Interactive learning approaches employing various methods can give a quantum jump in learning outcomes
MMost adults have experienced sitting passively in classrooms, as the teacher delivered monologues. Today we know such experience is not optimal and must be replaced with interactive, student-centred learning environments.
In the last few decades, educators have recognized the importance of interactive learning approaches. Research has established that learning rarely happens effectively in one-way lectures. In interactive learning environments, students are actively engaged. This can be done in a variety of ways; asking the students questions; making students work with peers and in teams; introducing hands-on experiences.
The students are actively engaged by ‘speaking’ or ‘doing’ during the learning process. Student-centred classrooms leverage individual student qualities for deeper learning. Student-centred learning, also called Learner-centred approaches, is another pedagogical approach, gaining importance.
Student-centred approaches acknowledge that students are unique individuals with diverse interests, strengths and preferences for learning, while affirming that one size does not fit all. Good teaching requires us to know students well, and use this knowledge to make instructions more effective. This can be done by incorporating students’ interests into the lessons, connecting the contents to their surrounding contexts to make them relevant, while differentiating learning to suit different paces and preferences of learning, etc.
The positive impact of interactive learning can be enhanced further when Student-centred pedagogy is incorporated. This can be done at three levels - body: behavioural, sensory engagement; mind: cognitive/ intellectual engagement; and heart: emotional/ motivational engagement.
To promote behavioural engagement, we must have a learning environment or strategies that enable students to stay on task during the learning process. It’s promoted by interactive learning strategies such as asking questions to help students stay attentive and using multi-modal interactive media to engage the senses.
The students can be given opportunities to co-create classroom rules, which helps in making the learning more student-centred, and teachers can co-create the rules or classroom agreements with their students. This builds a sense of ownership and shared responsibility among students.
Engaging students cognitively means that students are actively thinking about what they are learning. Students must also be intellectually engaged in the process for deeper learning.
Interactive strategies like questioning and group work can promote intellectual engagement. The students can be given opportunities to express their thinking, as interactive pedagogy is more powerful when it encourages students’ participation, nudging them to express their own opinions and listen to others. Group work and digital polling tools can also be used to give students the opportunity to share their ideas at the same time. When students are intellectually engaged they are more likely to retain it for longer.
Different students learn at varying paces. One-size-fits-all make the students rush through the process, which leaves gaps in foundational knowledge. Differentiating the pace of instruction can promote better learning for all. Advances in technology now give us options to curate learning resources that can be accessed asynchronously. This can promote a great deal of self-paced learning.
Emotionally engaging students means making them excited, curious and motivated. We do not want students to learn simply, because they are being watched by a teacher or only for a grade on a report card. Learners should be driven by their curiosity and passion. Interactive learning strategies like collaborative learning and hands-on, project-based learning can promote this.
Students should be given opportunities to learn with peers, which promotes interaction. But beyond that, peer learning, with the right classroom culture of course, can create safe learning spaces in which students are encouraged to reach out to peers to demonstrate or clear doubts. It is much less intimidating to reach out to a peer for support instead of always asking the teacher.
Also the students should be given opportunities to make interest-based choices during the learning process. Having a say in what they learn makes learning more motivating and helps build self-directed learning habits. Student-centred approaches like project-based learning provides students with ‘voice and choice’ in their projects along with sustained inquiry and reflection. Student-centred approaches can enhance one-size-fits-all interactive learning approaches to promote engagement that goes beyond compliance or participation. It extends to cognitive engagement (mind) that intellectually stimulates and emotional engagement (heart) that motivates. This higher level of engagement leads to deeper, enduring learning for students.
(The author is Director, The Green Acres Academy)