With the increase in the amount of knowledge gained and the growing requirements for the quality of education, the classical class-lesson system is gradually being replaced by interactive teaching methods. As the term implies, this way of conducting a lesson involves intensive intra-group interaction. New knowledge is acquired and tested in continuous contact of one student with others and the teacher.
Requirements for interactive sessions
The use of interactive teaching methods presupposes that the teacher or lecturer is qualified. It depends on the leader how well the team members will interact with each other.
There must be a balance between group activities and individual approach. The team has the ability to "dissolve" an individual in itself, while the basis of interactive teaching methods is the formation of a personality.
Occupationshould be built in such a way that students are active and interested at all its stages. To do this, it is necessary to have a didactic base and a sufficient amount of visual material, as well as take into account the experience gained earlier.
And, finally, the lesson should be age-appropriate and take into account the psychological characteristics of students. Interactive teaching methods in elementary school differ significantly in their goals and content from similar classes in a preschool or student group.
Principles and rules
Interactive forms and teaching methods imply freedom of choice, that is, the student should be able to express his point of view on the proposed problem in the most optimal form of expression for him. At the same time, the teacher should not limit his audience only to the scope of the issue being studied.
Another principle of interactive teaching methods is the obligatory exchange of experience both between the teacher and the students and between the students within the group. The knowledge gained during the lesson should be tested in practice, for which it is necessary to create the appropriate conditions.
The third rule is the constant presence of feedback, which can be expressed in the consolidation of the material covered, its generalization and evaluation. An effective method is to discuss the educational process itself.
Active group method
Although the focus of the interactive learning methodology is on the individual student, their abilities and personal qualities, the process itself iscollective, so group methods are of paramount importance. The role of the teacher is to direct the activity of the class to communication within the framework of any goal: educational, cognitive, creative, correctional. This approach to learning is called the active group method. It has three main blocks:
- Discussion (discussion of a topic, analysis of knowledge gained in practice).
- Game (business, role-playing, creative).
- Sensitive training, that is, the training of interpersonal sensitivity.
The most important role in the organization of the educational process using the technology of interactive teaching methods is played by the activity of students. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the goal of communication is not only to accumulate and compare experience, but also to achieve reflection, the student must find out how he is perceived by other people.
Interactive preschool activities
A person's personality begins to form in early childhood. Interactive teaching methods allow the child, through contact with peers and the educator, to learn not only to express their own opinion, but also to learn to take into account someone else's.
Activity of a preschooler can manifest itself in various forms. Firstly, the acquisition of new knowledge can be dressed in a game form. This allows the child to realize his creative abilities, and also contributes to the development of imagination. The game method is implemented both in the form of logical exercises and in imitation of real situations.
Secondly, experimentation plays an important role. They can be both mental (for example, determining the number of possible ways to solve the same problem) and objective: studying the properties of an object, observing animals and plants.
When conducting an interactive lesson in a younger age group, it should be understood that in order to maintain interest in learning, it is necessary to encourage the child's attempts to figure out the problem on his own, even if his solution turned out to be wrong. The main thing is to let the preschooler develop their own experience, which includes mistakes.
Interactive teaching methods in elementary school
Entering school is always a difficult period for a child, because from that moment he needs to get used to the new regime, realize that the time is scheduled by the clock, and instead of the usual games, he will have to listen to the teacher’s not always clear explanations and perform at first glance useless tasks. Because of this, the use of interactive teaching methods in the classroom becomes an urgent need: they most effectively allow the child to be involved in the learning process.
The first plan is to create an environment where the child's cognitive activity would be constantly motivated. This contributes to the deep assimilation of the material, and the internal desire to acquire new knowledge. To do this, a number of methods are used: encouraging the efforts of the child, creating situations in which he feels successful, stimulating the search for non-standard and alternativesolutions.
The situation in the classroom should orient the child towards empathy, mutual assistance. Thanks to this, the student begins to feel useful, strives to contribute to the common cause and be interested in the results of collective work.
Interactive activities prevent the perception of school as a boring necessity. Thanks to them, the presentation of the material is carried out in a bright and imaginative form, thanks to which the cognitive activity of the child is always at a high level, and in parallel, interpersonal communication and teamwork skills are formed.
Zigzag strategy
One of the most important tasks of education is to develop critical thinking skills in children. This process can also be carried out in a game form, for example, using the "Zigzag" strategy.
This technique involves dividing the class into small groups (4-6 people each), before which a specific question is posed. The purpose of the working group is to analyze the problem, identify possible methods for solving it, and outline a plan to achieve the goal. After that, the teacher forms expert groups, which should include at least one person from the working group. They are invited to study a certain element from the task. When this is done, the original groups are recreated and now have an expert in their field. Interacting, children pass on the knowledge gained to each other, share their experience and, on the basis of this, solve the task assigned to them.
Using the interactive whiteboard
The use of modern equipment allows you to increase the visibility of the issue being studied, as well as help increase the interest of the class in the topic. The interactive whiteboard is synchronized with the computer, but is not rigidly tied to it: the main actions are performed directly from the board using an electronic marker.
The forms of application of such equipment can be very diverse. First of all, the presence of an interactive whiteboard relieves the teacher of the need to control the availability of visual material and monitor its safety. For example, in math lessons, interactive learning using the whiteboard allows you to make drawings for problems, correlate tasks with their answers, and measure areas, perimeters, and angles of shapes.
Expanding the scope of the interactive whiteboard depends only on the imagination and interest of the teacher in the work of the class.
Features of the use of interactive methods in middle and high school
At the later stages of learning, the forms of conducting an interactive lesson become more complicated. Role-playing games are intended not so much to imitate any situation, but to create it. So, in high school, you can play the game "Aquarium", somewhat reminiscent of a reality show. Its essence is that several students act out a scene on a given problem, while the rest of the class members observe and comment on the development of the action. Ultimately, a comprehensiveconsideration of the problem and find the optimal algorithm for solving it.
In addition, students can complete project assignments. One person or several teachers are given a task that is carried out independently. Such a group presents the results of their work in class, which allows the class to formulate their opinion on the project and evaluate the quality of its implementation. The form of project implementation can be different: from short speeches at the lesson to the project week, and in the latter case, other classes can also be involved in the discussion of the results.
Brainstorm
The purpose of this technique is to quickly resolve the problem as a result of individual or collective search. In the first case, one student writes down ideas that arise during his reflection, which are then discussed by the whole class.
However, more preference is given to collective brainstorming. After the problem is declared, team members begin to express all the ideas that come to mind, which are then analyzed. At the first stage, it is important to collect as many options as possible. During the discussion, the least effective or incorrect ones are gradually eliminated. The positive effect of the method is that the impossibility of discussing ideas at the first stage eliminates the student's fear that his thought will be ridiculed, which allows him to freely express his thoughts.
Interactive methods in higher education
Seminar classes at the university allow students to contact each other and withteacher when discussing a given problem. However, the use of interactive teaching methods will significantly increase the options for lecturing. In this case, everyone is equalized, and students get the opportunity to openly express their opinion on the discipline being studied. The lecture itself turns from a material for cramming into information for reflection.
The use of interactive learning methods at the university allows you to present lecture material in different ways. It can be handed out to students electronically, it can be displayed and improved through a brainstorming process, or it can form the basis of a presentation that highlights the key points of the topic on slides.
Using video conferencing
The development of information technology allows you to use the experience of other universities when conducting classes. Recently, webinars have become popular: a specialist in his field explains the problem in real time, shares his experience and answers questions from the audience while in another city. In addition, video conferencing makes it possible to listen to lectures by famous teachers and interact with them. Modern equipment allows students not only to see the lecturer, but also to provide feedback.
Electronic Educational Resources
A modern student is faced with an abundance of information on almost any topic, and in this stream it is sometimes difficult to find the necessary material. To avoid this, leading universities create electronic portals,where the necessary information is structured by topic, and access to it is free thanks to the presence of electronic catalogs.
In addition, organizational information is posted on the portals: class schedule, educational and methodological complex, samples of term papers and theses and requirements for them, "electronic dean's office".
Meaning of interactive methods
The experience of interactive teaching methods shows that only direct and open interaction between students and the teacher will create an interest in obtaining new knowledge, motivate them to expand existing ones, and also lay the foundations for interpersonal communication. New information is constantly tested and confirmed by experience, which makes it easier to remember and then use in practice.
