Top Instructional Strategies
You Definitely Want to Embrace
High-Effect Size Strategies That Work — With or Without Gen AI
Your TCEA Host
Miguel Guhlin
Miguel Guhlin believes in changing teaching, learning, and leadership with technology. He is an experienced educator, skilled in using technology in classrooms, schools, and districts.
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Session Description
Discover the top instructional strategies that research says engage students and foster deep learning for your classroom.
Today's session addresses a challenge every teacher faces: students have access to Gen AI, and traditional assignments — such as the long take-home essay and the research report — can be completed by a chatbot.
Not a Percentage Policy
Percentage-based AI policies are well-intentioned but unenforceable. No verification mechanism reliably detects AI use.
Not a Detection Tool
AI detection tools flag innocent students and miss actual AI use at comparable rates. They shift focus away from learning.
Better Assignment Design
The answer is six high-effect-size instructional strategies from Hattie's Visible Learning that are difficult to outsource to Gen AI.
The 20% Policy Problem
Why percentage-based AI policies don't work
"Your work may contain up to 20% Gen AI content. Cite it, or you get a zero."
— A well-intentioned policy. An unenforceable one.No Way to Verify
AI detection tools flag innocent students and miss guilty ones with comparable frequency. There is no reliable enforcement mechanism.
Wrong Assumption
The policy assumes the product is the evidence of learning. Gen AI is very good at producing polished products on demand.
Wrong Solution
The real solution is to stop designing assignments that Gen AI can complete. Shift from product to process — make learning visible and in-person.
Interactive Reference Tool
Explore the full strategy reference — including a Scenario Generator and Summary Table — at the interactive companion page. Each strategy includes ready-to-adapt examples for all learner populations.
https://mguhlin.github.io/creations/tcea/topstrategies.htmlUnderstanding Learning Phases
"Matching the right approach with the appropriate phase of learning is the critical lesson to be learned."
Transfer Learning
Extended Abstract SOLOGoal: Apply knowledge to new, unfamiliar situations.
Deep Learning
Relational SOLOGoal: Connect ideas and build conceptual understanding.
Surface Learning
Uni- to Multi-Structural SOLOGoal: Build foundational knowledge and vocabulary.
SOLO Taxonomy & Heavy Hitter Instructional Strategies
Mapped by effect size — choose the strategy that matches where students are
| SOLO Level | Description | Learning Phase | High-Effect Strategies (d) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Structural | May or may not have prior knowledge | Prior Knowledge | Build and/or activate prior knowledge |
| Uni-Structural | Has limited understanding but doesn't know how to apply it or how it connects to other concepts | Surface Learning | Jigsaw .92 Feedback .92 Repeated Reading .80 Mnemonics .65 Vocabulary .65 |
| Multi-Structural | Has a basic understanding but isn't sure how to fit ideas together | Surface Learning | Flipped Classroom .58 Direct Instruction .56 Questioning .49 Summarization Note-Taking |
| Relational | Understands how ideas fit together and the relationship between them; needs scaffolding to be successful | Deep Learning | Self-Reported Grades .96 Prior Knowledge .93 Argumentation .86 Organizing .86 Self-Judgment .81 Reciprocal Teaching .74 Elaboration .72 Concept Mapping .66 Peer Tutoring .66 Metacognition .58 Cooperative Learning .55 |
| Extended Abstract | Can take what has been learned and make something new; directions are not needed | Transfer Learning | Transfer Strategies .75 Problem-Solving .61 Service Learning .53 |
Writing Workshop & Outlining
Writing Workshop & Outlining
What it is: Outlining and organizing develops cognitive clarity by requiring students to categorize and structure information before writing. This is process-based writing — the thinking is the evidence.
Process-Based Student Work
- In-class outlines — hand-written and timed, cannot be outsourced
- Annotated drafts with visible revision notes showing thinking
- 3-column tables: Claim | Evidence | So-What
- Replace Sunday-night take-home essays with in-class writing process steps
- Compare essay "DNA" to Tuesday's in-class outline (linked pieces of information)
Gen AI Connection
Teacher Use: Use AI to create differentiated outline templates for SOLO levels, sample 3-column claim/evidence tables for modeling, and varied writing prompts that require personal experience.
Student Caution: AI can write an outline but cannot replicate the in-class, hand-written thinking process that shows genuine understanding.
Why This Resists AI Misuse
The learning evidence is the process — observable, in-class, timed. A chatbot can produce a final product; it cannot sit in your classroom and think through revision in real time. Tools for student concept maps: Google Drawings, Canva, Paper.
In-Class Short Writes & Spaced Practice
In-Class Short Writes & Spaced Practice
What it is: Spaced and retrieval practice spreads low-stakes writing tasks across time. Replace one major out-of-class essay with four shorter in-class writes on related prompts. A 15-minute start-of-class response builds writing fluency and creates a running record of real student knowledge.
Replace & Redistribute
- 1 major take-home essay → 4 shorter in-class writes on related prompts
- Timed in-class writing prevents faking fluency with Gen AI
- Builds writing fluency and long-term retention
- Creates a running record of authentic student knowledge
- Tools for quick in-class responses: StrawPoll, Mentimeter, Pear Deck
Teacher Use of Gen AI
- Generate varied weekly prompts
- Create banks of personal/observation response prompts
- Design spaced practice calendars for the semester
AI Tools to Try: Claude, ChatGPT (prompt banks) · Mentimeter, Pear Deck (live response)
Why This Resists AI Misuse — Simple Intervention
No detection tool needed. The student is right there in front of you. Short, timed, in-class tasks are the intervention. The physical presence and time constraint make outsourcing impossible.
Reciprocal Teaching
Reciprocal Teaching
What it is: A structured discussion protocol where four roles rotate through the group, making reading comprehension visible and social — not private and assumed.
Summarizer
Summarizes main ideas in their own words
Questioner
Generates discussion questions about the text
Clarifier
Resolves confusion and unclear points in the group
Predictor
Anticipates what comes next in the text
How to Use in Your Classroom
- Assign groups to the unit's primary texts
- Rotate roles so every student leads once
- Observe for 20 minutes — live discussion is your data
- Ask live follow-up questions: confident readers respond, AI summary users cannot
Gen AI Connection
- Generate differentiated discussion guides for each role
- Create role cards with sentence stems at different SOLO levels
- Produce discussion protocols for different text complexity levels
Tools: ChatGPT / Claude (role cards) · KialoEDU (structured discussion)
Why This Resists AI Misuse
Gen AI cannot sit at a table and answer live follow-up questions. Students who did the reading handle those moments. Students who submitted an AI summary — usually cannot. "Student who read handles live questions; one who didn't — won't."
Jigsaw Method
Jigsaw Method
What it is: Content Division & Teaching. Jigsaw shifts the cognitive demand from recall — which Gen AI handles easily — to explanation, which requires genuine understanding.
Step 1: Home Groups
Form home groups and assign each member a different subtopic. Each person becomes the expert for their group.
Step 2: Expert Groups
Regroup by subtopic. All "experts" on the same content meet to research and deeply understand their assigned material.
Step 3: Teach Others
Return to home groups and teach. Your group is counting on you — structural accountability replaces external enforcement.
Classroom Implementation
- Replace traditional research reports with teaching performances
- Add a short in-class reflection: one paragraph, no notes
- Students relying on Gen AI to "read" sections struggle to teach in front of peers
Teacher Use of Gen AI
- Create differentiated reading materials at tiered complexity levels
- Generate expert group discussion guides with question prompts
- Generate quick-check exit tickets specific to each subtopic
Tools: ChatGPT / Curipod (tiered readings) · Padlet (collaborative notes)
Why This Resists AI Misuse — Shift in Cognition
Recall is simple memory — Gen AI uses this. Explanation is genuine understanding — Jigsaw demands this. The cognitive demand shifts from copy/paste to live explanation in front of peers. No policy, no detection needed.
Argumentation & Classroom Discussion
Argumentation & Classroom Discussion
Pushes students past surface recall into reasoning and evidence evaluation. Students must construct and defend a position in response to what someone else just said — live improvised thinking is the assessment.
Structured Academic Controversy
Students research and argue both sides of a contested issue before reaching a consensus position grounded in evidence.
Socratic Seminar
Facilitator-led inquiry where students build on each other's ideas, ask clarifying questions, and reference the text directly.
Two-Student Debate
Two students argue one position; two argue the opposite. What they say during that exchange is the real assessment data.
Engaged vs. AI Summary Student
- Engaged student: responds to a counterargument on the fly, cites specific chapter details
- AI summary user: struggles with unexpected points, knows nothing within two minutes
- Live, improvised thinking IS the assessment — no detection tool needed
Teacher Use of Gen AI
- Generate balanced argument briefs for both sides
- Create Socratic seminar question sets at different SOLO levels
- Ask AI to anticipate the strongest counterarguments
Tools: Claude (argument briefs) · Parlay (structured online discussion) · Mentimeter (live polling)
Problem-Solving Teaching
Problem-Solving Teaching
Core Idea: Students must transfer thinking — applying a conceptual framework to solve a problem in a completely new environment. Prior exposure is necessary but not sufficient. Students must connect ideas to solve something they have never seen.
AP Literature
Analyze a new passage using the Last Unit Framework. Students apply analytical tools to unseen text — their framework does the work, not recall.
History
Document-Based Question on a never-seen source. Students apply historical thinking frameworks to a primary source they have not encountered.
Mathematics
Apply the STRIDE Model to a new problem type. Students use internalized steps to solve a structurally similar but unfamiliar problem.
The Comparison/Transfer Test
- Internalized framework vs. memorized words only
- New material — students have not seen it before
- In-class, timed task — no opportunity to outsource
- The Transfer Test is the most direct evidence of learning
Teacher Use of Gen AI
- Generate novel scenarios that apply frameworks to new contexts
- Create STRIDE problem sets for math
- Produce Document-Based Questions using historical sources not seen in class
Tools: ChatGPT / Khanmigo (novel scenarios) · Parlay (structured written response)
Why This Resists AI Misuse
The assessment is in-class, timed, using new material. Gen AI cannot anticipate the exact novel task. A student who has internalized the framework handles it; a student who outsourced the learning is revealed immediately.
Strategy Summary
Interactive version: https://mguhlin.github.io/creations/tcea/topstrategies.html
| Strategy | Learning Phase | Effect Size | Primary Evidence Collected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing Workshop & Outlining | Surface → Deep | d = 0.84 | Graphic organizers, annotated drafts, revision artifacts |
| In-Class Short Writes | Surface | d = 0.46–0.55 | Timed written samples, exit tickets, retrieval checks |
| Reciprocal Teaching | Deep | d = 0.74 | Live discussion observation, role performance, peer interaction |
| Jigsaw | Deep | d = 0.92 | Teaching performance, peer explanation quality, reassembly discussion |
| Argumentation & Discussion | Deep → Transfer | d = 0.82 | Live debate response, evidence use, reasoning under challenge |
| Problem-Solving Teaching | Transfer | d = 0.61 | Novel task response, framework application, written process |
The ALDO Framework
Amazing Lesson Design Outline — a five-step sequence that connects all six strategies
ALDO provides a repeatable lesson design sequence. Each step maps directly to research-backed practice and connects to one or more of the six strategies.
Build Relationships First
Trust and safety via SEL and Brain-Based Learning Activities. Students need psychological safety to argue, discuss, and teach each other.
Pre-Assess Students
Low-stakes assessments to discover growth opportunities. Use Entry Tickets, ABC Brainstorming, Think-Pair-Share to uncover prior knowledge.
Select Teaching & Learning Strategy
Choose the high-effect strategy appropriate for the SOLO phase your students are in: Surface, Deep, or Transfer.
Post-Assess Students
Gauge effectiveness. Provide feedback. Adjust strategies. In-class short writes and problem-solving tasks serve this function.
Reflect & Share
Quick writes, self-judgment, and Socratic debrief. Close the learning loop and surface what students internalized.
AI TOOL FOR PREP & FEEDBACK
ChatGPT / Claude (scenario creation & templates) · KialoEDU (structured debrief discussion)
Quick Write — 3 Minutes
Learning Phase: Deep → Transfer
Pick ONE of the questions below:
Which of the six strategies do you already use? Which one are you most curious to try and why?
Where does Gen AI present the biggest challenge for authentic assessment in your context? Be specific.
What is one assignment you could redesign to shift from product to process? What would change?
Resources & Further Learning
Be sure to join TCEA for an upcoming event. Explore the resources below to continue your learning with these strategies.