10 Key Policies and Practices for All Schools

With Strong Evidence of Effectiveness From High-Quality Research

MCPER has distilled the latest research findings for various content areas into top 10 lists, which describe the most important practices and policies, according to high-quality research, that should be in place in every school.

A Note About Online Learning

Due to COVID-19, teaching may take place partially or completely online. Limited research exists to support what strategies are most effective when engaging in virtual teaching, and we now have an excellent opportunity to study the efficacy of various online approaches. Research does support some key points that can be used to guide us toward more effective online teaching and learning.

• Students learn better if students and teachers interact. This is called synchronous learning. Asynchronous learning is often logistically necessary and involves students working on their own and communicating on occasion via email, text, or some other approach. Synchronous learning with students and teacher interacting at the same time has the best outcomes.
• Individual students need ongoing and frequent feedback and support from the teacher.
• Students need opportunities and encouragement to establish relationships with teachers and with other students while they are participating in online learning.
• Activities to solve meaningful problems and encourage creativity, gaming, and virtual simulations increase student engagement and understanding.
• Students benefit from access and engagement with supplemental materials and resources that reinforce the synchronous online learning.