what is research based lesson plan

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

8 Module 8: Research-Based Instructional Strategies

Guiding Questions for Module 8

• What are research-based teaching strategies?
• How do effective teachers think about teaching strategies?
• How do effective teachers maximize the use of research-based teaching strategies?

Introduction

The act of teaching is a performing art. Like musicians or actors, teachers are always focused on their audience. We aim to engage, inspire, and inform. Like other performers, we know some of our techniques are more effective than others, and we consistently seek to hone our craft. A master violinist practices scales every day to improve her performance. In a similar way, a master teacher attempts to think of more interesting questions, meaningful examples, and useful feedback. The act of teaching is both art and science, imagination and skill.

The Universe of Effective Teaching Strategies

Scores of variations and combinations of teaching strategies exist from which teachers may choose. The best teachers are aware of the universe of teaching strategies and carefully select the right combination while teaching a particular subject to a particular group of students. Again, there is no “magic bullet” or perfect strategy, and all require a skillful, competent, artistic teacher to breath life into them. The first step, however, is understanding something about the universe that is available to you–the article below does just that.

Read: Beck, Charles R. “A Taxonomy for Identifying, Classifying and Interrelating Teaching Strategies.” The Journal of General Education JGE. 47, no. 1 (1998): 37-62.

Research-based Teaching Strategies

Researchers have studied teaching strategies for decades and we now have evidence of those strategies that seem to have greatest influence on academic achievement.  Robert Marzano (2017) conducted a meta-analyses of education research on teaching strategies to see which strategies seemed most related to student academic achievement—at all levels and across all subjects. Interesting ideas.

Here are Marzano’s top nine teaching strategies in order of effect size (i.e., actual effect on student achievement):

• Comparing, contrasting, classifying, analogies, and metaphors . (Effect size=1.61 or 45 percentile points)
• Summarizing and note-taking . (Effect size=1.0 or 34 percentile points)
• Reinforcing effort and giving praise . (Effect size=0.8 or 29 percentile points
• Homework and practice . (Effect size=0.77 or 28 percentile points)
• Nonlinguistic representation . (Effect size=0.75 or 27 percentile points)
• Cooperative learning . (Effect size=0.74 or 27 percentile points)
• Setting objectives and providing feedback . (Effect size=0.61 or 23 percentile points)
• Generating and testing hypotheses . (Effect size=0.61 or 23 percentile points)
• Cues, questions, and advanced organizers . (Effect size=0.59 or 22 percentile points)

Read: Hoover, Clara. 2006. “Research-Based Instructional Strategies.” School Library Monthly 22 (8): 26–28 .

Marzano’s strategies, however, are only as good as the teacher employing them. His list of “high-yield strategies” are popular throughout the United States; however, Marzano warns about their possible misuse.

Read: Marzano, Robert J. 2009. “Setting the Record Straight on ‘High-Yield’ Strategies.”  Phi Delta Kappan  91 (1): 30–37.

EDCI 702: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Copyright © 2020 by Thomas Vontz and Lori Goodson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Research Based Lesson Design

Here is the presentation used at the Dig Deeper into RBLD training .

In Anaheim Elementary School District, our core audience is English learners.  Tier one instruction must be designed to meet the needs of at least 80% of students which typically includes English learners.  While all students benefit from Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI), English learners need EL scaffolds in conjunction with EDI.  With Research Based Lesson Design (RBLD), English learner strategies are planned for every instructional phases of EDI.  For a one page printable handout of the EL scaffolds in RBLD,  click here .

Both Concept Development and Guided Practice are taught using  a gradual release of responsibility .

For lesson planning, the  sequence that RBLD phases are planned  differs from the order in which they are taught.  Grade level teams are encouraged to collaborate in planning lessons.  A lesson using RBLD can be planned using different formats.  Some possible options are in a  PowerPoint , on paper and pencil, on a poster, or using this optional  template  (Click “File,” then “Make a copy.”)  Contact your Curriculum Coach for any support.

Learning Objectives

Activate prior knowledge, lesson importance, concept development, skill development, guided practice, lesson closure, independent practice, strategies used throughout a lesson.

Content objective is defined, displayed, and reviewed orally.

Visuals/TPR as appropriate for clarification

Highlight, circle, color code

Academic language restated in more comprehensible language

Sentence stem

Prior lesson visual support

Primary language connections (e.g. cognates)

Write, draw, share, TPR during Interact Step

Bridge Map to connect new learning

Multi-Flow Map that shows the effects from learning the lesson’s objective

Examples are visually displayed

Sentence frames or stems

Contextualized definitions  and  vocabulary charts

Discovery Education clips (Web 2.0 support)

Visual indications for examples v. non-examples

Pictorial support ,  TPR ,  realia

Highlighting, circling, underlining, color coding

Thinking Maps

Flow Map for procedure

Note-taking/process grids

Partner support

Sentence frames

Visual support/TPR

Color coding

Access to visuals from the lesson

Structured Think Pair Share

• Prodigy Math
• Prodigy English
• Is a Premium Membership Worth It?
• Promote a Growth Mindset
• Help Your Child Who's Struggling with Math
• Parent's Guide to Prodigy
• Assessments
• Math Curriculum Coverage
• English Curriculum Coverage
• Game Portal

9 High-Yield Research-Based Instructional Strategies and How I Would Use Them

Written by Joshua Prieur, Ed.D.

Teachers , see how Prodigy's game-based learning tools can enhance your everyday teaching strategies!

• Teaching Strategies

What is a research-based instructional strategy?

What are the 9 high-yield instructional strategies, 9 ways i would use high-yield instructional methods in my teaching strategies, how prodigy uses research to support game-based learning.

• Research-based instructional strategy vs practice

In my eight years as a classroom teacher and a school administrator, I came across many different instructional strategies that educators can use to help their learners engage with curriculum content.

But did you know research has shown that some teaching strategies are more effective than others?

In this article, I cover the nine types of high-yield instructional strategies! I also provide examples for each so that you can put impactful, research-based instructional strategies to work in your classroom to get the best student learning outcomes possible.

Research-based instructional strategies are strategies that have been identified, by independent research, to be the most effective at influencing student learning outcomes and student achievement.

For years, researchers have worked tirelessly to understand the most effective teaching methods with the goal of improving classroom instruction.

Here are some influential educational research studies about instructional strategies:

Dr. George L. Gropper's 1974 book entitled Instructional Strategies

His text covered several competencies that instructors should have, including:

• Understanding how to properly sequence instructional content
• Considering the variety of content that should be provided to learners
• Determining the volume of practice that learners need to attain skill mastery

Dr. Charles R. Beck’s 1998 article entitled A Taxonomy for Identifying, Classifying, and Interrelating Teaching Strategies

This article helped develop categories for the various instructional strategies that are commonly implemented to engage students in learning content.

His goal was to bring cohesion to professional development and further advance the field of research in this area.

Drs. Robert J. Marzano, Jane E. Pollock, and Debra J. Pickering’s 2001 book entitled Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

This book made a huge splash because it identified 9 “high-yield” instructional strategies that were shown to have an outsized impact on student learning. In 2012, a second edition was published.

In order of impact, the 9 “high-yield” instructional strategies that Drs. Marzano, Pollock, and Pickering defined are:

• Identifying similarities and differences
• Summarizing and note-taking
• Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
• Homework and practice
• Non-linguistic representations
• Cooperative learning
• Setting objectives and providing feedback
• Generating and testing hypotheses
• Cues, questions, and advance organizers

1. Identifying similarities and differences

There are four key cognitive elements to this strategy, “comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies” as outlined by Connie Scoles West and Dr. Marzano .

To make the most of this strategy, you’ll want to make sure that you’re anchoring yourself on a clear definition for each of the four key cognitive elements.

Once you’ve done that, you can model best practices for your students and keep them focused on the critical content. You might also support them by providing them with tools like graphic organizers.

2. Summarizing and note-taking

An instructional guide on this strategy published by Dr. Ria A. Schmidt and Dr. Marzano outlines some of the important steps associated with this strategy and, luckily, there are a plethora of ways to implement them.

You help students with summarizing by asking them to create mnemonic devices or even by giving them the opportunity to re-enact scenes from books you’re teaching.

3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition

Sometimes a little bit of praise can go a long way. But what behaviors should be praised?

Like Dr. Carol Dweck’s concept of a Growth Mindset , it’s important to direct praise towards reinforcing behaviors tied to the level of effort students put forth in their work rather than providing holistic (but unspecific) praise like saying, “you’re so smart!”

As an example, let’s say you have two students in class who have worked on an assignment, but time is tight, and you only have time to give one of them positive reinforcement.

One student has struggled to get through it but has taken the extra time and effort to really learn the concept and content while the other student breezed right through it effortlessly.

In this situation, you’d focus your praise on the student who worked extra-hard to persevere because it reinforces the behavior to work through challenges as learning occurs.

This works no matter the age and across content areas– all the way up to high school (and even beyond)!

4. Homework and practice

Regardless of whether it’s at home or at school, there is a reason for the saying “practice makes perfect.”

Students need to have the opportunity to engage in meaningful practice with the content they’re aiming to learn.

According to Drs. Marzano, Pollock and Pickering, an important consideration tied to the amount of homework that students get is their age. Ideally, younger students are assigned less work to complete at home while students who are older can take on a little bit more.

The great news is that homework or practice doesn’t need to be tied to rote bookwork that can be tedious.

There are many different ways that you can make it exciting for students such as encouraging students to practice learning through digital games like Prodigy Math or Prodigy English !

5. Non-linguistic representations

Asking your students to create non-linguistic representations of the material they need to know is a great way to encourage creative thinking (especially for your visual-spatial learners) within your instructional practices.

Sometimes, creating a graphic representation of something you need to learn is a great way to cement a picture in your mind for recall or application later.

This highly creative strategy can be easily applied in the classroom by asking small groups of students to put together a thinking map or storyboard to help them outline critical elements of a text they’re working through.

6. Cooperative learning

Get your students working in small groups! That’s the name-of-the-game for this instructional strategy. However, there are a few key elements to keep in mind to make the most of it

Ideally, you’re able to take the time to carefully formulate groups so that they include students with varying ability levels. Once you’ve got the groups formulated, it’s best practice to ensure that the students are assigned roles so that each has ownership over the task.

In addition, cooperative learning often works best when you’re able to circulate around the room to monitor the small groups and provide support.

When you need to have students complete highly rigorous and complex tasks — especially if those tasks benefit from students who each bring unique abilities to the table — then getting students working in a small group is a great way to help them build interpersonal skills while also sharing ownership in the finished product.

7. Setting objectives and providing feedback

A strategy that’s commonly used to drive effective meetings is to start by stating the overall goal so that participants know the planned outcome right from the start.

That same anchoring strategy can be effectively used by teachers in the classroom.

By writing the educational standard (or a version of it that is in more student-friendly language) up on the board, students will know where their learning journey will take them for the day.

8. Generating and testing hypotheses

Get your students thinking by asking them to generate hypotheses. This strategy can be a fun way to get all of your students engaged.

Asking students to determine what’s about to happen and then having them participate in an experiment is a great way to get them active in their learning.

But hypothesis generation isn’t just reserved for science class. Reading a new book? Show the students the front and back cover and ask them to write down their hypothesis for what will happen at the beginning, middle and end of the book!

9. Cues, questions and advance organizers

It can be a real challenge to help students get a sense of which material they should be focusing their attention and energy on.

One great way to help students learn how to focus is to provide them with advance organizers or a list of guided questions that they should be thinking about as they engage with learning materials.

Ready to start a new book but want to keep your student focused on certain elements of it?

Create an advance organizer that covers the specific material you want to cover. It could be a list of vocabulary words, character descriptions, or even a plot graph.

This can be a great tool to support metacognition, which is helping students think about the way they think!

1. Visualize similarities and differences with tools

Identifying similarities and differences can be simple. Let’s say that you’re teaching 2nd grade and you’ve just read the class a book.

After reading, you can start a discussion about similarities and differences and use a Venn Diagram tool, such as Read Write Think by NCTE .

2. Use note-taking templates

Most students don’t have natural-born summarizing and note-taking skills. They’ll need your help to learn how to take effective notes.

Taking the time to train them to take effective notes using templates can help them to learn what to focus on — and is a skill that will help them in higher education!

3. Display students' work often

When students have worked extremely hard on a task, it’s a great opportunity to reinforce effort and provide them with some well-deserved recognition .

One great way to recognize students, in addition to verbal praise, is to post the student’s work up on the classroom wall for everyone to see as an example.

Best of all, this can be done across all subjects, like English, math and social studies.

4. Make homework fun with game-based learning tools

Getting students to complete homework and get much-needed practice can sometimes be a challenge.

Students may have after-school sports, family responsibilities, or other things that compete for their attention. It can also be tough to motivate students to crack open a textbook and start answering math questions.

This may be the perfect opportunity to leverage Prodigy Education’s digital game-based learning tools .

Tools like these can provide a fun way for students to interact with the learning content they need to know.

5. Foster learning with audible or visual representations

An interesting way to get your students involved in non-linguistic representations is by having them tap into their creative side and build out storyboards.

As you’re working through literature and focusing on key events in the text, students can create storyboards or generate thinking maps as a means of showing what they have learned in a way that isn’t writing-based.

This can help them to create a mental picture in their minds that’ll help them to remember content!

6. Try a group-based approach

Getting students involved in cooperative learning is a great way to promote student engagement. One fun way to do this is through a group-based book study.

First, strategically prepare balanced groups so that each group has a mix of students with different learning styles and personalities. Then, choose texts that are leveled appropriately for the students in the group.

Depending on their age, you may want to support them in introducing the task and defining roles for the different members of the group.

Once they start their group work, you can circulate between the groups and support them through the process!

7. Align on learning goals and display them clearly

You can implement setting objectives and providing feedback super easily!

Section off a portion of your whiteboard using painter’s tape and keep the learning goals in the same place so that students know exactly where to look when they want a refresher.

By referencing the goal during your lesson, you reinforce the connective tissue between your lesson and what students need to know, especially as you conduct formative assessments like quizzes to monitor for growth towards academic achievement.

8. Encourage experimentation

One fun way to help students generate and test hypotheses is through group-based science experiments in class.

To accomplish this, you’ll need to prepare a few sets of experiment materials and carefully consider the composition of your groups.

As students work to test their hypotheses, you can observe how they’re working together on their problem-solving journey.

Want some inspiration? Here’s a list of 60 easy science experiments !

9. Incorporate reciprocal teaching techniques into your lessons

You may enjoy implementing the reciprocal teaching technique as you employ the questions, cues and advance organizers strategy.

Since this follows the ‘I do, we do, you do’ formula, you can create an advance organizer for students to reference throughout the lesson.

You can include key questions that students should be thinking about as they’re completing their learning activities.

You can also make advance organizers for any lesson as an accommodation for special education students as appropriate.

We believe that game-based learning can be one of the most effective strategies that teachers and parents can use.

We’ve carefully looked at academic research to help inform how Prodigy Math and Prodigy English are designed.

According to Partovi & Razavi (1998), digital games can create high levels of motivation in students. That’s why our philosophy of education, Motivation First! helps continuously guide our thinking and helps us to build a meaningful and fun learning experience for students. 

We also think hard about how we’re presenting students with learning content, which is why we take a student-centered approach to pedagogy .

We’ve specifically built learning supports like hints and video lessons into Prodigy Math, because we believe in supporting students with various learning styles.

We’re proud to continue to invest in understanding the academic and attitudinal impact of Prodigy Math , and we’re excited to do the same for Prodigy English.

The difference between a research-based instructional strategy and a research-based instructional practice

Research-based instructional strategies are strategies that were shown to have an outsized impact on student achievement in a large-scale study and cover broad categories that educators can leverage in their classroom.

Putting any of these strategies into action categories can help you as you aim to deliver research-based instructional practice (i.e., choosing to use what has previously shown to be impactful in student learning).

Want more professional development from Prodigy? Check out five PD strategies to help make your next session even more effective.

Sign up for your free teacher account for Prodigy Math and Prodigy English today and put game-based learning to work in your classroom!

Interactive Science: How to Design Research-based Science Lessons

Recently, a school district administrator emailed me and asked, “If you were going to blend strategies that work into a science lesson, how would you do it?” That question really piqued my interest. Mixing instructional strategies that are proven to work with best practices in science teaching and learning sounds like a win/win. After much thinking, here’s how I would accomplish this, based on the research.

Step #1: Set Goals for the Science Lesson

Dr. John Almarode, who wrote Visible Learning for Science , suggests setting the following goals for science lessons. The goals are straightforward and represent a wonderful response to the question asked.

• Get students interested in lifelong learning and science that works.
• Give students more control over their own learning.
• Build in ways to assess students to discover where they are, and then match strategies to what they need to learn.

The first goal is practical and makes learning relevant to the learner. The second ties into John Hattie’s strong belief in the need for students to be self-regulated learners, individuals who must have agency and ownership over their learning and are able to track their progress. In tracking their own growth towards learning targets, they can make decisions, which gives them voice and choice.

Step #2: Pre-Assess Student Learning

When determining what students already know about a topic or skill, you have to ask, “How do we pre-assess students where they are at?” This leads to the question, “What are some formative assessments we could use?” These assessments provide insights into where students may fall on the SOLO Taxonomy. SOLO stands for “Structure of Observed Learning Outcome.” This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned SOLO , as have many others.

Let’s revisit what SOLO Taxonomy offers:

SOLO illustrates the qualitative differences. It indicates the differences between student responses and their levels of understanding. It classifies outcomes, relying on complexity and understanding.

SOLO does this so that you can make a judgement on the quality of student responses to assessment tasks . It relies on five levels of understanding:

Prestructural: at this level the learner is missing the point

Unistructural: a response based on a single point.

Multistructural: a response with multiple unrelated points.

Relational: points presented in a logically related answer.

Extended abstract: demonstrating an abstract and deep understanding through unexpected extension.

This FutureLearn chart clarifies the levels:

The Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy (Adapted from Biggs & Tang, 2011) as cited in source

The main benefit of the SOLO Taxonomy is that it gives you, as the teacher, a set of specific terms (e.g., Unistructural, Multistructural, Relational) that can describe a student’s level of understanding. This level of understanding pinpoints what strategies may work best for them as they more through the learning process.

For students who are unistructural, they are in the surface phase of learning. This means that you might rely on those types of strategies, which could include vocabulary programs, direct instruction, and/or flipped classroom.

For learners who are relational, in the deep learning phase, different strategies work best. These may include concept mapping, metacognition, and reflection.

Knowing where a child falls on the taxonomy helps identify their level of understanding. It also assists you in knowing what to do next and to set success criteria.

What Is Success Criteria?

This phrase involves students knowing and understanding the answer to a simple question. That is, “How will I know I have learned it?” It is sometimes expressed as a statement, “I’ll know I’ve got it if….” You may want to revisit COLOSO in this blog entry .

Step #3: Build Learning into the Science Lesson

Ready to start on lesson design? Let’s take a look at the process Dr. John Almarode elaborates on. I’ve included a few resources for each area. What would you add?

“Science education needs a mix of demonstrations, labs, and experiments. It also needs reading, writing, and discussing with other scientists,” says Almarode. To that end, the lesson process he describes looks like this:

a) Paired Demonstration and Writing Down Observations

• Demonstration
• Encourage students to write about what they observed

b) Clarifying Terms and Vocabulary

• Discussion about vocabulary terms
• Have students revise their writing using correct terms
• Final wrap-up

One key point that jumped out at me?

Every lesson (surface, deep, transfer) needs to have a clearly articulated learning intention. That learning intention must connect to success criteria. Remember, that is “What am I learning?” (learning intention) and “How will I know I have learned it?” (success criteria).

That’s quite a jump. To help the process make more sense, I put this diagram together that captures my understanding. Don’t be afraid to share your version.

Get a copy of this image via Google Slides or via Diagrams.net (requires you to authorize Diagrams.net in Google Drive account).

As you can see from this diagram, there’s a lot going on. To complicate matters, I’ve included some additional tools and strategy suggestions. How would you approach lesson design in your classroom with these three steps?

Matching Process to Resources

To provide some support, please find some relevant resources organized by the step in the process. I’ve organized them into a meta-collection in Wakelet. Explore and have fun.

Feature Image Source

Photo by author.

Miguel Guhlin

Transforming teaching, learning and leadership through the strategic application of technology has been Miguel Guhlin’s motto. Learn more about his work online at blog.tcea.org , mguhlin.org , and mglead.org /mglead2.org. Catch him on Mastodon @[email protected] Areas of interest flow from his experiences as a district technology administrator, regional education specialist, and classroom educator in bilingual/ESL situations. Learn more about his credentials online at mguhlin.net.

How to Make Interactive Maps with Google Slides and a Digital Whiteboard

Fun icebreaker jamboard templates for back to school, you may also like, the frayer model: transforming vocabulary learning in all..., blast off into learning: celebrate national astronaut day, how to make flexible, data-informed student groups, five stages of k-12 ed tech adoption: part..., earth day ideas to inspire young eco-heroes, four solar eclipse-themed activities, 2024 speakup survey for k-12 leaders, the new k-5 science teks and free, editable..., science activities for critical thinking, unesco’s 2023 gem report: tcea’s solution to the..., leave a comment cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You've Made It This Far

Like what you're reading? Sign up to stay connected with us.

*By downloading, you are subscribing to our email list which includes our daily blog straight to your inbox and marketing emails. It can take up to 7 days for you to be added. You can change your preferences at any time.  

You have Successfully Subscribed!

By subscribing, you will receive our daily blog, newsletter, and marketing emails.

• Our Mission

Personalized Professional Development

Lesson study helps teachers improve by focusing on collaboratively planning and revising a single lesson.

There’s a form of cogent professional development that requires teachers to collaboratively create, participate in, and reflect on a lesson. It’s called lesson study, and it’s research-based, student-centered, and eye-opening.

What Is Lesson Study?

In lesson study, one teacher teaches a team-crafted lesson while their team observes. I was on a team with two classmates from my online graduate course, but the number of teammates can vary. The lesson the team works on is called a “research lesson” because it’s grounded in the research and best practices that team members bring to the process after agreeing upon the learning goals. After discussions and improvements, a second teacher teaches the revised research lesson.

Catherine Lewis and Jacqueline Hurd outline the pedagogical benefits of lesson study in Lesson Study Step by Step: How Teacher Learning Communities Improve Instruction , and teachers can apply Lewis and Hurd’s four-step method of peer-generated professional development to incite powerful, thought-provoking discourse and reflection.

1. Creating the study curriculum and formulating goals: To begin the work of relationship-building, my two teammates and I discussed what our classrooms looked and sounded like. We determined our goals for our lesson, and voted upon a number of tasks that we felt were aligned with our goals. We agreed to use an instructional framework outlined in the book 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions to guide our lesson.

Our goal was to explore the first and fifth Standards for Mathematical Practice:

• SMP 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
• SMP 5: Use appropriate tools strategically.

We settled upon Graham Fletcher’s “ Array-bow of Colors ,” a three-act task about using multiplication of two-digit factors to determine the number of Skittles in a jar. Our fourth and fifth graders knew various multiplication strategies but had no formal exposure to the standard algorithm. The strategy each student would choose would provide rich evidence about individual understanding of multi-digit multiplication.

2. Planning: Lewis and Hurd direct educators to find research content to support the focus of the lesson. This step creates the opportunity for teachers to deepen their content knowledge, share familiar instructional strategies, and create a bank of new ones.

This second step was critical to planning the research lesson because it required us to become aware of current research-based practices. Our research articles focused on types of questions that would facilitate, guide, and deepen our students’ thinking. We read, took notes on, and debated resources such as “The Importance, Nature, and Impact of Teacher Questions” by Jo Boaler and Karin Brodie, in order to apply our newfound information to our lesson.

We also took time to solve the task ourselves in as many ways as possible to anticipate student computations and misconceptions, create questions that we would ask to facilitate student thinking, and plan alternatives and extensions for struggling and advanced students.

3. Teaching the research lesson: In a normal lesson study, the teacher team is in the classroom for the teaching of the research lesson, observing and recording how student learning is impacted by the lesson design and how students react during the task.

Because my teammates and I don’t live in the same place, they were not in the room when I went first and taught it, so I recorded the lesson, which helped me critique myself. My reflections and the critical feedback of my teammates were both data for revising the lesson.

I asked several of the questions my teammates and I had generated together and recorded student work on an anticipation guide I had designed in order to connect the least sophisticated strategies to the most sophisticated strategies for the students.

4. Reflecting: In lesson study, teachers use things like student behavior, engagement, and interest level to analyze the depth of learning that has occurred. Reflecting requires teachers to discuss the supports they provided for students and, more importantly, to focus on the barriers to learning that may have been present in the research lesson.

Because we discussed the missteps in my execution of our lesson plan, my teammates and I adjusted (or retaught, in my case) accordingly to prevent these missteps from being learning barriers moving forward. These adjustments deepened our content knowledge as well, which is a compelling effect of lesson study.

Because I reflected upon the lesson from the students’ point of view, my focus remained on how to enhance their learning and thinking. Strengthening student learning allowed me to strengthen my own capabilities.

Lessons Learned

Lesson study allowed me to, as Lewis and Hurd wrote, view my instruction “through the eyes of students and colleagues.” It was a humbling experience, and it reminded me that even the best plans can be revised and enhanced.

Our lesson study was not quick—it took about four weeks. But there are shorter variations of lesson study that you and your colleagues can adopt.

If you decide to try a lesson study, I think you’ll find that it can help deepen relationships, provide impactful learning for both students and teachers, and serve as valuable professional development.

The ABCs of Rigorous Lesson Design

Cognitive Rigor Is More Nuanced Than You Think

Depth of knowledge in action, putting it all together: lesson design moves, (a)sk a series of probing questions that increase in depth and complexity to uncover thinking., (b)uild schemas in each content domain., (c)onsider ways to strategically scaffold learning for different specific purposes., (d)esign complex tasks that emphasize evidence-based solutions., (e)ngage students in metacognition and self-reflection before, during, and after each learning opportunity or lesson..

Shifting Teacher–Student Roles Using Depth of Knowledge Planning

Hess, K. (2018). A local assessment toolkit to promote deeper learning . Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Hess, K., Carlock, J., & Walkup, J. (2009). What exactly do "fewer, clearer, and higher standards" really look like in the classroom? Educational Research in Action. Retrieved from https://01fd4346-c1b0-45d9-899e-3654cb2c37d5.filesusr.com/ugd/5e86bd_2f72d4acd00a4494b0677adecafd119f.pdf

Karin Hess, EdD , is founder and president of Educational Research in Action and author of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrices. She is a former classroom teacher and school administrator with more than 40 years of experience in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. She is an internationally recognized leader in applying the concepts of cognitive rigor, depth of knowledge, and learning progressions to the design and development of state and school-based curriculum and assessment systems. An expert in multiple content areas, she specializes in the design and use of performance-based assessments for preK–12 students.

Hess has authored or coauthored more than a dozen books in the field of education, including A Local Assessment Toolkit to Promote Deeper Learning (Corwin, 2018).

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action., related articles.

How to Signal “STEM Is For You”?

How to Start with STEM

The Hidden Rigors of Data Science

For STEM Education, the Time Is Now

Transforming STEM by Focusing on Justice

To process a transaction with a purchase order please send to [email protected].

To read this content please select one of the options below:

Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, research-based instructional strategies in the classroom: the missing link in the school improvement process.

Pathways to Excellence: Developing and Cultivating Leaders for the Classroom and Beyond

ISBN : 978-1-78441-116-9

Publication date: 29 November 2014

Despite many well-intentioned efforts to improve student achievement in chronically low-performing schools, there is little evidence of significant progress. A new and different kind of data; however, is providing a fresh perspective on the problem: According to recent studies, research-based instructional strategies – those strategies that have been proven to increase the likelihood that students will be able to retain, recall, and apply what they have been taught – are not consistently used in classrooms. Irrespective of the many changes that occur in schools, student achievement will not significantly improve until teachers consistently use and school leaders consistently promote research-based instructional strategies. The purpose of this chapter is to prepare school leaders to assess the use of research-based instructional strategies in their school, and then use the data to promote more effective instruction. This chapter will provide user-friendly tools and strategies for collecting, organizing, and analyzing classroom observation data; case studies; sample data sets; findings and conclusions drawn from sample data tables; a step-by-step process for collecting the data; samples of research-based instructional strategies; and references for identifying research-based instructional strategies.

Fox, D.S. (2014), "Research-Based Instructional Strategies in the Classroom: The Missing Link in the School Improvement Process", Pathways to Excellence: Developing and Cultivating Leaders for the Classroom and Beyond ( Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 21 ), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 93-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-366020140000021016

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014 Emerald Group Publishing Limited

We’re listening — tell us what you think

Something didn’t work….

Report bugs here

All feedback is valuable

Please share your general feedback

Join us on our journey

Platform update page.

Visit emeraldpublishing.com/platformupdate to discover the latest news and updates

Questions & More Information

Answers to the most commonly asked questions here

• CRLT Consultation Services
• Consultation
• Midterm Student Feedback
• Classroom Observation
• Teaching Philosophy
• Upcoming Events and Seminars
• CRLT Calendar
• Orientations
• Teaching Academies
• Provost's Seminars
• Past Events
• For Faculty
• For Grad Students & Postdocs
• For Chairs, Deans & Directors
• Customized Workshops & Retreats
• Assessment, Curriculum, & Learning Analytics Services
• CRLT in Engineering
• CRLT Players
• Foundational Course Initiative
• CRLT Grants
• Other U-M Grants
• Provost's Teaching Innovation Prize
• U-M Teaching Awards
• Retired Grants
• Staff Directory
• Faculty Advisory Board
• Annual Report
• Equity-Focused Teaching
• Preparing to Teach
• Teaching Strategies
• Testing and Grading
• Teaching with Technology
• Teaching Philosophy & Statements
• Training GSIs
• Evaluation of Teaching
• Occasional Papers

Research-based Principles of Learning & Teaching Strategies

Eberly center for teaching excellence, carnegie mellon university.

• Administer a diagnostic assessment or have students assess their own prior knowledge ( See “Selected Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) for Getting Feedback on Student Learning” ).
• Use brainstorming to reveal prior knowledge.
• Identify discipline-specific conventions explicitly.
• Ask students to make and test predictions (See “ Teaching for Retention in Science, Engineering & Mathematics ”). 
• Connect the material to students’ interests.
• Provide authentic, real-world tasks (See “ Teaching for Retention in Science, Engineering & Mathematics ").
• Show relevance to students’ current academic lives.
• Provide rubrics ( See “Best Practices for Designing & Grading Exams” , and “Sample Laboratory Report Rubrics” ). 
• Provide students with the organizational structure of the course.
• Share the organization of each lecture, lab, or discussion explicitly ( See “Teaching Strategies" ).
• Make connections among concepts explicit.
• Ask students to draw a concept map to expose their understanding of how course material is organized. 
• Provide isolated practice of weak or missing skills.
• Give students opportunities to practice skills including low-stakes, ungraded assignments ( See “Selected Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) for Getting Feedback on Student Learning” ).
• Give students opportunities to apply skills or knowledge in diverse contexts.
• Specify skills or knowledge and ask students to Identify contexts in which they apply. 
• Be explicit about your goals in your course materials ( See “Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning” ).
• Stage assignments by breaking tasks into smaller assignments.
• Look for patterns of errors in student work.
• Prioritize your feedback ( See “Responding to Student Writing – A Sample Commenting Protocol” ).
• Incorporate peer feedback. 
• Make uncertainty safe.
• Examine your assumptions about students.
• Model inclusive language, behavior, and attitudes ( See “Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom” ).
• Establish and reinforce ground rules for interaction ( See “Guidelines for Class Participation” ).
• Use the syllabus and first day of class to establish the course climate ( See “Creating your Syllabus” ). 
• Check students’ understanding of the task.
• Have students do guided self-assessments.
• Require students to reflect on and annotate their own work.
• Prompt students to analyze the effectiveness of their study skills.
• Have students engage in peer feedback. 

Contact CRLT

location_on University of Michigan 1071 Palmer Commons 100 Washtenaw Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2218

phone Phone: (734) 764-0505

description Fax: (734) 647-3600

email Email: [email protected]

Connect with CRLT

directions Directions to CRLT

group Staff Directory

markunread_mailbox Subscribe to our Blog

9 easy and effective research-based strategies for teaching

by mindroar | Sep 26, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Are you looking for research-based strategies for teaching in a high school classroom? Then look no further. In today’s post, we’ll look at effective teaching strategies for high school.

This post takes ideas from a few different research-based approaches, including the approach advocated by Robert Marzano in The Art and Science of Teaching , the ideas in the Victorian government publication High Impact Teaching Strategies , as well as the Harvard thinking routines .

1. Set a learning goal for each lesson

Setting a learning goal at the start of a lesson helps students understand what they are meant to know by the end of the lesson. Different educational frameworks approach this in different ways.

Typical ways to use this teaching strategy for high school students include:

• Using an essential question that students should be able to answer by the end of the lesson
• Phrasing the learning goal in language such as I will know/understand . . . or I will be able to do . . .

The important part of setting a learning goal is that teachers have a goal for the lesson and have planned activities that will help students reach the goal. A further benefit is that students will understand what success in the lesson looks like.

2. Engage students before you begin

This second research-based strategy for teaching high school students is especially important. Students need to be engaged in learning. That means that it’s your job as a teacher to capture their attention.

Now teachers all bring different skills and personalities to the classroom, so how you do this will depend on your strengths as a teacher. If you are a great storyteller, an anecdote may capture your students’ attention.

Or, if you have had varied life experiences, your real-world experiences or photos could engage your students.

Other ways to use this strategy include:

• Using ‘lesson starters’: one of my mentor teachers always had a short grammer activity that students grabbed as they walked in the door. They sat down straight away and did the activity. It was an awesome way of getting students in and working before starting the ‘main’ part of the lesson. And it helped her to incorporate grammer into all of her lessons.
• Showing photos about the topic at hand: this is particularly effective in subjects such as history and science, where the content can seem dry without real-world examples
• Using a short funny or interesting video related to your topic
• Doing a true/false activity where you review previous content and students stand for true and sit for false
• Relating the lesson you are about to begin with students’ own lives and explaining how this lesson will benefit them in their life beyond school

It doesn’t really matter how you do this and you may choose to do it the same way every lesson (such as ‘lesson starters’) or in a different way each lesson depending on the lesson goal. The point is to get your students paying attention and motivated for the lesson ahead.

3. Structure your lesson in chunks

This may not necessarily be a research-based strategy for teaching, but it is one of the best pieces of advice I was given as a student-teacher. Chunk your lessons.

Huh? What does that mean? Basically, chunking your lesson means breaking up your long lesson into smaller mini-lessons or activities.

My student-teaching happened in a country mining town with a diverse population. Classes were seventy minutes long. To keep students engaged in this setting I had to learn to have short parts of direct instruction interspersed with short activities where students applied that learning.

My lessons ran much more smoothly after I began to structure my lessons in the following way:

• 5 minutes to get students settled in the classroom and gain students’ attention
• 10 minutes of direct instruction/10 minutes of an activity to apply the learning
• Repeat the above three times
• 5 minutes to summarize the lesson and link it to previous learning

By structuring lessons in this way, each section had a specific goal (learn vocabulary, ensure student comprehension of reading etc) and the activity would show what my students knew or could do.

It also kept the lesson moving. Students weren’t writing notes for half an hour and then listening to me drone on about them. Students weren’t chatting for the whole lesson. The activities were discreet and had a time limit:

• 10 minutes to write these notes
• then 10 minutes to discuss what had been written, ask questions, clarify understanding
• 10 minutes to complete this sorting activity etc.

Keeping the lesson moving reduces boredom and inappropriate behavior (although of course, it doesn’t eliminate boredom or inappropriate behavior entirely).

Using different types of activities means students have different ways to learn and show understanding. It also allows you to differentiate learning by providing different types of activities for different students.

Further, it also enables you to get students moving. Having a few different activities such as sit/stand games, thumbs up/down games, 4 corner activities, gallery walks and rotation stations all help students learn by incorporating physical movement with mental effort.

4. Use explicit teaching

Using explicit teaching (also known as the teaching strategies of direct instruction or explicit instruction) shows students what you want them to know by the end of the lesson and what you want them to be able to do .

Teachers can achieve this in different ways, but it ties into the idea of setting learning goals and showing students what success looks like.

So, if your lesson goal is for students to be able to write a paragraph explaining why the Industrial Revolution re-shaped Western societies, students need to know the effects of the Industrial Revolution. But they also need to know how to communicate in a paragraph.

To achieve this your lesson might look something like this:

• introduction (5 minutes): write learning goal, look at photos of how urban and rural landscapes changed as a result of the Industrial Revolution
• reading (10 minutes): textbook excerpt about the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution
• small group brainstorm (10 minutes): brainstorming/discussing how the Industrial Revolution changes peoples’ lives in rural and urban areas, students to write bullet points on board for use in later activity
• class discussion (10 minutes): revising/discussing how a paragraph is structured
• scaffolded example of paragraph (10-20 minutes): writing a model paragraph using student input (bullet points written on the board) and then individually completing a pre-writing graphic organizer
• individual practice (10-20 minutes): students to write their own paragraph. Fast finishers might have a self-assessment rubric or peer-assessment rubric to assess their own/others’ learning.
• summarize lesson (5 minutes): hand out homework (self-assessment or peer-assessment rubric) for feedback and do an exit ticket

Obviously, the goal of your lesson and your subject area will decide how you choose to do the explicit teaching parts of your lessons. But often speaking, demonstrating, working through examples, and asking clarifying questions will be part of the explicit teaching.

Explicit teaching or direct instruction is a research-based strategy for teaching that explicitly introduces and explores new content. Once students are able to recall knowledge or attempt the skill independently, you need to give them space to practice. But you also need to monitor for success and misunderstandings.

5. Use collaborative learning

Another research-based strategy for teaching in high school is collaborative learning, such as working in pairs, working in small groups, and reciprocal teaching.

Many teachers (myself included!) avoid collaborative learning because it can become noisy, uncontrolled, and a bit of a time-waster.

But teaching strategies using cooperative learning and collaborative learning don’t have to be that way. Simply chatting with the person sitting next to them can increase some students’ confidence and understanding. And it’s a low-pressure way to participate in class.

Collaborative teaching strategies such as jigsaw are also fantastic, but there are also less structured ways to do this including:

• think, pair, share
• circle the sage
• timed pair share
• agree disagree line-ups
• rally coach
• stump your partner
• brainstorming or concept mapping in pairs/small groups
• completing graphic organizers in pairs/small groups

Teaching strategies like role-playing are also collaborative. However, they may not be suited to all subject areas and not all teachers are comfortable with role-playing teaching strategies.

Either way, research-based strategies for teaching show that collaborative learning strategies can increase student performance. Some studies suggest the affect size of including collaborative learning in lessons can range from .41 (cooperative vs whole class learning) to .75 (reciprocal teaching). Other collaborative teaching strategies include:

• peer tutoring
• small group learning
• competitive learning

6. Use spaced repetition or multiple exposures

Another effective, research-based strategy for teaching that you can incorporate into your class is spaced repetition or multiple exposures. This is because each time learners recall information, the brain re-learns it.

This recall and re-learn process help the brain embed the memories more deeply. Great ways to use this strategy in high school classrooms in a teacher-led way include:

• starting lessons with a true/false or four corners activity, where students have to sit/stand or move to corners of the room to answer questions you ask
• creating exit ticket or review quizes for the end of lessons
• linking information from previous lessons to what you will learn in current lessons either through direct questioning or using a strategy like think-pair-share
• creating study questions/sheets and reviewing at frequent intervals

Ways to use this strategy in student-led ways include:

• getting students to create flashcards, anki cards or mind maps of important information and then using them to recall information
• asking students to take notes in the Cornell notes style and using them to recall information
• allowing students to represent their learning in different ways at different points during the course – for example, using visual notes, cornell notes, powerpoint presentations, flash cards, posters, infographics, or graphic organizers
• encouraging students do a “brain dump” about what they have learned when reviewing and using that to create their own study guides and study questions

Importantly, research shows that as learners master ideas, information, and concepts, the length of time between “recall” sessions needs to increase.

So space activities like those mentioned above throughout your unit of study. Similarly, ensure that you give students feedback about their practice.

7. Check understanding

Another research-based strategy for teaching in high school is using questions and feedback to check for understanding.

The best teachers use the teaching strategy of questioning to get students to learn. Skilled teachers use open and closed questions, questions that build on what others have said, and higher-order questions. Easy ways to do this are to:

• Use true/false questions at the start of a lesson to establish what students can correctly recall from previous learning
• Ask a series of questions at the start of each lesson to help students recall previous learning and ‘prime’ them for the current lesson
• Use the ‘stoplight’ system for students to show understanding: green means they understand everything and are confident, yellow means they understand some things but need help with some things, red means they don’t understand at all. You could tack this onto an exit ticket or quiz for older students.
• Providing sentence stems to help students summarize the lesson on an exit ticket
• Creating graphic organizers for students to take notes or revise information

Similarly, you should give both formal and informal feedback. And students should have a chance to give you/the teacher (constructive) feedback too. Easy ways to do this are to:

• Create a true/false exit slip to better understand the classroom climate from students’ perspectives (for example, statements such as: I feel safe in class/I feel like my teacher helps me learn/I feel like I can speak up in class etc.)
• Use true/false exit slip to establish if students feel like they are learning (for example, statements such as: I feel like I am learning/I understand what I am learning/I feel like my teacher has fair but high expectations of me etc) can help you establish if your students feel like they are learning
• Use ‘tick and flick’ sheets to show students where they are doing well and where they need to improve, both for in-class learning and assessment
• Send home positive praise postcards about students’ academic performance, but also behavior, effort, and homework etc

8. Teach study and metacognitive skills

Another research-based strategy for teaching that is easy to incorporate in your classroom is metacognitive skills. Various sources describe metacognition as “ thinking about one’s thinking “. However, it is a term that incorporates many ideas, such as:

• understanding your own thinking
• knowing of and when to apply different learning strategies
• understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a learner
• knowing how to plan for learning
• regulating your learning
• assessing or reflecting on your learning
• evaluating your learning

However, research shows that teaching students metacognitive skills improves their learning. According to this document , explicitly teaching the following skills improve student learning:

• problem solving skills (affect size of .63)
• study skills (affect size of.60)
• self-questioning skills (affect size of .64)
• classroom discussion (affect size of .82)
• and concept mapping (affect size of .64)

Now, I know what you’re thinking, I don’t have time to teach my subject area curriculum as well as study skills or problem-solving skills.

But, you don’t have to spend loads of time teaching study skills, you can do it quickly and easily. See this post for more information.

This research shows that helping students increase their metacognitive skills pays off. Whether you re-teach note-taking, scaffold the steps in writing an essay, or discuss how to set up a study space, you are teaching metacognitive skills.

And the types of skills, and when you teach them, will heavily depend on your students. Cherry-picking different skills for different times of the year is a great way to do this. For example, you might:

• Discuss note-taking strategies before doing independent reading of a textbook or novel
• Watch a video on how to create a study schedule at the start of a new semester
• Show students how to evaluate sources of evidence before commencing a research task
• Scaffold writing an essay after students have completed some research

Teaching strategies such as scaffolding can be particularly important in subjects that require students to write in a specific way. For example, writing a science lab report is very different from writing an analytical essay discussing the importance of a metaphor in a poem.

By scaffolding this process, or breaking it down into smaller chunks, teachers enable students to complete complex tasks more easily. And they make explicit the metacognitive steps involved in doing the task.

9. Summarize and conclude the lesson

Finally, you need to conclude the lesson by revising what students have learned so far. This research-based strategy for teaching is a two-fold strategy. Summarizing the lesson allows you to observe how much students have learned and where they may be confused.

And it also reinforces the main goal of the lesson in terms of what students should know and be able to do.

Ideas for accomplishing this include:

• Giving students writing prompts to complete as exit tickets
• Asking students to do a quick informal, ungraded quiz (either digitally, verbally, or on paper)
• Asking students what they have learned and where they are confused
• Getting students to create a poster, notes, drawing, or other document to display their learning

Where to find more information?

If you want more information about research-based strategies for teaching in high school, below are some places where you can do more reading.

Teaching study skills

Want a fast and easy way to teach study skills? Use the free Crash Course Study Skills videos on YouTube and our visual note-taking worksheets .

See this post for more details on how to use these worksheets and videos in class.

See this post for more information about why your students’ notes suck and how to improve them.

Or go here for research-based reasons to spend time on teaching study skills in English or ELA classes.

Graphic organizers and note-taking templates

Freeology has lots of free graphic organizers and note-taking templates. Some of them are too ‘young’ for middle and high school students but most are great. And free. Did I mention free?

The Harvard Thinking Routines website is amazing for graphic organizers and teaching metacognitive skills. It’s also great because you can filter by subject area and types of thinking.

My TPT store also has freebies for a comic book blank template and a digital Cornell note-taking template .

Research skills

Again, Crash Course has an excellent YouTube series called Navigating Digital Information that teaching students skills such as evaluating sources of information, understanding evidence, using Wikipedia wisely, using strategies such as lateral reading, evaluating the trustworthiness of a website/author/social media post.

I also have visual note-taking worksheets to accompany the videos. You can read here to find out more about how to use these in class.

Spaced repetition

Cult of Pedagogy has a great post about using spaced repetition (or as she calls it retrieval practice). She also gives strategies of how to use it in class, such as think-pair-share, low-stakes quizzes, braindumps, flashcards etc.

Cult of Pedagogy also has a fantastic YouTube channel with videos on a huge variety of topics for teachers including how to read academic research, teaching strategies for teaching vocabulary, how to use google drive, how to talk to parents about problems with their child etc.

Thomas Frank of College Info Geek has a great video that explains what spaced repetition is, how/why it works, and different ways to do it on his website and YouTube.

More information about metacognitive skills

Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching has a good explanation of what metacognition is and ways to use it in the classroom.

The University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching Excellenc e also has a good explanation of metacognition. It gives strategies for teaching metacognitive skills, as well as helping students develop regulation skills.

Teaching strategies for high school sources of information

• This article by Teach Thought outline the main ideas of Marzano and it also has a great infographic that summarizes the main ideas
• The Harvard Thinking Routines website it here . The website is great because you can filter thinking routines by subject area and types of thinking.
• This pdf by the Victorian Department of Education gives a great overview of the effectiveness of different types of teaching strategies (for example, setting goals has an affect size of 0.56 versus spaced practice, which has an affect size of 0.6). Data in this pdf is the result of a synthesising over 800 meta-analyses related to achivement and is reported in Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of oer 800 meta-analses related to acivement . Milton Park, UK: Routledge.

• Skip to search box
• Skip to main content

Princeton University Library

Toolkit for teaching research at princeton.

• Toolkit Home
• All Things Canvas
• Teaching for the Writing Seminars
• Remote Teaching
• Faculty Collaboration Checklist

General Orientation to the Library

Database/catalog searching, developing and narrowing a research topic, teaching how to evaluate sources, citing sources/citation management, orienting departmental majors to library resources, lesson plans for teaching remotely.

• Bank of Exit and Learning Assessment Surveys
• Bibliographic Management (Zotero, Endnote, Etc)
• Models, Standards, etc.
• Professional Resources & Bibliography
• Discussion Board This link opens in a new window
• User-facing Instruction Pages @PUL
• extended access

(These were created for writing seminars but can be used for other courses)

• The Great Library Treasure Hunt Created by Kachina Allen and Audrey Welber for a Writing Seminar
• Library Treasure Hunt (Created by Audrey Welber for "Celebrity" Writing Seminar)
• You Love the Library Treasure Hunt created by Raf Allison
• First and Second Session Lesson Plans by Darwin Scott for "Decoding Dress"
• Library "Jeopardy" by Elana Broch
• Slavery WRI; library research & assessing sources R. Friedman w/N. Elder
• Intro to the Library Collaboration and Search Techniques
• Developing a Research Topic (Shannon Winston)
• Topic Formation in Library (Caswell-Klein)

(These were created for writing seminars but can be used for other courses.)

• Finding Your Dream Source Created by Greg Spears and Audrey Welber for "Music and Madness"
• Dream Source Sample Exercise Created by Sam Garcia and Audrey Welber
• Library Discovery Session Exercises Created by Writing Seminar Faculty member Cecily Swanson
• Advanced searching tips for Articles+ and the Library Catalog Intended as a Pre-draft assignment for Unit 3; it can easily be split up into two separate assignments/lessons.
• WRI 146 - session 1 R. Friedman w/instructor E. Ljung; exploring library resources and museum objects
• Narrowing Your Topic
• CRAAP Test for Evaluating Sources Created by Alex Davis for "Politics of Intimacy"
• Evaluating resources UC-Berkeley LibGuide: General, Scholarly vs. Popular, Primary and Secondary
• Evaluating Sources Created by Raf Allison
• Zotero Libguide (created by Audrey Welber)
• A short "getting started" video tutorial A 5 minute crash course on using Zotero at Princeton. Zotero can save you hours of frustration because it enables you to quickly import and organize your materials as you do your research and easily insert citations into Word (and google doc, Scrivener, Latek, etc) as you write. Zotero also generates a bibliography based on the sources you've cited (but can also create a standalone bibliography.)
• Endnote, Basic
• MolBio Junior Tutorial
• MolBio Tutorial Reflection reflection of how the lesson went

Preparation for your Zoom session:

A 10 minute getting started video from Zoom company

Preparation for your Zoom session for the Writing Seminars/important details about using Zoom with a class (culled from brainstorm session with many teaching librarians on 3/20)

Lesson plans/exercises:

Research Clinic

Outline Session #1

One of Audrey's lesson plans for first session

Elana's plan (4 short sessions)

Denise's plan for a Freshman Writing Seminar

Research Clinic             Research clinic sample plan

Mini exercises

Videos created for flipped classroom  ("asychronous" learning)

Thomas Keenan: 5 videos for a Writing Seminar Discovery Session

Wayne Bivens-Tatum: Zoom video creation tutorial (for a subject area class)

Audrey Welber: Articles+, Catalog, and Zotero

• << Previous: Faculty Collaboration Checklist
• Next: Bank of Exit and Learning Assessment Surveys >>
• Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 11:08 AM
• URL: https://libguides.princeton.edu/teachingtoolkit

Marie Menna Pagliaro, Ph.D.

• A Blueprint for Preparing Teachers
• Designing and Implementing the Curriculum
• Questioning, Instructional Strategies, and Classroom Management
• Academic Success
• Differentiating Instruction
• Educator or Bully?
• Exemplary Classroom Questioning

Research-Based Unit and Lesson Planning

• Mastery Teaching Skills
• Fork in the Road
• That Woman and the Mafia Don

Available from Barnes & Noble ( bn.com ), amazon.com and from the publisher at www.rowman.com or at 1-800-462-6420

Research-Based Unit and Lesson Planning presents a detailed, thorough, and comprehensive discussion of effective curriculum and instructional planning that leads to student success. Coaching rubrics facilitate implementation of the content so that teachers can improve their productivity.

Benefits and special features

• Presents information analytically

• Offers a context and rationale for planning based on solid research

• Provides numerous examples from different grade levels and subject areas

• Summarizes the content at the end of each chapter and at appropriate intervals

• Reflects a 21st century view

• Allows the reader to implement the content

Endorsements

Research-Based Unit and Lesson Planning is a “gold mine” and a comprehensive treasure that should on the working bookshelf of apprentice teachers, probationary teachers, newly tenured teachers, veteran teachers, and university teacher educators who prepare teachers. This book would be an eye-opener for senior political staff advisers to state and federal congressmen and senators who are self-proclaimed experts on the subject of schools and educational systems.

Anthony N. Baratta, Ed.D , Distinguished Professor of Education Emeritus; Chair, Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy; and former Chair, Division of Curriculum and Teaching, The Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY.

Having run a successful charter school district that firmly ascribed to constructivist precepts, this book nails it! Parsing the constructs of learning into a meaningful sequence that the teacher can apply in the classroom while encouraging participatory education is a major accomplishment.

Rex F. Shaw, Ed.D . Retired Director, Teaneck Charter School, Teaneck, NJ

This book is an essential handbook for teachers who aim to build sound constructivist curriculum in their classrooms. Pagliaro provides necessary tools for teachers and instructional coaches to build strong foundations for learning by aligning clear objectives to student activities. School leaders should incorporate this text as key content in professional development sessions for all teachers seeking to improve or enrich their craft.

Emily Hyland , 10th Grade Team Leader/ELA Teacher, Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, New York City Public Schools

Bravo, Dr. Pagliaro. This book is tremendous–a phenomenal work of creative synthesis for a fundamental and key professional teaching and learning function. If teachers actually implemented what was in this book, no student would be left behind! Enjoyed in particular, the review of learning theory and found the coaching rubrics particularly unique and useful.

Vincent S. Ziccolella, Ph.D. , Educational Consultant, former Superintendent, Greeenburgh-Graham Union Free School District, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Research-Based Unit and Lesson Planning is a wonderful coach for helping novice and seasoned teachers plan for learning success in today’s diverse classrooms. This book explains traditional and contemporary methods for differentiating instruction, creating assessments, and planning learning experiences that will truly engage students, help them understand and master subject matter, and become independent, lifelong thinkers. This book is an essential tool for all teachers who seek to meet the challenges of the 21st century learner.

Janelle A. Simpson Cajuste , elementary teacher, East Ramapo Central School District, Spring Valley, NY

Recent Posts

• New Books by Dr. Marie Menna Pagliaro

Building a Lesson Plan

• 1. Lesson Plan Template
• 2. Outcomes
• 3. Content Standards

4. Relevance / Rationale

Describe the relevance/rationale.

• 5. Language Objective
• 6. Model of Co-Teaching
• 7. Anticipatory Set / Activating Strategy
• 8. Introductory / Short Lecture and/or Developmental Activities
• 9. Teacher Guided Practice
• 10. Independent Practice or Activities
• 11. Assessment / Closure
• 12. Resources / Materials
• 13. Access for All
• 14. Differentiation
• 15. Reflection

Making Learning Relevant

• Real-World Connections A text explanation of making real-world connections from Resources4Rethinking, a teacher-reviewed site for educational tools and resources.
• Real-World Connections A video recording of a webinar on making real-world connections with learning, from a nonprofit organization focused on educational strategies.
• Top 12 Ways to Bring the Real World into Your Classroom Strategies from TeachHUB, a teacher resource sharing site hosted by the K-12 Teachers Alliance organization.
• New Jersey Student Learning Standards Scroll down this page and use the icons to find the appropriate standards for the content area of your lesson, and explore how they connect to skills needed in later grades and to real-world applications.

Reliable Sources for More Information

Published books, articles, and multimedia on teaching to content standards..

• Search for "teaching real world connections" at Rowan University Libraries

When you have reviewed the instructional material on this page and the information you have found, describe the real-world relevance or rationale of your lesson plan in the appropriate space on the lesson plan template.

Continue to 5. Language Objective

• << Previous: 3. Content Standards
• Next: 5. Language Objective >>
• Last Updated: Feb 7, 2024 10:53 AM
• URL: https://libguides.rowan.edu/lessonplans

Developing mathematical knowledge for teaching through lesson planning and technological pedagogical content knowledge among rwandan teacher training college tutors

• Published: 27 April 2024

Cite this article

• Hashituky Telesphore Habiyaremye 1 ,
• Celestin Ntivuguruzwa 2 &
• Philothere Ntawiha 2  

The current study aimed to sightsee the effectiveness of Mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) through lesson planning and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) on Rwandan mathematics tutors in teachers' training colleges. A quasi-experimental research design was used with a control and an experimental group. The experimental group received the intervention on developing MKT through the lesson plan and TPACK, while the control group used a standardized format lesson plan templates as their primary method for preparing instructional materials. In both groups, we analyzed 88 lesson plans in three stages (before, during, and after intervention). The collected lessons were analyzed using a standardized and validated Lesson Plan Analysis Protocol (LPAP). The result revealed that, before the intervention, teachers in both groups struggled with preparing an effective lesson, with an average of 57.8% and 54% in the control and experimental groups, respectively, indicating that the prepared lesson could not be effectively taught. During the intervention, tutors in the experimental group were facilitated to improve their lesson preparation. In this regard, the average was increased to 61.37% in the experimental group, compared to 57.67% in the control group. Moreover, the post-intervention results revealed significant divergence in the two groups' performance, with an average of 82.40% (indicating a very good lesson plan that can be taught) in the experimental group and 59.73% (a fair lesson plan) in the control group. The inferential results showed a statistically significant difference in lesson preparation between Mathematics tutors in the experimental and control groups ( p  < 0.05) in favor of the experimental group during and after intervention. The research underscores the need for educational stakeholders and continuous professional development organizers to incorporate TPACK in lesson planning during teacher training to promote a more comprehensive and forward-looking approach to tutor preparation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Data availability

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

TTCs are equivalent to high schools where future primary school teachers are trained. Tutors are teachers teaching in TTCs and student-teachers are students in TTCs.

Aktaş, İ., & Özmen, H. (2020). Investigating the impact of TPACK development course on pre-service science teachers’ performances. Asia Pacific Education Review, 21 (4), 667–682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-020-09653-x

Article   Google Scholar  

Bell, J., Wilcoxen, C., & Steiner, A. (2022). Mentoring and Coaching through Induction to Develop Reflective Practices in Beginning Teachers. The New Educator, 18 (4), 281–305.

Chen, S., & Zhang, B. (2019). Improving Prospective Teachers' Lesson Planning Knowledge and Skills through Lesson Study BT - Theory and Practice of Lesson Study in Mathematics: An International Perspective (R. Huang, A. Takahashi, & J. P. da Ponte (eds.); pp. 549–575). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04031-4_27

Class, B. (2023). Teaching research methods in education: using the TPACK framework to reflect on praxis. International Journal of Research & Method in Education , 1–21.

Cresswell, J.W. (2014). Research Design: Quantitative Qualitative and Mixed methods (5th Editio). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Dorimana, A., Uworwabayeho, A., & Nizeyimana, G. (2021). Examining Mathematical Problem-Solving Beliefs among Rwandan Secondary School Teachers. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research , 20 (7), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.7.13

Elmaadaway, M. A. N., & Abouelenein, Y. A. M. (2023). In-service teachers’ TPACK development through an adaptive e-learning environment (ALE). Education and Information Technologies, 28 (7), 8273–8298.

Habiyaremye, H. T., Ntivuguruzwa, C., & Ntawiha, P. (2022a). Assessment of Teaching Methods in Mathematical Simplicity and Complexity in Rwandan Schools via Pedagogical Content Knowledge. Mathematics Teaching-Research Journal, 14 (4), 129–147.

Google Scholar  

Habiyaremye, H. T., Ntivuguruzwa, C., & Ntawiha, P. (2022b). From pedagogical toward technological pedagogical content knowledge frameworks and their effectiveness in teaching mathematics: A mapping review. F1000Research , 11 , 1029. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.125073.1

Habiyaremye, H. T., Ntivuguruzwa, C., & Ntawiha, P. (2023). Rwandan teacher training college's mathematics teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for teaching: assessment toward competency-based curriculum. Frontiers in Education , 8 (November). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1214396

Hakizumuremyi, V., & Maniraho, J. F. (2022). Pre-primary Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching Patterns and Measurement: A Review of literature. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences, 18 (1), 117–125.

Iqbal, M. H., Siddiqie, S. A., & Mazid, M. A. (2021). Rethinking theories of lesson plan for effective teaching and learning. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 4 (1), 100172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100172

Janssen, N., Knoef, M., & Lazonder, A. W. (2019). Technological and pedagogical support for pre-service teachers’ lesson planning. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 28 (1), 115–128.

Jiménez Sierra, Á. A., Ortega Iglesias, J. M., Cabero-Almenara, J., & Palacios-Rodríguez, A. (2023). Development of the teacher’s technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) from the Lesson Study: A systematic review. Frontiers in Education, 8 , 1078913.

Juhler, M. V. (2018). Assessment of understanding: Student teachers’ preparation, implementation and reflection of a lesson plan for science. Research in Science Education, 48 , 515–532.

Kadıoglu, N., & Oskay, O. O. (2023). The Effect of Preparing Lesson Plans in Online Flipped Learning Model on Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Efficacy Levels of TPACK. MIER Journal of Educational Studies Trends and Practices , 147–169.

Kartal, B., & Çınar, C. (2022). Preservice mathematics teachers' TPACK development when they are teaching polygons with geogebra. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology , 1–33.

Kurt, G., & Çakıroğlu, E. (2023). Prospective mathematics teachers' Tpack development in graphical data displays: a microteaching lesson study. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology , 1–31.

Liando, N. V. F., Tatipang, D. P., & Wuntu, C. N. (2023). TPACK Framework Towards 21st Century's Pre-Service English Teachers: Opportunities and Challenges in Application. Edumaspul: Jurnal Pendidikan , 7 (1), 1799–1815.

Maciejewski, M. L. (2020). Quasi-Experimental Design. Biostatistics & Epidemiology, 4 (1), 38–47.

Marlina, R., Hamdani, H., Oktavianty, E., Silitonga, H. T. M., & Afandi, A. (2023). Research trends in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) reflective practitioners in higher education. AIP Conference Proceedings , 2751 (1).

Ndihokubwayo, K., Byukusenge, C., Byusa, E., Habiyaremye, H. T., Mbonyiryivuze, A., & Mukagihana, J. (2022). Lesson plan analysis protocol (LPAP): A useful tool for researchers and educational evaluators. Heliyon , 8 (1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08730

Ndihokubwayo, K., & Habiyaremye, Hashituky, T. (2019). Study Practice Lessons and Peer Learning Methods to StrengthenRwandan Science and Mathematics Teaching . 16 (2), 18–25.

Ndihokubwayo, K., Ndayambaje, I., & Uwamahoro, J. (2020). Analysis of lesson plans from rwandan physics teachers. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research , 19 (12), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.12.1

Niess, M. L., van Zee, E. H., & Gillow-Wiles, H. (2010). Knowledge Growth in Teaching Mathematics/Science with Spreadsheets. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 27 (2), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/21532974.2010.10784657

Nkundabakura, P., Nsengimana, T., Uwamariya, E., Nyirahabimana, P., Nkurunziza, J. B., Mukamwambali, C., Dushimimana, J. C., Batamuliza, J., Byukusenge, C., & Iyamuremye, A. (2024). Effectiveness of the continuous professional development training on upper primary mathematics and science and elementary technology teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Rwanda. Discover Education, 3 (1), 1–13.

Nkundabakura, P., Nsengimana, T., Uwamariya, E., Nyirahabimana, P., Nkurunziza, J. B., Mukamwambali, C., Dushimimana, J. C., Nsabayezu, E., Twahirwa, J. N., & Ndihokubwayo, K. (2023). Contribution of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Training Programme on Rwandan Secondary School Mathematics and Science Teachers' Pedagogical, Technological, and Content knowledge. Education and Information Technologies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11992-2

Nsengimana, V., David, O., Uworwabayeho, A., Minani, E., Mugabo, L., & Nsengimana, T. (2022). Assessing Satisfaction of Science School Subject Teachers and Leaders in Rwanda on the Continuous Professional Development through Online Learning. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 21 (7), 379–396.

Nzaramyimana, E., & Umugiraneza, O. (2023). Investigating teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge in teaching mathematics in Rwanda secondary schools. Education and Information Technologies.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12403-2

Porcenaluk, S., O’Neachtain, A., & Connolly, C. (2023). Reimagining a framework for teachers’ continuous professional development during curriculum reform. Irish Educational Studies, 42 (4), 931–948.

REB. (2020). Teacher Training Collge (TTC) /Year 2/Y2 Mathematics SME Book . Rwanda Basic Education Board.

Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2006). The effects of overlearning and distributed practise on the retention of mathematics knowledge. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20 (9), 1209–1224. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1266

Sahin-Taskin, C. (2017). Exploring Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Lesson Planning in Primary Education. Journal of Education and Practice , 8 (12), 57–63. www.iiste.org

Tanak, A. (2020). Designing tpack-based course for preparing student teachers to teach science with technological pedagogical content knowledge. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 41 (1), 53–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2018.07.012

Ukobizaba, F., & Byukusenge, C. (2023). Investigating Effective Formative Assessment Applications to Enhance Students' Performance and Interest in Learning Mathematics. Journal of Classroom Practices , 2 (2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.58197/prbl/zauj4780

Ukobizaba, F., Ndihokubwayo, K., Mukuka, A., & Uwamahoro, J. (2019). Insights of teachers and students on mathematics teaching and learning in selected Rwandan secondary schools. African Journal of Educational Studies in Mathematics and Sciences, 15 (2), 93–107.

Uworwabayeho, A., Nsengimana, T., Mutarutinya, V., Gafiligi, C. U., Vande Walle, S., & Peeraer, J. (2021). Mathematics Teachers Professional Development Perceived to Improve Instruction and Learning Outcomes in Rwanda. In Mathematics Teaching and Professional Learning in sub-Sahara Africa (pp. 151–165). Springer.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support the African Center of Excellence for Innovative Teaching Mathematics and Science provided. We also appreciate the lesson plans willingly provided by teachers.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

African Center of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS), University of Rwanda College of Education (URCE), Kayonza, PO Box 55, Rwamagana, Rwanda

Hashituky Telesphore Habiyaremye

School of Education, University of Rwanda College of Education (URCE), Kayonza, PO Box 55, Rwamagana, Rwanda

Celestin Ntivuguruzwa & Philothere Ntawiha

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hashituky Telesphore Habiyaremye .

Ethics declarations

Ethical statement.

The Unit of Research and Innovation at the University of Rwanda College of Education has provided ethical clearance to conduct this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix 1 Lesson plan before the intervention

1.1 school name: ttc x teacher's name: xx.

Appendix 2 Lesson plans with comments during the intervention

LESSON PLAN OF MATHEMATICS

COMPETENCE ICT- BASED LESSON PLAN

TUTOR'S NAME : X

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Habiyaremye, H.T., Ntivuguruzwa, C. & Ntawiha, P. Developing mathematical knowledge for teaching through lesson planning and technological pedagogical content knowledge among rwandan teacher training college tutors. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12634-x

Download citation

Received : 11 January 2024

Accepted : 19 March 2024

Published : 27 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12634-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Mathematical Knowledge for teaching
• Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
• Lesson plan intervention
• Teacher training college
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

Research Lesson Plan: Research to Build and Present Knowledge

*Click to open and customize your own copy of the  Research Lesson Plan . 

This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP topic Research , and supports the standard of gathering relevant information from multiple sources. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.

Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Prompt students to think of a time they had to do research, either for school or for themselves. Ask: 

• How did you determine what information to look for?
• What went well? What was challenging?

Step 2: BUILD BACKGROUND

• Read aloud the description on the Research topic page .
• Play the Movie , pausing to check for understanding. 
• Have students read one of the following Related Reading articles: “Way Back When” or “In Depth.” Partner them with someone who read a different article to share what they learned with each other.

Step 3: ENGAGE Students express what they learned about research while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student needs.

• Make-a-Movie : Create a tutorial that answers this question: What are the steps for writing  a research report? (Essential Literacy Skill: Acquire and use domain specific words and phrases)
• Make-a-Map : Make a spider map in which you state a research question in the center, and around it, identify sub questions and sources for finding answers in order to write a research report. (Essential Literacy Skill: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources)
• Creative Coding : Code a museum where each artifact represents a component of the research process. (Essential Literacy Skill: Make logical inferences from explicit details)

Step 4: APPLY & ASSESS 

Apply : Students t ake the Research Challenge , applying essential literacy skills while demonstrating what they learned about this topic.

Assess: Wrap up the lesson with the Research Quiz . 

Step 5:  EXTEND LEARNING

Related BrainPOP Topics : Deepen understanding of research with these topics: Online Sources , Internet Search , and Citing Sources . 

Additional Support Resources:

• Pause Point Overview : Video tutorial showing how Pause Points actively engage students  to stop, think, and express ideas.  
• Modifications for BrainPOP Learning Activities: Strategies to meet ELL and other instructional and student needs.
• BrainPOP Learning Activities Support: Resources for best practices using BrainPOP.

• BrainPOP Jr. (K-3)
• BrainPOP ELL
• BrainPOP Science
• BrainPOP Español
• BrainPOP Français
• Set Up Accounts
• Single Sign-on
• Manage Subscription
• Quick Tours
• About BrainPOP

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Trademarks & Copyrights

• Research Skills

50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills

Please note, I am no longer blogging and this post hasn’t updated since April 2020.

For a number of years, Seth Godin has been talking about the need to “ connect the dots” rather than “collect the dots” . That is, rather than memorising information, students must be able to learn how to solve new problems, see patterns, and combine multiple perspectives.

Solid research skills underpin this. Having the fluency to find and use information successfully is an essential skill for life and work.

Today’s students have more information at their fingertips than ever before and this means the role of the teacher as a guide is more important than ever.

You might be wondering how you can fit teaching research skills into a busy curriculum? There aren’t enough hours in the day! The good news is, there are so many mini-lessons you can do to build students’ skills over time.

This post outlines 50 ideas for activities that could be done in just a few minutes (or stretched out to a longer lesson if you have the time!).

Learn More About The Research Process

I have a popular post called Teach Students How To Research Online In 5 Steps. It outlines a five-step approach to break down the research process into manageable chunks.

This post shares ideas for mini-lessons that could be carried out in the classroom throughout the year to help build students’ skills in the five areas of: clarify, search, delve, evaluate , and cite . It also includes ideas for learning about staying organised throughout the research process.

Notes about the 50 research activities:

• These ideas can be adapted for different age groups from middle primary/elementary to senior high school.
• Many of these ideas can be repeated throughout the year.
• Depending on the age of your students, you can decide whether the activity will be more teacher or student led. Some activities suggest coming up with a list of words, questions, or phrases. Teachers of younger students could generate these themselves.
• Depending on how much time you have, many of the activities can be either quickly modelled by the teacher, or extended to an hour-long lesson.
• Some of the activities could fit into more than one category.
• Looking for simple articles for younger students for some of the activities? Try DOGO News or Time for Kids . Newsela is also a great resource but you do need to sign up for free account.
• Why not try a few activities in a staff meeting? Everyone can always brush up on their own research skills!

• Choose a topic (e.g. koalas, basketball, Mount Everest) . Write as many questions as you can think of relating to that topic.
• Make a mindmap of a topic you’re currently learning about. This could be either on paper or using an online tool like Bubbl.us .
• Read a short book or article. Make a list of 5 words from the text that you don’t totally understand. Look up the meaning of the words in a dictionary (online or paper).
• Look at a printed or digital copy of a short article with the title removed. Come up with as many different titles as possible that would fit the article.
• Come up with a list of 5 different questions you could type into Google (e.g. Which country in Asia has the largest population?) Circle the keywords in each question.
• Write down 10 words to describe a person, place, or topic. Come up with synonyms for these words using a tool like  Thesaurus.com .
• Write pairs of synonyms on post-it notes (this could be done by the teacher or students). Each student in the class has one post-it note and walks around the classroom to find the person with the synonym to their word.

• Explore how to search Google using your voice (i.e. click/tap on the microphone in the Google search box or on your phone/tablet keyboard) . List the pros and cons of using voice and text to search.
• Open two different search engines in your browser such as Google and Bing. Type in a query and compare the results. Do all search engines work exactly the same?
• Have students work in pairs to try out a different search engine (there are 11 listed here ). Report back to the class on the pros and cons.
• Think of something you’re curious about, (e.g. What endangered animals live in the Amazon Rainforest?). Open Google in two tabs. In one search, type in one or two keywords ( e.g. Amazon Rainforest) . In the other search type in multiple relevant keywords (e.g. endangered animals Amazon rainforest).  Compare the results. Discuss the importance of being specific.
• Similar to above, try two different searches where one phrase is in quotation marks and the other is not. For example, Origin of “raining cats and dogs” and Origin of raining cats and dogs . Discuss the difference that using quotation marks makes (It tells Google to search for the precise keywords in order.)
• Try writing a question in Google with a few minor spelling mistakes. What happens? What happens if you add or leave out punctuation ?
• Try the AGoogleADay.com daily search challenges from Google. The questions help older students learn about choosing keywords, deconstructing questions, and altering keywords.
• Explore how Google uses autocomplete to suggest searches quickly. Try it out by typing in various queries (e.g. How to draw… or What is the tallest…). Discuss how these suggestions come about, how to use them, and whether they’re usually helpful.
• Watch this video  from Code.org to learn more about how search works .
• Take a look at  20 Instant Google Searches your Students Need to Know  by Eric Curts to learn about “ instant searches ”. Try one to try out. Perhaps each student could be assigned one to try and share with the class.
• Experiment with typing some questions into Google that have a clear answer (e.g. “What is a parallelogram?” or “What is the highest mountain in the world?” or “What is the population of Australia?”). Look at the different ways the answers are displayed instantly within the search results — dictionary definitions, image cards, graphs etc.

• Watch the video How Does Google Know Everything About Me?  by Scientific American. Discuss the PageRank algorithm and how Google uses your data to customise search results.
• Brainstorm a list of popular domains   (e.g. .com, .com.au, or your country’s domain) . Discuss if any domains might be more reliable than others and why (e.g. .gov or .edu) .
• Discuss (or research) ways to open Google search results in a new tab to save your original search results  (i.e. right-click > open link in new tab or press control/command and click the link).
• Try out a few Google searches (perhaps start with things like “car service” “cat food” or “fresh flowers”). A re there advertisements within the results? Discuss where these appear and how to spot them.
• Look at ways to filter search results by using the tabs at the top of the page in Google (i.e. news, images, shopping, maps, videos etc.). Do the same filters appear for all Google searches? Try out a few different searches and see.
• Type a question into Google and look for the “People also ask” and “Searches related to…” sections. Discuss how these could be useful. When should you use them or ignore them so you don’t go off on an irrelevant tangent? Is the information in the drop-down section under “People also ask” always the best?
• Often, more current search results are more useful. Click on “tools” under the Google search box and then “any time” and your time frame of choice such as “Past month” or “Past year”.
• Have students annotate their own “anatomy of a search result” example like the one I made below. Explore the different ways search results display; some have more details like sitelinks and some do not.

• Find two articles on a news topic from different publications. Or find a news article and an opinion piece on the same topic. Make a Venn diagram comparing the similarities and differences.
• Choose a graph, map, or chart from The New York Times’ What’s Going On In This Graph series . Have a whole class or small group discussion about the data.
• Look at images stripped of their captions on What’s Going On In This Picture? by The New York Times. Discuss the images in pairs or small groups. What can you tell?
• Explore a website together as a class or in pairs — perhaps a news website. Identify all the advertisements .
• Have a look at a fake website either as a whole class or in pairs/small groups. See if students can spot that these sites are not real. Discuss the fact that you can’t believe everything that’s online. Get started with these four examples of fake websites from Eric Curts.
• Give students a copy of my website evaluation flowchart to analyse and then discuss as a class. Read more about the flowchart in this post.
• As a class, look at a prompt from Mike Caulfield’s Four Moves . Either together or in small groups, have students fact check the prompts on the site. This resource explains more about the fact checking process. Note: some of these prompts are not suitable for younger students.
• Practice skim reading — give students one minute to read a short article. Ask them to discuss what stood out to them. Headings? Bold words? Quotes? Then give students ten minutes to read the same article and discuss deep reading.

All students can benefit from learning about plagiarism, copyright, how to write information in their own words, and how to acknowledge the source. However, the formality of this process will depend on your students’ age and your curriculum guidelines.

• Watch the video Citation for Beginners for an introduction to citation. Discuss the key points to remember.
• Look up the definition of plagiarism using a variety of sources (dictionary, video, Wikipedia etc.). Create a definition as a class.
• Find an interesting video on YouTube (perhaps a “life hack” video) and write a brief summary in your own words.
• Have students pair up and tell each other about their weekend. Then have the listener try to verbalise or write their friend’s recount in their own words. Discuss how accurate this was.
• Read the class a copy of a well known fairy tale. Have them write a short summary in their own words. Compare the versions that different students come up with.
• Try out MyBib — a handy free online tool without ads that helps you create citations quickly and easily.
• Give primary/elementary students a copy of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Citation that matches their grade level (the guide covers grades 1 to 6). Choose one form of citation and create some examples as a class (e.g. a website or a book).
• Make a list of things that are okay and not okay to do when researching, e.g. copy text from a website, use any image from Google images, paraphrase in your own words and cite your source, add a short quote and cite the source. 
• Have students read a short article and then come up with a summary that would be considered plagiarism and one that would not be considered plagiarism. These could be shared with the class and the students asked to decide which one shows an example of plagiarism .
• Older students could investigate the difference between paraphrasing and summarising . They could create a Venn diagram that compares the two.
• Write a list of statements on the board that might be true or false ( e.g. The 1956 Olympics were held in Melbourne, Australia. The rhinoceros is the largest land animal in the world. The current marathon world record is 2 hours, 7 minutes). Have students research these statements and decide whether they’re true or false by sharing their citations.

Staying Organised

• Make a list of different ways you can take notes while researching — Google Docs, Google Keep, pen and paper etc. Discuss the pros and cons of each method.
• Learn the keyboard shortcuts to help manage tabs (e.g. open new tab, reopen closed tab, go to next tab etc.). Perhaps students could all try out the shortcuts and share their favourite one with the class.
• Find a collection of resources on a topic and add them to a Wakelet .
• Listen to a short podcast or watch a brief video on a certain topic and sketchnote ideas. Sylvia Duckworth has some great tips about live sketchnoting
• Learn how to use split screen to have one window open with your research, and another open with your notes (e.g. a Google spreadsheet, Google Doc, Microsoft Word or OneNote etc.) .

All teachers know it’s important to teach students to research well. Investing time in this process will also pay off throughout the year and the years to come. Students will be able to focus on analysing and synthesizing information, rather than the mechanics of the research process.

By trying out as many of these mini-lessons as possible throughout the year, you’ll be really helping your students to thrive in all areas of school, work, and life.

Also remember to model your own searches explicitly during class time. Talk out loud as you look things up and ask students for input. Learning together is the way to go!

You Might Also Enjoy Reading:

How To Evaluate Websites: A Guide For Teachers And Students

Five Tips for Teaching Students How to Research and Filter Information

Typing Tips: The How and Why of Teaching Students Keyboarding Skills

8 Ways Teachers And Schools Can Communicate With Parents

10 Replies to “50 Mini-Lessons For Teaching Students Research Skills”

Loving these ideas, thank you

This list is amazing. Thank you so much!

So glad it’s helpful, Alex! 🙂

Hi I am a student who really needed some help on how to reasearch thanks for the help.

So glad it helped! 🙂

seriously seriously grateful for your post. 🙂

So glad it’s helpful! Makes my day 🙂

How do you get the 50 mini lessons. I got the free one but am interested in the full version.

Hi Tracey, The link to the PDF with the 50 mini lessons is in the post. Here it is . Check out this post if you need more advice on teaching students how to research online. Hope that helps! Kathleen

Best wishes to you as you face your health battler. Hoping you’ve come out stronger and healthier from it. Your website is so helpful.

Comments are closed.

AI + Machine Learning , Announcements , Azure AI , Azure AI Studio

Introducing Phi-3: Redefining what’s possible with SLMs

By Misha Bilenko Corporate Vice President, Microsoft GenAI

Posted on April 23, 2024 4 min read

• Tag: Copilot
• Tag: Generative AI

We are excited to introduce Phi-3, a family of open AI models developed by Microsoft. Phi-3 models are the most capable and cost-effective small language models (SLMs) available, outperforming models of the same size and next size up across a variety of language, reasoning, coding, and math benchmarks. This release expands the selection of high-quality models for customers, offering more practical choices as they compose and build generative AI applications.

Starting today, Phi-3-mini , a 3.8B language model is available on Microsoft Azure AI Studio , Hugging Face , and Ollama . 

• Phi-3-mini is available in two context-length variants—4K and 128K tokens. It is the first model in its class to support a context window of up to 128K tokens, with little impact on quality.
• It is instruction-tuned, meaning that it’s trained to follow different types of instructions reflecting how people normally communicate. This ensures the model is ready to use out-of-the-box.
• It is available on Azure AI to take advantage of the deploy-eval-finetune toolchain, and is available on Ollama for developers to run locally on their laptops.
• It has been optimized for ONNX Runtime with support for Windows DirectML along with cross-platform support across graphics processing unit (GPU), CPU, and even mobile hardware.
• It is also available as an NVIDIA NIM microservice with a standard API interface that can be deployed anywhere. And has been optimized for NVIDIA GPUs . 

In the coming weeks, additional models will be added to Phi-3 family to offer customers even more flexibility across the quality-cost curve. Phi-3-small (7B) and Phi-3-medium (14B) will be available in the Azure AI model catalog and other model gardens shortly.   

Microsoft continues to offer the best models across the quality-cost curve and today’s Phi-3 release expands the selection of models with state-of-the-art small models.

Azure AI Studio

Phi-3-mini is now available

Groundbreaking performance at a small size 

Phi-3 models significantly outperform language models of the same and larger sizes on key benchmarks (see benchmark numbers below, higher is better). Phi-3-mini does better than models twice its size, and Phi-3-small and Phi-3-medium outperform much larger models, including GPT-3.5T.  

All reported numbers are produced with the same pipeline to ensure that the numbers are comparable. As a result, these numbers may differ from other published numbers due to slight differences in the evaluation methodology. More details on benchmarks are provided in our technical paper . 

Note: Phi-3 models do not perform as well on factual knowledge benchmarks (such as TriviaQA) as the smaller model size results in less capacity to retain facts.  

Safety-first model design 

Responsible ai principles

Phi-3 models were developed in accordance with the Microsoft Responsible AI Standard , which is a company-wide set of requirements based on the following six principles: accountability, transparency, fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, and inclusiveness. Phi-3 models underwent rigorous safety measurement and evaluation, red-teaming, sensitive use review, and adherence to security guidance to help ensure that these models are responsibly developed, tested, and deployed in alignment with Microsoft’s standards and best practices.  

Building on our prior work with Phi models (“ Textbooks Are All You Need ”), Phi-3 models are also trained using high-quality data. They were further improved with extensive safety post-training, including reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), automated testing and evaluations across dozens of harm categories, and manual red-teaming. Our approach to safety training and evaluations are detailed in our technical paper , and we outline recommended uses and limitations in the model cards. See the model card collection .  

Unlocking new capabilities 

Microsoft’s experience shipping copilots and enabling customers to transform their businesses with generative AI using Azure AI has highlighted the growing need for different-size models across the quality-cost curve for different tasks. Small language models, like Phi-3, are especially great for: 

• Resource constrained environments including on-device and offline inference scenarios.
• Latency bound scenarios where fast response times are critical.
• Cost constrained use cases, particularly those with simpler tasks.

For more on small language models, see our Microsoft Source Blog .

Thanks to their smaller size, Phi-3 models can be used in compute-limited inference environments. Phi-3-mini, in particular, can be used on-device, especially when further optimized with ONNX Runtime for cross-platform availability. The smaller size of Phi-3 models also makes fine-tuning or customization easier and more affordable. In addition, their lower computational needs make them a lower cost option with much better latency. The longer context window enables taking in and reasoning over large text content—documents, web pages, code, and more. Phi-3-mini demonstrates strong reasoning and logic capabilities, making it a good candidate for analytical tasks. 

Customers are already building solutions with Phi-3. One example where Phi-3 is already demonstrating value is in agriculture, where internet might not be readily accessible. Powerful small models like Phi-3 along with Microsoft copilot templates are available to farmers at the point of need and provide the additional benefit of running at reduced cost, making AI technologies even more accessible.  

ITC, a leading business conglomerate based in India, is leveraging Phi-3 as part of their continued collaboration with Microsoft on the copilot for Krishi Mitra, a farmer-facing app that reaches over a million farmers.

“ Our goal with the Krishi Mitra copilot is to improve efficiency while maintaining the accuracy of a large language model. We are excited to partner with Microsoft on using fine-tuned versions of Phi-3 to meet both our goals—efficiency and accuracy! ”    Saif Naik, Head of Technology, ITCMAARS

Originating in Microsoft Research, Phi models have been broadly used, with Phi-2 downloaded over 2 million times. The Phi series of models have achieved remarkable performance with strategic data curation and innovative scaling. Starting with Phi-1, a model used for Python coding, to Phi-1.5, enhancing reasoning and understanding, and then to Phi-2, a 2.7 billion-parameter model outperforming those up to 25 times its size in language comprehension. 1 Each iteration has leveraged high-quality training data and knowledge transfer techniques to challenge conventional scaling laws. 

Get started today 

To experience Phi-3 for yourself, start with playing with the model on Azure AI Playground . You can also find the model on the Hugging Chat playground . Start building with and customizing Phi-3 for your scenarios using the  Azure AI Studio . Join us to learn more about Phi-3 during a special  live stream of the AI Show.  

1 Microsoft Research Blog, Phi-2: The surprising power of small language models, December 12, 2023 .

Let us know what you think of Azure and what you would like to see in the future.

Provide feedback

Build your cloud computing and Azure skills with free courses by Microsoft Learn.

Explore Azure learning

Related posts

AI + Machine Learning , Azure AI , Azure AI Content Safety , Azure Cognitive Search , Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) , Azure OpenAI Service , Customer stories

AI-powered dialogues: Global telecommunications with Azure OpenAI Service   chevron_right

AI + Machine Learning , Azure AI , Azure AI Content Safety , Azure OpenAI Service , Customer stories

Generative AI and the path to personalized medicine with Microsoft Azure   chevron_right

AI + Machine Learning , Azure AI , Azure AI Services , Azure AI Studio , Azure OpenAI Service , Best practices

AI study guide: The no-cost tools from Microsoft to jump start your generative AI journey   chevron_right

AI + Machine Learning , Azure AI , Azure VMware Solution , Events , Microsoft Copilot for Azure , Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Get ready for AI at the Migrate to Innovate digital event   chevron_right

Climate and environmental justice have left us better off. This Earth Day, let’s celebrate that success.

Subscribe to planet policy, manann donoghoe manann donoghoe senior research associate - brookings metro @manannanad.

April 22, 2024

When researchers, policymakers, and activists talk about climate, they are increasingly using terms such as “justice” and “equity.” These terms are now pervasive enough to appear in documents from groups as diverse as Extinction Rebellion , the United Nations , and Deloitte . But recent polling has found that relatively few Americans know what “climate justice” actually is.

With increasing claims of “greenwashing” directed at corporate America—and some state leaders fighting federal actions to advance climate justice—this Earth Day, it’s worth taking a closer look at climate and environmental justice (CEJ). When deployed in public policy and civic action, CEJ concepts can reveal the links between placed-based social injustices, climate impacts, and pollution, as well as offer pathways to inclusive and ultimately effective climate policy.

What is climate and environmental justice?

According to organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , climate and environmental justice is about ensuring that all people and communities are provided the support, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive under an unstable climate. It means that individuals—regardless of race, ethnicity, income, gender, age, sexuality, ability, or location—can share in the benefits and opportunities created by climate and environmental policies, such as community investment, green jobs, and access to renewable energy. It also means that the unequal burdens of climate impacts and pollutants are minimized.

CEJ is closely related to the environmental justice movement, which Robert D. Bullard and others founded in the late 1980s and early 1990s after documenting highly unequal distributions of toxic pollutants across racial groups in the U.S. South. It’s deeply connected to concepts such as environmental racism and sacrifice zones , which attempt to identify how harmful developments are unfairly concentrated in majority-Black and other historically marginalized communities. It is also associated with movements such as that for climate reparations , which combine climate justice with racial justice, reparations, and decolonization movements.

In the most basic sense, CEJ is about the equitable distribution of costs and benefits between demographic groups, regions, occupations, and sectors. But achieving that equitable distribution often requires addressing the lingering legacies of policies rooted in structural racism, such as residential segregation. This means asking questions such as: Which groups are included in decisionmaking processes that affect local land use? Who’s at the table when the plans for a new development are drawn up? How have historic policies shaped the flow of capital and resources across groups and regions? Who has a stake in the ownership of public assets like electricity utilities?

These are important questions to ask, because the current pattern of climate impacts and vulnerabilities within the U.S. is highly inequitable. That’s not a moral claim, but a statement of fact. A plethora of studies demonstrate that communities of color are more likely to be located in areas with a lack of green space and parklands, hotter heat waves , less affordable electricity , and lower rates of compensation after climate-related disasters. These disparities mean that as the impacts of climate change intensify, they’re likely to drive a wedge in health, wealth, and well-being between demographic groups, thus worsening the existing gaps in these areas.

Climate and environmental justice gains in 2023 are shaping policy

After decades of pressure by activists and civic organizations, Americans are seeing the benefits of CEJ. Below are just a handful of highlights from 2023 that demonstrate how government agencies and civic organizations have applied CEJ approaches to advance more effective and equitable climate and environmental policy, from the local to international level.

Human- and civil-rights-based arguments have gained traction in litigation

In 2023, coalitions of activists, citizens, and academics used human- and civil-rights-based arguments to win environmental protections for some states and communities. These successes set precedents that can inform future litigation strategies. In August, a coalition of young Montanans sued their state, arguing that it had contravened their constitution by favoring the fossil fuel sector over the health of residents and the environment. While the U.S. has the highest rate of climate litigation internationally, few of these cases make it to trial. This was the first time a U.S. court declared that laws barring state agencies from considering the links between climate change and fossil fuel projects were unconstitutional.

In another U.S. first, the UN declared that the DuPont and Chemours factories in Fayetteville, N.C. violated international human rights by knowingly polluting the lower Cape Fear River Basin for decades with the “forever chemical” PFAS . The declaration came after a local citizens group—Clean Cape Fear, with the assistance of the University of California, Berkeley Environmental Law Clinic— filed a complaint with the UN accusing the companies of withholding toxicity data that clearly demonstrated disparate impacts on residents.

In the past, litigators have not been able to successfully use rights-based arguments; for example, the EPA has been burdened under legal challenges when they’ve attempted to enforce civil rights . Yet the above successes demonstrate a growing momentum around linking environmental injustices to human and civil rights.

The Biden administration’s CEJ policies are taking effect

Justice and equity have been a pillar of the Biden administration’s approach to climate and environment policies. Over 2023, these policies started to take effect in tangible ways. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund , designed to enable low-income and historically marginalized communities to benefit from climate investments,  has mobilized $14 billion to establish national clean financing institutions that provide affordable financing for energy projects in marginalized communities; issued $6 billion for technical assistance hubs that build capacity in communities for more effective climate infrastructure projects; and solicited notices of intent for $7 billion in solar investments in low-income and disadvantaged communities. Moreover, the EPA set stronger standards for local air quality, including soot pollution and methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, which are likely to directly improve the health of residents living alongside high-emitting industrial facilities.

The administration has also taken steps to embed CEJ across functions of government by releasing the National Climate Resilience Framework and establishing a White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and Environmental Justice Interagency Council .

Disaster relief got an overhaul

After years of research showing failures in the ways that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributes disaster relief (including our own research on the subject ), the agency made extensive changes to their processes.

Many of these changes are likely to directly make disaster relief more equitable. One of the most notable—increasing the flexibility of individual assistance—will get relief to people sooner, provide displacement assistance, and automatically provide $750 for basic needs. Other changes, such as expanding eligibility for assistance and simplifying the notoriously complicated individual assistance application process, will reduce the barriers to accessing relief and get funds to more families quicker.

Chicago launched a bold plan to advance environmental justice

Chicago’s EJ Action Plan Report , released in December 2023, is perhaps the most comprehensive city plan yet in attempting to remedy historic environmental injustices. The report details a plan to target resources toward newly designated “environmental justice neighborhoods” identified in the city’s Cumulative Impact Assessment . These neighborhoods—representing roughly 30% of census tracts across the city—rank high in cancer-causing pollutants and diesel emissions, are proximate to industrial facilities, and have demographic factors associated with vulnerability, such as high asthma and heart disease rates, low incomes, high housing stress, and a high proportion of non-white residents.

The action plan’s proposals are far-ranging and practical, including updating zoning regulations to offer greater protections to over-polluted and marginalized communities; placing air quality monitors in these neighborhoods to improve the enforcement of pollution standards; and creating a fund to invest in amenities that improve residents’ long-term health and well-being. The city’s next step will be to enshrine the action plan into city ordinances later this year. This is no small task, and Chicago’s progress may set a new standard for municipal environmental justice policies.

The international community has moved closer to phasing out fossil fuels

While many in the CEJ community were rightly disappointed at the outcomes of COP28—the largest global forum to negotiate national commitments to take climate action—the final agreement was the first to agree to “transition” away from fossil fuels. The U.S. also pledged to support “largely” phasing out fossil fuels, signaling the administration’s movement toward formally adopting this stance.

Committing to phase out fossil fuels in the U.S. would not only help to mitigate climate impacts, but it would also directly benefit those living amid the industry’s local pollutants. A 2022 study estimated that nearly 14 million Americans across 236 counties lived in areas with an increased cancer risk because of air pollution emitted by oil and gas extraction. And even more Americans live alongside refineries and other industrial processes that are further down the oil and gas supply chain.

The decision to include the phrase “transition away from fossil fuels” in the COP28 agreement comes after sustained pressure on the international community from civic organizations and nations facing pronounced or existential climate threats. One example is the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty —somewhat of a parallel to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty of 1970—which continues to gain influence. Several countries have agreed signed the treaty, including Colombia and Vanuatu, as have cities and subnational and civil society organizations. In the U.S., cities and states including California, Maine, and Austin, Texas have signed the treaty.

The CEJ movement has been focused on prevention—now it needs to shift toward building

In 2022, 71% of Americans said their community had experienced an extreme weather event. In this sense, climate impacts are an equalizer, with a unifying quality that crosses ideological, class, and racial divides. Yet current policy gaps and a history of unaddressed inequities mean that the threshold for a disaster is a lot lower for some households than others. These disparities turn climate change into a dividing force.

The actions and policies above show how CEJ can overcome these divisions by building new and more equitable policy structures. Pioneers of the CEJ movement developed its focus around prevention issues such as stopping high-polluting industrial developments in low-income neighborhoods. While prevention is still an important goal, the movement now needs to reorient toward building—creating new policies that embed justice and equity as measurable targets. This would include, for example, where and how governments distribute public funds to finance and build climate-resilient infrastructure.

By embracing this new approach, on future Earth Days the CEJ community might not only reflect on the environmental damage prevented, but also on the advancements made toward a more equitable future.

Related Content

Joseph B. Keller, Manann Donoghoe, Andre M. Perry

January 29, 2024

Manann Donoghoe, Andre M. Perry, Samantha Gross, Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Joseph B. Keller, John W. McArthur, Sanjay Patnaik, Barry G. Rabe, Sophie Roehse, Kemal Kirişci, Landry Signé, David G. Victor

December 14, 2023

Manann Donoghoe, Justin Lall, Andre M. Perry

December 13, 2023

Brookings Metro

Brookings Initiative on Climate Research and Action Promoting equitable and effective climate action in every community

Carlos Martín, Carolyn Kousky, Karina French, Manann Donoghoe

April 23, 2024

The Brookings Institution, Washington DC

4:00 pm - 5:15 pm EDT

Abraão Vicente

March 22, 2024

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

Suicide is an urgent and growing public health crisis. More than 49,000 people in the United States died by suicide in 2022. That’s one death every 11 minutes.

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention

The 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is a bold new 10-year, comprehensive, whole-of-society approach to suicide prevention that provides concrete recommendations for addressing gaps in the suicide prevention field. This coordinated and comprehensive approach to suicide prevention at the national, state, tribal, local, and territorial levels relies upon critical partnerships across the public and private sectors. People with lived experience are critical to the success of this work. 

 The National Strategy seeks to prevent suicide risk in the first place; identify and support people with increased risk through treatment and crisis intervention; prevent reattempts; promote long-term recovery; and support survivors of suicide loss. 

Four strategic directions guide the National Strategy:

Strategic Direction 1: Community-Based Suicide Prevention

Goal 1: Establish effective, broad-based, collaborative, and sustainable suicide prevention partnerships.

Goal 2: Support upstream comprehensive community-based suicide prevention.

Goal 3: Reduce access to lethal means among people at risk of suicide.

Goal 4: Conduct postvention and support people with suicide-centered lived experience.

Goal 5: Integrate suicide prevention into the culture of the workplace and into other community settings.

Goal 6: Build and sustain suicide prevention infrastructure at the state, tribal, local, and territorial levels.

Goal 7: Implement research-informed suicide prevention communication activities in diverse populations using best practices from communication science.

Strategic Direction 2: Treatment and Crisis Services

Goal 8: Implement effective suicide prevention services as a core component of health care.

Goal 9: Improve the quality and accessibility of crisis care services across all communities.

Strategic Direction 3: Surveillance, Quality Improvement, and Research

Goal 10: Improve the quality, timeliness, scope, usefulness, and accessibility of data needed for suicide-related surveillance, research, evaluation, and quality improvement.

Goal 11: Promote and support research on suicide prevention.

Strategic Direction 4: Health Equity in Suicide Prevention

Goal 12: Embed health equity into all comprehensive suicide prevention activities.

Goal 13: Implement comprehensive suicide prevention strategies for populations disproportionately affected by suicide, with a focus on historically marginalized communities, persons with suicide-centered lived experience, and youth.

Goal 14: Create an equitable and diverse suicide prevention workforce that is equipped and supported to address the needs of the communities they serve.

Goal 15: Improve and expand effective suicide prevention programs for populations disproportionately impacted by suicide across the life span through improved data, research, and evaluation.

Federal Action Plan

The Federal Action Plan identifies more than 200 actions across the federal government to be taken over the next three years in support of those goals. These actions include:

• Evaluating promising community-based suicide prevention strategies
• Identifying ways to address substance use/overdose and suicide risk together in the clinical setting
• Funding a mobile crisis locator for use by 988 crisis centers
• Increasing support for survivors of suicide loss and others whose lives have been impacted by suicide

These actions will be monitored and evaluated regularly to determine progress and success, and to further identify barriers to suicide prevention.

Get Involved

Join the conversation. Everyone has a role to play in preventing the tragedy of suicide. Find social media material, templates, and other resources to support and participate in the shared effort.

Read the press release

* This content is undergoing Section 508 remediation. For immediate assistance, contact [email protected] .

Rwandan Tutsi genocide survivor Faina Iligoga plans memorial after Churchill Fellowship research trip

Thirty years since the genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda, survivors Faina Iligoga and Aubert Ruzigandekwe plan to create a permanent documentation and healing centre in their adopted home of Tasmania.

As recipients of the prestigious Churchill Fellowship, Ms Illigoga and Mr Ruzigandekwe, both Tutsi, this year travelled overseas to research examples of documentation and healing from genocide.

The two visited European countries and returned to Rwanda for research.

In the lead-up to Hobart commemorations of the genocide against the Tutsi, Mr Ruzigandekwe said the experience of the Tutsi people of Rwanda was a lesson the world should not forget.

Painful memories provide sense of purpose

In 1994, mainly Tutsi minority group members, but also moderate Hutu and Twa group members, were killed in the genocide.

The exact number of people who died in the horrifying event is contested, with the United Nations estimating  800,000 people were killed and other expert estimates reaching more than a million.

Three decades on from the eruption of violence spurred on by the Hutu majority, its brutal legacy is still keenly felt by survivors.

For Ms Iligoga and Mr Ruzigandekwe, each anniversary is a reminder of what could have been.

"You look back and you wonder how life would be if it didn't happen," Ms Iligoga said.

"You reflect on what you've missed out on, what your families have missed, your children.

"It hits you again."

Surviving an atrocity comes with its own complications.

Ms Iligoga and Mr Ruzigandekwe question why they lived when so many friends and family members were killed.

"What is your contribution, as a person who experienced this?" Ms Iligoga said.

"Who knows what it is to lose people, who knows that unfairness, injustice?

"Every survivor feels the need to contribute to peace, to the world being better … it feels like you survived for that purpose." 

Planned centre a first for Australia

A permanent documentation and healing centre for the genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda is planned for Hobart. If created it will be the first of its kind in Australia.

Ms Iligoga said it was her mission to raise awareness and teach people about the Tutsi experience in context to a wider conversation on genocide and other crimes against humanity.

A long time in planning, an important step has been achieved in travel overseas to visit "some of the best" museums, memorials, and documentation centres.

"[We travelled] to Belgium to visit [Holocaust memorial] Kazerne Dossin [and] in France we visited the Shoah Foundation," Ms Iligoga said.

"Both are memorials, documentation centre and museums at the same time."

In Rwanda, they visited genocide memorials, museums and an organisation that works with youth who are descendants of survivors and perpetrators of the Tutsi genocide.

In Tasmania, Ms Iligoga and Mr Ruzigandekwe plan to share the history of the Tutsi genocide alongside other crimes against humanity.

She said the centre would also be a space for healing and remembering those lost to genocide.

They hope to garner support form historians, curators, and other academics to shape the project.

"The centre will be a home to everyone," Ms Iligoga said.

"[It will be] a place where everyone who has had similar losses would come and have a moment to reflect."

Finding a location has proven difficult. Ms Iligoga and Mr Ruzigandekwe are hopeful an appropriate site will be found.

Ahead of a commemorative walk in Hobart on Saturday, Ms Iligoga said much could still be learned from the atrocity 30 years on.

"In the current world, where crimes against humanity are increasing, these centres help people to learn, especially younger generations, from lived stories of survivors," Ms Iligoga said.

"And hopefully prompt them to [think critically] and fight against discrimination and crimes against humanity.

"We're just hoping that the community of Hobart will get behind us and support it because it's an important centre that will help not only survivors, but the whole community."

"It will be a healing centre for all."

ABC Hobart in your inbox

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

'i'm lucky to be here': rwandans in tasmania selling coffee to help massacre survivors.

• War Victims