A paper airplane with data on it flies past a headline saying "The Research Is In". This image represents our newest collection: A Comprehensive Guide to the Evidence-Based Classroom. It is designed to support classroom teachers in integrated approaches backed by research in their classrooms.

Strategies That Work

A Comprehensive Guide to the Evidence-Based Classroom

If you’re in search of groundbreaking insights on classroom management, grading, or student motivation, here’s a collection of must-read resources to supercharge your teaching.

October 25, 2024

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The Research Is In
The Evidence-Backed Grader
Help students focus on learning—not the grade—with these research-based tips.
Youki Terada, Stephen Merrill
Assessment
In Schools, Are We Measuring What Matters?
The psychologist, researcher, and MacArthur Fellow Angela Duckworth believes that to make better decisions in our school systems, we need to rethink the way we measure student capabilities.
Stephen Merrill
The Research Is In
How to Design Better Tests, Based on the Research
A review of a dozen recent studies reveals that to design good tests, teachers need to consider bias, rigor, and mindset.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
Why the 100-Point Grading Scale Is a Stacked Deck
What to do about a 100-point grading system with a troubling history—and inherent flaws that carry over into the present day.
Youki Terada
Research
4 Ways to Fight Bias in Grading
Unconscious bias may be unavoidable, but here’s how you can reduce its destructive impact.
Sarah Gonser
The Research Is In
Helping Students Beat Test Anxiety
Fear of failure can prevent students from showing what they know on big tests—but a 10-minute writing exercise can help.
Youki Terada

The Research Is In
8 Evidence-Based Tips to Make Your Lectures More Engaging—and Memorable
When done right, lectures remain an invaluable tool for building student knowledge. Here’s the research on how to optimize your time in front of the class.
Youki Terada
Research
Addressing Work Refusal in the Classroom
As educators grapple with the silent protest of student work refusal, research illuminates the underlying causes—and possible solutions.
Daniel Leonard
Student Engagement
The Importance of Student Choice Across All Grade Levels
When students get to make decisions about their learning, it can be powerfully motivating.
Stephen Merrill, Sarah Gonser
Student Engagement
To Motivate Teens, Ask Them “Who’s Your Future Self?”
Middle and high school classrooms that neglect questions of higher purpose work against the innate desires of teens, research shows.
Andrew Boryga
The Research Is In
Does Cold Calling Work? Here’s What the Research Says
A growing body of research reveals that there’s a right—and wrong—way to use cold calling.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
New Research Makes a Powerful Case for PBL
Two new gold-standard studies provide compelling evidence that project-based learning is an effective strategy for all students—including historically marginalized ones.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
3 Reasons Students Procrastinate—and How to Help Them Stop
Psychologists have uncovered reasons why students put off important work. But there are a few simple things teachers can do to keep students on track.
Youki Terada

The Research Is In
8 Proactive Classroom Management Tips
New teachers—and experienced ones too—can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
How Novice and Expert Teachers Approach Classroom Management Differently
A 2021 study reveals the ways in which new and experienced teachers think about discipline—plus 6 takeaways for managing your classroom effectively this year.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
7 Classroom Management Mistakes—and the Research on How to Fix Them
Whether our emotions get the best of us, or we fall into familiar but unproductive habits, here are 7 common classroom management mistakes, and what the research suggests you should do instead.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
How Tone of Voice Shapes Your Classroom Culture
It’s no easy task, but developing your tone of voice can build trust, reduce conflict, and set the stage for more learning in your classroom, research shows.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
The Key to Effective Classroom Management
A three-phase process helps build strong teacher-student bonds, which can reduce disruptive behavior.
Youki Terada

The Research Is In
Why Students Forget—and What You Can Do About It
Our brains are wired to forget, but there are research-backed strategies you can use to make your teaching stick.
Youki Terada
Brain-Based Learning
An Authoritative Study of Two High-Impact Learning Strategies
To boost long-term retention, research shows that retrieval practice—using quizzes and flash cards, for example—and spacing learning sessions over time can make a dramatic difference.
Retrieval Practice
Making Retrieval Practice a Classroom Routine
By regularly working in activities that get students to recall content they’ve learned in the past and apply it, teachers can ensure deeper understanding.
The Research Is In
We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks
When it comes to optimizing learning, we don’t value breaks enough, neuroscientists suggest in a new study.
Youki Terada
Brain-Based Learning
Teaching Students to Use Evidence-Based Studying Strategies
Applying studying methods that strengthen the brain’s ability to retrieve information can help students learn more effectively.
Ian Kelleher
Brain-Based Learning
Optimizing Working Memory in the Classroom
Research shows that distractions, confusing material, or an overwhelming amount of information can tax a student’s working memory. Here’s how to better support this essential executive function.
Critical Thinking
Highlighting Is Ineffective—Here’s How to Change That
Research shows that typical highlighting may hinder learning. Here are three highlighting strategies that actually work.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
6 Foundational Ways to Scaffold Student Learning
A collection of evidence-backed tips to help students cross the bridge from confusion to clarity.
Youki Terada

Research
The Science of Belonging and Connection
Feeling like you belong in school is critical to academic success—and there are research-backed strategies that educators can deploy, says Stanford psychologist Geoffrey Cohen.
Daniel Leonard
Research
Powerful, Evidence-Backed Ways to Connect With Students in the First Week of School
Start the new school year on the right foot with these research-backed tips.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
Welcoming Students With a Smile
Greeting each student at the door with a positive message brings benefits for both students and teacher.
Youki Terada
The Research Is In
The Necessity of Finding More Ways to Praise
Encouraging students is not enough, says a new study—you actually have to raise your ratio of praise to reprimands dramatically, and that might mean keeping track.
Youki Terada
Classroom Management
Using High Expectations to Boost Students’ Sense of Belonging
Research shows that when students—particularly those from traditionally marginalized groups—feel like they belong in the classroom, they engage more deeply in the learning process.
Ian Kelleher
The Research Is In
How Hidden Classroom Dynamics Can Stymie Girls in STEM
If we want to close the gender gap in science, we need to look at the invisible forces that shape classroom culture.
Youki Terada

Brain-Based Learning
What’s Executive Function—and Why Does It Matter?
The skills that make up executive function are better predictors of success than test scores, IQ, or socioeconomic status.
The Research Is in
7 Ways to Support Executive Function in Your Classroom
How to design your classroom environment and materials to support a wide range of executive function skills, from managing distractions to boosting planning skills.
Youki Terada
Brain-Based Learning
How to Reduce the Cognitive Load on Students During Lessons
A look at ways teachers can refine their practices to help ensure that students absorb and process information so they can retrieve it later.
Ian Kelleher
Research
8 Ways to Bolster Executive Function in Teens and Tweens
Middle and high school students suddenly face more complex schedules, tougher academic work, and an expanding network of friends. How can we help them manage it all?
Stephen Merrill
Brain-Based Learning
Decoding the Teenage Brain (in 3 Charts)
New technologies are shedding light on what really makes adolescents tick—and providing clues on how we might reach them better.
Stephen Merrill
The Research Is In
Research-Tested Benefits of Breaks
Students are easily distracted, but regular, short breaks can help them focus, increase their productivity, and reduce their stress.
Youki Terada
Student Engagement
How to Keep Your Elementary Students Focused
5 research-backed tips to keep your elementary students on-task.

Literacy
4 Reading Strategies to Retire This Year (Plus 6 to Try Out!)
A look at a few popular literacy practices that shouldn’t make the cut—along with fresh strategies that experienced teachers and literacy experts recommend instead.
Sarah Gonser
The Research is In
How to Move From the ‘Main Idea’ to ‘Background Knowledge’
Traditional approaches to reading instruction—such as finding the “main idea”—are less effective than a knowledge-rich approach, the research shows.
Youki Terada
Literacy
Rethinking How We Teach Reading in Elementary School
To become better readers, Natalie Wexler says, students should grapple with abundant, high-caliber texts in the elementary grades—not just skills and strategies.
Andrew Boryga
Literacy
Phonics Is Critical—but True Literacy Requires More
To improve literacy rates in the U.S., reading expert Timothy Shanahan says we need to stop looking for silver bullets and instead invest in teaching a much broader range of skills.
Andrew Boryga
Literacy
How to Make Read-Alouds Fun and Effective for All Ages
Well-planned read-alouds can enhance critical thinking, comprehension, and engagement across disciplines—and age levels.
Andrew Boryga
The Research Is In
Why Students Should Write in All Subjects
Writing improves learning by consolidating information in long-term memory, researchers explain. Plus, five engaging writing activities to use in all subjects.
Youki Terada
Literacy
A Better Way to Learn Your ABCs
According to new research, integrating whole-body movements into learning the alphabet improves students’ recollection of letter-sound pairings and hard-to-learn sounds.
The Research Is In
The Benefits of Reading for Fun
There’s a powerful academic impact, new research reveals, when students are voracious, voluntary readers.
Youki Terada