For effective teaching to take place, an appropriate teaching method must be employed. A teacher may develop lesson plans or use lesson plans that have been developed by other teachers. When deciding the teaching methods to use, a teacher considers the students' background knowledge, environment, and learning goals. Students have different ways of absorbing information and of demonstrating their knowledge. Teachers often use techniques which cater to multiple learning styles to help students retain information and strengthen understanding. A variety of strategies and methods are used to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to learn. A lesson plan may be carried out in several ways: Questioning, explaining, modeling, collaborating, and demonstrating.
A teaching method that includes questioning is similar to testing. A teacher may ask a series of questions to collect information of what students have learned and what needs to be taught. Testing is another application of questioning. A teacher tests the student on what was previously taught in order to determine whether a student has learned the material. Standardized testing is often used (e.g., Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), Proficiency Test, College entrance Tests (ACT and SAT).