Dr. Dona’s Blog at Learning Link

Here are some things to think about.

Particularly at the university level, instructors need to incorporate critical thinking into their lessons – across the board. One way of doing this is for instructors to change their teaching methods so that they do not depend on the lecture as the sole method of instruction. Generally, lecturing tends to discourage student interaction with the instructor, with each other and with the material at hand. It also stifles creativity and doesn’t actively promote meaningful learning.

Instead, instructors should use strategies that encourage independent thought and autonomy, promote less dependence on the instructor and encourage real understanding of material.

Conference style learning is an alternative to lecturing. With this strategy, students are required to read assignments before coming to class and then engage in class discussions based on the readings. When using this approach, it is critically important that students read since this forms the basis of class discussions and there can be no intelligent discussions without knowledge of the topic at hand. On a related point, it is also important that the reading content be at a level that is easily understood by the students.

Having read the required material, students ask each other questions and engage in discussion on the topic. Here the instructor’s role is to guide the discussion, bringing out relevant points when necessary, and basically acting as a facilitator. These discussions give the students the opportunity engage with the material in a meaningful way, to peer correct, and to become independent and autonomous learners.

There is a basic agreement that the traditional way of covering material, using questions that do not challenge students to think, needs to be abandoned. Instead this needs to be replaced with questions that stimulate student interest and reflection. Teachers can ask open-ended questions which do not have a specific correct answer but which allow students to think and discern their own answers. Rather than giving students information, teachers should ask questions that prod students to think, leading to the important information rising to the surface. Students should also be encouraged to make up their own stimulating questions and pose these questions to their classmates.

How do you engage students in the learning process? One way is to follow the recommendation of Caleb Gattegno, the founder of the Silent Way. He proposed that the purpose of teaching is “to serve the learning process and not to dominate it.” Using this guiding principle, the teacher does not dominate the classroom in the traditional sense by simply giving students information. Instead, the teacher uses techniques and strategies that create real learning situations – those that leave students with the time and space to actually understand and retain the material being presented. In these classrooms, students are engaged in activities that encourage creative thinking as well as interaction with each other and the teacher. We find that in such an environment, there is less “teacher talk” and more “student talk” – and more learning on the part of the student.

Welcome to my blog! This blog is designed to provide a forum for thought-provoking dialogue on education, cultural awareness and issues of self-image. Beginning in early March 2009, I hope to provide regular blogs that inspire fruitful discussion among readers. Please visit again soon.