INTERACTIVE TEACHING METHODS IN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Chernenko A.V.

(Kharkiv, Ukraine)

In the 21st century information, media and technology skills are essentially required for modern teaching due to the environment of technology and media. Competent teachers must have critical thinking skills such as information literacy, media literacy and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Literacy. (Geske & Ozola, 2008), (Kostikova, 2018).

Today modern educational technology focuses on teacher’s ability to design not only a lesson, but also to create special pedagogical environment in which it is possible to implement active learning methods. Active learning methods encourage active thinking and practical activity in the process of mastering educational material. They suggest to immerse students in controlled communication, to engage in real events. This creates conditions in which students are forced to think in terms of a different scale, included in the solution to the problem of information at various levels.

It is important to attract the higher educational establishment teachers’, post graduate and graduate students’ attention to the peculiarities of interactive teaching and to introduce the basic ways of different method. We describe the use of interactive methods of teaching, which encourage interest in the profession. The dynamic growth of modern world, information increase, the importance of a person in a society, the period of intellectual changes demand to develop students’ active actions. That’s why interactive methods are very important in the educational process.

Active methods help to create a supportive learning environment in which it is possible to achieve understanding the problem (Barnes, Christensen, Hansen, 2000). Competent using a variety of active teaching methods helps to make the learning process not only interesting for students but also effective one.

Meyers and Jones (1993), Raux (2004), Morton (2002) have examined classroom learning methods and found that today's students learn more, retain more, and are more successful when active learning methods are employed in the classroom as opposed to traditional passive learning methods.

The interactive methods are modern ways of stimulating teaching, representing tools of learning which favor the interchange of ideas, experiences and knowledge. Interactivity is characterized by the desire for active cooperation and involvement with a deep active-participatory character. Learning is achieved through communication and collaboration. It is based on mutual relationships and it refers to the process of active learning, whereby, the learner acts on information in order to turn it into new, personal and internalized information.

Today, we should talk about the use of interactive methods of teaching, which encourage interest in the profession; promote the efficient acquisition of training material; form patterns of conduct; provide high motivation, strength, knowledge, team spirit and freedom of expression; and most importantly, contribute to the complex competences of future specialists. Using interactive methods turn the teaching process to interesting and attractive process of students’ actions. In this way it is necessary to use discussion (thinking, forming self-opinions and ideas, making choice, drawing, painting, and writing), group work or pair work with students.

An overview of the modern teaching methods that are most widespread in the scientific and methodological literature is presented. It has the potential to form the competences of future professionals.

Mel Silberman (2001) derives alternatives to lecturing that you can use even if your participants have little prior knowledge of the subject being taught. These methods are: 1) Demonstration, 2) Case study, 3) Guided teaching, 4) Information search, 5) Jigsaw learning. Let’s analyze them in details.

1. Demonstration. Instead of talking about a concept, procedure, or set of facts, you may be able to walk through a demonstration of the information in action. Involving participants in the demonstration, if possible, is important, so that they can actually hear, see, and touch the relevant learning materials. The demonstration advantage is that it adds showing to merely telling.

2. Case study. A case study can be likened to a written demonstration. You are providing an account of a real or fictitious situation, including sufficient detail to make it possible for groups to analyze the problems involved. You can also embed information in a case study that is normally given in lecture format. The major benefit of a case study is that abstract information is presented specifically.

3. Guided teaching. Instead of presenting a lecture, ask a series of questions to tap the knowledge of the group or obtain their hypotheses or conclusions. Record their ideas, if possible, and compare them to the lecture points you have in mind. The guided teaching method is a nice break from straight lecturing and allows you to learn what participants already know and understand before making your own instructional points. Because it utilizes a Socratic teaching technique, this method encourages self-discovery.

4. Information search. This method can be likened to an open-book test. Hand out worksheets containing questions about the topic. Tell the group search for the information, which you would normally cover in a lecture, in source materials such as handouts, documents, a textbook, reference guides, computer-accessed information, artifacts, and work-related equipment. The search can be performed by small teams or individuals. You can even set up a friendly competition to encourage full participation.

5. Jigsaw learning is a variation of a study group. Rather than asking each group to study the same information, you can give different information to different groups and then form study groups composed of representatives of the initial groups. The beauty of jigsaw learning is that every single participant teaches something or brings his or her newly acquired knowledge to the learning task. It is an exciting alternative whenever the material to be learned can be segmented or “chunked” and when no segment can be taught before the others. Each participant learns something that, when combined with the material learned by the others, forms a coherent body of knowledge or skill.

So, we can come to the conclusion that teaching activity involves the use of methods, techniques and procedures that involve the student in the learning process, aiming to develop critical thinking, learning interest, to stimulate creativity, in the sense of forming him as an active participant in the training process. The option for one method or another is also in a close relationship with the teacher's personality and level of preparation, predisposition and the student group learning styles with which it is worked. Using interactive teaching methods in the classroom, we hope to have a self-confident, critical-thinking student who understands the fundamentals of learning process.

References:

Barnes, L. B., Christensen, C. R. & Hansen, E. J. (2000). Teaching method and specific situations. Trans. Engl. Ed. by A. I. Naumov. Moscow.

Geske, A., & Ozola, A. (2008). Factor influencing reading literacy at the primary school level. Problems of Education in the 21st Century. 1, 71-77.

Kostikova, I. I. (2018). Information and communication technologies in students’ language learning. International Journal of Education and Science, 1(1-2), 7-14. DOI: 10.26697/ijes.2018.1-2.01

Meyers, C. & Jones, T.B. (1993). Promoting Active Learning: Strategies for the College Classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Morton, L. P. (2002). Targeting Generation Y. Public Relations Quarterly. 47 (2), 46-48.

Raux, D. J. (2004). Implementing Active Learning in College Accounting Classes. Explorations in Teaching and Learning, 16 (1), 122-128.

Silberman, M. & Auerbach, C. Active Training. A Handbook of Techniques, Designs, Case Examples, and Tips. Third edition. San Francisco, CA: Wilye Company.