Strategies for effective teaching

Handling distracted students is a challenge for many of us. The only way to ensure the desired behaviour i.e. focussed attention is through the method of rewards and negative consequences done in a consistent and immediate manner. As teachers, we are limited by the range of rewards we can offer. Many of us may have points or tokens or stickers based system in place which is undoubtedly effective but add overhead to our class time. However, if we involve parents in our reward system, we have flexibility and leverage. Another intervention we can use specifically for distracted kids is the "Daily Report Card". We can make use of the Cuemath diary for this purpose. List the target behaviour you wish to modify. Ex: "Accuracy of worksheet" or "Completes assigned task". You could have 2 to 3 such behaviours. Rate the performance for the day with a smiley face or frowning face. Have the parent sign the report after class. The parent could give daily ...

Assessments form an important part of teaching. In teaching parlance, we have Summative assessments and Formative assessments. Summative assessments help us to grade a student's mastery of an instructional unit or a set of instructional units. On the other hand, formative assessments are meant to obtain regular feedback on the progress of a lesson. Formative assessments are hence a 'tool for learning' , giving teacher feedback on the progress of an instructional unit. The feedback can then be used to plan further instructions to the student. One popular way of conducting the formative assessment is the use of technology tools to organize quizzes or form collaborative groups of students to tackle challenges. While these work well in a conventional school environment a different set of strategies are required for individualized student-driven learning.  In a math classroom where each student is working on his individual lesson plan, one can use DIAGNOSTIC questions as...