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Improvising On Teaching Methods – Do Not Hesitate To Be Innovative And Creative

June 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan. 

Image via Wikipedia

Internet and technological advances have help teachers improve teaching methods by going beyond the traditional options. Well, if you are going to assess new teaching options, you might as well think big and be innovative in your approach.

Using group discussions to create a participative atmosphere in the classroom is a very good option. However, why stop there? Why don’t you organize a class visit to a museum or a place of cultural importance? You can encourage the kids to form groups and go through each and every attraction in detail. You can spend an entire day at the museum and then come back to have discussion on all the things that students observe.

You can slyly slip in the important information related to your curriculum in the discussion and ensure that children arrive at these points on their own instead of being spoon fed by you. You can make use of technology to record the group discussions so that students can review it and assimilate the finer and important points whenever they want.

You can also ask students to prepare presentations that will be exchanged with other classes for may even be put up on the college or school intranet site. Not only will this help the children learn more, it will create a sense of pride and enthusiasm that otherwise may not be present in your classroom.

This is just one of the many options that you can explore to improve your teaching methods. Not all methods should provide the same results. However, experimenting will help you strike the right balance between traditional methods and new solutions without any difficulty.

 

 

 

 

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Effective Teaching Methods

March 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A success of a student depends on an effective teaching technique. There are many methods used to impart education. A single method or a combination of methods can be used depending on the absorbing and grasping power of the student.
One of the training methods used extensively is questioning and testing in which after covering some part of the syllabus, students are subjected to questioning in the classrooms or through tests. This helps the teacher to gauge the understanding level of the students.

Another method is lecturing wherein a syllabus is explained in the classroom and any clarifications, doubts, queries at any point of time is cleared instantly. Lecturing also gives rise to discussions and debates sessions.

Brainstorming is another effective teaching method where the students are given time, to come up with ideas or made to think out of the box. It sparks off a chain of ideas in many students which stimulates healthy discussions. Such sessions lead to creativity and innovativeness in a child. It provides opportunity for everybody to participate.

Other methods are demonstration which could be via visual-audio aids like projectors, computers, cassettes etc. Students can also be shown experiments in a science laboratory which a student can relate to in a much better way. This is also an entertaining way of teaching students.

Case studies, scenarios, activity, role plays are other effective ways of teaching. A student develops analytical and problem solving skills, understands team play in a better manner. Since students’ works in a team, there is scope for developing leadership skills, presentation skills and stimulates discussions. There is also a possibility of arriving at some solutions. It requires involvement of every student present, thus shedding inhibitions of many.

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Which Teaching Method Does Your Child Like? A Very Important Question

March 12, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have you ever tried to identify the teaching method that your child responds to best? Are you of the opinion that analysis of various teaching methods is something that teachers should worry about? Well, every classroom, even the best, will never have just one student.

When a teacher is giving instructions to numerous students at once, there always is a possibility that the one size fits all approach may not work for some. If a majority of the students are comfortable with a professional lecture, then your child to will have to get used to the method irrespective of whether he or she likes it or not. If you do not know which teaching method your child prefers, you obviously will not be the position to help him or her study better.

Contact the teacher and seek his or her advice. Teachers may be required to handle multiple students at once but they certainly are in a position to grasp which student is doing well and which student is not. If the teacher is not pleased with your child’s performance during lectures, you may consider going in for an alternative method.

Some are very comfortable when an expert teaches them. Others prefer being given a firm base and freedom to explore the topic on their own. Others enjoy learning only when it seems cool and different.

Rather than criticizing your child for not being good at adapting to specific teaching methods, you should try to encourage him or her to find the right balance. By focusing on teaching methods, you would be shifting emphasis on the educational system.

The fact that there is at least one person who admits that the system may be flawed will help your child work harder. It will act as a positive encouragement and may make all the difference in the long run.

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Teaching Methods Experiments– Some Useful Tips To Retain Student Confidence

March 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It is one thing to experiment with teaching methods to keep your students interested. However, it is a completely different thing to include experimentation in your teaching schedule so often that your students end up feeling confused.

When you are experimenting with teaching methods, try to avoid changes within a specified topic or subject in the curriculum. If you have begun a set of instructions using one method, try to continue and finish it off in the same method. Some teachers tend to change the method not because the students are uncomfortable but because they underestimated the level of preparation required.

Brainstorming sessions may seem very cool but can take a lot of time with very little progress to show. Students may take a lot of time in the initial phase and make quickly grasp the finer points once they get firm control over the basic points. Hence, patience is important when you are using a slightly different teaching method.

If you are going in for experiments, you should be prepared to repeat the instructions using the old strategy or method to ensure your students do not get confused. Stability in instructions and a sense of control is very important for students to feel confident. Most youngsters tend to work on confidence. Once they feel that a particular topic is very difficult, they stop concentrating and this only leads to further complications.

If you want to simplify the process of experimentation, you can get in touch with other teachers on the internet and find out their experience regarding specific topics taught through specific teaching strategies.

If you get negative feedback from bulk of your online contacts, you may consider going in for a slightly safer but more effective option. The worst part is that you cannot fail in your experiments in front of students as they may lose confidence in your teaching abilities.

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Making Videos To Make Teaching Fun And Interesting – Here Are Some Tips

March 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Learning from educational videos will not be a difficult task for a teenager who checks out more than a dozen You Tube videos on a daily basis. Social networking, video sharing and other such websites involve a lot of video exchanges. Hence, you can get your try experimenting with video teaching methods to get your message across to students. What factors should you consider when you are making videos to facilitate better teaching?

Never make the mistake of trying to replace your instructions with that of the video. At the end of the day, you are the teacher and the video is merely going to provide assistance. Try to use aids and tools in your video which you cannot use in the classroom in real life.

From online resources to your own homemade examples – you can rely on various teaching aids as long as it helps you send the message across. Keep your video interesting and witty. You need not tell jokes to make your student comfortable but you certainly should try to connect with them differently.

You may feel uncomfortable when talking to a machine instead of your students when you are preparing the video. Just try to visualize yourself standing in front of your classroom and that should help you get the flow. Do not try to get it right at first. Try to anticipate questions that your students would ask and provide answers as a part of your video. This will help you connect with your students better.

Tell your students that it is perfectly acceptable to be dissatisfied with the experiment. Do not be unnecessary defensive about your attempt to change the teaching method. The students should feel comfortable enough to tell you about the flaws in the video. The last thing you want is for your teaching methods to be criticized by parents simply because students were not brave enough to talk in front of you.

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Teaching Methods: Panel of Experts

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Using a Panel of Experts as a teaching method helps keep the attention of the students, and offers different opinions and perspectives, this promotes good healthy discussion. This method of teaching can be applied to many different topics of study. In a political science class for example, a panel of experts could include an attorney, a judge, a congressman, a senator, and a citizen. When given the topic of Constitutional law, they could each provide different perspectives and input simply because of their personal experience in the community.

The best Expert Panels create discussion afterwards and allow for a question and answer session. This allows the students to question each panel member on their positions and why they have them.  It encourages critical thinking and the application of their logic.

Another application of the panel of experts teaching method is to have the expert panel positions filled by students that are role playing the positions.  This requires preparation ahead of time so that the students can study about the issue and the position that they want to take based upon the teachers assignments given out ahead of time. In this situation, the students become the teachers, because they have prepared to be the experts.  The rest of the classmates that are not on the panel can assume the position of news reporters and other media personnel and can fire questions at the panel members to make sure that there is a quality learning experience. This also is very helpful because it helps the students feel like they take ownership in the discussion and panel of experts, so they retain the information better, and are more intently involved.

Applying the teaching method of a panel of experts is a great way to involve students in the discussion as well as bring in experts within the field of the topic being discussed to enrich the educational experience of the students.

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Teaching Methods: Direct Teaching

February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Direct teaching is a great method for when there is one right answer, or is relatively simple. The teacher has control over the classroom, manages the topics, and the time allotted for each section of the curriculum being presented.  Generally, there is a lecture and then the teacher guides the students through a problem, breaking it down in smaller simple steps, working through them with the students until at the end, the students are given their own problems to work through.  Usually, this is a teaching method that mathematicians use, but it can be applied in many different ways.

Many teachers find that they can more effectively monitor their students physically.  They are generally sitting in their seats, and not wandering around the room.  It is easy to see if they are listening attentively or simply not listening at all.

It is important to keep some things in mind when using this teaching method:

•    Plan your lessons with specific amounts of time allotted for each section and make sure that your students are aware of your agenda so that they can plan for the direction that you are going to take, as well as the time that they are allowed to focus on it.

•    Make sure to use visuals and other forms of enhancement to your lessons.  There are many students that are visual learners rather then just auditory, so it is important to think about the different learning styles your students have.

•    Be sure to involve the students by asking them questions, and as they answer, use their response as part of the lesson so that the entire class becomes involved and feel like they are adding to the lesson.

•    Summarize what you have taught at the end of the lesson, highlighting the important aspects during a review at the end to help the important points to be retained by your students.

When there is a simple answer, or only one correct one, Direct Teaching is a great teaching method to help your students retain what you have taught them.

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Teaching Methods: Brainstorming

February 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A great teaching method that can encourage the entire class to participate is the use of brainstorming.  Brainstorming can help students work together to expand their knowledge about a particular topic, or come up with many different ideas about what they can write about or even activities that they can do.  There are a few things to keep in mind when using brainstorming as a teaching method to create class involvement.

1.    There are no wrong answers

Students will feel much more confident about sharing their thoughts and ideas if all information shared is acceptable for the project. It encourages other students to contribute that may not have normally. As each student adds their thoughts, it will spark more and more ideas from others as they ponder about what has been presented previously.

2.    Set a time limit

The best brainstorming sessions are created when there is a time limit.  This helps get the mind churning as quickly as possible to come up with as many ideas as possible. It also will help those who are participating feel encouraged to help their fellow classmates come up with many ideas before the deadline passes.  When there is not a time limit, the brainstorming can die down and lose the momentum it needs to keep everyone’s attention.

3.    Be Prepared to Have Some Stimulating Ideas for the Group

Have some great ideas to get everyone else involved.  If you start off with something intriguing, creative, or unexpected, it can help pull the entire class into the activity, and they are able to pull from their own knowledge and life experiences having had a foundation to work from.

When a class is struggling to use the principles involved in teamwork, you can help jumpstart the process by using brainstorming as a teaching method. Not only will they begin to work together towards a common goal, they will help each other expand their minds and create an enthusiastic atmosphere.

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Teaching Methods: Role Playing

February 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Role Playing is an effect teaching method.  It is like a rehearsal of the actual application of what is being learned.  You can compare it to a dress rehearsal.  It helps the students to be able to become comfortable with the material enough to be able to share it in an expressive way.

Psychologist Jean Piaget stated that there are two ways that we learn. These two modes of learning are assimilation and accommodation. When students use assimilation, they are simply filling in a mental gap.  Rote memorization is a good example of this.  If you were counting one, two, three, four you would know that the next number is five; this is because you have learned through rote memory to count at least that high. When students apply accommodation learning mode, they are actually changing their mental map, they are extending it and altering it to fit a new perspective.  Role playing encourages this form of learning. Most curriculums focus a great deal on assimilation more than accommodation.

At a professional level, a great example of role playing would be the use of a flight simulator for pilots.  The future pilot first becomes familiar with the process through the act of experiencing to some degree what he will experience when he gets into a real plane.  The same tactic is used in business for phone sales and other forms of marketing.  Trainees test out their strategies on their fellow co-workers.

Role playing is a great teaching method that can help students expand their use of accommodation as well as prepare them for real life experiences within the workforce. If you want to expand young minds, Role Playing is a great way to challenge your students to think outside the box, expand their minds and look at things from a different and new perspective.

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Teaching Methods: Cooperative Learning

February 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Cooperative Learning is a teaching method in which the students are divided into small groups. The group members are of all different levels of ability. Each member helps the other members to learn the material and they cultivate an atmosphere of achievement through working together.

The benefits of Cooperative Learning are:

•    An increase in self-esteem.
•    Improved social skills.
•    Improved communication skills.
•    Improved student achievement.
•    Better relationships with fellow classmates.

Cooperative Learning also allows for the entire group to work together to set goals, but at the same time still focus on individual accountability as well. If a member of the group does not participate as they should, they are accountable to the entire group.  It is a positive way of using peer-pressure. As individual students improve on their test scores, no matter what their ability is, it increases the effectiveness of the group. When a student that has more difficulty is able to improve their test score from a 65% to a 75%, they have made just as much progress as a student that goes from having an 85% to a 95%.  They both made effort and have improved from where they were when they first started working together.

It is really important that a group that starts on a project or assignment remain together until that assignment is completed.  Changing the group can really affect the synergy and cause the progress made to decline. Additionally, it is important to arrange the members in the group in a way that they are able to see each other face to face. This way they can make eye contact with each other which encourages the growth of an atmosphere of trust and unity.

Cooperative Learning is one of many possible methods that can be used within the classroom. Many teachers say that it is really effective.

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