Interactive Learning Techniques

Interactive Learning Techniques: Creating Student-centered Learning

Presentation 1 of 3 presented by International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH)
Workshop, December 1, 2010, Chancellor College ; February 16 and 17, 2011, Malawi Institute
of Education; and February 25 & 26, Domasi College.

Presented by Pamela K. Fontenot: pkfontenot@gmail.com

Presentation 1 of 3 presented by International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH)
Workshop, December 1, 2010, Chancellor College and February 16 and 17, 2011, Ministry of
Education.

Student-Centered Learning: Maximizing Student Achievement

Let’s see if we can take a bite out of this apple!

• Two broad categories of teaching
methods
• Teacher-centric
• Student-centric
• Strengths and weaknesses

TEACHING METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

Teaching methods can be divided into two major categories: teacher-centered and student-
centered. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

How do you choose which one to use?

• Teacher must know:
• Available methods
• Strengths and weaknesses of each
• The function of each method
• How to implement
• Consider content


In order to make an informed choice to use an appropriate teaching method, the teacher must
be aware of:
•What teaching methods are available.
•What are strengths and weaknesses of each method.
•When each method is best used: time, resources.
•How each method can actually be used in practice.

• By the end of this presentation, you should be
able to:
• Identify student-centered and teacher-centered
teaching methods and techniques
• Decide when best to use the different methods
• Select appropriate techniques for a particular
learning intervention


Objectives
By the end of this presentation, you should be able to:
•Describe the difference between student-centric and teacher-centric methods and techniques.
•Explain how to best use different methods and techniques in lessons.
•Select appropriate technique(s) for a particular teaching/learning outcome.
•Apply various techniques in your lessons.

Let’s Take a Bite out of this Apple

Let’s take a bite out of this apple.

• Brainstorming • Lecture
• Drama • Buzz groups
• Debates • Memorization
• Discussions • Devil’s advocacy
• Instructor • Panel discussions
demonstrations • Experiments
• Role plays • Drill and practice
• Field trips

Activity #1 w/ Audience

Objective: To identify student-centric and instructor-centric learning methods:

Instructions to Audience:

Here are some instructional techniques. Which do you think are teacher-centric and which are
student-centric?

The following are the only teacher-centric techniques in the list:
• Lecture
• Drill and practice
• Memorization
• Instructor demo without student practice.

•Let’s look at some strengths and weaknesses for each one.


Lecture

Traditional teaching and training most frequently rely on lecture. This is one-way
communication of a prepared talk.

The teacher talks to the students in an autocratic way, and in its pure form, the students have
limited or no opportunity to ask questions or offer comments.

•Autocratic teacher “talks” to students
• Little to no discussion or questions
• Knowledge transfer – questionable
• Learners need to be intellectually
engaged for learning to take place
•Lasting change requires meaningful
and compelling mental engagement
and interaction with one’s
surroundings


Lecture

Even though lectures appear to be an efficient teaching or training method, because little or no
time is spent on an interactive discussion, learning is not guaranteed.

• Introducing new subject matter, overviews, summaries

Advantages
• Can be foundation with support from other interactive
techniques
• Covers a lot of material in a short time
• Used to teach groups of any size

• Usually presented as monologue – student interaction
usually not entertained
Disadvantages

• High potential for boredom
• Quality of learning is superficial and any knowledge
transfer likely to be short-term


Characteristics of Lecture

Do these look familiar?

• Prepare a lecture on a topic integrating some
of the tips provided in the checklist

• Checklist for Improving the Teaching
Effectiveness of Lectures


Instructor Challenge:

Let’s look at this checklist.

Refer to checklist for handout to make lecture method more effective.

• Drill - the repeated hearing and reproduction
of a particular item
• Most effective in language learning
• Laser focus on grammar, vocabulary,
pronunciation, spelling
• Spelling bees
• Fun – lively and enthusiastic teacher


Drill & Practice

Drill is the repeated hearing and use of a particular item. This technique is most helpful in
learning a language. As a form of repetition, drills enable one to focus sharply on particular
points of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling. The method can be fun if the
teacher is lively and enthusiastic.

• Sharpens skill under practice

Advantages
• Provides foundation on which higher
level cognitive skills can be built

• Can easily become boring and
monotonous
Disadvantages

• Difficult to sustain motivation and
interest because repetitive nature
diminishes interest value
• Can degenerate into mere rote learning
– understanding not prime aim


Drill & Practice
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the drills and practice method.

Advantages
• Increases students’ understanding of previous work
• Sharpens the skill under practice
• Provides a foundation on which higher level cognitive skills can be built

Disadvantages
• Can easily become boring and monotonous
• It is difficult to sustain motivation, interest or alertness among the students because of the
repetitions involved
• Degenerates easily into mere rote learning because understanding is not the prime aim

• Make concept mastery the goal
• Use only after thorough preparation to
make the concept clear
• Use only for short periods within lesson
• Support with relevant learning aids –
drawings, objects, models, pictures to
illustrate concepts


Drill & Practice
Guidelines
Discuss ways of making drill and practice more effective:

•They should be used only after thorough preparation to make the concept(s) clear.
•They should be used only for short periods within a lesson.
•They should be accompanied by relevant and appropriate teaching and learning aids such as
drawings, objects, models and pictures to illustrate the concepts.
•Make concept mastery is the goal of drill & practice.

• Prepare a drill and practice lesson on a
subject of your choice integrating some of the
guidelines for Drill & Practice.


Instructor Challenge:
Procedures for Using Drill & Practice with Language Learning:

• Give a word or phrase or sentence.
• Let the class say it after you or respond to it or write it down.
• Repeat each item up to six times.
• First, ask pupils to practice as individuals, then as a whole class together.

• Instructor performs an instructional activity or
process as students observe
• Aim of demonstration is to:
• Provide students with concrete illustration of what
they are expected to do
• How to best do it
• How to tell when they have used the skill or ability
correctly
• Follow demonstrations with practice
opportunities for students


Instructor Demonstration & Practice
This is a student-centered technique when student practice is added; but a teacher-centric
technique with instructor demo alone.

The instructor performs an instructional activity or a process as students observe.
The aim of the demonstration is to provide students with a concrete illustration of what they
are expected to do, the best techniques for doing it, and how they can tell when they have used
the skill or ability correctly.

Demonstrations should be followed by an opportunity for students to practice the observed
skills, either individually or in groups.

Demonstration is necessary when:
• Introducing a new skill or concept
• Materials are insufficient
• Time is inadequate
• Activity is dangerous to students (Chemistry
experiments!)


Best Uses

Demonstration is necessary when:
•Materials are not sufficient for each student to access
•The activity may be dangerous to the students
•Time is inadequate
•Introducing a new skill or concept

• Go through the steps of the activity one at a time
• Ensure that every student understands what is
going on
• Large classes - demonstrate in small groups
• Stand at a raised point for all students to see you
• Arrange students in a semi-circle, with shorter
students in front
• Ask some students to demonstrate to their peers
from time-to-time


Guidelines

•If the class is large, demonstrate in small groups.
•When demonstrating, stand at a raised point for all students to see you. Or the students can be
made to sit in a semi-circle or shorter students should be in front .
•Make sure that the actions being demonstrated match the voice .
•Check in advance that all necessary teaching and learning resources are available and working
properly.
•Ask some students to demonstrate to their colleagues from time to time.
•Go through the steps of the activity one at a time.
•Ensure that every student understands what is going on.

• Creative Arts
• Science and Health Education
• Mathematics
• Chichewa
• English
• Physical Education
• Music


Activity #1

Divide students into groups and allow them to brainstorm using Demonstration & Practice
Techniques for the topics on the slide.

In groups, brainstorm the areas in which demonstration and practice may be used in the
following subjects:

•Dr. Bretta Blanton, IFESH volunteer and lecturer in Physical Chemistry at Chancellor College,
works with a female student at MIE to demonstrate the uses of chemistry in our everyday lives.

• A method both for teaching and oral testing
• Be aware of the impact of rejecting a student’s response
• Be aware of the pace of questioning – give students time to
think about their response
• Avoid asking questions that require one-word answer s
• Ask open, clarifying questions – Who? What? When? Where?
Why? How?
• Questions should help the instructor assess his/her teaching
effectiveness and students` learning.
• Formulate higher order questions which require the students to
apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate knowledge or
information


Question & Answer
Question and answer is defined by some experts as "a method both for teaching and oral
testing".

When conducting a class or group discussion, teachers should be aware of the impact of
turning down a student’s response. By not accepting a response in a positive way, the teacher
may discourage students from answering future questions.

The pacing of questions is also important. Students should be given enough time to think about
a response. The questions should come rapidly enough to keep the pace of the class lively. Try
not asking questions which will require a one-word answer; for example; yes or no. Instead,
open and clarifying questions should be asked to encourage students to express themselves.

The questions will also help the teacher to assess his/her teaching and the students` learning. It
is therefore necessary that teachers also formulate higher-order questions which require the
students to apply, synthesize and evaluate knowledge or information.

You could ask questions during the introduction, development and/or conclusion phases of your
lesson.

Let’s look at some reasons to ask questions in the Introduction.

• Discover what students already know
about lesson
• Stimulate interest in the lesson
• Arouse inquisitive minds


Question & Answer
Group Activity – Discuss w/ class:

Discuss why you would ask questions during:

Introduction

•Find out what students already know
•Stimulate students’ interest in the lesson
•Arouse an inquisitive mind in students

• Check-in to see if students are following
discussion
• Clarify misconceptions to that point
• Encourage student contributions


Question & Answer



Development

•Check if students are following the discussions
•Clarify any misconceptions that may develop as the lesson proceeds
•Encourage students to contribute to the knowledge being presented

• Evaluate achievement of planned
objectives
• Clarify misconceptions to this point


Question & Answer


Conclusion

•Evaluate the achievement of planned objectives
•Discover whether any misconceptions still exist after the lesson development

• Stimulate thought
• Short, simple and clear
• Specific, not ambiguous
• Encourage student expression
• Relevant to the content
• Appropriate to students’ ability


Question & Answer
Characteristics of Good Questions

Good questions should:
•Stimulate thought
•Short, simple and clear
•Specific and not ambiguous
•Encourage students to express themselves
•Relevant to the content
•Appropriate to students’ ability


Question & Answer

•Student answers question in workshop at Domasi College in February 2011.

• Make questions more effective by:
• Writing them down in advance to ask during
lesson without difficulty
• Pose, Pause, Pounce
• Discourage choral answers
• Probe students’ responses – Why? What? How?
• Ask questions at varying levels of difficulty
• Avoid repeating or rephrasing unless requested to
do so


Question & Answer
Instructor Technique:

•Pose, pause, point
•State the question
•Pause for 5 or more seconds
•Call on student to answer

• Class breaks into groups to discuss one or two
specific questions or issues
• Room fills with noise as groups “buzz” in
discussions - exchanging ideas from collective
abilities, knowledge and experiences
• One member from each group reports its findings to
class
• Buzz groups can be in pairs, trios or more


Buzz Groups/ Group Work
Another teaching technique is the buzz group. This technique is commonly known as “group
work.” During a lesson, the class can break into groups to discuss one or two specific questions
or issues. The room soon fills with noise as each group buzzes in discussions.

If possible, one member from each group should report its findings to the whole class. Buzz
groups can be in pairs, trios or more, depending on the activity. While they are buzzing,
students are able to exchange ideas drawn from their collective abilities, knowledge and
experiences.

• Explain the task before breaking into groups
• Supervise discussions to encourage and help students
manage out of difficulty
• Manage feedback concisely
• Assign different, but related tasks to each group to
motivate and give each group a special responsibility
• Organize feedback in such a way that one group presents
its ideas, with other groups only contributing new ideas ;
OR
• Allow each group to give one point at a time until all the
groups have contributed
• Be time conscious


Work in groups to identify the guidelines that you would follow when using buzz groups.

•Rotate group leadership roles regularly
•Try to give different but related tasks to each group to motivate and give each group a special
responsibility
•if the task is the same for all groups, organize feedback in such a way that one group presents
their ideas; with other groups only contributing new ideas; or
•Let one group report one point at a time until all the groups have contributed
•Be time conscious



•Buzz groups enjoy working on group projects in workshop at Domasi College in February 2011.

• Buzz groups can be used in any type of class
• Select areas within any curriculum
• Prepare lesson on one area using the Buzz
Group technique


Buzz groups can be used in any type of class. Select areas within any subject on the curriculum
where buzz groups can be used and prepare a lesson on one area reflecting the technique.

• Discussion - A method that permits open
interaction between student-and-student and
between teacher-and -student
• Free-flowing conversation, gives students
opportunity to express opinions and ideas, hear those
of their peers and teacher
• Promotes higher-order cognitive skills: analysis,
synthesis, evaluation


Discussion
Some experts describes the discussion method as one that “permits open interaction between
student-and-student and between teacher-and-student

It involves free-flowing conversation, giving students an opportunity to express their opinions
and ideas and listen to those of their peers and teacher.

The teacher does not take the leadership role. Rather, he/she participates as a member of the
groups. And everyone adheres to the guidelines for specified acceptable discussion behavior.

If properly planned and structured, the discussion method involves students in higher-order
cognitive skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. (Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives, Cognitive Domain).

Discussion is used when:
• Checking what has been learned, e.g., from a field
trip or an educational trip
• Exploring opinions, knowledge and experiences
of students
• Giving students practice in forming, expressing
and evaluating opinions
• Concluding a practical exercise, where the
students have applied their knowledge and require
feedback, e.g., a laboratory experiment

Discussion
In groups, describe briefly situations in which class discussion would be used.

The discussion method is often used to:
•Check what has been learned, e.g., from a field or an educational trip
•Explore the opinions, knowledge and experiences of students
•Conclude a laboratory experiment
•Give students practice in forming, expressing and evaluating opinions

• Brainstorming – A technique in which every
student’s response is accepted
• Avoid judging or evaluating ideas, but accept and
record each as it is offered
• Do not require students to justify answers
• Brainstorm as entire class or in groups
• Groups – let high-ability students lead

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique in which every student’s response that applies to a given topic is
acceptable. It is important not to evaluate ideas but accept and record each idea on the
chalkboard or a piece of paper as it comes. Students need to know that they will not be
required to justify or explain any answer. After a period of brainstorming (which should not be
too long), time for reflection on or prioritizing of the list should be allowed. The brainstorming
can be done as a whole class or in groups. If in groups, it is good to let the high ability students
take a leading role.

Brainstorming is effective for:
• Sensitive, controversial issues
• Generating large number of ideas quickly
• Encouraging students who are quiet, hesitant
to participate

Brainstorming
Activity
In groups, describe briefly situations in which brainstorming would be used.

The brainstorming technique is effective for:

•Sensitive and controversial issues that need to be explored
•Encouraging students who are quite and hesitant to enter into discussions
•Generating a large number of ideas as quickly as possible

• Quick, effective way to generate ideas
• Encourages every student to freely express views since
responses are not judged immediately

Advantages
• Gives students opportunity to think through issues
• Promotes respect for all students’ ideas
• A way to determine students’ knowledge before
embarking on new topic
• Generated ideas are owned collectively by groups of
students
Disadvantages

• Difficult to ensure that every one speaks,
particularly with large classes
• After brainstorming session, re-organizing ideas or
points may be time consuming

Brainstorming
Activity

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the brainstorming method.

Advantages
•Quick and effective way to generate ideas
•Encourages every student to express their views freely since responses are not judged
immediately
•Gives students opportunity to think through issues
•Promotes respect for all students’ ideas
•One way to determine students’ knowledge before embarking on a new topic
•Ideas generated are owned collectively by groups of students

Disadvantages
• Very difficult to ensure that every one speaks, particularly if the class is large ideas
• After the brainstorming session, re-organizing the ideas or points may be time consuming

• Brainstorm the causes of early marriage among
the youth of Malawi.
• Guidelines:
• Choose a group moderator, a recorder and a reporter.
• Go around the table and allow everyone to contribute one idea until
everyone has exhausted their ideas.
• Recorder transcribes each idea.
• Synthesize the best, the major or the ideas that the entire group
agrees on.
• Reporter will report on the conclusions from the group.


Brainstorming Exercise

Choose a group moderator, a recorder and a reporter.
Brainstorm ideas to support the topic.
Go around the table and allow everyone to contribute one idea until everyone has exhausted
their ideas.
Recorder transcribes each idea.
Synthesize the best, the major or the ideas that the entire group agrees on.
Reporter will report on the conclusions from the group.

Halfway Finished

Half way there – from finishing the apple

• Students act out what they would say or do in a
given situation
• Use own life experiences and creativity to imitate
real-life situations
• Performances can last 5 to 10 minutes
• Other students watch and listen carefully
• After the role play, the entire group discusses
performance


Role Play

In role play, students use their own experience and creativity to imitate a real life situation.
When done well, role play increases students` self confidence, gives them the opportunity to
understand or feel empathy for other people’s view points or roles, and usually encourages
them to come up with practical answers, solutions or guidelines on various issues.

• Increases students’ self confidence
• Provides an opportunity for self-expression
• Encourages creativity
• Provides opportunity for empathy with other view
points
• Encourages practical answers, solutions or guidelines
on issues that are being examined


Role Play

Advantages

• Describe role and situation to entire group
• Ask for volunteers or make appointments
• Tell players to add to their roles and use own
ideas
• Allow actors time to prepare and allow 5-10
minutes for the play
• De-role the students afterwards

Animate each bullet point in order to conduct discussion using progressive disclosure.
Role Play
What guidelines would you follow when using role play?

•Give a description of the role and the situation briefly to the entire group
•Ask for volunteers or appoint students to act out the role play
•Tell the players that they can add to their roles and use their own ideas about what the person
would say or feel in the situation
•Give the actors a few minutes to prepare and let them act out the play within 5 to 10 minutes
•After the role play, the class should discuss the performance
De-role the students afterwards to avoid the students getting bullied by other students with the
names and roles they assumed in the play.
To de-role, you briefly explain that the roles and names the actors took in the role play are not
part of the students’ real life. The acting students have not taken on new names or roles.

Role Play Exercise

•Students demonstrating Role Play

• Preventative measures for malaria – General
Studies
• A student with good morals and values - Life
Skills Education

Role Play Exercise

•Each table chooses a different moderator.
•Ask for volunteers or appoint students to act out the role play
•Tell the players that they can add to their roles and use their own ideas about what the person
would say or feel in the situation
•Give the actors a few minutes to prepare and let them act out the play within 5 to 10 minutes
•After the role play, the class should discuss the performance
•De-role the students afterwards to avoid the students getting bullied by other students with
the names and roles they assumed in the play. To de-role, you briefly explain that the roles and
names the actors took in the role play are not part of the students’ real life. The acting students
have not taken on new names or roles.

Values clarification – The process of
identifying and critically examining one’s
values, beliefs, attitudes, convictions, opinions
on specific issues – usually sensitive or
controversial.


Values Clarification
Values clarification is the process of identifying and critically examining one’s values, beliefs,
attitudes, convictions and opinions on different issues such as drugs, pregnancy and cultural
practices.

Goals of Values Clarification
• Allows students to recognize, acknowledge and
tolerate the variety of opinions held by others
• Enables students to identify personal beliefs and
attitudes with regard to:
• Cultural, social, sexual, consumer rights – controversial,
sensitive issues


Values’ clarification aims at:
•Allowing students to recognize, acknowledge and tolerate the variety of opinions held by
others
•Enabling students to identify their personal beliefs and attitudes with regard to: -cultural and
social issues, sexual and reproductive health, consumer rights – almost any controversial issue
that you can think of

• Use Likert Scale method from Strongly Agree to Strongly
Disagree
• Explain to the students that as they read each statement they
should go stand under the board which best reflects their
views
• Begin with a more general or less threatening statement
• Select a sample of people to explain why they chose a
particular position
• Students may change positions if convinced by other students’
explanations
• The teacher must avoid expressing his/her opinion


Guidelines:

Post cardboard signs labeled, strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree at
different points in the classroom. This is the Likert Scale.

•Explain to the students that as they read each statement they should go to the board which
best reflects their views
•Begin with a more general or less threatening statement
•Select a sample of people to explain why they chose a particular position
•students may change positions if convinced by other students’ explanations
•The teacher must avoid expressing his/her opinion.

The role of the teacher is to create a climate of tolerance and reinforce the demonstration of
how broad the spectrum of ideas can be.

If the discussion becomes heated, the teacher should ask the students to pay attention to how
deeply felt values can be and how difficult they can be to change.

• Teachers should be posted to their home
districts
• Teens should just say “no” to drugs and
alcohol.

Values Clarification Exercise
Guidelines:

Post cardboard signs labeled, strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree at
different points in the classroom. This is the Likert Scale.

•Explain to the students that as they read each statement they should go to the board which
best reflects their views
•Begin with a more general or less threatening statement
•Select a sample of people to explain why they chose a particular position
•students may change positions if convinced by other students’ explanations
•The teacher must avoid expressing his/her opinion.

The role of the teacher is to create a climate of tolerance and reinforce the demonstration of
how broad the spectrum of ideas can be.

If the discussion becomes heated, the teacher should ask the students to pay attention to how
deeply felt values can be and how difficult they can be to change.

• Graphical representation of the causes and
effects of actions
• Enables students to look into the future – at
the causes and consequences of problems or
situations that may be unclear in the present


Future Wheels
The Future Wheels method is a graphical representation of the causes and effects of behaviors.


Future Wheels
Future wheels is an instructional method that is used when the consequences of risky behavior
need to be brought to the attention of the youth. Basically the problem wheel rolls into future
consequences which roll into other negative and undesirable situations.

Similarly, the wheels of the causes of the problem seem to roll into the problem.

Guidelines for using Future Wheels
To Facilitator: Use illustration as you describe the guidelines.

•The central problem under discussion should have identifiable causes, which consequently roll
into effects
•Students should brainstorm in either groups or as a class on the root causes and steadily
identify more causes that lead to the central problem
•In the same way they should identify effects that result from the central problem
•Use arrows to show relationships
•Discuss the future’s wheels with the whole class
•Summarize the activity by asking students questions on what they have learned

• Use to show complex cause and effect
relationships
• Use when students have difficulty predicting
effects in the future
• Use to build consensus
• Use to plan essays or compositions on causes
and effects of problems or situations


Future’s Wheels
Best Practices

•Malawi Institute of Education student demonstrating the use of Future Wheels to illustrate
cause and effect. Here, her group examined the far-reaching effects of HIV/AIDS.

• Allow for student participation – group or class
discussion level

Advantages
• Sessions move quickly and keep students’ attention
• Diagram has strong visual impact and can enhance
student understanding
• Provides clear picture of complex nature of problems
Disadvantages

• Requires that students have some prior knowledge
of subject


Future’s Wheels
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of future wheels.

Advantages
•Allow for student participation whether at group or class discussion level
•Sessions move quickly and keep the attention of learners
•The diagram has a strong visual impact and can enhance understanding of concepts
•Provides a clear picture of the complex nature of problems

Limitations
• Some knowledge of the subject is required

• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Poverty
• HIV/AIDS
• Breakdown of moral values
• Teen pregnancy


Future Wheels Exercise
•Select a topic.
•Choose a recorder and a reporter.
into effects -
•Students should brainstorm in groups on the root causes and steadily identify more causes that
lead to the central problem.
•In the same way they should identify effects that result from the central problem.
•Use arrows to show relationships.
•Group reporter discusses the future’s wheels with the whole class.
•Summarize the activity by asking students questions on what they have learned.

• Central problem should have identifiable causes, which
consequently roll into effects
• Brainstorm in groups or as a class the root causes and
steadily identify more causes that lead to the central problem
• In the same way they should identify effects that result from
the central problem.
• Use arrows to show relationships
• Discuss the future wheels with the whole class
• Summarize the activity – ask questions on what students have
learned


Future’s Wheels
Guidelines
into effects -
•Students should brainstorm in either groups or as a class on the root causes and steadily
identify more causes that lead to the central problem
•In the same way they should identify effects that result from the central problem
•Use arrows to show relationships
•Discuss the future’s wheels with the whole class
•Summarize the activity by asking students questions on what they have learned

• Provide teachers with ready-made messages
that can be discussed with students to
determine the nature of the messages and their
appropriateness
• A powerful means of reaching out to some
students


Songs and Jingles

Songs and jingles provide teachers with readymade messages which can be discussed with
students to determine the nature of the messages and their appropriateness. Using songs and
jingles has been found to be a powerful means of reaching out to specific students.

• Ask students to compose songs when possible
• Identify songs from the locality - traditional songs, songs
by local choirs, bands
• Listen to them together
• Ask probing questions like these:
• What is the nature of the song?
• Is it well known?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What messages is the band sending?
• Are they culturally appropriate?
• Are the messages contributing to the understanding of the
subject matter?
• What impact would the song’s messages have on young people?


Songs & Jingles
Guidelines

•Where possible ask students to compose songs on various issues
•Or identify songs from the local setting, e.g., traditional songs, songs by bands or choirs
•Listen to them together with the students
•Ask the following questions about the songs/jingles:

Activity
Listen to any popular song and answer the above questions on it.

• Provide knowledge, skills and attitudes to students
in an enjoyable manner

Strengths
• Students can extend the discussions of the song’s
message with their peers after class – allowing for
enhanced student participation

• Require creativity to compose
Weaknesses

• Message may be lost through other characteristics
of music or lyrics


Songs & Jingles
Strengths
•They provide knowledge, skills and attitudes to students in an enjoyable manner.
•The message can be further discussed with their peers after class; thus allowing for more
student participation.

Weaknesses
•One needs creativity to come up with a song or a jingle.
•The message to be learned may be lost through the musical qualities of the song or jingle.


Songs and Jingles

Students at Domasi College in Malawi are demonstrating their ‘musical intelligence’ with a song
they composed for this group project.

• Games - a means of passing on knowledge, skills
and attitudes that entertains and keeps learners
motivated.
• Learning is made more effective and permanent.
• Many games can be adapted from regular games and
changed to suit the topic.


Games
Games are a means of passing on knowledge, skills and attitudes in a manner that entertains
and keeps learners motivated. In this way, learning is made more effective and permanent.
There are a number of games that may be used in different topics and situations. Many games
can be adapted from regular games and changed to suit the topic under discussion.

• Jeopardy (open-ended questions get
progressively harder as the stakes increase)
• Concentration (matching pairs)


Games
Outline the guidelines for effective use of games.

Activity
•Identify as many games as possible which you can use to teach a subject
•Prepare a lesson using one of the games you have identified

Three-quarters Finished

Three-quarters of the way finished.

• Devil’s advocacy - A form of role play in
which one person tries as hard as possible to
convince a friend to give in to temptation
• The other person responds to the devil’s
temptations by giving the reasons why he or
she does not want to give in to the temptation


Devils Advocacy

Devil’s Advocacy is a form of role play in which one person tries as hard as possible to convince
a friend to give in to temptation. The other person has to respond to all of the devil’s
temptations by giving the reasons why he or she does not want to give in to the temptation.

• You have ten minutes to complete this
exercise.
• A girl chooses school over early marriage .
• Sugar daddies / mummies
• Ways of contracting HIV/AIDS
• Ways to prevent malaria


Devil’s Advocacy Exercise

Guidelines:
•You have ten minutes to complete this exercise.
•Role play students
•In pairs, one student pretends to be a bad friend (the devil) who tries to make the other give in
to the temptation.
•Reverse roles after a time.

•Teacher summarises the activity by highlighting the reasons against giving in to the temptation.

• Guidelines:
• Role play the students
• In pairs, one student pretends to be a bad friend
(the devil) who tries to make the other give in to
the temptation.
• Reverse roles after five minutes.
• Reporter – Summarize activity by highlighting the
reasons to give in to temptation.


Devil’s Advocacy Exercise

Guidelines:
•You have ten minutes to complete this exercise.
•Role play students
•In pairs, one student pretends to be a bad friend (the devil) who tries to make the other give in
to the temptation.
•Reverse roles after a time.

•Teacher summarises the activity by highlighting the reasons against giving in to the temptation.

• Promotes critical thinking and problem solving
skills in students on both sides of an argument

Strengths
• Prepares students to rationally handle peer
pressure and temptation

• Some students might be convinced by the
Weaknesses

arguments in favour of the risky behaviour if the
opposing side is not well defended


Devil’s Advocacy Strengths & Weaknesses

Debrief w/ students
What are the strengths and weaknesses of this method?

Strengths
•Promotes critical thinking and problem solving skills in students as they need to be aware of
the arguments for both sides of an issue
•Prepares students to rationally handle peer pressure and temptation towards risky behaviour

Weaknesses
• Some students might be convinced by the arguments in favour of the risky behaviour if the
other side is not well defended

• Involves the presentation and analysis of an
incident, story or scenario
• Simple, factual
• Divide students into Buzz Groups for group
work


Case Study

The case study method involves the presentation and analysis of an incident, story or scenario
that has happened or could happen. These should be simple and based on facts. When doing
case studies students should be divided into buzz groups.

Mwawa is a quiet young man who lives in
Mwazama village. His friends insist that he go
drinking with them, but he refuses. One day his
friends tell him that if he refuses to go again, they
will beat him up. He still refuses because his
mother once told him that people get infected with
HIV/AIDS at drinking places.
• Is Mwawa’s decision good? Why?
• Is Mwawa’s mother’s warning correct? Explain.
• What advice would you give to Mwawa and his
friends?


Example Case Study

Read the story below and answer the questions that follow.

•Is Mwawa’s decision good? Why?
•Is Mwawa’s mother correct in saying that people get HIV at drinking places? Explain.
•What advice would you give to Mwawa and his friends?

• An effective substitute for reality
• Learner analyzes and solves real-life challenges
without suffering consequences of failure

Strengths
• Group work enables students to actively participate
and think through what they might actually do if
confronted with a challenging situation
• Useful in developing analytical, problem solving and
decision making skills

• Time consuming and labor intensive to develop
Weaknesses

• No specific, concrete solutions to case study
problems exist
• Facilitator should be skilled in managing case
studies


Case Study
Strengths
•Serves as an effective substitute for reality. The learner analyzes and solves real – life
challenges without suffering or enduring the consequences of failure
•Working in groups enables each student to participate actively and think through what they
might do if the problem or challenging situation happened to them
•Case study is useful in developing analytical, problem solving and decision making skills

Weaknesses
•Time consuming and labor intensive to develop the case study
•No specific, concrete solutions to problems presented in case studies
•Facilitator should be skilled in handling case studies

• Develop a case study on a topic and
incorporate it into a lecture


Case Study
Instructor Challenge

• Two teams discuss single topic.
• One team argues for the `yes` side of the
issue; the other team argues for the `no` side.
• Teams should spend time brainstorming their
arguments before the debate.
• Then, elect two or three speakers to represent
their team in the debate.


Debate
Two teams discuss a single topic. One team argues for the `yes` side of the issue whereas the
other team argues for the `no` side. The teams should spend some time brainstorming their
arguments before the debate. They should then elect two or three speakers to represent their
team in the debate.

• The government should give land in national parks.
and game reserves to homeless people.
• A proposition salient to your curriculum


Debate
Ideas for Debates

Conduct a debate on a proposition that is salient to your curriculum:

•All people with HIV/ AIDS should be quarantined, e.g., isolated from society.
•The government should give the land in national parks and game reserves to landless people.

• Guidelines:
• You have 10 minutes to complete this activity.
• Select or appoint chairperson to conduct debate.
• Chairperson introduces speakers and keeps order.
• Time limit for each speaker is 5 minutes.
• Speakers stand in front of entire group and present
their views in turn.


Debate
Guidelines for Conducting Debates

•Elect or assign a chairperson to conduct the debate
•Chairperson introduces speakers and keeps order
•Each speaker is allowed to speak a five minutes per session
•Speakers stand in front of the entire group and present their views in turn


Teachers-in-training at Domasi College in Malawi demonstrate the interesting, interactive
debate technique.

• Field trips - Lessons conducted outside the
classroom
• Goal - To give students first-hand information
and experiences on classroom lessons
• Trip – part of ongoing study
• Students can relate classroom work to
everyday life
• Teachers prepare activities for students to
perform at the site


Educational Visits

Field trips are lessons conducted outside the classroom with the aim of giving students first-
hand information and experiences on subject matter under discussion. The trip is part of
ongoing study and teachers should prepare in advance activities for students to do at the site.
Students are given the chance to relate classroom work to their everyday life. For example, a
teacher may take his or her class to a nearby pond to observe the life cycle of mosquitoes in
science and health education or to a nearby main road to observe road users in general studies.

• Educational visits – Outings made to
consolidate classroom learning
• Teacher does little at site
• Resource person responsible to explain ideas
and processes to students
• Trips could include visits to industrial sites,
hospitals, other institutions


Educational Visits

Educational trips are outings made in order to consolidate what is learned in the classroom.
Here, the teacher does little at the site; it is the responsibility of the resource person to explain
the ideas, concepts, and processes to the students. These trips could include visits to industrial
sites, hospitals and other institutions.

• Gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes by using all their
senses
• Can relate classroom ideas to the real world

Strengths
• Provide students with opportunities to carry out
practical work in relation to what they have learned
• Provides students with a variety of learning styles to
help them learn more effectively
• A good event in which to involve parents as helpers

• Time consuming
Weaknesses

• Requires a lot of arrangements and organisation
• May be prone to eventualities - the weather
• Visits may be costly with regard to transportation
and provision of meals


Field Trips/Educational Visits

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of field trips/educational trips.
Advantages

•Students gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes by observing (using all their senses)
•Students relate classroom ideas to the real word
•Provides students with an opportunity to carry out practical work in relation to what they have
learnt.
•Provides students with a variety of learning styles and thus helps them learn more effectively
•Good event in which to involve parents

Disadvantages
•Time consuming to undertake
•Requires a lot of arrangements and organisation
•Sometimes requires parental consent before children can be taken out
•May be prone to eventualities
•Visits may be costly with regard to transportation and provision of meals

• Communicate the objective of the field trip in advance
• Make a preliminary trip to determine suitability
• Acquire permission from principal and site owner
• Prepare agenda and activities for students to do to
prepare for trip
• Give instructions on what to do when students are
onsite
• Ask parents or class leaders to help control class at
site
• Do not hurry students in observations once onsite


Guidelines for Planning Field Trips
Discuss how you would effectively plan and organise a field/educational trip.

Ask if this is a good technique in which to involve the parents as helpers & chaperones?

•The trip should have an aim/objective which should be communicated to the students well in
advance
•Make a preliminary trip to determine the suitability of the place
•Get permission from the principal of the school and the site owner
•It may be necessary to inform the PTA and the School Management Committee about the trip
•Ensure that students have pens/pencils and paper for notes
•Communicate any precautionary measures to the students
•Prepare an agenda or schedule and student preparation activities before the trip and tell the
students what to do when they reach the site
•Ask class leaders to help you control the class
•Do not hurry students or push them into seeing everything once they get to the site

Slide 80

Thank you – we have consumed this apple together.

Slide 81

• Why is it prudent to combine several methods
when teaching anything?
• Prepare lesson plans on any subject – use three of
the methods described in this presentation
• Comments?
This Training Event is
• Questions? sponsored by:
• Concerns?


Session Wrap Up
Objectives Check
Now:
•Can you describe the difference between student-centric and teacher-centric methods and
techniques?
•Can you explain how to best use different methods and techniques in lessons?
•Can you select appropriate technique(s) for a particular teaching/learning outcome?
•What are you plans to apply various techniques in your lessons?

• Classroom Teaching Skills (7th ed.) (2003). New
York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
• Mtunda, F.G. and Safuli, SDD. (1997). Theory and
practice of teaching. Blantyre: Dzuka. Mzumara,
P.S., In-service course materials for teacher
educators. (Unpublished).
• A trainer’s guide. (2000). Hertfordshire, London:
IIED.
• A guide to better instruction (2001). (6th ed.). New
York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

• A girl should choose school over marriage .
• A girl should refuse to have sex without a
condom.
• Teens should just say “no” to drugs and alcohol.
• People with HIV/AIDS should be quarantined
from society.
• Teenage pregnancies contribute to an
impoverished society.
• Parents should be involved in their children’s
education.


Main Project:
Using your handouts and from the presentations, working in Buzz Groups synthesize what you
have learned. Use the topics that are projected on the slide to develop using Discussion,
Brainstorming, Role Play, Values Clarification, Future Wheels, Songs & Jingles, Games, Devil’s
Advocacy, Case Study, Debate, and Field Trip/Educational Visits.

Include ideas for multiple intelligences in the techniques, as well as other strategies that you
learned about to differentiate instruction for all of your students.

Interactive Learning Techniques

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