Education is imperative for everyone to enhance apprehension, knowledge, and lifestyle as well as social and economic status during the entire life. It propagates information about the world around us and develops a perspective of looking at life. Nevertheless, we as a person who is receiving education don’t think about methods employed in this process. Education is something that just happens to us, and we don’t give extra thought to how this all is organised.
Now, let us apprehend some teaching methods. A teaching method comprises the principles and pedagogy used by educators to enable student learning. Teaching theories can be organised into two genres that are, a teacher-centred approach versus a student-centred approach. In the teacher-centred approach to learning, teachers are the main authority and students are viewed as "empty vessels”. Students, passively, receive knowledge from their preceptors through lectures and direct instructions. Accordingly, student learning is measured through objectively scored tests and assessments. For instance, a flipped classroom is a high-tech approach to learning whereas, direct instruction and kinaesthetic instruction, both are low-tech approaches to learning.
However, in the student-centred approach to learning, teachers still have the main authority, but teachers and students play an equal role in the learning process. Apart from this, a teacher’s primary role is to coach and facilitate student learning and overall comprehension of material, and to measure student learning through both formal and informal forms of assessment, like group projects, student portfolios, and class participation. Some other methods which can be used by teachers for better understanding are personalised learning, game-based learning, inquiry-based learning, expeditionary learning, and differentiated instruction. The outreach program of the Northeastern University spurred the teachers to use music to engage the students.
Consequently, through these different approaches to teaching, educators can gain a better understanding of how to govern their classrooms at best, implement instructions, and connect with their students. Additionally, teachers should use technology as a tool in their classroom because students will learn best if the technology is used in the right way.
Aarushi Chawla