While lecturing has the tendency to be the most comfortable form of teaching, studies show that students soak up the least amount of knowledge that way. Interactive teaching methods are an effective way to connect. Here are some five opinions from education Professor Kevin Yee on how teachers can make their lessons more interactive;
Complete Physical Response (TPR): Research shows that when physical activity is included in classroom activities, students can keep more information. Students can be made to stand up and move to one side of the classroom to show their responses to a question for opinion-based answers. Students can see the different/disagreeing opinions/points of view of their mates, which then can lead to debate and discussion.
One Word Technique : If it seems a lecture is the only way to discuss a topic, teachers can inform students that at the end of the day’s lesson, they must write down a single word they believe best describes the lesson and add a short paragraph to explain why they think so. This will force active listening during class periods.
Opposite Arguments : Pair students who disagree with an answer to an opinion question. Have them debate, representing the side they at first believed to be wrong. Having students examine an opinion opposite to theirs forces them to think critically about arguments on both sides and leads to a wider understanding of the topic under discussion.
Test Tournament : Divide the class into at least two groups and declare a competition for points on a practice test. Administer a quiz after giving students a topic to study. Count and award points for each round and points should be carried over from round to round. Do same for the next set of subjects and the teacher will notice that the student’s sudden desire for competition will focus their engagement on the lessons themselves.
Puzzle Pieces : Classes can be divided into different teams, each with a separate goal to complete at a time. In the end, the teams can come back together and teach the other teams about the topic they researched on. Students learn themselves in this way.
The above methods are certain techniques teachers can adopt in their classrooms today with an assurance of receiving the expected results in learning.
Based on: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/06/06/ten-ideas-for-interactive-teaching/3/?all
