Practicing retrieving information from memory (rather than reviewing notes) can help students to learn and retain material. Writing or problem-solving practice can be particularly effective.

• Ask students to take a few minutes at the end of class to identify the most important concept discussed that session. Provide some followup -either quickly responding before class ends, posting feedback on the course website, or revisiting students' responses at the beginning of the next class.
• Ask students to annotate the course syllabus to highlight key concepts and skills.

Attempting to predict the answer to a conceptual question, even if the prediction is wrong, can increase knowledge retention. Prediction helps students to identify connections, diagnose knowledge gaps, recognize key points, and spark curiosity. Prediction works best when instructors provide prompt feedback and opportunities for students to reflect on both correct and incorrect predictions. 

• Give ungraded pretests and then review the answers with students.
• Start the day with a list of four questions about the day's topic and asks for predictions. Add some retrieval practice by ending the day with the same questions.
• Use clicker technology to anonymously ask for predictions.
• At the end of class, ask students to predict answers to questions that will be explored in the
  homework. (Some textbook include a list of questions at the beginning of each chapter.)

Interleaving involves spacing out learning sessions and mixing up practice of various skills. Spaced out (distributed) practice can lead to better long-term learning than blocked (massed) practice. 
Practicing different skills helps students to recognize when to deploy each skill. 

• Begin each class with a previous test question or a potential test question.

• Start each session by asking students to summarize the main points from the previous session. This also provides some good retrieval practice.

• Introduce topics at the end of a class and then discuss them the following session. Students will encounter the topic during two classes with a break in between.

Novices have disconnected understandings of course concepts, which can allow contradictory notions to coexist. Connecting information in new ways helps build the complex connections typical of experts.

• Ask students to brainstorm everything they (think they) know about a subject. The instructor can then lead a class discussion that helps to ensure that accurate information is activated. 
• Provide students with the framework of a lecture (hierarchies; outlines; key concepts) by posting it online, writing it on the board, or handing it out at the beginning of class. 
• Ask students to work in groups to draw concept map (mind maps) in response to a focus question, such as "what are the consequences of __ ." 
• Ask students to do a "minute thesis": Write a list of course concepts/themes/texts/problem types . Ask a student to draw a line between two items, and then give the whole class a minute to write a thesis about how those two items connect. This works well as a semester or unit review activity. 
• Ask students to keep Connection Notebooks. Provide prompts that requires students to connect key course themes with knowledge from their daily lives: 

  • Write down the main takeaway from today's session. Why does it matter to you or to society?

  • How does today's session connect with last week's session?

  • Identify one connection between today's class and a concept you've encountered in a previous class.

Rote learning (such as memorizing the times table) can enable more advanced work, and is often practiced outside of class. Mindful practice of more complex skills benefits from the guidance of an instructor, who can intervene to prevent the development of bad habits.

• Force yourself to list all of the cognitive tasks required by your assessments, and provide practice opportunities (with feedback) for at least those which most affect the grade.

Self-explanation can support mindful learning by requiring students to think through every single step (both what and why) in a task, including those which might be unarticulated in examples. In order to avoid overtaxing working memory, novices might be asked to select reasons from a list whereas more skilled students can be ask to generate their own self-explanations. This can work well in office hours.

• Ask students to pause to identify the principle that will guide their next step from a list. Asking students to come up with the principle in addition to working through a process may be too demanding on the working memory.

• Ask students to annotate parts of their work to respond to the question, "Why are you doing that?".

• Peer instruction was popularized by Harvard physicist Eric Mazur, but can work in any discipline. The instructor poses a question and ask students to respond to it via clickers or a similar technology. Then, have students turn to a neighbor and explain their rationale. Ask students resubmit their answers. The class discusses the responses and the instructor provides feedback.

• Ask students to "Think Aloud" as they work through a process. For example, a nursing student could explain the questions, ideas, and information being considered during rounds.

Activating curiosity and purpose in students can help motivate them to learn.

• Articulate the skills students will get out of lectures, assignments, and other class activities not only in terms of success in the class, but in terms of their future endeavors. Put this information at the top of the assignment or on the board before a lecture.
• Get to class early and, over the course of the semester, make an effort to chat with every student in the class, not just those in the front rows.
• Get to class early and put up an image, a headline, an audio clip, or a compelling sentence. Ask students, "What do you notice? What do you wonder?".

Praising ability rather than effort can affect not only student motivation, but also performance.

• Promote a growth-mindset by providing low-stakes formative assessments (such as quizzes) earlier in a sequence. These allow students opportunities to practice and risk failure before the high-stakes assessment.
• Offer success strategies (including study habits and approaches to assignments) that emphasize planning and hard work (rather than ability) as crucial to success in your course.
• Opt for growth-language feedback that values hard work, perseverance, and effort such as "You worked hard at this and it shows" instead of ability-based feedback such as "You are a really great writer!"