Like many other sectors in today’s modern world, the academic industry is rapidly undergoing advancements. While some of these transitions may seem gradual and unnecessary, they can still be incredibly consequential in the long run. And so, recognizing them and embracing these as they emerge can make all the difference in improving student outcomes.
Unfortunately, many teachers view modern technologies and pedagogies as obstacles rather than the opportunities they present. This mindset not only ceases your growth as an educator but prevents you from preparing your student for real-world situations. Therefore, it’s a much wiser approach to evolve yourself with these fast-changing times and incorporate contemporary advancements into your teaching styles.
Additionally, although still relevant, conventional teaching methods may no longer be as effective in modern classrooms. For example, inclusivity for special needs students and global collaborations are gradually becoming prevalent. Since these offer excellent platforms for advancing students’ learning, it’ll be a shame not to use them to your advantage.
So, to help you, we’ll discuss eight effective teaching strategies and techniques you can apply in your contemporary classrooms.
Table of Contents
1. Advance Your Learning
Extraordinary teachers are always willing to go the extra mile for their students, even if it means committing themselves to advance their learning. Since classroom dynamics evolve quickly, keeping yourself updated with the latest pedagogies and principles needed to navigate the academic sector is crucial. However, putting your students on hold while you return to school and earn a degree is also challenging.
Fortunately, with the advent of the internet and its prevalence worldwide, you can benefit from remote learning opportunities. You can enroll in some of the best education programs online while continuing your job and pick out a class schedule that works well for you.
2. Personalized Lessons
Education can no longer take a “one size fits all” approach. Students in a single classroom come from various socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, races, religions, and cultures. And instead of trying to mold them all into one shape, it’s better to acknowledge and celebrate these differences.
This strategy not only encourages tolerance, acceptance, and inclusivity among your students but also helps them comprehend their lessons better. Additionally, by tailoring lessons that consider each student’s strengths and limitations, you’re more likely able to instill self-confidence and a growth mindset among them.
3. Hands-On Learning
The traditional teaching style of a teacher entering the classroom, delivering their lesson, and leaving right after has received little to no success. Research shows that students learn better with hands-on strategies since these engage both sides of the brain. For instance, the right hemisphere processes the visual and spatial components, while the left hemisphere processes your listening and analysis skills. Therefore, when both hemispheres get stimulated, the brain has higher functioning and can retain more information.
Hands-on learning can include designing and executing a science experiment, solving a math equation using real-life examples, creating art, or even building a circuit. There’s no shortage of activities you can plan for your students, just as long as you’re willing to put in that extra effort.
4. Appeal To Different Senses
Although multisensory teaching techniques are more common in special education, these can be just as effective in an ordinary classroom setting. This approach uses a student’s auditory, visual, and kinesthetic pathways to enhance their learning ability. More importantly, since some students are better visual learners than audio learners, you can simultaneously engage more students in the same lesson.
Some tools you can incorporate for each of these types of learners include:
- Singing songs or rhymes, reading the material aloud, phonetics, and audiobooks (audio learners)
- Showing pictures or mind maps, flashcards, photographs, charts, and diagrams (visual learners)
- Using modeling clay, sandbox, carpet, models, and arts and crafts (kinesthetic learners)
5. Group Assignments
Students are likely to learn and retain more knowledge when you mix up things in the classroom now and then. One effective technique is dividing the class into groups to carry out an activity, solve a worksheet, or make a presentation. Group assignments incorporate each student’s diverse academic, interpersonal, and real-world skills and pool them together for a more stimulating discussion.
This approach is also beneficial for cultivating teamwork and other soft skills when these students enter the professional circle. For instance, working in a group can teach them how to navigate team dynamics, delegate tasks, and resolve conflicts—all crucial skills needed in a workplace.
6. Incorporate Games
Who says learning can’t be fun? On the contrary, the more you engage your students and make the lessons enjoyable, the more likely they will learn quicker and better. Remembering this principle, you may benefit from incorporating games into your everyday classes. Friendly competitions or contests can transform boring lessons into an immersive and exciting experience. These allow your students to actively participate in exploring challenges they may otherwise shy away from and turn passive learning into an active approach.
7. Use Online Tools
Whether you want to or not, realizing that technology is here to stay is essential. Therefore, instead of pushing it out of your classroom, embracing the doors it opens and integrating the tools it offers is a wiser move. Online programs, software, apps, and websites provide a versatile platform where you can transcend physical boundaries to deliver engaging and visually appealing content to your students.
For example, you can enhance student retention by inserting videos, simulations, animations, or interactive quizzes into your lesson plan. This strategy also fosters teamwork and collaboration, allowing students to work in groups, exchange ideas, and actively listen to each other.
8. Flip Roles
As long as teachers consider themselves on top of the hierarchy, classrooms can only make limited progress. Therefore, one effective teaching strategy is to flip student-teacher roles where you become learners, and your student takes on the part of a teacher.
This approach is helpful because when students assume teaching positions, they must develop a thorough understanding of their lesson and strategize ways to deliver the concept best. Similarly, when you become the learner, you gain better insights into your student’s perspectives, challenges, and problems. Consequently, this way, you can better tailor your instructions and fill the gap wherever it may lie.
Conclusion
Educators, teachers, and other academic professionals must continuously strive to learn evolving teaching strategies better suited to today’s dynamic environment. And while teaching strategies like the ones above may seem a little unorthodox at first, these are what will nurture your students to succeed in an ever-changing global landscape.