Interactive Teaching Methods in Schools

Approximate reading time: 8m 53s

What is an interactive teaching method?

Interactive teaching is a teaching method in which teachers actively involve students in the learning process through regular interaction between teacher and student, interaction between student and student, the use of audio-visual materials, and practical demonstrations. Students are constantly encouraged to be active participants.

Students learn through their participation in the acquisition of knowledge by gathering information and processing it, solving problems, and formulating what they have discovered. Each activity below provides students with opportunities to deepen their learning through applying concepts and formulating new knowledge, and many of these activities also provide the instructor with feedback on student learning.

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Each learning objective should include a structured but flexible process for progress.

Interactive teaching methods include multiple goals under one roof. They are based on one main principle: without practical application, students often fail to fully understand the learning material.

How do you apply interactive teaching methods?

Students often lose interest during class, but interactive teaching methods create an atmosphere of attention and a desire to participate. So, make your lessons interesting, exciting, and fun. Telling is not teaching, and listening is not understanding.

What should you focus on?

• Encourage student participation.

• Use questions that stimulate response, discussion, and practical experience.

• Use attention-grabbing tools.

• Create a team environment.

• Involve yourself and your students.

15 interactive teaching methods you can use during class

1. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a type of interactive teaching method that is usually carried out in groups. The process is suitable for generating creative thoughts and ideas. It helps students bond and work well together.

2. „Think, Pair and Share“

Ask a question and divide the students into groups. Give them enough time to think and reach some conclusion. Ask each student to explain the conclusion from their point of view. Ask one of their classmates to evaluate what they said based on whether they managed to learn something new. Apply different variations of the process.

3. Informal discussion

In this interactive teaching method, students are divided into groups, and each group must discuss a single topic. In each group, every student must contribute their own thought or idea. Encourage conversation and a collaborative attitude among participants in a group.

4. Discussing a real problem

This teaching method includes a format similar to case studies, but the process is not as strict. The focus is on helping students learn how to solve real problems involving real people. For this purpose, you can do the following:

1. Divide the children into small groups.

2. Describe a real problem to them in detail.

3. Give them time to come up with a workable solution.

5. Questions and answers

At the beginning of each new lesson, but before you start the actual teaching, ask students to write 3-5 questions on index cards. Collect the cards and answer the questions.

6. Entry and exit notes with questions

Entry and exit notes are short tasks that provide teachers with quick diagnostics of students. These exercises can be collected on 3 x 5" cards, small sheets of paper, or online through a survey or learning management system (LMS).

 Entry notes focus students' attention on the topic of the day or require them to recall basic knowledge related to the day's lesson: for example: "Based on what you have read in today's lesson, what is your understanding of XXXXXXX?"

 Exit questions collect feedback on students' understanding at the end of the lesson and give students the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned. They can be useful in prompting the learner to begin synthesizing and integrating the information received during the lesson. For example, a prompt about the most unclear points in the lesson: "What was the hardest part of today's lesson?" or "What questions do you still have about today's lecture?".

The advantages of entry and exit notes include: participation of every student, encouraging students to focus on key concepts and ideas, a high return on the time invested, and important feedback for the instructor that can be useful for guiding teaching decisions (for example, pacing of the course, quickly clarifying minor misunderstandings, identifying students' interests and questions).

7. Freewriting/minute paper/question of the day exercise

These are activities that prompt students to write a response to an open-ended question and can be carried out at any time during the lesson. Writing activities are usually 1-2 minutes long and can focus on key questions and ideas or require students to make predictions or assumptions. These activities give students the opportunity to organize their own thoughts or can be collected by the teacher to get feedback from students. Benefits include developing students' ability to think holistically and critically and improving their writing skills.

8. Icebreakers

Icebreakers are low-cost activities that get students interacting and talking to one another and encourage later interaction in the classroom. They can be useful at the beginning of the year: for example, asking students to introduce themselves to one another and say what they would like to learn. The benefits of icebreakers include: participation of every student, creating a sense of community, and focusing students' attention on the material to be covered during the lesson.

9. Pair work

This type of activity first asks students to think independently about a given question, then gives them the opportunity to discuss it in pairs, and finally with the whole class. The success of these activities depends on the nature of the questions asked. This activity works ideally with questions that encourage deeper thinking, problem solving, and/or critical analysis. Group discussions are crucial, as they allow students to express their thought processes.

The procedure is as follows:

Pose a question, usually by writing it on the board or projecting it.

Have students think about the question independently (1-2 min.).

Then give students the opportunity to form groups of 2-3 people.

Then have students discuss the question with their partner and share their ideas and/or opposing opinions (3 min.).

Regroup as a whole class and ask for answers from some or all of the pairs (3 min.).

The benefits of pair sharing include engaging all students in the class (especially giving voice to quieter students who may have difficulty sharing in a larger group), quick feedback for the instructor (e.g., revealing students' misconceptions), and encouraging and supporting higher levels of student thinking.

10. Case studies and problem solving

What are case studies? Case studies are scenarios that apply the concepts studied in class to a "real-life" situation. They are usually presented in the form of a narrative and often involve problem solving, connections to texts read in class or source materials, and discussions by groups of students or by the whole class. Case studies are usually most effective if presented sequentially, so that students receive additional information as the case develops and can continue to analyze or critique the situation/problem.

Guiding questions lead students through the activity. The questions should be designed to develop students' critical thinking by requiring them to distinguish facts from assumptions and to critically analyze both the process they undertake in solving the case and the solution itself. Sample questions include:

What is the situation? What questions do you have?

What problem(s) need to be solved? What are some strategies for solving it? Evaluate the pros/minutes and main assumptions of these strategies.

What information do you need? Where/how could you find it?

What criteria will you use to evaluate your solution?

There are many publicly available collections of case studies in different disciplines.

Problem solving - learning through problem solving

Problem-based learning activities are similar to case studies, but usually focus on specific quantitative problems. In some cases, the problems are designed to introduce the material as well as provide students with an opportunity for deeper learning.

The benefits of problem-based learning activities and case studies include developing students' problem-solving and decision-making skills, developing students' critical thinking skills, encouraging critical reflection, and allowing for an appreciation of ambiguity in situations.

11. Debates

Participation in debates and argumentation improves students' conceptual understanding and refines their reasoning abilities. Organize a debate using a controversial division in the day's material. Give teams time to prepare, then pit them against a team focused on presenting the opposite viewpoint. Benefits include practice using the language of the discipline and constructing evidence-based arguments in their case.

12. Interview or role play

Class members take on the role or perspective of historical figures, authors, or other characters and must interact from their point of view. Divide the role play into specific tasks to keep students organized and structured so that the content you want to cover is addressed. Preparatory work can be assigned as out-of-class work, so clearly communicating your expectations is essential. Benefits include motivation to solve a problem or resolve a conflict for the character, providing a new perspective through which students can explore or understand a given problem, and developing skills such as writing, leadership, coordination, cooperation, and research.

13. Interactive demonstrations

Interactive demonstrations can be used in the learning process to demonstrate the application of a concept, a skill, or to recreate a process. The exercise should not be passive; you should plan and structure your demonstration so that it includes opportunities for reflection and analysis of the process by students.

Present the purpose and description of the demonstration.

Have students think-pair-share (see above) to discuss what they predict may happen or to analyze the available situation ("pre-demonstration" state or situation).

Carry out the demonstration.

Students discuss and analyze the result (in pairs/small groups or as a whole class) based on their initial predictions/interpretations.

The benefits of interactive demonstrations include new visualizations of the material and the opportunity for students to check their own understanding by asking whether they can predict the outcome of the demonstration. They are also a place to provide applications of ideas or concepts.

14. Jigsaw as a collaborative active learning exercise

Jigsaw is a collaborative active learning exercise in which students are grouped into teams to solve a problem or analyze a reading. It can be carried out in one of two ways - either each team works on a different part of the task and then shares its knowledge with the class as a whole, or within each group one student is assigned a part of the task (the jigsaw comes from combining the different ideas at the end of the activity to produce a solution to the problem). In jigsaw, the activity should be divided into several equal parts, each of which is necessary for solving the problem or answering the question. Sample activities include conducting experiments, small research projects, analyzing and comparing data sets, and working with professional literature.

The benefits of jigsaw include the opportunity to explore significant problems or readings, engagement of all students with the material and in the process of working together, learning from one another, sharing, and critically analyzing diverse ideas.

You can read more about Interactivity in e-learning in our article, where the types of interactivity in synchronous and asynchronous learning are discussed.

15. Free resources

Download free resources from our website using the links below:

Free training templates

Free illustrated characters

Free guide: How to create successful online training?

Free course: How to stop getting distracted

It is increasingly necessary to use interactive techniques during online training to awaken the interest of learners.

See also what VR training is and where it has been used most successfully

Depending on their age and interests, different online games, tests, and surveys can be offered.

For example, you can offer a short survey that you prepare in advance in one of the virtual event platforms and check what the learners have understood.

Distance learning platforms and virtual classrooms are a necessity for every educational institution. Even the youngest students now use online learning and classes in virtual space. 

NIT-New Internet Technologies Ltd. offers installation and maintenance services for distance learning platforms.We offer consultation for choosing a distance learning platform, as well as training for using distance and online learning systems.

If you are interested in the services we offer, fill out the contact form below or contact us by phone: +359 878 685 304 or email: office@nitbg.com.