The “Instructional Strategies” page from the University of Oklahoma’s K20 Center website, is dedicated to making  K20 Center Logolesson plans more effective, engaging, and fun. It is a gold mine of ideas for structuring delivery of content and skills in creative, higher-order thinking ways that turn delivery into an art. How many times do teachers, myself included, concentrate first on content and skills, and turn to methodology only after the first two boxes are checked? As an AP teacher I confess a tendency to fell pressure to cover content, and that often means falling back on lecture. But that method has real limits, and does not necessarily stimulate students to actively engage with the course material. The “Instructional Strategies” page is designed as flip cards, with each “card” highlighting a particular strategy. Scroll overt the card and you see a sentence or two descriptor of the strategy. If you click on the card and it flips to reveal an enhanced descriptor, step-by-step instructions for use, helpful guidelines for best timing and purpose for the strategy, and any supporting materials that may help. The support materials may be a PowerPoint slide, mini-poster, and/or handouts. Any teacher who has been in the profession for a decade or more already knows most of the strategies shown in the K20 Center’s site, but knowing and applying are two entirely different things. Examples include 3-2-1, Bell-Ringers & Exit Tickets, CUS and Discuss, Four Corners, Give Me Fives, and dozens more. I, for one, need to be reminded from time to time those things that I already “know” but that I do not necessarily recall at the moment of lesson planning. The “Instructional Strategies” page is a superb trigger to jog my memory.

Simple Uses?

I immediately applied the “cards” last week, and my lessons became more interesting for me, and my students perked up, too.

Do I Plan To Use It?

I already use it. I love it. You will, too!

Commitment And Learning Curve

Zero. None, Nada.

Best For

ES/MS/HS

Cost

Free!

Website

http://k20center.ou.edu/instructional-strategies/