Ideas for enhancing teaching and learning
Expert guides on creating engaging and interactive content to support learning.
By Lorcan1 author41 articles
Active learning
Ideas to help learners be active in their learning
- Task ideas to help learners with retrieval practiceIdeas for tasks to keep your learners active and help them learn and remember simple things like terms and definitions.
- Task ideas to help learners order and rank itemsIdeas for activities and tasks to keep your learners active and help them learn process, method, framework or hierarchy.
- Task ideas to help learners compare and contrastIdeas for activities and tasks to keep your learners active and help them learn by looking at similarities and differences.
Activating prior knowledge
Ideas for activating learners prior knowledge when they first begin a topic.
- Activate prior knowledge using concept mapsConcepts maps or graphic organisers are a great way to activate learners prior knowledge and reveal the structure of their schema.
- Activate prior knowledge using know, think, wonder chartsThese know, think, wonder charts are a great way to activate learners prior knowledge and encourage them to set their own learning goals.
- Activate prior knowledge using image promptsImage prompts are a great way to activate learners prior knowledge, act as a visual hook to make associations and recall concepts.
- Activate prior knowledge using simple story promptsStories are a great way to activate learners prior knowledge and help learners to connect and recall concepts as simple stories are sticky.
- Activate prior knowledge using brainstormsBrainstorms are a great way to activate learners prior knowledge and show the range of concepts within a topic.
Structuring and writing content
Enhancing learning through clear structures and writing.
- Ideas for writing automatic feedback for tasksAuthors can use a range of techniques when crafting the automatic feedback which displays when a learner submits a task.
- How to use Grammarly to check grammar and spelling as a course authorHow to add and use a Grammarly browser extension as a spellcheck to review your course for grammar and spelling before publishing.
Accessibility
How iQualify works to be accessible to all and things you can do in your courses to help accessibility.
Ideas for blended learning
Different ideas for how you can make sure your online course is integrated with your face to face classes and activities.
- Ideas for blended learningDifferent strategies for how you might choose to integrate your online and offline learning.
- Ideas for blended learning - 1 - Schedule of tasks or lesson prepDifferent ideas for adding a schedule of tasks for before, after or during class for a flipped or blended learning model.
- Ideas for blended learning - 2 - Metacognition or next steps tasksDifferent ideas for adding metacognition and/or next steps tasks for a flipped or blended learning model.
- Ideas for blended learning - 3 - Shared outputsDifferent ideas for creating a shared output of learning with artefacts and concept maps.
- Ideas for blended learning - 4 - Annotating lecture slides or notesDifferent ideas for adding annotating lecture slides before, after or during class for a flipped or blended learning model.
- Ideas for blended learning - 5 - Pulses for real-time responsesDifferent ideas for pulses, our real-time polls, for before, after or during class for a flipped or blended learning model.
- Ideas for blended learning - 6 - Pre-reading tasksDifferent ideas for tasks you can give to learners to help focus their reading so they can get the most out of it.
- Ideas for blended learning - 7 - Recording face-to-face discussionsDifferent ideas for recording the rough output of peer face-to-face discussions for a blended learning model.
- Ideas for blended learning - 8 - Questions for a facilitator to answer in classDifferent ideas for including a space for learner questions which can be discussed in class.
- Ideas for blended learning - 9 - Recording demonstrationsA method for adding demonstrations and other activities that happen in class into the course content.
- Ideas for blended learning - 10 - Peer-teachingDifferent ideas for setting up tasks which encourage learners to teach one another and record that teaching.
- Ideas for blended learning - 11 - Group breakoutsDifferent ideas for setting up tasks which begin collaboration in class and finish online.
- Ideas for blended learning - 12 - Setting goalsAn example of adding goal setting into an online course to integrate workplace training and development goals.
- Ideas for blended learning - 13 - Self-reflectionDifferent ideas for setting up tasks which encourage learners to self-reflect on actions in class or work.
- Ideas for blended learning - 14 - Conversations with mentorsDifferent ideas for recording mentor conversations.
- Ideas for blended learning - 15 - Sharing practice and accoladesAn example of using in-page discussions to share best practice ideas in a community of practice.
- How you can use tasks to track offline activitiesAdding in a multiple-choice task as a sort of checklist gives you a handy way to see learner progress even for offline activities.
(Better) teaching and facilitating
Ideas for improving facilitation.
- Keeping on top of thingsIdeas to help you keep track of learners in your class.1 article
- Facilitator presenceIdeas to help you connect with learners by showing a presence online.4 articles
- Building an online communityIdeas to help learners connect with one another (and learn through social elements).4 articles