Interactive Lecture

Interactive Lecture:

1.    What are some of the topics / concepts that can be taught using this strategy?  Explain with example.

Giving an interactive lecture involves creating and integrating interactive student activities with the more traditional segments. In highly interactive lectures, the traditional lecture portions are brief with either planned or spontaneous interactive activities. Interactive learning in a classroom is to maintain a teaching style, like the Socratic Method, that encourages healthy debate between students and the teacher.

1.    What are 5 benefits that this strategy would provide for your students?

Discussion in class is one of the interactive learning during lectures. When the lecturer ask his/her students to discuss about a specific topic in class, it will helps to motivate students toward further learning, to allow students to apply information in new settings, or to develop students' thinking skills, then discussion is preferable to lecture. Students are able to express out their own opinions during the class. They will have chance to talk in front of their friends and lecturer. So it will help them to gain self confidence to talk. Interactive environment is good for the learners to present themselves in front of everyone where this is the time to train them to be courage enough for their future work or career presentation. It motivates students and helps them to improve their communication skills with people. So they can be more active during class. Furthermore, it allows teachers to make effective use of classroom resources. Teachers will be able to analyze his/her students learning capacity easily. The feedback from student will be as fast as possible. Interactive environment bring conducting brainstorm sessions for the students to think on the topic. 

1.    What are the situations in which you will not use this strategy? Why?

Although it may sound simple, it is hard to actually foster an atmosphere in which students feel free to question authority because they fear reprisal or embarrassment. The development of true critical-thinking skills, however, requires just such an open and honest exchange of ideas.

Different Methods used in the classroom

I wanted to do a session on Teamwork and I wanted to make the session interactive. So, I divided the students in a group of 3 and gave a riddle to the leader of each group and asked them to solve and prepare a write-up on the hurdles that they will face during the session. It was the responsibility of the leader of each group to decide whom to entrust with what responsibility during the session. I also mentioned the time-slot and the ground rules.

My objective for the session was to make them understand how to work together in a team to achieve a common goal.

I used the method, i.e. giving them a riddle because I wanted to involve everyone in the process wherein group discussion, teamwork and active participation was required.

To my utter surprise, the students who initially did not like, later on commented that they want this kind of sessions in the future. They liked it as it was self-explanatory method wherein the participation of the students was more than me.

Video on SCL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xgza0cMYJw

The above mentioned link is the clip from the movie “Taare Zameen Par”. In this scene, Amir Khan is teaching the kids in a different style. This is a perfect example of SCL.

In this scene, Amir Khan talks about great people who had difficulty in the learning process and he used different types of techniques. He asked the students to pickup  whatever they like and gave them freedom to learn in the way they like and on their interest. He also gave special attention to Ishan and motivated him to learn by giving him real life example.

Understanding based on the videos on the approach of facilitation

The video which reflected the idea of a facilitator’s role as an architect, pilot and guide reflected the complete picture of a facilitator. It reflected the roles and responsibilities which a facilitator should take care of. The second video reflected the six steps of facilitation wherein it was very beautifully described different components of facilitation. It has also demonstrated what kind of rights do teachers and students share and how a teacher can identify the needs of a student while maintaining the goal of the learning.

Concept Video - Teaching Approach

Concept Video - Teaching Approaches:

The first video was based on “Cook by the book”. The cook hold the idea that whatever she will cook everyone will like because she followed the recipe. The idea behind this was syllabus and curriculum oriented teaching and learning process which cannot foster intellectual learning and deep understanding.

The second video was based on “This is how I like it”. The cook was happy that he did not follow the recipe, however added some of his own ideas and thought that everyone will like it. The idea behind this was teacher centered learning wherein there was very less opportunity for a student to open-up and learn. The learning becomes one-way process.

The third video was based on “What are we cooking today?”. The cook was glad that she took suggestion and it became better. The idea behind this was student centered learning wherein there was opportunity for a student to open-up and learn.

SCL and TCL

Talking about TCL and SCL.

My one session has been a mix of TCL and SCL. The session objective of the session was to impart the importance of Team work among the participants.
I used the SCL technique, reason being that the participants involved in the session could not relate the topic to them selves. Spoken lecture gave them idea of what team work means but they still had a vague knowledge about how team work helps and why is i important to be a good team player.
At the end of the session that we conducted the feedback from the students was really positive. they were able to relate their lives and the incidences where lack of team work had made them fail.

Elements of a Teaching Approach

Elements of Teaching Approaches:

Popular discussion on education as well as recent findings in the learning sciences tell a similar story. The model of education typical of 20th century classrooms was effective for that era of human history, but the ‘knowledge society’ we now live in requires new thinking about what constitutes effective and engaging teaching and learning. Teachers are now faced with the challenge that former conceptions of knowledge, minds and learning no longer serve a world where what we know is less important that what we are able to do with knowledge in different contexts.

So, teaching approaches like inquiry-based approach is helping to increase intellectual engagement and foster deep understanding through the development of a hands-on, minds-on and ‘research-based disposition’ towards teaching and learning.

Hence, the first video is completely based on “Lecture Method” wherein the active participation of the students was lacking and was teacher-centered learning. However, the second video was more of “Inquiry-based Method” wherein the students was actively participating in the class and was student-centered learning.