Sage Advice: Tips for Teachers

Follow the 10/24/7 rule when teaching a new concept: repeat information ten minutes after you teach it initially, twenty-four hours later, and one week after first instruction. This helps students commit information to long-term memory.

Colleen Rogers

Spanish instructor

Thornridge High School

Dolton, Illinois

I remix old music to include lyrics about content in U.S. history. An example: My classes would sing, "Bye-bye, British oppression, good-bye" rather than, "Bye-bye, Miss American Pie" when learning about the American Revolution. (The new lyrics are benchmarked and consistent with the textbook.) We have fun singing, and my high school students, although they claim it's corny, talk about the song the most when they return to visit. It is amazing what they can remember about a topic from a song even years later. At the end of the year, students can bring in a blank tape, and I record a copy for them.

Mike Ward

History teacher, Clintondale High School

Clintondale, Michigan

I ask students to help me design tests and exams. It gives me a chance to review, it allows me to understand what the students think we have been learning for the most recent unit, and it empowers them.

Daniel J. McMahon

Principal, world literature teacher

DeMatha Catholic High School

Hyattsville, Maryland

I don't believe in tricks. We should spend time learning our trade, not the tricks of our trade.

Jeff Campbell

Sixth-grade resource-room teacher

Academy Middle School

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Alternate fun activities with their least favorite ones.

Mary Jo Bell

Art teacher

East Carter County R-2 School

Ellsinore, Missouri

When the majority of my kindergartners can identify the weekly sight words, we march in a parade at the end of the week. We use instruments and march to lively band music. This makes the words and the word wall more meaningful to the students, and they work hard to get to have the parade each week.

Jennifer Sullivan Kindergarten teacher

M. R. Reiter Elementary School

Morrisville, Pennsylvania

I use a digital timer and constantly time activities. Prior to assigning a task, I explain the expectations and ask random students to restate the task and the time limit. This keeps students engaged and on task. When the timer rings, I again ask random students for feedback and answers to the questions or task that was just completed. It is the same from day to day. The consistency helps keep student frustrations low. When students know what is expected, they are more successful.

Beth Pennington

Eighth-grade science teacher

Shepherdstown Middle School

Shepherdstown, West Virginia

When my students ask me a question about a basic concept I want them to own the answer to, I ask them questions in return. I guide them through their thinking with my questions to help them come to an understanding of the answer so they can remember the whole connection and learning, hopefully, for years to come!

Betsy Ablott

Investigation-station teacher

Arlington Science Focus School

Arlington, Virginia

I use screen capture using Camtasia Studio 4. I am an Adobe-certified instructor in Premiere Pro 2.0, which is used for video editing. Screen capture is a great way to record difficult procedures that come up regularly.

Richard Baim

Video-production specialist

Francis Tuttle Technology Center

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

I try to greet students at the door. I inform them about what they have to do for the day or the week, and we work together. I move around constantly in class, motivating students to get on track and work hard.

Adolfo J. Gonzalez

Lincoln International Academy

Managua, Nicaragua

There are often many more responses to the Sage Advice question than there's room to print in Edutopia magazine. Launch this PDF [1] to read a selection of the answers we received that did not appear in the magazine.