Student Engagement Posts
These Are the Best Questions to Ask Students
These Are the Best Questions to Ask Students Asking questions is typically associated with assessment. This is how we determine what students have learned. Did you know that questioning can also be a powerful teaching tool? Types of Questions Let’s explore two types...
Powerful Cooperative Learning Strategies (And One You Can Try Tomorrow)
Discover why cooperative learning strategies boost student engagement and learn the Give One, Get One activity—a simple 10-minute strategy teachers can use tomorrow.
Exit Tickets That Increase Engagement & Learning
Learn how exit tickets improve student learning, engagement, and formative assessment. Discover powerful prompts teachers can use in any classroom.
Active Learning vs Passive Learning: Why Engagement Improves Student Outcomes
Passive Learning vs Active Learning: What’s the Difference? In many classrooms, learning still looks like this: students sit quietly, listen to lectures, watch videos, complete worksheets, and read silently. These methods fall under passive learning—where...
How To Improve Your Exit Ticket Strategy
Exit tickets are one of the most commonly used formative assessment strategies in classrooms.But here’s the problem: Most exit tickets don’t actually tell teachers what students understand. Too often, exit tickets ask students to...
No More Sit and Get PD: Why Active Learning Professional Development Actually Works
For years, educators have been asked to transform classrooms—to increase student engagement, foster critical thinking, and create meaningful learning experiences. Yet professional development often looks nothing like the classrooms we want teachers to build....
Back-to-School Activities That Build Engagement from Day One
Here are five tried-and-true back to school activities that encourage collaboration, communication, and a strong sense of belonging:
How to Use High-Leverage Practice 18 to Increase Student Engagement
In today’s classrooms, engagement isn’t just a buzzword—it’s the lifeblood of effective teaching. High-Leverage Practice 18 (HLP 18), "Use Strategies to Promote Active Student Engagement," lies at the heart of inclusive, responsive, and transformative instruction. But...
Free Resources That Will Support Student-Led IEPs
The concept of student led IEPs is catching on, as it should. Teachers are relinquishing some control and allowing students with disabilities to take on more leadership. Moreover, students are learning so many important skills during the process. If you are still on...
Student-LED IEP: A Pathway to Important Life Skills
Student-led IEPs allow youth with disabilities to play prominent roles in the development of their individualized education program (IEP). When a student assumes a level of leadership during the IEP process, the document will more accurately reflect their strengths,...
Superior Questioning Techniques to Use in the Classroom
Asking open-ended questions is an important part of teaching for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most obvious reason is that questioning can reveal what a student already knows or has learned. In this article, we will explore how questioning can also be used to...
Five Senses, One Lesson: Why Multisensory Instruction is Powerful
Have you ever smelled something that instantly took you back to another time or place? Perhaps you have tasted a particular food, felt a texture, or heard a song that brought back distant, but powerful, memories. In this article, we will look at the science behind...
Choice Board Book Reports Are Amazing! Get Started Here.
Visionary Teaching has previously explored the use of choice boards for student assessment opportunities. In this article, we will look at how choice board book reports help students deliver amazing projects that play to personal...
How to Make Your Professional Development Exciting & Effective!
Let’s admit that a lot of professional development (PD) is subpar- boring & ineffective. Regardless of what we call our adult learning activities- workshops, conferences, webinars, inservices, training, professional development, or professional learning- we are...
The Truth About Equity in Schools
Equity in schools is a hot button issue. Educators work hard to provide the best possible instruction for their students. Some people misunderstand the concept of equity in schools. The issue may be a general misunderstanding of what equity is and why it is...
Think-Pair-Share-Pair-Share: A New Twist on a Classic Teaching Strategy
Think-Pair-Share-Pair-Share: A New Twist on a Classic Teaching Strategy by Daniel Biegun If you are a veteran teacher, you are likely familiar with the think-pair-share strategy. This version of the activity takes interaction to the next...
10 Exit Ticket Strategies That Increase Student Engagement and Improve Formative Assessment
Checking for understanding is one of the most important parts of effective teaching—but it’s also one of the easiest to rush, skip, or reduce to a quick “Does everyone get it?” The problem isn’t that teachers don’t value formative assessment. The problem is time. You...
7 Teaching Strategies That Will Lead to an Amazing Year
As I write this post, teachers across the world are returning to their classrooms for a new school year. Educators are always looking for new teaching strategies to update their practices. Below are seven amazing ideas to get your school year started off right. We...
Back-to-School Icebreaker Bingo Activities That Build Classroom Community (and Work All Year Long)
Engage students from day one with Icebreaker Bingo activities that build classroom community and participation. Perfect for back-to-school and teacher professional development.
Excellent Ways to Foster Student Choice in the Classroom
Student choice is very important. Think about your own learning preferences. Do you prefer to work alone or in small groups? Do you prefer to learn a new skill by reading about it or by watching a video about it? You have likely developed clear preferences and,...
100 Great Questions for the ‘Turn Your Camera On If’ Game
The Turn Your Camera On If game has become very popular over the past year and a half. The game is also frequently called Camera On Camera Off and can be played on Zoom or other virtual platforms with camera access. Teachers, trainers, counselors, and youth group...
Multisensory Instruction: Powerful Strategies for All Learners
Have you ever smelled something that instantly took you back to another time or place? Perhaps you have tasted a particular food, felt a texture, or heard a song that brought back distant, but powerful memories. If one particular sense can bring back such memories,...
Powerful Would You Rather Questions for Virtual or Face-to-Face Experiences
This blog has allowed me to share ideas with educators across the United States and around the world. It has been very interesting to note which topics have been the most popular. Without a doubt, the most popular blog post on this site is How to Play Would You...
Formative vs Summative Assessment: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters for Student Learning
Learn the difference between formative and summative assessment with classroom examples, a clear comparison chart, and practical strategies to improve student learning through formative feedback.
How to Make Student-Led IEPs a Reality
When some of us hear the term student-led IEP, we might envision a student sitting at the head of the table and running the meeting. If possible, this degree of leadership would be great, but for many students with disabilities, leadership may look different.
More Brain Breaks That Energize, Engage, & Focus Virtual Students
As follows are a few more exciting brain breaks that students of all ages might enjoy. You may also notice that although these particular brain breaks are well-suited for virtual learners, they will also work well in face-to-face or hybrid situations.
The Practical Side of UDL: Ideas That Will Engage & Inspire
Let’s explore the 3 brain networks associated with UDL. As related posts, videos, and resources are published, they will be hyperlinked below. The items that are not currently hyperlinked represent great content that will be offered in the near future, so please bookmark this post and check back often.
Become a Better Teacher by Embracing Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a hot topic in education. Many UDL-related books, websites, and research articles are long on jargon and short on practical ideas that you can use with your students. This series will grow over time and offer...
Let’s Go! Ten of the Most Amazing Virtual Field Trips
Field trips are one of the great joys of school for many students. They get to leave school and generalize learnings by interacting with artifacts, witnessing demonstrations, or meeting with experts. Unfortunately, COVID has denied opportunities to visit...
The Pause Procedure: Offering Learners Time to Process & Reflect
Teachers tend to know a lot. It can be too easy to try cramming too much content into short amounts of class time. Research tells us that we should periodically pause during our lessons and allow students time to process and reflect. This strategy is important for all educators, whether teaching in K-12, lecturing for a college, or training adults.
10 Powerful Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do on Zoom
Here are 10 easy tips and tricks that will take your next Zoom meeting to the next level.
You Must Stop Making These Common Professional Development Mistakes!
Think about the best professional development (pd) sessions that you have attended. What made them memorable? How did they differ from typical pd? I'm willing to bet that the trainers avoided the common professional development mistakes that we will discuss below....
Here is The Most Important Thing That Great Teachers Do When Asking Questions
Think about when you are asking questions to your class. Does this sound familiar?: You are ask a question and one or two of your eager learners are quick to raise their hands. In fact, the same few students always seem to be the first to raise their hands. Perhaps...
Highlighting Some ‘How To’ Videos that Will Energize Your Virtual Instruction
Great teachers often pause to review previously discussed content with students. This is done, in part, to ensure that important concepts don't get forgotten or lost in the shuffle of other content. To this point, I am going to bring back a few helpful Visionary...
Your Students Will Love Using the Stamp Tool During Zoom Lessons.
Annotation Tools, including the Stamp Tool, on Zoom and other virtual platforms tend to be underutilized. These tools can be very powerful and versatile. The greatest benefit is that they allow all students to be actively engaged in learning at all times. If we rely...
Brain Breaks That Will Energize, Engage, & Focus Your Virtual Students
Teachers have known about brain breaks for years, but there has never been a better time to use them than now. Virtual students sit in front of computer screens all day and need opportunities for physical movement. Brain breaks are short activities that are designed...
How to Enhance Would You Rather Games on Zoom
Would You Rather is such a popular classroom game that many teachers are seeking ideas for how to play it online with their virtual learners. We have previously offered step-by-step instructions detailing how to play Would You Rather virtually with your students....
Check Out These Amazing Ideas for Virtual Breakout Rooms
While educators continue to hone their virtual teaching skills, breakout rooms remain one of the most underutilized features on Zoom and other platforms. Let's explore how teachers can leverage breakout rooms to promote small group work and much needed social...
These Strategies are Guaranteed to Make Your Asynchronous Instruction Meaningful
Asynchronous learning has certainly become more common in light of the 2020 COVID reality, but it may remain a part of public education going forward. Many students are actually thriving during virtual instruction. Another thing to consider is the...
Your Students Will Love This Speech Bubble Writing Prompt
Your Students Will Love This Speech Bubble Writing Prompt I know 2 things about writing instruction: Students will write better (quality) and longer (duration) when they are writing about someone/something of interest.Teachers are always looking for engaging writing...
How to Take Authentic Student Data During Virtual Instruction
Educators are constantly finding new ways to provide students with the quality instruction that they need. But what do the teachers need? One of the biggest concerns that I hear from educators in the field involves their ability to collect data for virtual...
An Innovative Way to Show Videos During Virtual Teaching
Showing short video clips during virtual teaching can be beneficial. The trick is to ensure that you have an activity planned around a video that will keep your students actively engaged. This idea offers opportunities for students to interact, make...
Professional Development for Teachers: 5 Ways to Make it Better!
The field of education flipped upside down in early 2020. As face-to-face classes were shut down, educators had to reconsider how to do their jobs. The pandemic also impacted how we design professional development for teachers. The effectiveness of professional...
5 Soft Openers That All Virtual Teachers Should Know
Soft openers are pre-planned activities that take place before class officially starts. These activities typically take the form of games and can be utilized in virtual or face-to-face environments. This blog post will focus on virtual soft openers. ...
Three Virtual/Hybrid Exit Tickets That You Should Try Immediately
Exit Tickets are formative assessment activities that teachers use to collect valuable data. They can answer any number of important questions including Did my students learn what I expected them to learn? Were my teaching methods...
How to Use Simile Cards Across Content Areas
Let’s acknowledge that similes are not just for English class. Similes can present creative, fun, and deep means of synthesizing information across content areas. For this response type, the teacher will provide a selection of printed simile cards that...
Exposing the Truth About On-Task Behavior
We hear a lot of well-meaning educators talk about the importance of students being on-task. Are they making eye contact while the teacher is speaking? Are their heads down and focused on their reading materials or worksheet? Are...
How to Use Pinch Cards for Instant Student Engagement and Formative Assessment
If you’re looking for a simple, low-cost strategy that gets every student actively involved, pinch cards might be the most powerful tool you’re not using yet. Also known as response cards or hold-ups, pinch cards transform passive classrooms into highly interactive...
Choice Boards: Examples, Templates, and Strategies to Increase Student Engagement
One of the biggest challenges in today’s classroom is meeting the needs of every learner—without creating completely different lessons for each student. You need a strategy that: Supports differentiation Increases student engagement Promotes ownership of learning...
Opportunities to Respond That Improve Engagement & Learning
Opportunities to respond (OTR) include instances where teachers elicit answers or responses from students. Unfortunately, the traditional OTR involves teachers calling on one student at a time to answer a question. When we call on a single student, it makes it easy...