6 learning strategies of progressive educators

Six learning trends that every teacher should know The amount of knowledge is constantly increasing, progress is accelerating and preparing us for new achievements. If the school continues to use only the old methods and techniques, we risk not meeting the challenges of today. That is why teachers need strategies that will act in advance - will teach students to independently collect quality facts and skillfully operate them. To do this, we offer six innovations that have already appeared in education and are gaining popularity among progressive educators. 6 learning strategies of progressive educators.

1. Crossover training

Informal learning (such as museums, field trips, or internships) can link an educational program to issues that are important to students and society. The teacher's task is to prepare for life, not for exams. So why not teach children in conditions close to what they will face adults?

The essence of non-formal learning is to identify relevant topics, help students formulate a goal and explore issues in practice. In this way, students will not just listen to the tour, but will conduct research activities - collect evidence (photos or notes), and then share their findings with the class.

Advantages of the method:

• Schooling is enriched by real-life experiences;
• Children learn to ask questions, formulate a goal and look for ways to implement it;
• Students' work on projects will be easier, because they will work out certain stages of activity (updating knowledge, problem formulation, research stage, collecting material, etc.);
• Children's motivation increases

2. Contextual learning

Contextual learning is a technique that is closely related to non-formal learning. In both cases, we place an abstract question or task in a context that allows us to learn from experience. It is important to explain to the children that there is no problem with the vacuum. Each decision depends on the current circumstances, and if in one case the knowledge was useful and appropriate, in another something completely different may be needed.

It is contextual learning that makes us flexible and adaptable. This approach can be useful in many disciplines.

• If you are studying the work of the heart, give the task to measure your heart rate in different situations. Accelerated heartbeat is the same manifestation in many cases, but the context may be different each time.
• Are you learning to detect fakes? Explain that they do not appear by themselves. Fakes create, level or maintain certain information. To understand the reason for the false information, we need to look at the situation more broadly.
• If you teach literature, ask why this character / work is relevant in today's context. Or how to make it relevant?
• To learn a language, ask students to change the meaning of a word or phrase depending on the context. Have the children try to completely change the essence of the cue by putting it in a new situation. For example, speak to an audience to which it was not intended. What will be the effect?

3. Teaching through collaboration

Invite entrepreneurs and innovators to the class. Of course, the collaborative approach to learning is far from new. However, it was not very actively used in Ukraine. And this is very unfortunate, because no one can motivate you to do a certain job better than a specialist who is fond of it.

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Using online communication tools, teachers can invite writers, travelers or entrepreneurs to their classes. The desire of some creative people to draw young people's attention to important issues may surprise you. Animal rights activists or physicians willingly agree to lectures to promote caring behavior among children.

4. The importance of argumentation

Children can improve their understanding of any subject when they argue a certain position. Students will need this skill in different life situations.

First of all, try to find out how well students understand what a real argument is. Do they not replace this concept with something else? Maybe ignore the stages of constructing an argument? Can't tell the difference between good and bad evidence? Explain to the children that the argument, like the technology of making TVs or ice cream, has a logical sequence. If you throw out certain stages or get low-quality ingredients, you may not get what you hoped for.

Use argumentation exercises in well-studied topics. Let the skill of creating a chain of argument or model to construct explanations become a habit. Arguments using scientific methods will teach children to actively listen and respond constructively to others.

5. Computational thinking

Computational thinking is a powerful approach to problem solving. When using this strategy you should pay attention to:

• Decomposition - the division of large problems into smaller ones.
• Pattern recognition - determining the relationship between problems that have been solved in the past.
• Abstraction - the rejection of unimportant details.
• Algorithms - defining, developing and refining the steps needed to achieve the goal.

Such skills can be valuable in many life situations, from writing a recipe or planning a holiday to deploying a research team to solve complex problems. This technique can be part of lessons in mathematics, biology, art and other disciplines. The purpose of the teacher is to teach children to decompose monolithic problems into smaller particles. Yes, so that they can be solved.

6. Design thinking

At first glance, design thinking may seem like art. However, this is far from the case. Think about industrial, ecological, architectural design - what unites them? Probably the ability to implement the original idea in the most convenient form. That is, behind the design is a way of thinking that includes:

Problem definition. For example, we need a manipulator to enter data into a computer (mouse);

Collection of information. What models of mice have existed so far, what are their advantages, for what shape of the hand we create a mouse, how it will fit in the hand, how many keys it should have, etc .;

Generation of potential solutions. We create sketches of possible mice;

Improving ideas and testing solutions.

This approach can be used in art lessons, during the creation of improvements, educational modeling, etc. Guide children through the five stages of finding a solution:

• What is the problem in front of me?
• How can I explain it?
• What can be improved / created?
• How can I do this?
• Experiments and evolution. How can I improve my idea?

These strategies will inspire the class to creative achievement. Start innovating with any one technique. You will see how this will affect the learning process and will be able to make adjustments. Innovations are changes that a school needs. They can start with you!