This session describes four teacher actions that will result in teaching to one's objectives. Lessons in which a teacher's actions are directed at the learning objectives are congruent. Congruency is one of the keys to increasing student learning. All teachers are in the habit of asking questions, and calling on students for answers. Quite often, only a few students give most of the responses.
Active participation is the consistent engagement of each student's mind with what is being taught.
This session shows several meaningful ways to get and keep students actively involved in their learning. Using active participation makes learning more motivating to students and rewarding to teachers. Checking Understanding During Lessons shows teachers how to use active participation in order to make certain students are learning during a lesson. This session teaches how to avoid several common mistakes by falsely assuming teachers have checked understanding when, in reality, they have not. This session concludes with the presentation of three sensible ways to check the understanding of all students during a lesson.