short set of questions drawn from last lesson, last week and last month, so recall is spaced across time.
1. Prepare questions from three time points.
2. Students answer individually without notes.
3. Review answers together; students correct in a different colour.
Adapt
Provide a word bank for the oldest material if recall is very low at first.
Watch for
Do not record scores; the grid is for learning, not grading.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
Middle School4 minutes · before new content
Predict-first questions
Ask students to attempt questions about a topic before it is taught, then return to the same questions afterwards.
1. Pose two or three questions on the upcoming topic.
2. Students commit to an answer, even a guess.
3. Revisit the same questions at the end of the lesson.
Adapt
Frame wrong guesses as expected and useful, and say so explicitly.
Watch for
Make sure correct answers are clearly given afterwards so errors are not retained.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established finding
High School10 minutes · review or homework
Blank-page recall
Students write everything they can recall about a topic on a blank page, then check against their notes and fill gaps.
1. Name the topic; students close all resources.
2. Write or sketch everything recalled, including connections.
3. Open notes and annotate omissions and errors in another colour.
Adapt
Provide headings as cues for students who freeze at a blank page.
Watch for
Some students find this uncomfortable at first; explain why effortful recall is useful.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingInterpretationClassroom application
High School10 minutes · weekly
Cumulative low-stakes quizzes
Short weekly quizzes that include material from earlier units, followed by error analysis rather than a grade.
1. Mix recent and older questions in each quiz.
2. Return answers quickly with explanations.
3. Students categorise their errors: forgot, misunderstood or misread.
Adapt
Include application questions alongside recall to encourage transfer.
Watch for
Keep stakes low; heavily weighted quizzes may undermine the benefit.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Classroom applicationInterpretation
ElementaryAny multi-step task
One step at a time
Break instructions into single steps shown one at a time, rather than giving the whole sequence up front.
1. Show or say only the first step.
2. Wait until most pupils have finished before revealing the next.
3. Keep the completed steps visible as a reference.
Adapt
Use picture cues beside each step for pupils still learning to read.
Watch for
Pupils who already know the routine may find this slow; let them move ahead.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
Elementary2 minutes · before explaining
Clear the board
Before introducing something new, remove everything from the board and screen that is not needed for this explanation.
1. Erase or hide previous notes, posters and slides near the explanation.
2. Display only the example you are talking about.
3. Add labels directly onto the example as you explain.
Adapt
Keep one consistent “working space” on the board so pupils know where to look.
Watch for
This is about the explanation itself — a warm, decorated classroom is not the problem.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
InterpretationClassroom application
Middle School15 minutes · new procedure
Example–problem pairs
Alternate a fully worked example with a closely matched problem for students to try themselves.
1. Talk through a complete worked example, naming each step.
2. Students solve a near-identical problem straight after.
3. Repeat with slightly varied pairs, then move to problems only.
Adapt
Students who solve the first problems easily can skip ahead to unpaired problems.
Watch for
Examples that students merely copy without thinking add little; ask them to explain each step.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
Middle School10 minutes · preparing resources
Labels on the diagram
Rework a worksheet or slide so that explanations sit beside the parts of the diagram they refer to, instead of in a separate key.
1. Find a resource where students must look back and forth between a diagram and a key or paragraph.
2. Move each label or short explanation next to its part, with a line if needed.
3. Remove any text that simply repeats what the diagram already shows.
Adapt
For dense diagrams, reveal labels in stages rather than all at once.
Watch for
Only integrate information that must be read together; self-explanatory diagrams need no extra text.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
High SchoolAcross 2–3 lessons
Faded worked examples
Start with complete worked solutions, then leave out the final step, then the last two, until students complete whole problems.
1. Prepare a sequence of four or five examples of the same problem type.
2. Remove one more step from each example, starting from the end.
3. Students complete the missing steps, then solve a full problem.
Adapt
Use a quick check of prior knowledge to decide where each student enters the sequence.
Watch for
Keep fading; continued full examples can hinder students who no longer need them.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
High School8 minutes · practice
Find everything you can
Instead of asking for one specific unknown, ask students to calculate or infer as many things as they can from the information given.
1. Present a problem with its question removed.
2. Students work out any quantities or conclusions they can.
3. Compare lists and discuss which routes were most useful.
Adapt
Works best with problems where many intermediate values can be found.
Watch for
This “goal-free” approach has mainly been tested in mathematics and physics; treat it as an experiment elsewhere.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established findingInterpretation
Elementary5 minutes · after a story or explanation
Draw it, say it
Pupils draw a simple picture of an idea, then explain their drawing to a partner using key words.
1. Give one idea to draw — not a whole topic.
2. Pupils add two or three labelled words to their drawing.
3. Partners take turns explaining their pictures aloud.
Adapt
Provide a partly drawn outline for pupils who struggle to start.
Watch for
The aim is understanding, not artistic quality; avoid praising neatness over meaning.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
InterpretationClassroom application
ElementaryDuring any explanation
Point while you explain
As you explain a picture or diagram, point to each part at the moment you name it.
1. Display one clear image large enough for everyone to see.
2. Name each part as you point to it.
3. Ask pupils to point to parts on their own copy as you say them.
Adapt
Use a coloured pointer or highlight on screen for pupils sitting further away.
Watch for
Keep pace with pupils — pointing only helps if they are looking at the same place.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established finding
Middle School10 minutes · sequencing events
Timeline with captions
Represent a sequence as a timeline or flow diagram with short captions under each stage.
1. Draw the sequence as boxes or points on a line.
2. Write a short caption directly beneath each stage.
3. Students use the timeline to explain the sequence without notes.
Adapt
Give some captions and leave others blank for students to complete.
Watch for
Avoid adding images to each stage unless they carry meaning.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application
Middle School15 minutes · planning
Declutter a slide
Review one of your existing slides and remove anything that does not help explain the core idea.
1. Remove decorative clip art, background images and side facts.
2. Move text next to the part of the diagram it describes.
3. Use one colour to link each word to its part of the picture.
Adapt
Ask a colleague which element their eye goes to first; it should be the key idea.
Watch for
Some interest and warmth is valuable; save it for moments outside the core explanation.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
InterpretationClassroom applicationEstablished finding
High School12 minutes · consolidation
Convert the representation
Students turn a paragraph into a diagram, or a diagram into a paragraph, then compare versions.
1. Give students a short text describing a process or structure.
2. They create a labelled diagram from it without adding new information.
3. Pairs compare diagrams and identify missing or misplaced ideas.
Adapt
Offer a template layout for students who find blank-page drawing difficult.
Watch for
Check diagrams for errors; a confident but wrong drawing can entrench a misconception.
Draws on 2 labelled claims
Interpretation
High School8 minutes · explanation
Narrate the diagram
Explain a complex diagram aloud while it is shown, rather than putting the explanation in text on the slide.
1. Show the diagram with minimal labels.
2. Narrate each stage as you reveal or highlight it.
3. Afterwards, students write a short summary from the diagram alone.
Adapt
Provide a printed copy with labels for students who need to revisit the explanation.
Watch for
Do not read out on-screen paragraphs word for word alongside the narration.
Draws on 3 labelled claims
Established findingClassroom application