Top tips for teaching: Instructional strategies for substitute teachers.

Substitute teacher jobs are fulfilling and allow you to positively impact student learning. There’s much more to it than babysitting or monitoring classroom behavior. Effective substitute teachers are intentional – following lesson plans and using instructional strategies. They don’t “just wing it.” 

Whether you are preparing to become a substitute teacher or have been one for years, understanding and utilizing instructional strategies will greatly benefit your students. 

The purpose of instructional strategies.

“Instructional strategies” is simply an educator’s way of saying “techniques that help students learn better.” Teachers decide which instructional strategies to use based on the subject matter, the curricular goals and lesson objectives, and student needs. Fortunately, most instructional strategies can be adapted to support any content area, school district lesson requirements, and the diverse range of learners you will encounter. 

Instructional strategies help to make content accessible for students, aid their retention and recall of information, and apply knowledge and skills. They can also help with classroom management and increase the ability of one person to meet the needs of many students. 

Instructional strategies boost student learning by: 

• Improving delivery of great lesson plans. 

• Giving teachers the flexibility to support diverse learning needs. 

• Increasing student engagement. 

• Making learning fun. 

Common instructional strategies.

Teachers and substitute teachers use multiple instructional strategies to help students learn. They don’t use one strategy but a combination to meet student needs. The most common types of instructional strategies include the following: 

• Visual aids, such as posters, photos, videos, diagrams, and charts. 

• Small group activities where students work together on a task or project. 

• Online games that help students practice their skills. 

• “Flipped classrooms,” which reduce lecture time and allow students to learn information outside the classroom and then apply what they learn through in-class activities. 

• Peer teaching and assessment to help students collaborate and learn from each other. 

• Open-ended questioning to improve critical thinking skills. 

Technology is a big part of learning in every subject, and teachers are implementing online activities that support the above instructional strategies. 

Diverse learning strategies.

Substitute teachers quickly learn that every student has different strengths and areas for growth. You may hear some educators refer to the needs that different students have as “learning styles.” The classroom teacher’s lesson plans will ideally describe the instructional strategies to accommodate the range of learning needs. 

As you work in different districts, schools, and classrooms, you’ll gain experience by implementing varied instructional strategies. The names of strategies might vary from teacher to teacher, but you’ll likely find some commonalities. 

One of the best instructional strategies is providing the same content in different ways. Whether you implement this strategy to meet different learning styles or because it’s an evidence-based approach that helps everyone retain information, ensuring that a lesson allows for different ways for students to interact with the content and different ways to express what they learned is an effective instructional strategy. You can: 

• Use varying questioning techniques, from short answers to multiple-choice or brief essays. 

• Use varying subject matter delivery, such as videos, books, audiobooks, or hands-on. 

• Give students time to finish their work at their own pace. 

Long-term memory improvement strategies.

Students have different learning styles and various ways of processing and remembering information. Instructional strategies that accommodate working memories and long-term retention include the following: 

• Make sure students understand the instructions. 

• Give students plenty of time to process instructions. 

• Teach the same material in different ways. 

• Make meaningful connections between the material and something personal. 

• Use mnemonic strategies, like chunking or putting information in smaller sections or groups, for easier learning. 

• Use musical mnemonics or make information or data into a memorable song. 

• Create acronyms and assign a letter to each bit of information to learn, either a phrase, number, or sentence. 

• Brainstorm between students to develop ideas as a class or in small groups. 

Teachers aim to make learning memorable enough to stick in a student’s mind and be ready for recall later. 

Student engagement strategies.

Substitute teachers may worry students will not engage in the lesson plans because their primary teacher is away. This does not have to be the case if you use strategies to engage all students, such as: 

• Make an activity fun and memorable, like playing subject matter Jeopardy or another game. 

• Connect the material to careers and industries where their knowledge and skills are useful. 

• Make it interactive, where students work in groups to complete an activity. 

• Connect the material to the television shows, games, or trends appropriate for a school setting. 

• Allow students to choose or create the learning activity. 

Student participation in activities leads to better retention. When the activities are meaningful, students look forward to learning. 

Creative thinking skills strategies.

Students benefit from opportunities to be creative. They learn to solve problems, work in teams, and improve their critical thinking skills to succeed in the real world. Instructional strategies that allow students to express and strengthen their creativity include: 

• Design activities that allow students to showcase their work in ways they choose. Some may choose writing, drawing, painting, music, or videos. 

• Let students be the teacher for appropriate activities. They can decide and plan how to execute the activity. 

• Let students provide peer feedback upon completion of activities. (Establish boundaries about what and how feedback should be provided.) 

• Allow students to sit where they feel most comfortable during an activity. 

• Let the students help determine a resolution for a classroom issue. 

• Play games that encourage creative thinking skills. 

Creative thinking helps students learn and apply other essential skills, such as problem-solving, curiosity, and decision-making. 

Tips for implementing strategies. 

Effective teaching strategies require planning and following a process while allowing flexibility when the time is right. As you will learn from the teacher’s lesson plans, which you must follow and prioritize, they put a lot of thought into the activities they assign. They can show how the strategy ties into the goals and objectives set for each learning experience. 

Best practices for implementing teaching strategies include studying and understanding all options. Doing so helps you match student needs to strategy. Other tips include: 

• Make sure all students understand the assignment. 

• Prepare for distractions by learning strategies for getting students back on track. 

• Ensure the strategy fits within the timeframe allowed. 

• Make sure the students have access to the resources they will need. 

• Stay up to date with the latest strategy trends. 

• Determine how you will monitor student progress. 

• Give feedback to students. 

Substitute teachers are encouraged to continue their professional development to learn more about instructional strategies. Finally, they should reach out to fellow teachers for support, advice, and mentorship. 

Substitute teach with Kelly Education.

Substitute teaching can be fun and rewarding for both you and your students. Effective instructional strategies enhance the classroom experience. They are engaging, flexible, and creative while allowing you to manage the classroom environment properly. Most importantly, they will enable you to help students progress in their learning. 

If you are looking for flexible, rewarding work, fill out our brief interest form and one of our Kelly Education recruiters will contact you. We’ll answer your questions and share more about opportunities to become a sub teacher with one of our school district partners.