In modern education, the issue of training high-quality and competitive specialists who will be competent in their field is particularly acute. Russia has increasingly begun to focus on European learning models, which are considered more advanced and work more closely with students. The so-called interactive forms of learning have become one of the most effective - they will be discussed in this article.
Definition
Interactive forms of learning (at school and not only) have become a more modern version of active forms of learning. The latter build a system of interaction on the principle of “teacher = student”, that is, the teacher and his students are equally involved in the educational process, children build their own lessons in the same way as their teacher. Signs of active methods are:
- the initially implied activity of each student, the maximum involvement in the process and the concomitant activation of the creative thinking of the child;
- the duration of active work is not one specific lesson, but the entire study period;
- the student learns to independently study the problem posed before him, to look for ways and solutions to it, rely only on his own knowledge;
- Each student is maximally motivated in educational activities, the task of the teacher is to create a personal interest for him.
Interactive forms of learning are built not only by the interaction "teacher = student", but also "student = student", as a result of which the connections that the student uses during the educational process expand. This motivates children, and the teacher in this situation plays only the role of an assistant who creates free space for the personal initiative of each ward.
The methods of teaching students can be: a variety of role-playing or business games, discussion (regular or based on heuristics), brainstorming, various trainings, the method of projects or cases, etc. Active and interactive forms of learning have similar methods and techniques, so their detailed the list will be considered in more detail later.
Key Terms
Interactive forms of learning, therefore, are learning, during which the interaction of the teacher with the students, as well as the students with each other, is built up, which is more based on dialogs. Its purpose is the comprehensive development and training of future specialists on the basis of the development of their special key competencies.
Competence is the ability to use the acquired knowledge, practical skills and experience in order to successfully carry out any activity in a particular area. They are a synthesis of personal (knowledge, abilities, own vision of the problem and approach to its solution) and professional qualities, the use of which is necessary for the productive solution of tasks arising in the work.
Key competencies are core competencies of a broader focus, the possession of which allows you to master narrow, subject-oriented competencies. They allow you to always find solutions even in the most controversial situations in a state of uncertainty, independently or interacting with someone else.
Now more about each method of active and interactive forms of learning. There are a lot of them, so we identified several basic, most significant and effective.
Research method
The research (search) method is based on training based on the formulation of a specific problem. It forms such personal qualities as creative and creative thinking, thanks to which the researcher develops a responsible and independent approach to solving problems.
With this interactive form of training (at the university and not only), the following list of educational activities is supposed:
- acquaintance with the subject of research and its problems;
- setting clear goals for upcoming work;
- collecting information about the object of study;
- research implementation: content definition, hypothesis proposal, model setting, experiment (in general form).
- protection of research results;
- deducing the conclusion of the work done.
The research method allows you to delve into the process of scientific knowledge, especially the interpretation of the data found and identifying one point of view corresponding to a correct understanding of reality. It implies maximum independence, although in groups within which students with different levels of knowledge are located, of course, the participation of the teacher is necessary, albeit minimal. This gives an impetus to the development of key competencies in students, such as understanding the essence of creative activity, independent work, and also stimulates their imagination, teaches observation and critical thinking, which subsequently becomes the foundation for a person to defend his personal point of view.
Project Method
Of all the technologies of modern pedagogy, it is the project method that best facilitates the acquisition by students of key competencies, which is perhaps the main goal of the entire educational process. First of all, he develops personal qualities, such as the ability to work and solve problems independently, to show creative ingenuity, to identify and solve problems that appear in the process of cognition. Moreover, the project method teaches you to feel confident in the information space, and also develops the analytical skills used by the student to predict and analyze their actions.
The project is always based on the principle of the student’s independent work, although he can do it both independently and as a couple or in a group, it already depends on the specific task. The project participants are given specific deadlines, keeping within which they must solve a significant problem from any area of life using primarily research research.
In order for a graduate of an educational institution to be able to calmly adapt to any changes in modern life or a professional orientation, he needs to master a wide range of knowledge and methods of their application in practice in difficult situations requiring a deep analytical approach. For this reason, each project should have practical value: only then will the participants in the project method be able to use the experience they have gained in the future to solve any, both personal and professional problems. Moreover, practical orientation increases students' interest in learning activities, motivates them to carefully study the area of knowledge that is necessary in a particular project; This works especially well if you create the conditions for self-interest for the student. For example, a student studying for a journalist will want to study the topic himself to understand how theory turns into practice and better prepare for practice after exams. Examples of topics that can be asked for a project in this specialty: “Methods and approaches to modern journalism”, “Possibility of using elements of gonzo journalism in the federal media system”, “Fundamentals of journalistic ethics”, etc.
The difference between research and design
While research work is primarily aimed at finding the truth, project activity is focused on a full, in-depth study of the problem and has the final result in the form of a formalized product, which can be a video, article, website on the Internet, etc. In the project method such types of creative activities as preparation and presentation of abstracts or reports are widely involved, while the process uses both educational and scientific, reference and, in some cases, even artistic iteration. The task of the teacher in preparing the project is to monitor and oversee the activities of students.
While working on a project, its performers become maximally immersed in creative cognitive activity, consolidating the knowledge already acquired during the study and gaining new ones, expanding their horizons and professional theoretical base. Moreover, the participants in the creation of the project develop competencies that are not related to a specific subject: these may be the competencies of research and search, interaction with other people, organization of project work, etc.
Case Method (from the English case - “case”)
In this method of an interactive form of teaching, the teacher uses real-life (current or past) problem cases from any field (household, social, economic, etc.). Studying the proposed case, students look for and analyze the collected information that is directly related to its area and specialty that they master. Thus, the situation is simulated and a search is made for its solution.
There are two schools with different approaches to this method. If we are talking about a European school, then the cases themselves do not have one definite solution or outcome, therefore, participants master a whole range of knowledge necessary for comprehensive coverage and study of the problem posed. The American approach consists in the need to come to a unique solution, although, of course, mastering the information also implies complexity.
The case method, in comparison with other methods, is a multi-stage structure, which is divided into less complicated methods of scientific knowledge, which include building models, problem-solving method, analytical systems, etc. The end result (product) of this method can be conventional ways of presenting information, such as a report or presentation.
The students' motivation is spurred by the fact that the case method reminds them of a game, playing which they master all the necessary material. Also, in the process of work, a number of key competencies are formed, which include: the ability to come to a solution to a particular problem, communication skills, the ability to apply theoretical data on a practical basis, put yourself in the place of another person (including a high-ranking person), etc.
Discussion method
Discussions in studies are such an interactive form of methodological training in which students during the entire lesson exchange their own opinions on the problem posed, express various ideas and opinions, suggest ways to solve the problem, seek a compromise and points of contact with each other's positions. Discussions can be freely used both in ordinary practical activities on the part of teachers of different educational organizations, and during training conferences, symposia, etc. Both complex interdisciplinary discussions and those conversations that are aimed at considering a specific educational problem are equally useful for the formation of social, analytical and communicative competencies, as well as broadening one's horizons.
The discussion most fully reflects the principle of interactive forms of teaching, which consists in the scheme “student = teacher” and “student = student”, since in the lesson everyone is equally involved, no boundaries between the teacher and his students (of course, if the pedagogy in this institution is strong) should not be.
Brainstorming method
One of the ways to find new ideas of one direction or another and to use interactive forms of learning is to brainstorm, which is a method of solving the problem with stimulated activity with a pronounced creative beginning. The process accompanying this method looks like the expression by all participants of a large number of diverse ideas (moreover, their quality and content are not so important at the stage of expression), among which selection of the most successful and promising ones is carried out in the future; a synthesis of several ideas is also possible to develop a new one, which can already be considered as close to the desired result.
In the process of brainstorming as an interactive form of learning, all students participate in the lesson, which stimulates their activity and creative potential. Students get the opportunity to show others their knowledge and come to the desired solution together. Moreover, during the process, its participants learn brevity and analysis of everything said, develop critical thinking. This is essential for mastering key competencies.
Game Techniques
The game approach to the development of educational material is a fairly old and studied interactive form of learning, but it still does not lose its relevance and potential. The main function of any game in the context of education is to stimulate the student’s interest in the process, soften it, and make it not so dry from an academic point of view. In addition, the participants in the game themselves must understand that they are not just having fun, but are studying deep and complex material. If this thought ceases to be repulsive or frightening, and even the least active students join the general activity, then we can assume that the game was a success.
As a rule, this method is used mainly at the end of the development of a particular educational material (as the completion of a topic or section, or maybe even an entire course). It may look like this: students distribute among themselves the roles of, say, the owners of the enterprise and its employees, after which, with the help of a teacher, they model a problem situation and act out it, arriving at a solution using all the knowledge gained in this field.
Total
Compare the interactive and traditional forms of training: which of them, in your opinion, contribute to the most productive development of the necessary amount of theoretical data and the best application of the acquired knowledge in practice? The answer is obvious. It is absolutely clear that interactive forms of education in schools, as in other institutions, should become more frequent practice than now, and in this case, the country and the world will be provided with the growth of professional personnel capable of competing among themselves.
If you are interested in interactive forms of learning, there is a lot of literature on this subject. You can choose suitable ones for yourself and use them actively.