Showing posts with label Teaching Strategies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching Strategies. Show all posts
EFL Teaching Strategies
This document contains many EFL teaching strategies that prove to be highly effective. Try them out !!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12676364/Teaching%20Strategies.docx
استراتيجيات التعلم النشط
ماشي بن محمد الشمري
http://cutt.us/TtYd
طرق واستراتيجيات التدريس
يسعدنا أن نضع بين يديك تعريفا ووصفا لما شاع بين التربويين - الباحثين منهم والممارسين والأكاديميين - من مفاهيم ومصطلحات تربوية، في التربية , وسنقدم من خلاله المصطلح باللغة العربية، وما يقابله باللغة الإنجليزية.
طريقة Approach
المنهج أو الآلية أو الأسلوب الذي بموجه يتم معالجة الموقف التعليمي أو تقديم المادة التعليمية أو تناول المشكلة والبحث في حلولها.
طرائق التدريس Methodology
علم يختص بدراسة أساليب واستراتيجيات التدريس، ومدى قدرتها على إحداث الأثر التربوي والتعليمي المستهدف في الطالب. ليس هناك طريقة تدريس أفضل من غيرها. يختار المعلمون دائمـًا طريقة التدريس التي تناسب مقتضيات الموقف التعليمي ( context )، خصوصا ما يتعلق بطبيعة المتعلم وطبيعة المادة التعليمية.
طريقة الاستقصاء Inquiry Method
هي تلك العمليات الداخلية العقلية التي من خلالها يقوم الطالب بالبحث عن حل لمشكلة ما، يتم له ذلك من خلال ملاحظته للمشكلة وقيامه بصياغة حلول مبدئية لتلك المشكلة (أي وضع فروض) ، ومن ثم جمع وتحليل المعلومات المتعلقة بالمشكلة، ثم الوصول بأسلوب منظم إلى الأدلة والاستنتاجات المنطقية التي تؤيد الفروض المبدئية أو ترفضها، وأخيرًا تعميم ما يتم التوصل اليه من نتائج على كل المواقف المماثلة. يتم أحيانًا الإشارة إلى هذه الطريقة بسمى طريقة حل المشكلات ( Problem Solving Method ) .
طريقة الاكتشاف الموجه Discovery-Guided Approach
هو أسلوب تدريسي يمارس فيه المعلم درجة محدودة من السيطرة على الدرس، وذلك من خلال تنظيمه للنشاط التعليمي، فهو في الوقت الذي يقدم بعض المعلومات المحدودة لطلابه ويقود الحوار والمناقشة مع الطلاب تجده يتيح لطلابه فرصة العمل والممارسة والتفكير ليكتشفوا الحقائق والمفاهيم بأنفسهم. إنه أسلوب تدريس وسطي بين أسلوب الاكتشاف المتمحور حول الطالب وأسلوب الطريقة الموجهة المتمحور حول المعلم.
طريقة الإلقاء Guided Approach
أسلوب تدريسي تتمحور فيه العملية التدريسية حول المعلم وليس الطالب . في هذا الأسلوب التدريسي يكون المعلم في مركز عملية التعلم ليقدم للطلاب كل المعلومات وكل التوجيهات، في حين يقتصر دور الطلاب غالبـًا على التلقي. طريقة الإلقاء هي خلاف الطريقة الاستكشافية\، وفي الطريقة الأخيرة يكون الطالب أكثر نشاطـًا ومشاركة في تعلمه، ولا يتدخل المعلم في تعلم الطالب إلا عند الضرورة .
طريقةالتدريس Instructional Method
مخطط تدريسي عام يتم اشتقاقه وصياغته بدءًا من تحديد مجموعة من الأهداف، وانتهاء بالتقويم الذي يحدد مدى تحقق تلك الأهداف. طريقة التدريس هي وصف للأسلوب أو الاستراتيجية التي يستخدمها المعلم ليحقق أهداف الدرس. ومن طرائق التدريس المعروفة: التدريس المعزز بالحاسب، الإلقاء، الاكتشاف، عرض فيلم، مناقشة جماعية. وبشكل عام ، يختار المعلم أسلوب التدريس المناسب في ضوء القدرات التعليمية لطلابه، وطبيعة المحتوى المراد تدريسه(content) ، وطبيعة الموقف التعليمي (Context).
الطريقة السقراطية Socratic Method
أسلوب أو منهج تدريسي كان يتبعه الفيلسوف اليوناني سقراط، يستخدم المعلمون هذا الأسلوب وشعارهم الا يخبروا الطالب عن المفهوم الذي يراد له استيعابه، بل يقودونه إليه من خلال العديد من الأسئلة المنظمة.
الطريقة الصوتية Phonic Method
استراتيجية تدريسية لتدريس القراءة للمبتدئين من خلال إبراز العلاقة بين الصوت والحرف، تؤكد هذه الطريقة على إظهار الأصوات الأساسية (Phonemes ) في اللغة، وكيفية ربط هذه الأصوات بحروف الهجاء المناظرة لها. لقد أصبحت هذه الطريقة تمثل منطلقا لتدريس القراءة في بعض المدارس الأمريكية.
الطريقة الكلية Whole Language Method
هي فلسفة ومعتقدات في تدريس اللغة أكثر منها استراتيجية لتدريس القراءة للمبتدئين ، فكرة تعلم اللغة هنا تقوم على قيام الطالب بالبحث عن تكامل وترابط الكلمات مع السياق العام للقطعة، وتركز على فهم الكل بدلا من الجزء، وتركز أيضا على الطلاب وهم يقرأون ويتحدثون في مواقف حقيقية أكثر من التركيز على التمارين والاختبارات المقننة، الطريقة الكلية كانت شائعة في بعض المدارس إلى أن رأي بعض الخبراء في منتصف التسعينيات أنها السبب في تدني مهارات القراءة عند الطلاب، أسلوب الطريقة الكلية يؤكد استخلاص المعنى من الموقف والسياق العام للنص، ويتضمن هذا الأسلوب التدريسي البدء بقراءة الجملة كاملة قبل فحص الكلمات وصوت كل حرف. وهي خلاف الطريقة الصوتية ( Phonics method ) التي تربط بين الحروف والاصوات المقابله لها .
طريقة المحاضرة Lecturing Method
طريقة تدريس شائعة بين أعضاء هيئة التدريس. في هذه الطريقة يصرف عضو هيئة التدريس أو المعلم معظم وقت الدرس في تقديم المعلومات والحقائق والمفاهيم للطلاب، في حين يقتصر دور الطلاب غالبا على التلقي والاستماع . وفي مقابل هذه الطريقة هناك طرائق تدريس تتمحور حول الطالب، ويمارس فيها المتعلم دورا أكثر نشاطا وفاعلية ( طريقة الاكتشاف ، مثلا). معظم البحوث والدراسات التربوية توصي باستخدام طرائق تدريس يؤدي من خلالها الطالب دورا أكثر نشاطا ويمارس مهارات عليا من التفكير ( الطريقة البنائية- مثلا).
طريقة المشروع Project Method
منهج تدريسي تعليمي يؤكد على قيام الطلاب بتوظيف ما تعلموه من مهارات ومفاهيم لإنجاز مشروع أو عمل حقيقي مستمد من واقع بيئة الطالب وفق معايير يحددها المعلم .وحيث يتم أحيانا إسناد كل مشروع إلى مجموعة طلابية ، فإن هذه الطريقة تعزز مهارات التواصل والمهارات الإجتماعية بين الطلاب.
طريقة منتيسوري Montessori Method
هي إحدى طرق التربية والتعليم المستخدمة مع الأطفال في المرحلة العمرية منذ الميلاد وحتى ما قبل مرحلة التعليم الابتدائي، يعود الفضل في تأسيس هذه الطريقة إلى العالمة الإيطالية ماريا منتيسوري ( 1870-1952م). تعتمد هذه الطريقة أساسا على تنمية اهتمامات الطفل ومواهبه الفطرية من خلال التركيز على الأنشطة الحرة واللعب والمرح والممارسة اليدوية (hands-on activity). بحسب هذه الطريقة فإن دور المعلم هو توفير البيئة التعليمية الغنية بالخامات والمواد التدريسية الثرية، وإعطاء الطفل الفرصة ليتعامل بحرية مع تلك المواد ( Manipulate ) تحت إشراف المعلم وتوجيهه .
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is the act of defining a problem or idea and coming up anything related to the topic - no matter how remote a suggestion may sound. All of these ideas are recorded and evaluated only after the brainstorming is completed.
Procedure
- In a small or large group select a leader and a recorder (they may be the same person).
- Define the problem or idea to be brainstormed. Make sure everyone is clear on the topic being explored.
- Set up the rules for the session. They should include letting the leader have control:
* allowing everyone to contribute.
* ensuring that no one will insult, demean, or evaluate another participant or his/her response.
* stating that no answer is wrong.
* recording each answer unless it is a repeat.
* setting a time limit and stopping when that time is up.
- Start the brainstorming. Have the leader select members of the group to share their answers. The recorder should write down all responses, if possible so everyone can see them. Make sure not to evaluate or criticize any answers until done brainstorming.
- Once you have finished brainstorming, go through the results and begin evaluating the responses. Some initial qualities to look for when examining the responses include
* looking for any answers that are repeated or similar.
* grouping like concepts together.
* eliminating responses that definitely do not fit.
- Now that you have narrowed your list down some, discuss the remaining responses as a group.
Ways to Boost Creativity
The best news here is that creativity can be taught. In fact, you can boost your own creative capability just by practicing various forms of sideways thinking. Here are 10 "creativity boosters" that corporate creativity trainers teach their clients to help both individuals and work teams stretch their own imaginative powers:
1- Ask "what if" questions. (What if teachers got paid based on how well their students performed? What if executives got paid based on how well they understood the people who work for them? What if supervisors were elected?)
2- Daydream whenever you can. Just see what wild ideas you come up and jot them down on note cards. (And keep these cards in a file box of your wild ideas.)
3- Try your hand at cooking a meal creatively, without any recipes.
4- Do jigsaw and crossword puzzles.
5- Watch three-quarters of a movie on video, then turn off the VCR and imagine your own ending.
6- Interview people in your work group about some of the inventions they'd like to see happen.
7- Imagine changing places with someone in your office for a day -- what would you get to do differently?
8- Imagine that you've just won a month-long trip anywhere with the person of your dreams. But you have to choose the place in the next five minutes and leave tomorrow. Where will you go and why?
9- Go to or rent a foreign language film with a friend, one where neither of you knows the language nor are there subtitles. As you watch the film, share with each other what you think the main characters are probably saying, feeling and thinking, based just on their expressions and body language.
10- Eat a food you've never tasted for lunch or dinner today. Let the new taste sensations roll around on your tongue and try to imagine a "story" to go with them.
So what's the point of this? The point is to get you out of your accepted, expected and brain-dulling ways of experiencing the world. In order to succeed as grown-up leaders where we work, we must find ways to take ourselves back in time to a long-gone way of seeing and experiencing things afresh.
15 Common Mistakes in Using Cooperative Learning
Cooperative educational methods are frequently advocated due, in large part, to the extensive reasearch base supporting their effectiveness. However, they are just as frequently implemented without adequate planning. Here are some suggestions for improving learning within a cooperative framework:
1. Group size too large! It takes a lot of skill for students to manage a group of 4 or more. Instead, keep group size small: 2 or 3 is best. Smaller groups are more effective and take less time.
2. Not preparing students to work in cooperative groups. Explain to students why you are using cooperative learning, do a short cooperative learning activity, then have them explain how it can help them. Initially, do short get-acquainted and review activities.
3. Not teaching students appropriate interaction skills. Ask students to contribute to a class list of appropriate group behaviors. Examples: stay on task, contribute ideas, help others learn, encourage everyone to participate, listen with care, show respect for others. Display the list and remind students to use them. Add to the list as needed.
4. Letting students choose their own groups. We would all choose our friends to work with if given the choice. Friends often get off-task. Students need to develop positive working relationships with all class members. Randomly assign students to groups. Change groups often enough so no-one gets stuck for long periods with a difficult class member.
5. Not doing cooperative activities often enough for students to develop cooperative skills. Have students do something cooperative at each class session to reinforce positive cooperative habits. If nothing else, have them share what they learned with a partner.
6. Not planning cooperative lessons with care. Many teachers confuse group work with cooperative learning. They put students in groups, tell them to work together, and wonder why the groups aren't successful. But cooperative learning groups have five essential elements (positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, social skills and processing) built carefully into every lesson to teach the students to learn well together. Learn how to include them in each cooperative lesson.
7. Assuming that cooperative groups can handle complex tasks before learning how to complete simple ones successfully. Students must be taught how to learn together. Start with short, simple activities and progress to longer and more significant ones as your students are successful. Have frequent class discussions on what helps the groups do well.
8. Emphasizing paper or project completion as a group goal. With completion as the only goal, there's nothing to stop one student from doing the work and the others from "hitchhiking." Assignments should ensure individual accountability is possible (a test taken individually, a class presentation, a follow-up assignment that is completed alone).
9. An unclear learning goal. A clear group learning goal is one whose achievement is easily measured. Example: You are finished when every member in your group can explain the work and/or pass a quiz.
10. Assuming that students will magically develop needed social skills. You must teach them how to coordinate their work with others and keep everyone included in the learning. Do this by helping them see the need for skills, showing them exactly what to do, having them practice under your eagle eye, then giving them feedback and coaching until their cooperative skills are automatic.
11. Not understanding the power of positive relationships on achievement. Start every group session with a get-acquainted or relationship-building question, such as "What is your partner's name, and what's their favorite flavor of ice-cream?" Build in initial success by giving review or easier assignments, then slowly increase the difficulty of the tasks as students gain confidence in their ability to work together.
12. Not carefully monitoring the groups while they are working. This is TEACHING time. Be among the groups - correcting misconceptions, helping students understand, and reinforcing good teamwork skills. Monitor the groups carefully by observing interactions and encouraging appropriate learning and teamwork skills. Help the groups ensure mastery by every student. Keep individuals on their toes by asking them at random to explain their group's work.
13. Giving group grades. Give group grades only when absolutely necessary, absolutely fair for each member, and when you have taught the students how to work together. Assess learning with individual quizzes or papers. Avoid having students grade each other - that can turn into a popularity contest. Have students assess their own learning by comparing what they can do with criteria.
14. Using Jigsaw with material that is too difficult for individuals to learn. The jigsaw technique is one where each student learns part of the material and then teaches it to their group members. If individual students can't learn the material they need to teach, your students are not ready to do jigsaw with that lesson. Instead, use cooperative guided practice and check learning with individual quizzes or assignments.
15. Assuming that implementing cooperative learning is easy. Cooperative learning is complex, procedural learning, like learning to play a new sport. Plan on several years of on-going training and practice in cooperative learning to achieve intuitive, wise use.
1. Group size too large! It takes a lot of skill for students to manage a group of 4 or more. Instead, keep group size small: 2 or 3 is best. Smaller groups are more effective and take less time.
2. Not preparing students to work in cooperative groups. Explain to students why you are using cooperative learning, do a short cooperative learning activity, then have them explain how it can help them. Initially, do short get-acquainted and review activities.
3. Not teaching students appropriate interaction skills. Ask students to contribute to a class list of appropriate group behaviors. Examples: stay on task, contribute ideas, help others learn, encourage everyone to participate, listen with care, show respect for others. Display the list and remind students to use them. Add to the list as needed.
4. Letting students choose their own groups. We would all choose our friends to work with if given the choice. Friends often get off-task. Students need to develop positive working relationships with all class members. Randomly assign students to groups. Change groups often enough so no-one gets stuck for long periods with a difficult class member.
5. Not doing cooperative activities often enough for students to develop cooperative skills. Have students do something cooperative at each class session to reinforce positive cooperative habits. If nothing else, have them share what they learned with a partner.
6. Not planning cooperative lessons with care. Many teachers confuse group work with cooperative learning. They put students in groups, tell them to work together, and wonder why the groups aren't successful. But cooperative learning groups have five essential elements (positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, social skills and processing) built carefully into every lesson to teach the students to learn well together. Learn how to include them in each cooperative lesson.
7. Assuming that cooperative groups can handle complex tasks before learning how to complete simple ones successfully. Students must be taught how to learn together. Start with short, simple activities and progress to longer and more significant ones as your students are successful. Have frequent class discussions on what helps the groups do well.
8. Emphasizing paper or project completion as a group goal. With completion as the only goal, there's nothing to stop one student from doing the work and the others from "hitchhiking." Assignments should ensure individual accountability is possible (a test taken individually, a class presentation, a follow-up assignment that is completed alone).
9. An unclear learning goal. A clear group learning goal is one whose achievement is easily measured. Example: You are finished when every member in your group can explain the work and/or pass a quiz.
10. Assuming that students will magically develop needed social skills. You must teach them how to coordinate their work with others and keep everyone included in the learning. Do this by helping them see the need for skills, showing them exactly what to do, having them practice under your eagle eye, then giving them feedback and coaching until their cooperative skills are automatic.
11. Not understanding the power of positive relationships on achievement. Start every group session with a get-acquainted or relationship-building question, such as "What is your partner's name, and what's their favorite flavor of ice-cream?" Build in initial success by giving review or easier assignments, then slowly increase the difficulty of the tasks as students gain confidence in their ability to work together.
12. Not carefully monitoring the groups while they are working. This is TEACHING time. Be among the groups - correcting misconceptions, helping students understand, and reinforcing good teamwork skills. Monitor the groups carefully by observing interactions and encouraging appropriate learning and teamwork skills. Help the groups ensure mastery by every student. Keep individuals on their toes by asking them at random to explain their group's work.
13. Giving group grades. Give group grades only when absolutely necessary, absolutely fair for each member, and when you have taught the students how to work together. Assess learning with individual quizzes or papers. Avoid having students grade each other - that can turn into a popularity contest. Have students assess their own learning by comparing what they can do with criteria.
14. Using Jigsaw with material that is too difficult for individuals to learn. The jigsaw technique is one where each student learns part of the material and then teaches it to their group members. If individual students can't learn the material they need to teach, your students are not ready to do jigsaw with that lesson. Instead, use cooperative guided practice and check learning with individual quizzes or assignments.
15. Assuming that implementing cooperative learning is easy. Cooperative learning is complex, procedural learning, like learning to play a new sport. Plan on several years of on-going training and practice in cooperative learning to achieve intuitive, wise use.
What are some Cooperative Learning Approaches?
To be successful, Cooperative Learning tasks are designed by teachers so that students are required to depend on one another to complete the assigned tasks and to master content and skills. There are many Cooperative Learning approaches that are designed to achieve different objectives. When these approaches are used frequently and correctly, students will acquire the positive results of Cooperative Learning. Several Cooperative Learning approaches are described below:
· Jigsaw - Each student, in a four to five member team, is given information for only one part of the learning activity. However, each student needs to know all information to be successful. Students work cooperatively in two different teams, their original team and an expert team. All students in the expert team seek the same information, study it, and decide how best to teach it to their peers in the original team. After this is accomplished, students return to their original teams to teach their portion of the lesson to the others in the team.
· Think-Pair-Share - This strategy can be used before introducing new concepts. It gives everyone in the class time to access prior knowledge and provides a chance for them to share their ideas with someone. Think-Pair-Share helps students organize their knowledge and motivates learning of new topics. There are three steps to Think-Pair-Share with a time limit on each step signaled by the teacher. (1) Students are asked to brainstorm a concept individually and organize their thoughts on paper. (2) Students pair up and compile a list of their ideas. (3) Each pair will then share with the entire class until all ideas have been recorded and discussed.
· Send-a-Problem - Students are placed in heterogeneous teams of four. Each team designs a problem to send around the class. The other teams solve the problem. Since all of the teams send their own problem, there are a series of problems solved in this one activity. Results are shared with the class.
· Round Robin - Students are placed in heterogeneous teams of four. Each student has an opportunity to speak without being interrupted. The discussion moves clockwise around the team; everyone must contribute to the topic. The team may use an item to pass around as a visual aid to determine who has the floor. Round Table is another version. The difference being that a piece of paper is passed around and each member writes instead of speaks about the topic.
· Mind Mapping - Mind Mapping is the process of visually depicting a central concept with symbols, images, colors, keywords, and branches. This is a fast and fun way to take visual notes, foster creativity, stretch students' visual thinking skills, make learning contextual and meaningful, and promote active involvement with the learning content. Pairs of students may create their own mind map or they may simultaneously add to the team and/or class mind map.
· Jigsaw - Each student, in a four to five member team, is given information for only one part of the learning activity. However, each student needs to know all information to be successful. Students work cooperatively in two different teams, their original team and an expert team. All students in the expert team seek the same information, study it, and decide how best to teach it to their peers in the original team. After this is accomplished, students return to their original teams to teach their portion of the lesson to the others in the team.
· Think-Pair-Share - This strategy can be used before introducing new concepts. It gives everyone in the class time to access prior knowledge and provides a chance for them to share their ideas with someone. Think-Pair-Share helps students organize their knowledge and motivates learning of new topics. There are three steps to Think-Pair-Share with a time limit on each step signaled by the teacher. (1) Students are asked to brainstorm a concept individually and organize their thoughts on paper. (2) Students pair up and compile a list of their ideas. (3) Each pair will then share with the entire class until all ideas have been recorded and discussed.
· Send-a-Problem - Students are placed in heterogeneous teams of four. Each team designs a problem to send around the class. The other teams solve the problem. Since all of the teams send their own problem, there are a series of problems solved in this one activity. Results are shared with the class.
· Round Robin - Students are placed in heterogeneous teams of four. Each student has an opportunity to speak without being interrupted. The discussion moves clockwise around the team; everyone must contribute to the topic. The team may use an item to pass around as a visual aid to determine who has the floor. Round Table is another version. The difference being that a piece of paper is passed around and each member writes instead of speaks about the topic.
· Mind Mapping - Mind Mapping is the process of visually depicting a central concept with symbols, images, colors, keywords, and branches. This is a fast and fun way to take visual notes, foster creativity, stretch students' visual thinking skills, make learning contextual and meaningful, and promote active involvement with the learning content. Pairs of students may create their own mind map or they may simultaneously add to the team and/or class mind map.
Planning an Active Learning Activity
When planning an active learning activity, answering the following questions will help you clarify your goals and structure.
What are your objectives for the activity?
Who will be interacting? Will students pair up with someone beside them or someone sitting behind/in front of them? Should they pair up with someone they don't know yet?
When does the activity occur during the class? Beginning? Middle? End? How much time are you willing to spend on it?
Will students write down their answers/ideas/questions or just discuss them?
Will students turn in the responses or not? If they are asked to turn them in, should they put their names on them?
Will you give individuals a minute or so to reflect on the answer before discussing it or will they just jump right into a discussion?
Will you grade their responses or not?
How will students share the paired work with the whole class? Will you call on individuals randomly or will you solicit volunteers?
If students are responding to a question you pose, how are you going to ensure that they leave with confidence in their understanding? (Often, if various student answers are discussed without the instructor explicitly indicating which ones are "right," students become frustrated. Even with a question that has no absolute "right" answer, students want to know what the instructor's stand on the question is.)
What preparation do you need to use the activity? What preparation do the students need in order to participate fully?
Keys to Success
Be creative! Invent new strategies and adapt existing ones to your needs.
Start small and be brief.
Develop a plan for an active learning activity, try it out, collect feedback, then modify and try it again.
Start from the first day of class and stick with it. Students will come to expect active learning and perform better.
Be explicit with students about why you are doing this and what you know about the learning process.
Request students vary their seating arrangements to increase their chances to work with different people. Have students occasionally pair up with the student behind them, since friends often sit side by side.
Use questions from in class activities on tests. For example, include a short essay question that was used in a think/pair/share.
Negotiate a signal for students to stop talking.
Randomly call on pairs to share.
Find a colleague or two to plan with (and perhaps teach with) while you're implementing active learning activities.
Continue learning through workshops, reading, and practice.
What are your objectives for the activity?
Who will be interacting? Will students pair up with someone beside them or someone sitting behind/in front of them? Should they pair up with someone they don't know yet?
When does the activity occur during the class? Beginning? Middle? End? How much time are you willing to spend on it?
Will students write down their answers/ideas/questions or just discuss them?
Will students turn in the responses or not? If they are asked to turn them in, should they put their names on them?
Will you give individuals a minute or so to reflect on the answer before discussing it or will they just jump right into a discussion?
Will you grade their responses or not?
How will students share the paired work with the whole class? Will you call on individuals randomly or will you solicit volunteers?
If students are responding to a question you pose, how are you going to ensure that they leave with confidence in their understanding? (Often, if various student answers are discussed without the instructor explicitly indicating which ones are "right," students become frustrated. Even with a question that has no absolute "right" answer, students want to know what the instructor's stand on the question is.)
What preparation do you need to use the activity? What preparation do the students need in order to participate fully?
Keys to Success
Be creative! Invent new strategies and adapt existing ones to your needs.
Start small and be brief.
Develop a plan for an active learning activity, try it out, collect feedback, then modify and try it again.
Start from the first day of class and stick with it. Students will come to expect active learning and perform better.
Be explicit with students about why you are doing this and what you know about the learning process.
Request students vary their seating arrangements to increase their chances to work with different people. Have students occasionally pair up with the student behind them, since friends often sit side by side.
Use questions from in class activities on tests. For example, include a short essay question that was used in a think/pair/share.
Negotiate a signal for students to stop talking.
Randomly call on pairs to share.
Find a colleague or two to plan with (and perhaps teach with) while you're implementing active learning activities.
Continue learning through workshops, reading, and practice.
Active Learning
What Is Active Learning?
Active learning happens when students are given the opportunity to take a more interactive relationship with the subject matter of a course, encouraging them to generate rather than simply to receive knowledge. In an active learning environment, teachers facilitate rather than dictate the students’ learning.
Why Active Learning?
Research has shown that active learning is an exceptionally effective teaching technique. Regardless of the subject matter, when active learning is compared to traditional teaching methods (such as lecture), students learn more material, retain the information longer, and enjoy the class more. Active learning allows students to learn in the classroom with the help of the instructor and other students, rather than on their own.
How To Incorporate Active Learning Into Your Classroom
Employing active learning techniques in the classroom can pose difficulties to teachers and students not accustomed to this mode of instruction. The teacher surrenders some of the control of the class as s/he becomes a facilitator, and the students take increased responsibility for not only what but also how they learn. Incorporating active learning in the classroom, then, requires
students to act.
Try using the following techniques to offer your students the opportunity to participate actively in their learning.
Think-pair-share is a simple activity you can use in any classroom format. Give students time to think about a topic, turn to their neighbour for a short discussion, and then share the results with the rest of the class.
Minute Papers provide students with the opportunity to synthesize their knowledge and to ask unanswered questions. Give students a few minutes at the end of class to answer the following questions in writing: What was the most important thing you learned today? What important question remains unanswered?
Writing activities of many kinds offer students the opportunity to think about and process information. For example, in addition to minute papers, you could pose a question and then give students time to freewrite their answers. You could also give students time to freewrite about topics.
Brainstorming is another simple technique that can involve the whole class in a discussion. Introduce a topic or problem and then ask for student input, which you record on the board.
Games related to the subject can easily be incorporated into the classroom to foster active learning and participation. Games can include matching, mysteries, group competitions,solving puzzles, pictionary, etc.
Debates staged in class can be effective tools for encouraging students to think about several sides of an issue.
Group work allows every participant the chance to speak, share personal views, and develop the skill of working with others. Cooperative group work requires all group members to work together to complete a given task. Break the class into groups of 2-5 students. Give each group articles to read, questions to answer and discuss, information to share, subjects to teach to other groups, etc.
Case studies use real-life stories that describe what happened to a community, family, school, or individual to prompt students to integrate their classroom knowledge with their knowledge of real-world situations, actions, and consequences.
Active learning happens when students are given the opportunity to take a more interactive relationship with the subject matter of a course, encouraging them to generate rather than simply to receive knowledge. In an active learning environment, teachers facilitate rather than dictate the students’ learning.
Why Active Learning?
Research has shown that active learning is an exceptionally effective teaching technique. Regardless of the subject matter, when active learning is compared to traditional teaching methods (such as lecture), students learn more material, retain the information longer, and enjoy the class more. Active learning allows students to learn in the classroom with the help of the instructor and other students, rather than on their own.
How To Incorporate Active Learning Into Your Classroom
Employing active learning techniques in the classroom can pose difficulties to teachers and students not accustomed to this mode of instruction. The teacher surrenders some of the control of the class as s/he becomes a facilitator, and the students take increased responsibility for not only what but also how they learn. Incorporating active learning in the classroom, then, requires
students to act.
Try using the following techniques to offer your students the opportunity to participate actively in their learning.
Think-pair-share is a simple activity you can use in any classroom format. Give students time to think about a topic, turn to their neighbour for a short discussion, and then share the results with the rest of the class.
Minute Papers provide students with the opportunity to synthesize their knowledge and to ask unanswered questions. Give students a few minutes at the end of class to answer the following questions in writing: What was the most important thing you learned today? What important question remains unanswered?
Writing activities of many kinds offer students the opportunity to think about and process information. For example, in addition to minute papers, you could pose a question and then give students time to freewrite their answers. You could also give students time to freewrite about topics.
Brainstorming is another simple technique that can involve the whole class in a discussion. Introduce a topic or problem and then ask for student input, which you record on the board.
Games related to the subject can easily be incorporated into the classroom to foster active learning and participation. Games can include matching, mysteries, group competitions,solving puzzles, pictionary, etc.
Debates staged in class can be effective tools for encouraging students to think about several sides of an issue.
Group work allows every participant the chance to speak, share personal views, and develop the skill of working with others. Cooperative group work requires all group members to work together to complete a given task. Break the class into groups of 2-5 students. Give each group articles to read, questions to answer and discuss, information to share, subjects to teach to other groups, etc.
Case studies use real-life stories that describe what happened to a community, family, school, or individual to prompt students to integrate their classroom knowledge with their knowledge of real-world situations, actions, and consequences.
Direct Instruction
Getting students set to learn
Step 1: Review -- Typically at the beginning of the lesson, review previous materialthat is relevant to this lesson
Step 2: Anticipatory Set -- Getting students to focus their attention on the material to be presented -- getting them interested or prepared for what they are about to learn
Step 3: Objective -- State the objective for the lesson
Instruction
Step 4: Input and Modelling -- Presenting new information to students, modelling where appropriate as one form of instruction
Checking for understanding
Step 5: Checking Understanding -- Determining whether or not students are making sense of the material as the material is being presented
Step 6: Guided Practice -- Immediately after instruction students are given the opportunity to apply or practice what they have just learned and receive immediate feedback
How are checking understanding and guided practice different? Checking understanding occurs in the process of instruction. Guided practice takes place just after instruction has occurred. Checking for understanding is often a whole-class process by observing body language or asking a simple question to the whole class. Guided practice may be done individually. Both involve quickly assessing whether students understand what has just been presented.
Independent practice
Step 7: Independent Practice -- After students appear to understand the new material they are given the opportunity to further apply or practice using the new information. This may occur in class or as homework, but there should be a short period of time between instruction and practice and between practice and feedback.
Step 1: Review -- Typically at the beginning of the lesson, review previous materialthat is relevant to this lesson
Step 2: Anticipatory Set -- Getting students to focus their attention on the material to be presented -- getting them interested or prepared for what they are about to learn
Step 3: Objective -- State the objective for the lesson
Instruction
Step 4: Input and Modelling -- Presenting new information to students, modelling where appropriate as one form of instruction
Checking for understanding
Step 5: Checking Understanding -- Determining whether or not students are making sense of the material as the material is being presented
Step 6: Guided Practice -- Immediately after instruction students are given the opportunity to apply or practice what they have just learned and receive immediate feedback
How are checking understanding and guided practice different? Checking understanding occurs in the process of instruction. Guided practice takes place just after instruction has occurred. Checking for understanding is often a whole-class process by observing body language or asking a simple question to the whole class. Guided practice may be done individually. Both involve quickly assessing whether students understand what has just been presented.
Independent practice
Step 7: Independent Practice -- After students appear to understand the new material they are given the opportunity to further apply or practice using the new information. This may occur in class or as homework, but there should be a short period of time between instruction and practice and between practice and feedback.
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