There are many different instructional design techniques available today, and as such it is can be difficult to determine which one is best for the content you are presenting.

No matter the context for your content there are a handful of techniques you can use to maximize its effectiveness. Below are 26 techniques, as originally detailed by Mia MacMeekin. You can leverage these to enhance your content.

26 Techniques For Guiding Learning

1. Connect – Help your learners connect the dots between the objectives and content.
2. Begin – Start with basic information in your courses.
3. Build – Build upon the basic information with more complex details.
4. Provide – Give the students with the tools to connect the dots.
5. Establish – Establish context for the material.
6. Scaffold – Ask questions so students can think about the material differently.
7. Group – Group the students to better monitor the learning.
8. Display – Present the steps to solving the problem and let learners add or subtract steps.
9. Time – Give learns ample time to understand the material and ask questions.
10. Demonstrate – Ask each learner to frequently demonstrate their understanding.
11. Interview – Have the students interview each other and explain all the details.
12. Draw – Have students draw out what they know from the material.
13. Prove it – Encourage students to validate their hypotheses and idea.
14. Communicate – Discus the material in a variety of ways.
15. Guide – Guide the student towards an acceptable answer.
16. Don’t Skip – Be thorough in guidance and make sure the learner progresses naturally.
17. Allow – Allow for different depths of understanding between students.
18. Watch – Monitor the learners carefully. Watch them work and provide guidance.
19. Give – Give plenty of time to struggle and understand. Don’t just give the answer.
20. Connect – Ask complex questions to connect the various main points.
21. Throw – Throw in a problem to solve and see if learners know how to solve it.
22. Free – Implement a free thinking board and let learners add questions or ideas.
23. Sticky – Ask students to add sticky notes to a board regarding the material.
24. Invite – At the end of the lesson, invite someone into the class and have the students explain the concept to them.
25. Hint – Give hints to the material.
26. Red Light – Use red and green paper for students to wave to slow down training if it is a live training session.