Methods and Strategies for Teaching

            There are many methods and strategies that teachers can use when educating.  The more methods and strategies that a teacher know, the more the students will learn because all students do not learn the same. There are six main method and strategies that will be discussed.  These methods and strategies are brainstorming, cooperative learning, discussion, hands-on-learning, peer tutoring, and simulating games. 

          The first method and strategy that will be discussed is brainstorming.  Brainstorming is a process for developing creative solutions to problems. It works by focusing on a problem, and then deliberately coming up with as many solutions as possible and by pushing the ideas as far as possible. One of the reasons it is so effective is that the barnstormers not only come up with new ideas in a session, but also spark off from associations with other people's ideas by developing and refining them (Brainstorming).  It can be a very useful technique to help generate ideas for projects, encourage shy or reluctant teachers or solve problems .  It can be used to help define what project or problem to work on, to diagnose problems , remediate a project by coming up with possible solutions and to identify possible resistance to proposed solutions.

            The second method and strategy that will be discussed is cooperative learning.  Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals. Within cooperative activities individuals seek outcomes that are beneficial to themselves and beneficial to all other group members. Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning. The idea is simple. Class members are organized into small groups after receiving instruction from the teacher. They then work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it. Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members gain from each other's efforts, recognizing that all group members share a common fate, knowing that one's performance is mutually caused by oneself and one's colleagues, and feeling proud and jointly celebrating when a group member is recognized for achievement (Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Holubec, E. J., 2003). 

            The third method that will be discussed is discussion.  Classroom discussion can be a very powerful tool for student and teacher learning. But teachers need to plan discussions carefully to be sure that goals are met and students interact effectively.

            Good discussions start with advance planning. Students know the ground rules for participation and respect each other’s contributions. Teachers guide students from comprehension and review questions to complex and critical thinking. They keep records of the discussion so that all participants can return to the topics. And, accomplished teachers allow for “wait time“ so that students have time to formulate their answers. 

            The purpose of classroom discussion is to enable the teacher to pull the content dictated by the curriculum out of the class by imposing a limited discussion-like format. Most everyone who has been in the American school system has experienced hour upon hour of these pseudo-discussions. In classroom discussion, the questions the "successful" student asks are the questions he knows follow the direction the teacher wants to take.

            The next method and strategy that will be discussed which is the fourth method is hands on learning.  Hands-on learning provides learning by doing--helping a student to acquire knowledge and skills outside of books and lectures. Learning can occur through work, play and other life experiences.   Many teachers include plenty of hands-on learning experiences, especially in science and math, to ensure student understanding of new and unfamiliar concepts. Hands-on learning can also be used to drive assessment so that teachers can measure both factual knowledge and comprehension.  Hands-on learning involves the child in a total learning experience which enhances the child's ability to think critically. The child must plan a process to test a hypothesis, put the process into motion using various hands-on materials, see the process to completion, and then be able to explain the attained results.  Hands-on learning is not just a fad because it enables students to become critical thinkers, able to apply not only what they have learned, but more importantly, the process of learning, to various life situations. Teachers who embrace hands-on learning in any subject seem to recognize certain desirable outcomes and endorse student-centered instructional approaches. Research has confirmed many of the seemingly intuitive benefits of hands-on learning and has also documented a variety of unanticipated benefits. 

            There are a many benefits that teachers and curriculum developers adduce to hands-on learning to justify the approach in any subject. Benefits for students are believed to include increased learning; increased motivation to learn; increased enjoyment of learning; increased skill proficiency, including communication skills; increased independent thinking and decision making based on direct evidence and experiences; and increased perception and creativity. Research supports many of these claims by providing evidence that the learning of various skills, science content, and mathematics are enhanced through hands-on science programs (Flick, L. B, 2004).  Students in activity-based programs have exhibited increases in creativity, positive attitudes toward science, perception, logic development, communication skills, and reading readiness. These benefits seem more than sufficient justification for promoting hands-on learning.

             Many teachers feel that they do not have enough time in the school day to work one-on-one with every student.  Peer Tutoring is a way for all students to get one-on-one help and enough time to practice and learn. It is the process by which a pupil, with guidance from a teacher, helps one or more students at the same grade level learn a skill or concept.  When using peer tutoring, every student in the class is paired with another.  Many benefits for both partners have been shown in peer tutoring programs: learning of academic skills, development of appropriate social skills, and enhancement of peer relations. Peer tutoring programs can help students who have equal but different expertise or students who have more skills or ability and who teach others who are less skilled. Peer Tutoring is helpful to students in reading, spelling, math, and writing. It is used in all grade levels from preschool to high school, and in both regular and special education classrooms. But most of the studies have been done in elementary school. 

            Peer tutoring helps teacher make sure that students have someone to sit next to them and personally explain the work in a way that is just right for them.  It also gives them more opportunities to talk about what they are learning.  It also give them more opportunities to ask questions when the students are confused, without fear of being embarrassed in front of the whole class. 

            The sixth method that will be discussed is simulation and games/technology.  A classroom should be a place of fun as well as instruction. Student motivation can increase with the use of games to reinforce skills and concepts learned. While the games shown in these videos are not simulations in the strict sense of the word, they show the value of using games in the classroom.  Most teachers use games to reinforce skills taught to a large group. They also use carefully chosen games to assess mastery of skills or content. Games also have value for teaching and reinforcing social skills, and for deepening discourse about topics.

            When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast (Auxter, D., Pyfer, J., & Huettig, C.,2005).  The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and evaluating their progress.

            The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information, but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project goals and providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to student or group to group, providing suggestions and support for student activity. As students work on their technology-supported products, the teacher rotates through the room, looking over shoulders, asking about the reasons for various design choices, and suggesting resources that might be used.

Project-based work and cooperative learning approaches prompt this change in roles, whether technology is used or not. However, tool uses of technology are highly compatible with this new teacher role, since they stimulate so much active mental work on the part of students. Moreover, when the venue for work is technology, the teacher often finds him or herself joined by many peer coaches--students who are technology savvy and eager to share their knowledge with others.

 In conclusion, teachers are providing opportunities for students to be successful when they have high expectations of their students. Teachers can also incorporate hands-on activities to get the students more involved and interested in the lesson as a means of motivation for them to learn. Teachers should implement a combination of the various level of Bloom’s Taxonomy in each lesson. 

Reference:

            Auxter, D., Pyfer, J., & Huettig, C. (2005). Principles and Methods of teaching.       Boston: McGraw-Hill.

            Clark, D (March 2008), Brainstorming.  Retrieved November 1, 2008 from             http://www.skagitwatershed.org/~donclark/perform/brainstorm.html

            Flick, L. B. (2004, Winter). The meanings of hands-on science. Journal of Science   Teacher Education, 4(1), 1-8.

            Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Holubec, E. J. (2003). Cooperation in the Classroom 6th ed.  Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Ormrod, J. E. (2006). Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill-Prentice Hall.