When we speak about teaching methods then our fellowship divides into three groups; one group favours the usual teaching methods, second group favours contemporary teaching methods and third group is the one who upholds the combination of both for effective teaching. In this article I will explain that what are the pros and cons of each teaching method and how we can composite both usual and contemporary teaching methods for productive teaching?
A sound teaching system is the prerequisite for the growth of any nation. This is a well-known fact that our teaching system still relies on usuall methods and there is a need to combine the usual teaching with contemporary teaching aids for a better and advanced education system. There is a difference in the opinion of the people regarding the use of usual teaching methods and contemporary teaching methods. Some people say that usual teaching methods are best for imparting the education in the students while some favour that we should use contemporary teaching methods for giving quality education.
In my opinion there is a need of maintaining the balance between the use of usual and contemporary teaching methods. Both usual and contemporary teaching methods should be used simultaneously for the betterment of education. Before going deep into the conversation first let us have a look on the both usual and contemporary teaching methods with the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
Usual teaching methods:
In most parts of our country usual teaching methods are used in the educational institutions. In the usual teaching method, teachers illustrate the concept to the students with the help of chalks and blackboard. Every important thing regarding the topic is written on the blackboard and students make important notes from the blackboard. After the lesson is over students revise their notes and try to remember the notes. The main objective of usual teaching is to pass the examination. Usual teaching system has its own merits and demerits.
Merits of Usual teaching methods-
Usualteaching methods used in the educational institutions have many advantages. These advantages can also be seen as disadvantages of contemporary teaching methods-
Usualteaching method is cheaper than the contemporary teaching methods which make it more appropriate in the schools of rural areas.
Some subjects like mathematics or chemistry are best taught on a blackboard as there is a need of explaining the concept at each every step.
There is more interaction between the teacher and student in usual teaching methods as compared to the contemporary teaching methods. We can also say that in usual teaching there is more discipline in the class.
In usual teaching methods teacher does not demand any special technical knowledge and can focus more on his subject for imparting the best knowledge to the students.
Usual teaching methods don't put any strain on the eyes of students whereas contemporary teaching methods can adversely affect the eyes of the students.
Contemporaryteaching methods-
From the last decade the use of high tech equipment in the educational institutions is increased with a rapid rate. Now there are lots of contemporary gadgets which can be used for improving the teaching in the classroom. Here is the list of most popular equipment which can be used incontemporaryteaching.
Use of computers or laptops with wi-fi connection in the classroom- This is the most important tool of contemporary teaching methods. Teacher demonstrates the subject on his laptop/computer which is connected to the laptops/computers of the students through wi-fi connection. This type of teaching is seen mostly in the higher education institutions which have good infrastructure.
Use of LCD projector in the classroom- Use of LCD screens in the educational institutions is becoming very common nowadays. Teacher prepares the power point slides and which are displayed on the LCD screen with the help of a projector. The projector can also be connected to a laptop/computer for displaying the relevant videos of the subject on the projector.
Use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom- Whiteboards are very interactive and provides the touch control of the computer applications. On whiteboard a teacher or student can draw, write or manipulate images so providing a very interactive and interesting platform. The main advantage of whiteboards is that it can show anything on it which can be seen on the computer.
The other less popular contemporary teaching methods include-
Use of digital games in the classroom
Use of special websites or blogs for teaching in the classrooms
Use of microphones for delivering the lecture in the classroom
Merits of contemporaryteaching methods-
Contemporary teaching methods have various advantages over usual teaching methods. These merits can also be viewed as disadvantages of usual teaching methods-
Contemporary teaching methods create more interest among the students with the help of interesting animations and videos.
Research has shown that use of visual media for teaching helps the students to understand the subject better and also helps students to memorize the concept for longer time.
With the help of contemporary teaching methods teacher can cover more syllabus in lesser time as they don't have to waste their time in writing on the blackboard.
Videos and animations used in the contemporary teaching methods are more explanatory than the usual blackboard methods.
Integration of contemporary and usual teaching methods for effective teaching-
Till now we have studied that both contemporary and usualteaching methods have their own pros and cons. So it will be beneficial for our education system to combine the advantages of usual and contemporary teaching methods for effective teaching. Here main question arises that how we can combine both usual and contemporary teaching methods for effective teaching? Let me explain this with following points-
Blackboard and LCD projectors can be used simultaneously in a classroom; for teaching complex mathematical equations teacher can use blackboard while theoretical subjects can be taught on a LCD projector with the help of slides.
Practical subjects of basic sciences and engineering can also be taught best with the help of combination of both usual and contemporary teaching methods. Teacher can explain the theory on a blackboard and for better understanding of the procedure of the experiment videos or animations can be used.
There is also another aspect through which we can combine both usual and contemporary teaching methods for better teaching. Teachers can teach the subject first through usual methods and then can take the help of contemporary teaching methods for revising the subject.
Conclusion
I think main motives of the education should be to build the overall character and to bring the all-round development of the students. There is no point in discussing that which teaching method is better than the other? Instead we should concentrate on providing the best education system to the students as it's the students who will run the nation in future. I think we can develop a better education system only if we will be able to combine both the usual and contemporary teaching methods.
References:
- Anthony, E. M. (1963). "Approach, Method, and Technique". ELT Journal (2): 63–43. doi:10.1093/elt/XVII.2.63.
- Bell, David (2003). "Method and Postmethod: Are They Really So Incompatible?" (PDF). TESOL Quarterly 37 (2): 315–328. doi:10.2307/3588507. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
- Brown, H. (2001). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (2nd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman. ISBN 978-0-13-028283-5.
- Hall, Graham (2011). Exploring English Language Teaching: Language in Action.
