Fostering social and emotional development is just as important as promoting the development of cognitive skills. Learning occurs best when the overall task is broken down into a sequence of short steps. It is important to help students organize their thinking by teaching them general concepts and principles first. Students can be trusted to find their own goals and should be given choices as to what and how to learn. Helping students feel good about themselves is just as important as the academic skills they are taught.
Students learn best when they observe a demonstration or model of the skill and then practice it.
The teacher should be a facilitator of learning rather than a presenter of knowledge. Objectives or outcomes should be identified and stated before the teaching process begins. If information is organized properly, students can learn very effectively through teacher presentation. For the most effective learning, students errors should be minimized and successes maximized. It is crucial that instruction be organized so as to help students grasp the major concepts of the subject.