Top 10 Research-Based Teaching Strategies for Boosting Students’ Achievement
Mohamed Ramadan 
Educators are constantly searching for effective ways to improve learning outcomes and increase student engagement. While educational trends may come and go, research-based teaching strategies consistently deliver measurable results in classrooms around the world.
In this article, we explore the top 10 research-based teaching strategies for boosting students’ achievement, summarized from Eric Jensen’s Top 10 Achievement Boosters.
These evidence-backed approaches have high effect sizes and are practical enough to implement immediately—whether you teach young learners, teens, or adults.
Student success is never accidental. It is the result of intentional planning, reflective teaching, and the strategic use of methods proven to work. Let’s explore the most powerful research-based teaching strategies that can significantly improve student achievement.
1. Foster a Growth Mindset
Students’ beliefs about their abilities directly impact performance. Learners with a growth mindset believe intelligence can be developed through effort and persistence. Teachers can nurture this mindset by praising effort, normalizing mistakes, and setting achievable challenges. Research shows effect sizes as high as 1.44, making this one of the most impactful teaching strategies available.
2. Provide High-Quality Feedback
Effective feedback answers three essential questions:
Where am I going? Where am I now? How do I improve?
With effect sizes between 0.75 and 0.90, feedback should be timely, specific, and focused on progress rather than personal traits. High-quality feedback empowers students to self-correct and take ownership of their learning.
3. Build Positive Teacher–Student Relationships
Strong relationships form the foundation of effective learning environments. When students feel valued and supported, motivation increases. Research indicates an effect size of 0.72 when teachers intentionally foster trust, cooperation, and classroom community.
4. Make Learning Relevant
Students are far more engaged when they understand why they are learning something. Connecting lessons to real-life applications, student interests, and future goals produces effect sizes above 0.90. Relevance is a key element of successful research-based teaching strategies.
5. Teach Learning Strategies Explicitly
Instead of focusing only on content, teach students how to learn. Strategies such as goal setting, self-monitoring, summarizing, and reflection build metacognitive skills with effect sizes around 0.69. These skills transfer across subjects and last a lifetime.
6. Use Scaffolded Instruction
Scaffolding provides temporary support that allows students to perform just beyond their current level. Modelling, guided practice, prompts, and gradual release of responsibility result in an effect size of 0.82, ensuring learners progress with confidence.
7. Space and Interleave Practice
Distributed practice is far more effective than cramming. Spacing learning over time improves retention (ES 0.71), while interleaving related skills enhances conceptual understanding. This strategy is especially effective for language learning and exam preparation.
8. Increase Student Engagement
Active learning boosts achievement. Discussions, cooperative tasks, movement, games, and project-based learning promote deeper engagement. Research links meaningful engagement to improved academic outcomes and student wellbeing.
9. Use Multiple Representations
Encouraging students to interact with content through writing, drawing, summarizing, or gestures significantly improves retention. Studies show effect sizes approaching 1.0, making this one of the most powerful research-based teaching strategies.
10. Make Learning Connections Explicit
Students often fail to see how daily tasks connect to long-term goals. Explicitly linking activities to outcomes, assessments, and real-world applications can produce effect sizes up to 1.3. Clear connections strengthen motivation and persistence.
Conclusion
Implementing even a few of these research-based teaching strategies can dramatically improve student achievement, engagement, and confidence. While no single strategy guarantees success, consistently applying evidence-backed methods creates classrooms where learners thrive.
Teaching is complex, but grounding instructional decisions in research allows educators to maximize their impact—despite time constraints and classroom challenges.
A Basic Guide Addressing Key Aspects of TEYL
Teaching English to Young Learners—A Basic Guide to EFL Teachers & Parents is what I wish I could have owned when I first taught young learners and my children.
It consists of 14 chapters. They include invaluable knowledge and practical tips and address key aspects of TEYL, from characteristics of young learners to teaching different language skills and aspects.
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