Strategies: W

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• 'What's My Emotion?' Game Check-In - Students use the EQ Feeling Chart to identify, act out, and guess feelings, building emotional literacy through a game-based check-in.
• Wait Time - A deliberate pause of at least three seconds after posing a question (and again after a response) that gives learners time to process, formulate, and extend their answers.
• Wall Calendar - A large, centrally located calendar that makes family or classroom schedules visible, helping learners see how their commitments fit into a shared timeline and build time-management habits.
• Warm Demander Pedagogy - A teaching stance that pairs high expectations and insistence on rigorous work with strong relational support, communicating belief in every learner's capacity to succeed.
• Warning and Consequence - A classroom management technique in which the teacher states a clear behavioral expectation, warns that a specific consequence will follow if it is not met, and then consistently applies the stated co
• Waste Reduction Solutions - Learners examine and sort real waste items, categorize and chart them, and propose evidence-based solutions to reduce solid waste.
• Watch Emotion Videos - Share short, well-chosen videos that explain big emotions to children, then debrief so learners can apply regulation steps to their own experience.
• Web Annotation Tools - Learners use free web-based tools to annotate online documents, including slideshows, blog posts, or PDFs.
• Web-Based Dictionary & Thesaurus - Embedding online dictionaries and thesauruses into vocabulary lessons lets learners quickly look up unfamiliar words and explore word relationships at the moment of need.
• Web-Search Scavenger Hunt - A structured activity in which students answer questions by locating and evaluating online sources, building search and information-literacy skills through guided practice.
• Website Domain Analysis - Learners are taught the differences between .com, .gov, .org, and .edu domains to assess the reliability of websites.
• Website Evaluation Checklist - Learners examine websites using a structured checklist to assess corroboration, source reliability, currency, documentation, advocacy, and conflicts of interest.
• Weeding - Systematically removing extraneous words, images, audio, and features from learning materials so that working-memory resources are devoted to essential content.
• Weeklong initial teacher training with biweekly follow-up meetings for delivering the fraction intervention - Fraction Face-Off!
• Weekly design meetings as key sites of teacher inquiry, collaboration, and knowledge creation - Seconded teachers and researchers met weekly as a design team to improve knowledge-building practices, share understanding with school colleagues, and provide peer coaching.
• Weekly gradebook monitoring with a 70 percent threshold and templated early-warning interventions - OUSD trains point people to monitor student progress continuously through the college's learning management system.
• Weekly SRL intervention cycle pairing goal-setting forms, rehearsal videos, VideoAnt annotation, and progress reports - The intervention iterated a five-day weekly schedule: students set one to two weekly goals with a plan of action, rehearsed toward the goals while filming themselves, uploaded and annotated the videos
• Weekly Student Reflection - Students spend 10–15 minutes each week responding to structured prompts about their learning, building metacognitive awareness, self-regulation, and teacher–student dialogue.
• Weekly teacher team meetings to review each student's strengths, progress, and obstacles - A core BARR strategy is regular teacher team meetings: "teacher teams meeting regularly to discuss each student's strengths and progress and identify obstacles to learning." Teams of teachers "need to
• Weekly webcam coaching meetings with observation and feedback sustain teacher implementation - TRI coaches use webcam technology to train and follow up with teachers.
• Weigh explicit considerations before deciding to fund or conduct a systematic review - The article recommends that funders and researchers think through "important considerations in the decision to fund or conduct a systematic review" before committing resources.
• Weigh legibility gains against speed gains when choosing a penmanship style to teach - The article closes by posing an equating-values question for penmanship instruction: whether a legibility advantage is worth more than a speed advantage.
• Weigh live, video, and customized nonverbal data collection methods when using EQUIP - EQUIP can capture interactions live, via prerecorded video, or both, and although default discourse dimensions focus on verbal participation, the tool can be customized to capture nonverbal participat
• Weigh stated considerations before adopting computerized adaptive testing - The publication is framed as guidance for education agencies considering computerized adaptive testing: its title, "Measuring Up: Considerations for Adopting Computerized Adaptive Testing", signals th
• Weighted student-based funding formulas that allocate resources according to student needs - The report describes weighted funding formulas that fund schools based on the number of students, applying a "weight" based on the number and concentration of students from low-income families, Englis
• Welcome Messages - A personal, orientation-focused message from the instructor at the start of a course that establishes social presence, clarifies expectations, and signals belonging.
• Welcome new students in foster care with buddy support and quick, low-burden informal assessments, while treating late records with caution - Because students in foster care experience many mid-year "first days," teachers adapt ordinary new-student practices (assigning a buddy, extra one-on-one time, learning interests) and use quick assess
• What Would Their Day Look Like? - Learners select a photo of a person or animal in an unfamiliar situation and imagine what their daily life might be like.
• What’s Below the Surface? (Iceberg Analysis) - Uses an iceberg graphic to push students from surface-level plot events to deeper analysis of character traits, motivations, and identity.
• What’s My Emotion? Game - One learner demonstrates an emotion through body language and facial expressions while the rest of the class guesses the emotion, building emotional literacy through enactment and feedback.
• What’s My Number? - A guessing game where one person thinks of a number and provides clues, and others use logical reasoning and deduction to determine the number.
• When a domain-identical pretest is infeasible, use cross-domain pretests, fluid intelligence, or sociodemographic covariates as meaningful alternatives - The article recommends that researchers planning randomized trials first seek the latest domain-identical pretest, but recognizes practical situations where IP cannot be collected, such as multiple ou
• When designing instructive animations, weigh the trade-off between learner control and increased time-on-task - The authors recommend that designers of instructive animations seriously consider the trade-off between giving learners control and the subsequent increase in time-on-task, since "a price has to be pa
• When evaluating curriculum materials, consider additional influential factors beyond curricular design features - The article recommends that explanations of curriculum effects on student learning should not rest on design features alone: alongside the hypothesized design-based explanation, the authors "discuss a
• When implementing PS-I, include contrasting cases or build the instruction phase on student solutions - Based on its synthesis, the review supports implementing PS-I with one of two specific design features: contrasting cases, or instruction that builds on the solutions students produced during the prob
• When integrating GenAI, deliberately weigh control-oriented structures against designs that promote learner agency and creativity - Drawing on the historical tension the article traces between Anderson's structured tutoring systems and Papert's constructionist approach, this strategy directs integration decisions toward the agency
• When planning for the school year during COVID-19, schools and districts should weigh public health factors alongside educational factors such as potential learning loss - This strategy captures the publication's framing of how districts should approach 2020-2021 school-year planning during pandemic building closures.
• When reading an evaluation, check that the study compared a group that received the program to a group that did not - This strategy tells readers of effectiveness research to look for a comparison between outcomes of a group that received a program and outcomes of a group that did not, since "research studies compare
• When scripting collaborative tasks, decide on the learner-agency versus pre-defined-goals trade-off position deliberately - The editorial shows that the choice between leaving open what learners map or produce and scripting toward explicit curriculum goals is a live design controversy (Wise and Schwarz's Provocation #2).
• When test dimensionality is unclear, compare several candidate calibration models to empirically justify the chosen composite scoring model - This strategy addresses practical testing situations where no clear a priori theoretical belief about the latent structure exists.
• When uncertain about a learner's level, begin with high direction and support and keep reassessing - Because special-needs learners are easily misclassified, the paper advises a default stance of high support and direction until assessment clarifies the learner's actual quadrant.
• When using public reflection, agree in advance with all parties on what information can and cannot be shared to preserve confidentiality - The article advises that public reflection (blogs, discussion boards) carries a serious confidentiality risk for community partners and students, who may regret comments made out of inexperience.
• Where Are the People Like Me? - Learners examine media examples to consider who is represented and who is not, then explore the impact of this lack of diversity and how it might affect those who are misrepresented or not represented
• Which One Doesn’t Belong? - Learners compare a small set of cards representing quantities and identify — and justify — which one differs, building number sense through structured comparison.
• White teachers eliminate race-related hostile approaches and redesign school cultural policies to support Black students' belonging - The review's discussion recommends that White teachers in schools upholding Whiteness make academic adjustments by eliminating race-related hostile approaches and re-assessing school cultural policies
• White-box-then-black-box sequencing: transparent study of a method before opaque delegation - Adopting Buchberger's principle from computer-algebra education, the article prescribes that "a method should be studied transparently before it is invoked opaquely, and yesterday's white box becomes
• Whole Class Self-Monitoring - Whole class self-monitoring involves the entire class participating in self-monitoring techniques, adapted from individual self-monitoring methods.
• Whole Task Practice - Learners practice complete, authentic versions of the target task from the start, rather than isolated subskills practiced separately before being combined.
• Wide Reading - Sustained, high-volume reading of self-selected, accessible texts to build fluency, vocabulary, background knowledge, and motivation.
• Wise Feedback - Feedback that combines high standards with assured support, framed to signal that the giver believes the learner can improve.
• Withdraw mentor support earlier than currently thought, and calibrate how closely mentors work with mentees - Based on the finding that unmentored teachers, especially reentry teachers, progressed furthest through Fuller's stages, the authors recommend studying how closely mentors should work with new teacher
• Withitness - The teacher's communicated awareness of everything happening in the classroom at all times, which prevents misbehavior and sustains engagement.
• Word Building - Word building is a literacy strategy in which learners manipulate letter tiles or squares to construct words, reinforcing phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, spelling, and word recognitio
• Word Detective (Word Identification In Context) - Learners search for and identify target vocabulary words within varied authentic contexts such as song lyrics, sentences, and familiar texts.
• Word Family Charts - A word study strategy that organizes words sharing a common rime or spelling pattern into visible chart groups, helping learners decode and spell by analogy.
• Word Maps - A word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabulary development by having learners elaborate a target word across multiple dimensions — definition, synonyms, antonyms, examples, and imagery.
• Word Of The Week - A routine in which one high-value word is introduced, deeply explored, and repeatedly revisited across a week to build durable vocabulary knowledge.
• Word Prediction Software - Software that suggests words as a learner types, reducing spelling and transcription demands so composing effort can go to ideas and structure.
• Word Problem Creation - Learners select math operations and create multistep word problems for peers to solve, integrating math and literacy skills.
• Word Processing and Technology Tools - Use word processors and other digital writing tools to support drafting, revising, and producing written work.
• Word Processing for Composition - Using word processing software to support drafting, revising, and feedback in writing instruction.
• Word Processing for Writing Skills - Using word processing software such as Google Docs allows learners to draft, share, review, and revise their writing, with built-in features supporting feedback, revision, and diverse learner needs.
• Word Sort - Students categorize key terms into self-generated groups before formal definitions are provided, then revisit and revise their sorts after instruction.
• Word Study - An investigative approach to spelling and word knowledge instruction in which students examine, sort, and compare words to discover patterns and generalizations rather than memorize word lists.
• Word Study Developmental Spelling - Word study organizes spelling instruction around learners' developmental stages of orthographic knowledge, using word sorts and contrastive word sets rather than memorization of arbitrary lists.
• Word Walls - A prominently displayed, growing collection of key content vocabulary that learners access, use, and reorganize throughout instruction to move words into long-term memory.
• Word-net exercises linking lexical knowledge to grammatical awareness - Word-net exercises have learners build networks of private psychological associations around antonym pairs such as plentiful and scarce, attaching central adjectives to generic superordinate nouns.
• Word-set exercises for contextualising vocabulary via imagined possible worlds - Word-set exercises are open-ended puzzles in which learners infer the intended reader, topic and purpose of a letter from lists of presented words, imagining 'possible worlds' that contextualise the l
• Work through four data-sharing decisions: what data to share, how to organize it, what documentation to include, and where to share it - The guide organizes data sharing as a sequence of four decisions education researchers should work through: which study data to share, how to organize the data, what documentation to include, and wher
• Work with a coach or peer group, start with one insight, and gather data when applying learning sciences research - The resource recommends a staged approach to applying learning sciences research in classrooms, warning that "applying learning sciences research in practice can involve trial and error".
• Worked Example Fading - A strategy that progressively transitions learners from studying fully worked examples to completing partial solutions to solving problems independently.
• Worked Example Routine - A structured instructional routine — Get ready, Read, Discuss, Explain, You Try — that converts worked examples from passive reading into active engagement with expert solution reasoning.
• Worked Examples First - Presenting fully worked solutions before asking learners to solve problems independently, so novices study expert performance instead of searching for it.
• Worked Examples Types - Worked example types range from fully worked modelling examples (expert narrates every step and why) through completion problems and case studies, forming a guidance continuum from maximum support tow
• Working Memory Support Strategies - A family of design moves that reduce, segment, or externalize the working-memory demands of instruction so limited capacity is spent on learning rather than on holding intermediate information.
• Working Out Loud - Learners make their in-progress work, questions, and reasoning visible to a network or community, inviting feedback and building relationships around learning.
• Workshop-Based Writing Instruction - A structured instructional format in which learners draft, receive peer and teacher feedback, revise, and publish writing within a predictable workshop routine.
• Wraparound student supports: navigator, financial supports, and job placement assistance - Beyond integrated instruction, I-BEST provides a bundle of non-instructional supports intended to keep students engaged.
• Write Alouds - Write-aloud lessons, also known as modeled writing, involve an experienced writer (typically the teacher) verbalizing their thought process while writing.
• Write custom leveled readers that preserve key content and vocabulary across reading levels rather than using commercially available leveled trade books. - The design team found that commercial leveled texts "were inadequate inasmuch as the lower level (i.e., easier) texts were not including key vocabulary and information," which they conjectured contrib
• Write SMARTIE action-plan goals that are specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, time-bound, inclusive, and equitable - In Chapter 5, teams prioritize three to five high-level goals from the Chapter 4 tailoring activity and build an action plan in which "goals should be" SMARTIE: Specific, Measurable, Ambitious, Realis
• Write with a Transition Handout - Before learners write, provide a handout of transitions, model where they fit, and explain how they guide the reader.
• Write Your Own Word Problem - For homework, assign learners the task of writing some of their own word problems containing some of the key words discussed in class.
• Writing Across The Curriculum - Writing Across The Curriculum (WAC) embeds writing tasks in all subject areas so students use writing to learn content, not just to demonstrate it.
• Writing assignments that have students talk, write and read through the writing process - The second recommendation is to re-evaluate writing assignments, reconsidering the one-hour in-class essay and "developing instead assignments that encourage writers to talk, write, and read" while co
• Writing Conferences - One-on-one, conversation-based meetings in which a teacher and student discuss the student's writing in progress, positioning the teacher as coach rather than evaluator.
• Writing Down Goals - Writing down goals makes them tangible, supports prioritization, and increases commitment through externalized, reviewable commitments.
• Writing For Real Audiences - Having students write for genuine readers beyond the teacher, with authentic purposes, so rhetorical decisions become meaningful and feedback comes from real responses.
• Writing Process Portfolios - Students collect, revise, and reflect on writing drafts over time, making their compositional process visible and assessed rather than only the final product.
• Writing To Learn - Using writing tasks as a thinking tool — short, low-stakes writing that helps learners process, connect, and consolidate content rather than demonstrate polished composition skill.
• Writing Workshop - A structured instructional format in which students write for sustained periods, receive explicit mini-lessons, and engage in peer conferencing and teacher conferences within a predictable workshop ro
• Written Feedback - Providing learners with written comments on their work that indicate quality, gaps, and next steps.
• WWYD Critical Incidents - Learners analyze short, ambiguous conflict scenarios and answer "What would you do if you were person X/person Y?", forcing perspective-taking and reasoned resolution before discussion.