Active Learning : 40 Teaching Methods to Engage Students in Every Class and Every Subject

Tried and true teaching strategies to boost student engagement.

Students need to be actively engaged to learn―intellectually curious, physically active, and emotionally involved in collaborative work that builds their capacity for empathy. What can teachers do to instill these elements in the classroom?

Active Learning: 40 Teaching Methods To Engage Students In Every Class and Every Subject is the actionable tool every new and veteran teacher needs to construct dynamic learning experiences for students. This hands-on, easy-to-use guide features 40 carefully curated, high-impact teaching strategies that target learning tools, collaboration structures, reading and writing routines, assessment opportunities and more. It includes:

• Step-by-step teaching strategies that can be mastered quickly and implemented in any order
• Tools to help teachers identify the most pressing classroom needs and determine which methods to try first
• Nine instructional structures including essential questions, strategy groups, stations, and simulations
• Real-world examples, tips, templates, and other supportive resources that offer guidance for each method, identify common challenges, and detail next steps

Whether tweaking your existing strategies or finding new moves that will quickly become your own, this is your go-to guide for designing active, engaging learning experiences for students.

Barry Gilmore was the Middle School Head and later the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning at Hutchison School in Memphis, Tennessee.  A National Board Certified Teacher, he taught English and social studies for nearly twenty years.  Barry is the author of seven education books and the former president of the Tennessee Council of Teachers of English.  Awards for his teaching have come from NCTE, TCTE, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 50 and is dearly missed by his students, family, friends and fellow faculty.

Gravity Goldberg is an international educational consultant and author of eight books on teaching. Mindsets & Moves (Corwin Literacy, 2015) put her on the world stage with its practical ways to cultivate student agency, leading to speaking engagements and foreign translations of her work. She has almost 20 years of teaching experience, including positions as a science teacher, reading specialist, third grade teacher, special educator, literacy coach, staff developer, assistant professor, educational consultant, and yoga teacher. Gravity holds a B.A. and M.Ed. from Boston College and a doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the founding director of Gravity Goldberg, LLC, a team that provides side-by-side coaching for teachers.