Higher education allows you to gain more knowledge about the subject of your interest and gain information that can help you pursue a lucrative career. But your higher education depends heavily upon the institution you select. Most importantly, their faculty. The better a lecturer is in conveying information to students, the more the students learn. There is no doubt that transferring knowledge through lectures is the oldest method. But it doesn’t mean that the lecturer has to stick with the old techniques too. An instructor can adapt many teaching methods to make the student body’s learning experience more valuable. So let us discuss some teaching strategies that can have fruitful results.
1. Teaching Large Groups through Lectures
Lectures are a vital part of higher education learning and the best source of delivering information. Hence, a lecturer has to keep in mind that their course should be interesting and engaging. The content they intend to provide should be easy to follow and organized in chronological order. The lecturer should be able to convey the idea clearly and involve the students through class participation. A lecturer can also make their lecture relevant and relatable by providing case studies.
A lecturer is also encouraged to use multimedia to convey information through visualization and auditory senses. Using multimedia as a tool for lecturers will help in engaging the students even more.
2. Practical ClassesÂ
Teaching through practical classes enhances the student’s understanding. It is significantly more useful for scientific education, where the lecturer has to introduce processes and methods to their students. These practical classes generally take place in labs, where the students have the opportunity to perform experiments. This way, they get a better understanding of how the basic principles of their study work. Practical classes aim to increase subject knowledge, teach different procedures and methods, teach technical and cognitive skills, and inculcate teamwork skills.
Practical learning is closely related to experiential learning. Experiential learning promotes groundwork and research by students. For example, the students of DSW programs online will have to perform social research or do an internship in organizations that support society. Science students have to conduct an experimental study or do internships.
3. Flipped ClassroomÂ
Flipped classroom technique promotes student engagement and practical learning more than theoretical knowledge. The concept focuses on students taking video lectures, complete their reading material at home, perform activities, or engage in class discussions. So the students learn to test their knowledge and their skills in an interactive environment.
As an instructor, you will have to deal with three elements. The home assignment element requires you to assign relevant content to students. For the home assignment quality, you will have to ensure conciseness and quality in reading content and video lectures. The third element is classroom learning, where you will have to prepare for classroom activities, discussions, and experiments.
4. Active Learning MethodsÂ
A simple lecture can become a passive environment for students to zone out after a while and learn nothing. But active learning is an umbrella term for adopting different techniques to engage the students in the class. Passive knowledge is useful if you want the students to understand or learn. But if you want them to evaluate or apply the learning, then active learning methods are beneficial. Some easy active learning methods are:
- Minute paper: The technique in which the lecturer asks the students to write down the most crucial piece of information they learn during the lecture. It promotes active/critical thinking and urges them to prepare for feedback.
- Chain notes: This technique includes writing down a question and making each student answer it in the form of short notes. You will then read these notes aloud and learn whatever the majority has perceived from your lecture. You can discuss the answers with the students and have them defend their arguments.
- Paraphrasing: A technique where you have a student paraphrase or summarize your lecture to another student.
- Application cards: Ask the students an application for the principle or method you have taught in class.
5. Problem-Based LearningÂ
A traditional lecture focuses on giving students general information and answers to different questions and problems. On the other hand, problem-based learning is when you provide students with a problem and urge them to find the solutions. It makes the student more active learners as they actively search for answers. It improves the communication skills of the students and makes them better team workers. By applying different information or methods and assessing their credibility, the student learns analytical skills. They also learn debating and public speaking skills when you ask them to defend their judgment and answers.
ConclusionÂ
Appropriate teaching methods shape the student body’s minds and motivate them to perform better in their academic and career life. You will find that often students work better when put in a situation where they have to come up with viable solutions. As a lecturer, you are responsible for ensuring that the students retain most information and prepare for practical life. You have to prepare the students for careers in their respective fields. And to achieve these results, the above mentioned teaching strategies could help significantly.
