1. Methods in Teaching: Developing Classroom
Instructional Techniques
By: Ahmad Khan
Lecturer, ASBA & ASIT (English)
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 1
2. Objectives:
Become aware of the use of methods, techniques and strategies in your teaching.
Learn about other methods and their application.
Discuss the connection between teaching objectives and methods.
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 2
3. Teaching ?
"Teaching is an art – but effective teaching consists of a set of
skills that can be acquired, improved and extended."(Gralki, 1990)
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 3
5. Procedure:
First, please consider your own applicationof methods. Which methods did you use? Let us first
roughly define a method as “any sort of teaching activity”. List at least three methods you know, or you
used or experienced during your studies. Now describe how you succeeded in applying it.
Chart:
Name of the method Description / When and
why did you apply it?
What did you
experience?
Advantage / What was
good about using this
method and why?
Disadvantage / What was bad
about using the method?
........................ ......................... ............................ ...............................
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 5
6. What is a Method?
A method is a description of the way that information or behavior is carried forward
or consolidated during the instructional process.
Examples
"No interaction": lecture---------------------------------------------
"teacher centered interaction": interactive lecture -------------
"Group centered interaction": group work ------------------------
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 6
7. What is a Technique?
A technique is a detailed list of rules or a guideline for any (teaching) activity.
Examples
With mind mapping you apply guidelines for devising content in a holistic way. This is a
technique that can be used in an individual working situation, in a group work, or by the teacher
as a means of demonstrating something.
Brainstorming is a group centered interaction method. The brainstorming technique describes a
way of collecting ideas or information in a creative and uninhibited way.
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 7
8. What is a Strategy?
A strategy defines the basic procedure of how the content is
elaborated during the teaching process.
There are two possible alternatives:
1. The Cognitive Approach
2. The Affective Approach
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 8
9. 1. The Cognitive Approach (Teacher-Centered)
The cognitive approach is expository, as information is given in a structured and
organized process (top-down). The student’s role in this is passive, consuming and
“breathing in”. The teacher is the constitutive element: he informs, tells, shows, asks,
corrects, etc.
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 9
10. 2. The Affective Approach (Student-Centered)
The affective approach is based on “discovering”, and uses the curiosity of the student
to let him find out something on his own. There is little or no information given, just an
issue to explore. Students have to be active and inquisitive to solve the problem. The
teacher is not involved. In this student centered strategy, students learn by doing, by
experiencing, and by observing.
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 10
11. Role of a Teacher:
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 11
12. A teacher can be described as…
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 12
13. List of Methods
Lecture
Presentation
Discussion
Lecture discussion
Group work
Cooperative/Collaborative learning
Puzzle method (Jigsaw teaching techniques)
Role play
Case method
Debate
Fishbowl
Brainstorming
Buzz groups
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 13
14. Methods and Objectives
The methods you want to apply in your teaching are tightly linked to the
objectives you formulated in your planning process.
To select a method, the two following questions should be answered:
What can I do to help the students to achieve the teaching objectives?
What do the students have to do to achieve the teaching objectives?
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 14
15. How to choose the appropriate method?
1. You can choose the method based on the level of BLOOMS TAXONOMY.
Level one way - no group
activity
teacher centered
activities
group centered
activities
Knowledge lectures
presentations
reading
giving individual tasks
lecture discussion
laboratory work
exchange of experience
brainstorming
collecting previous
knowledge
Comprehension lecture
presentation by students
individual exercise
lecture discussion
laboratory work
debate
group work, discussion
(e.g. fishbowl)
problem solving
simulation, role play
Application
-
laboratory work
tutorials
practical exercises
field work
project work
problem solving
simulation, case study
Transfer (analysis,
synthesis and
evaluation)
-
discussions
experiments
laboratory work
strategic games
experiments
problem solving
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 15
16. 2. You can also choose the method considering theGROUP SIZE.
Pairs (2): Any group work which is not based on collecting a lot of ideas – it is more for the exchange of
knowledge or experience.
Small group (3-10): Any group work based on collecting ideas, the exchange of knowledge or experience, or
producing something.
Medium group (10-20): Interactive lectures, case studies etc. Divide the class in small groups.
Large group (more than 20): Lectures, augmented with buzz groups and discussions, expert panel, open
space, separating in small group activities, and project work.
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 16
17. Conclusion:
If you choose a method you also have to take into account the surrounding or
environmental constraints:
How long is your lecture, how much “new content” do you want to introduce?
How many students do you have in the class?
How much time do you have?
Is the classroom appropriate for the groups to work?
Keep in mind, that student centered methods are time consuming, but very
motivating and efficient!
Prepared and Presented By: Ahmad Khan 17