What this series asks
Do examples, diagrams, and questions necessarily make a teaching article more effective? “How to Write Teaching Articles” starts with practical decisions and examines research comparisons, limits, and possible writing choices. It covers instructional design.
The series runs from order 0 to 29. This introduction is the entry point; articles 1–28 examine writing decisions, and article 29 uses this site's writing and review pipeline as a case study. The numbers provide navigation, rather than a qualification or assessment of the reader's skills.
Choose an entry point
| Range | Your question | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | How should I explain examples, diagrams, code, and terminology? | Examples and openings |
| 5–7 | Where should video go, and should figures be interactive? | Video in teaching articles |
| 8–11 | What should readers do, and how much guidance should I give? | Do readers answer embedded questions? |
| 12–15 | How do prior knowledge, misconceptions, interest, and judgments of understanding matter? | Prior knowledge and reader level |
| 16–19 | How should review, sequence, and continued reading work? | Series order |
| 20–24 | What about peers, comments, teaching others, accessibility, and bilingual reading? | Learning alone or together |
| 25–28 | How do I assess results, explain existing courses, and use AI? | Reader signals versus learning |
| 29 | How do writing, checking, translation, and automated checks connect? | This site's writing and review pipeline |
Read the comparisons, not just the conclusion
Ask who did what, what the comparison group did, and whether the study measured understanding, memory, task performance, or preference. Operating a simulation and clicking to reveal an answer can both be called interaction while involving different activities. Test scores and reader ratings also measure different things.
Each article's references lead back to the research; its appendix records designs and numbers. Writing suggestions need their own conditions: a classroom finding may not apply directly to someone reading selected sections alone. When sources point in different directions, inspect their comparisons and limitations before deciding what to change.
Use one draft as your working example
Write one sentence stating what readers should be able to do afterward. Pick the most relevant article above and change one concrete element, such as replacing an abstract explanation with a traceable example or asking a question before revealing the answer.
Then ask a reader at the intended level to attempt your task and record where they get stuck. Readability feedback helps improve presentation; evidence of learning also requires an explanation, an answer, or successful task performance. These are suggested steps for using this series, rather than a completed effectiveness experiment on this site.
Update history
- 2026-10-15: Replaced an unrelated security-course outline with navigation matching the existing teaching-writing series.
References
- Examples and openings in teaching articles: research on worked examples, self-explanation, and learning objectives.
- Reader signals versus learning: distinctions between self-assessment, preferences, and learning measures.
- AI-written materials and AI tutors: conditions and limitations in AI education research.