Instructional strategies are any type of learning technique a teacher uses to help students learn or gain a better understanding of the curriculum being delivered. 

It refers to the instructional materials and procedures that empower students to achieve the learning intentions set for that lesson. 

Instructional strategies enable teachers to make learning experiences more interesting, interactive and engaging and encourage students to take a more active role in their education. 

This term, you might want to try out an instructional strategy you haven’t used before. 

There are plenty of ideas available online, or through the New Educator Network – WA Facebook group, or you might like to try out the Taking a Position strategy.

Taking a Position

Learning to make wise decisions is one of the essential attributes of being a strong critical thinker. 

Taking a Position creates an opportunity for students to analyse and evaluate information, encourages more complex levels of thinking and enables them to interact with others as they work out the position they want to take. 

They can also influence the position their peers take. 

Steps

1. Students explore an issue, theme or topic.

2. They then decide, individually, where they stand on that topic.

3. The teacher sets up a value line; this can be physically across the room or on the whiteboard. 

4. One end of the line may be “strongly agree” and the other “strongly disagree”. Students either place themselves on the line to reflect their position on the topic or write their name on the line on the board. (Sticky notes can also be used.) 

5. This can create a body graph (if done physically) or a visual graph (if done on the board). 

6. This information can be transformed into a mathematical graph, enabling learning areas other than mathematics to utilise numeracy skills. 

7. Sharing of opinions and justification for a student’s position is a valuable way to utilise this information. 

Considerations

It’s important to discuss with students the value in them making up their own minds and not simply following the thinking/actions of others. Taking a position is an act of courage. Remind them that they have to respond to what they believe and not what others believe.