INTERACTIVE TEACHING STRATEGIES AND METHODS

A. Group Dynamics Methods

What does the term mean?

The term 'group dynamics' refers to the types of interaction which take place
within groups.

Discussion is used to designate group classroom in which teacher and students

cooperatively consider certain topics or problems. It is a thoughtful consideration
of the relationships involved in the topic or problem under study. The
relationships are analyzed, compared, evaluated so that a conclusion can be
drawn. A variety of means can be employed to get the facts before the class
discussion, thus making the work more interesting.

Types of Group Dynamics

1. Panel Discussion
A panel is a direct, conversational, interactional discussion among small group of
experts or well-informed lay persons. They discuss a problem for the benefit of an
audience. The members of the panel present different points of view or different
types of information.

The success or failure of the discussion is not due to what happens during the
discussion but to what did or did not happen before the meeting. The
shortcomings in such sessions usually result from unwise selection of participants
or leader and no thorough preparation.

How does it work?

A properly planned and conducted panel, however, can be extremely
productive. The leader therefore should hold a planning session with the
members of the panel well in advance of the meeting.

In the pre-discussion meeting, the leader should emphasize tactfully the

purpose and philosophy of the discussion. Participants are reminded that:

1. There are no formal talks.

2. The method of public conversation or enlarged conversation is to
be used throughout the discussion.
3. Individual contributions to the discussion should be brief.
4. Remarks should be addressed to each other but should be laud
enough so that everyone in the room can hear and feel that they
are part of the conversation.
5. Panel members should listen intelligently and speak well.

The planning session should be devoted to an informal discussion of the

topic. From this, the outline must be done to be approved by the panelist
before the planning session adjourns. The panel should hold a brief session
before the discussion to recheck the outline and to agree on a plan for
getting the discussion. The members of the panel must have a copy of the
outline so not to move off track.
 The success of any discussion depends on the leader. His main
responsibilities are (1) to open the discussion, (2) guide and stimulate the
discussion, (3) summarize the discussion, and (4) make a proper transition
to the forum period in which the audience will participate.

S/he opens the discussion by introducing the topic and the members of the
panel. S/he usually starts the discussion by posing a general question and
keeps the discussion organized by following a flexible outline which the
panel is familiar.

Members of the panel must be thoroughly prepared by reading on the

subject and anticipate where he/she makes the most valuable
contribution. They must work hard to achieve unified group effort. They
must interact freely. Attention must be focused on group rather than
himself/herself. They should be good listeners and equally interested in
the remarks of other participants.

2. Round Robin
Round Robin is a group discussion involving a small group seated face to face on a
table. This is a cooperative learning technique which is used to discuss a topic or
problem that needed decisions for solutions.

How doe it work?

The name suggest that participants all talk one after the other that works
like a chaining of ideas. This is one of the techniques that is very effective
in classroom interaction.

The steps are:

1. Teacher gives topic or question with many possible answers or opinions.
2. Teacher indicates who will begin and how much time is allowed.
3. Student gives responses to team while other members listen.
4. Next student gives another answer or opinion.
5. Process continues until students indicate they have exhausted all
responses or time has expired.
6. Teacher then selects one person to share some of the answers.

3. Buzz Session
The buzz session can be held successfully with familiar topics that need group
opinion, evaluation, planning or interaction. At times, the chairman in charge of a
program feels that all those present should be involved in the discussion at least
to some extent.

How does it work?

The trainer, facilitator or teacher divides the group into small groups of six
members. Each group chooses a leader and a secretary. The entire class
now works on the problem assigned to them in six minutes. They think out
as many ideas as possible and then pick out what they regard as their best
options. The secretary then reports what was agreed upon.

The buss session is useful when a lecture is to be followed by a question

period.
 B. Fishbowl Method

What is this method?

The Fishbowl Method is a teaching –learning method that can be used in all subject
areas. As the name suggest, there is a “fish and a bowl” in the structuring of the
learning group. Like any small discussion group, it shall consist of a minimum 7
members and a maximum of 7-10 members. The small group structure is important
because it is easy to handle group discussion, and largely interaction among team
discussants will be smoothly achieved. Besides, the non-participative members can
be easily observed and prodded to participate.

In simpler term, fishbowl is a useful strategy for discussion, depending on your class.
A limited number of students is engaged in the discussion, debate or activity with
‘observers’ (the rest of the class) sitting behind and around in a fishbowl
arrangement. They observe and think about the progress of the participants.

Observer Group 1
Focused on Content

Nucleus
Group

Observer Group 2
Focused on Process

The Nucleus Group stays at the inside part of the circle. The group discusses the
content of the topic. The nucleus must have a leader discussant if the group chooses
to have one because they have to control the discussion; but if the group chooses to
have a free-wheeling discussion the leader may be dispensed with.

The ‘observers’ are seated outside the nucleus area.

The Content Group evaluates the content of the discussion of nucleus group. The
group must also know the content of the topic so they are in a position to evaluate
the discussion of the nucleus group.

The Process Group is tasked to evaluate the process of the nucleus group in terms of
communication, social interaction and teamwork. The process group observes the
process management of the discussion of the nucleus group.
 C. Role Playing
What is Role Playing?
Role-playing is simultaneously interesting and useful to students because it emphasizes the
"real-world". It challenges them to deal with complex problems with no single "right" answer.
In particular, role-playing presents the students a valuable opportunity to learn not just the
course content, but other perspectives on it. This requires the students to use imagination,
background knowledge appropriate to the character being role-played, and communications
skills.

Role-playing can also be thought of as unstructured drama (Dallman-Jones et al., 1994). In these
exercises, a pupil looks at the topic from the perspective of a character, who will affect and be
affected by the topic. The setting and the characters are provided by the teacher. But the pupils
have to decide their characters' lines and directions. Generally, the pupils will need some more
information to make informed decisions from their characters' perspectives.

How does this work?

Introduce the scenario. Engage the students in the scenario by describing the setting
and the problem and providing information already prepared about their character(s).
It needs to be clear to the pupils how committed a character is to his/her goals and
why. Outline your expectations of them as you would for any assignment and stress
what you expect them to learn in this lesson. If there is an inquiry element, suggest a
general strategy for research/problem solving.

Role-playing may be done individual or interactively (dyad or group). There are so-
potential challenges with interactive exercises.

 For large classes, split the group up, or use etiquette to ensure that people who
have something to say can say it.
 The pupils need to sympathize with their characters, so it is a bad idea to assign
overtly evil ones, such as to represent the interests of genocidal tyrants. These
exercises are supposed to be fun!
 Likewise, the teacher should use situations without simple or obvious solutions or
situations that are doomed. Because of issues in the students' own backgrounds, it
is also generally good to choose settings and characters that are either fictitious or
well-removed from the students in space and time.
 One reason that open-ended, problem-solving exercises are fun and somewhat
realistic is that the pupils, in character, decide the outcome of the scenario. This
can be damaged if the teacher decides on the "correct" ending or pushes the
students to play characters a certain way.
A chronic problem with role-playing is that some pupils don't pay attention to others
and that charismatic pupils can overwhelm the less assertive ones. The teacher needs
to establish rules or etiquette for the role-play. Emphasize to your class the value of
courtesy and calmness when a role play calls for debate.

D. Cooperative Learning
What is this method?
Cooperative Learning (CL) is generally bringing students to learn and to work
collaboratively. According to Robert Slavin (1990), all cooperative learning methods
share the idea that students work together to learn and are responsible for their
teammates’ learning as well as their own.

5 Elements of Cooperative Learning

The Georgia Educational Technology Training Center (2006) states that it is only
under certain conditions that cooperative efforts may be expected to be more
productive than competitive and individualistic efforts. Those conditions are:

Positive Interdependence
(Sink or swim together)

 Each group member's efforts are

required and indispensable for group
success
 Each group member has a unique
contribution to make to the joint
effort because of his or her resources
and/or role and task responsibilities

Face-to-Face Interaction  
(Promote each other's success)

 Orally explaining how to solve

problems
 Teaching one's knowledge to other
 Checking for understanding
 Discussing concepts being learned
 Connecting present with past learning

Individual and Group Accountability

(No hitchhiking! no social loafing)

 Keeping the size of the group small.

The smaller the size of the group, the
greater the individual accountability
may be.
 Giving an individual test to each
student.
 Randomly examining students orally by
calling on one student to present his
or her group's work to the teacher (in
the presence of the group) or to the
entire class.
 Observing each group and recording
the frequency with which each
member-contributes to the group's
work.
 Assigning one student in each group
the role of checker. The checker asks
other group members to explain the
reasoning and rationale underlying
group answers.
 Having students teach what they
learned to someone else.

Interpersonal and Small-Group Skills

Social skills must be taught:

 Leadership
 Decision-making
 Trust-building
 Communication
 Conflict-management skills

Group Processing

 Group members discuss how well they

are achieving their goals and
maintaining effective working
relationships
 Describe what member actions are
helpful and not helpful
 Make decisions about what behaviors
to continue or change

Can cooperative learning be used in early childhood classes?

According to Lyman and Foyle (1988), when a child first comes to a structured
educational setting, one of the teacher's goals is to help the child move from being
aware only of himself or herself to becoming aware of other children. At this stage
of learning, teachers are concerned that children learn to share, take turns, and
show caring behaviors for others. Structured activities which promote cooperation
can help to bring about these outcomes. One of the most consistent research
findings is that cooperative learning activities improve children's relationships with
peers, especially those of different social and ethnic groups.

When children begin to work on readiness tasks, cooperation can provide

opportunities for sharing ideas, learning how others think and react to problems, and
practicing oral language skills in small groups. Cooperative learning in early
childhood can promote positive feelings toward school, teachers, and peers. These
feelings build an important base for further success in school.

How does it work?

Based on Kagan’s Cooperative Learning, some Cooperative Learning structures are
more popular than others are. Here is a list of some of the more popular structures
and their "rules" to help you understand how to successfully use these structures in
your classroom.

4 Corners
 Students are given four choices concerning a particular topic or idea.
 Students review the choices and select the choice that they support. They
write that choice on a slip of paper.
 Students then go to the section of the room where others who selected that
choice are told to gather. Works well to have the choice on a sign that is
taped in that corner or area of the room.
 Students form pairs in the group and discuss why they selected a particular
choice. Can have students pair with someone from another area to discuss
why they are in that area.
 Teacher randomly selects students to share why they chose a particular
area.

All Write
This structure can be used to generate stories or peer editing. Usually only requires
one piece of paper and one pen.

Description:
1. Teacher gives topic or question with many possible answers.
2. Teacher indicates who will start and how much time as allowed.
3. Student gives a written response and passes paper & pen to the next person.
4. Teacher selects one member to share the team's answers.

Modification:
Have each student take a piece of paper and write a first sentence or paragraph
then everyone passes the sheet, reads the first sentence or paragraph and adds
to it.

Simultaneous All Write

1. Same as all write except each student is expected to be writing on a particular
topic or idea at the same time.
2. The papers can be rotated among the students to continue the story or receive
more input on the topic.
3. When the papers get back to their original position, the student reviews all the
information or reads the story that has been written.
Management:
1. Make sure that the weakest team member can contribute.
2. Use short quick answers.
3. Include lots of possible answers.

Gallery Tour
Steps:
1. After the students have created a project in teams, they will now share with the
class.
2. Divide the class into like numbered groups with all the 1's in one group, all the
2's in another group, etc.
3. These groups move from project to project with each group member explaining
his/her team's project when the group visits that project.
4. Group members listen and give feedback during the explanation.
5. Teammates return to home group and review the feedback and additional
information.

Ideas for the class:

1. One group lists & shows on diagram the major bones while one group lists
and shows parts of Circulatory system, etc.
2. Each group makes a mind-map of key points of a book chapter.
3. One group makes a drawing to show one character of a story. Another
group does another character.

Modification:
Allow students to provide written feedback on another sheet of paper while
they're "on-tour".

Management:
It's very important that there is a member of the home team in each tour
group so they can explain the poster. It is also important that one person
doesn't just stay at the poster to explain it to everyone. Each student must be
individually accountable so that they can explain their work.

Jig-Saw
The Jig-Saw structure is effective when there is a large amount of material you want
to cover. The assignment is divided into small sections & students become
knowledgeable about a particular section that they share with their group. The
Teacher then provides more information & reinforces knowledge.

 Teacher breaks assignment into four equal portions.

 Teacher assigns each member of the group with one portion of the assignment.
 Students get materials and pairs with someone with the same assignment.
 Pair reads assignment and agrees on main points to be shared with team
members.
 Teacher designates which members will share and the time allowed.
 When finished, students return to home team.
 Teacher checks for understanding.
 Each member shares their knowledge and makes sure that other teammates
understand.

Modification:
 Assignment for slower students can be modified.
 Can use 1-2-4 structure to make sure that the students are accountable and
their conclusions are appropriate.

Management:
 Essential students are only in pairs as the read assignment to prevent social
loafing.
 Give guidance on the number of points to find and the amount of time they
have.
 Circulate to answer questions and make sure students are on-task.
 Be flexible on the amount of time.

Numbered Heads
Similar to All talk, students are presented with a question or problem, they “put
their heads together” and discuss possible answers. It is important that all the
students understand how to get the answer and have the answer. It would be great
to get more students actively involved in the discussion versus just asking the whole
class for an answer.

 Students are numbered.

 Teacher asks a question.
 Give the students some time to think of an answer on their own.
 Students talk about possible answers and how they arrived at that answer.
 Students give a signal that they have an answer.
 Teacher calls on a group and then calls a specific number for the answer.

Management:
 Good opportunity to work on a lot of social skills, i.e. taking turns, actively
listening, agreeably disagreeing.
 It is important to randomly select a member of any group to raise the
individual accountability for the students.
 Can continue to call on groups and individuals until all answers are
exhausted.

Pairs Check
In pairs, student take turns solving problems. After every two problems the team
checks answers and celebrates and coaches with another team.

 Pair of students works on problems with student A arriving at an answer and

Student B serving as coach. Then Student B works on the next problem arrives at
an answer and Student A serves as coach.
 After two problems, the pair checks their answers with another pair. They coach
each other and celebrate their success.
 Process continues until all problems have been answered.

Modification:
Let the pair develop some equations, or problems of their own, solve them, and
then share them with the other pair. Each pair works to solve these new
problems.

Placemat
This structure is great to get ten students thinking individually about a concept as an
introduction or reviewing key ideas that have been covered before working as a team
to clarify their ideas.

Fig. 1 Placemat Diagram

 One large piece of paper is given to each team. A large circle is drawn in the
middle and then the area outside the circle is divided into one section for each
 student in the team.
 The teacher provides a topic that has a number of key points or possibilities.
 Students work individually to list all the points in their section of the paper
outside the circle.
 Teacher calls time and then students share their key concepts, one at a time.
 If the group agrees that the concept is important it is written in the circle.
 When finished, the group will have listed all the main ideas in the circle for all to
see.

One-Stray
The goal of this structure is to have one team member visit another group to learn
from that group and report that knowledge back to his home team. This allows the
students to gain a broader understanding of the particular topic or subject. Can have
a different student visit another group for further examination. The members of the
team that remain “at home” need to share with the visiting student from another
group the information they have.

Teacher presents a problem, question, or project to the teams.

 After the teams have done some work on the assignment, the teacher selects one
member to stray to a visiting team.
 Each group will have one member that will “stray”.
 Groups are open and eager to share their information, a gain for one is a gain for
all.
 Member who strayed returns to home team and shares the knowledge they have
received.
 Home team determines if they want to add to or modify their work.

Modification:
 Can have more than one member stray at a time, or can have another member
go to another team after the first member returns.
 Important to control where the students who are visiting go.
 Want one person going to each team. Social skills such as responsible
movement, active listening, sharing information and others can be a part of
this structure.

Application for your class:

 Group discusses a video and arrives at main points. One member strays to see
what the main points for another group might be.
 Group brainstorms all the main points from a chapter or unit, one member
strays to determine what points they might want to add.

Think-Pair-Share
This structure includes a modification to include a writing component, referred to as
Think - Write - Pair – Share.

 Teacher poses a problem. Teacher states a specific amount of time the students
have to think about the problem. (As students gain experience, this step might
become less important.
 Students think about the problem and arrive at an answer.
 Students form a pair with a partner, usually a teammate, and discuss their
answer. Teacher can designate which partner should start and how much time
they will have to discuss the problem.
 Both students must have a chance to share their answer and how they arrived at
that answer.
 Teacher randomly calls on students to share their partner’s answer with the
whole class. Active listening skills are very important so the student can share
their partner’s answer.

Modification:

Think - Write - Pair – Share

Same as above but at step two the students must write their answers down. The
teacher can choose to collect these and give a grade to the students if desired.

Team Stand and Share

This structure is used after the teams have generated a list of items to share.
 All students on the team stand with their teammates.
 Teacher calls on a specific student. Student states one idea or fact from
the team list. Student must be able to explain the answer.
 Students in other teams check to see if they have that item on their list. If
they do, they check it off, if not, they add it.
 Teacher then calls on another student from another team. That student
states one item and the process continues.
 Once all the items on a particular team have been stated, that team sits.
They should add the new items given by other teams
 Once all the teams are sitting the process is over.

Management:
The teacher may want to add any final points that weren’t mentioned.

All Talk (Round Robin)

Steps:
 Teacher gives topic or questions with many possible answers or opinions.
 Teacher indicates who will begin and how much time is allowed.
 Student gives responses to team while other members listen.
 Next student gives another answer or opinion.
 Process continues until students indicate they have exhausted all responses or
time has expired.
 Teacher then selects one person to share some of the answers

Mix - Freeze - Pair

Steps:
 With a card in their hand, students move around the room. At your signal each
student finds a partner, and quizzes him or her by asking a question in relation
to their card. (Example: "I have South Cotabato. What's the Capital?" or "I have
Kuala Lumpur, what's the state?")
 Partner listens to the answer. Praise or coaching is given.
 Switch roles. The other student asks then praises or coaches.
 Partners switch cards.
 Partners rotate again and repeat steps 1 - 4 a number of times.
 Teacher calls time.
 Student freeze, hide their cards and think of their match.
 Students move to the center of the room, find their match and quickly move
away from the center of the room with their partner.
 Modification:
If the students don't have cards the teacher can ask questions and have the
students share answers with each other.

Inside-Outside Circle
Steps:
1. Students form two lines with an equal number of people.
2. One line forms a circle facing out. The other line forms a circle around them
facing in and pairs another person.
3. Inside circle students read the question from their question card to their partner;
outside circle students answer the question. Inside circle students praise or
coach. (Alternative: the teacher asks a question and designates which circle
starts)
4. Partners change roles: Outside students ask, listen, then praise or coach.
5. Partners switch question cards.
6. One circle of students rotates to a new partner. (The teacher may call rotation
numbers: “Outside Circle, Rotate Three Ahead” The class may do a “Choral
Count” as they rotate.)

Modification:
 If space is tight you can have two lines and rotate it by having students in
one line move to the other end and that line moves down.
 Students form one big circle have students number off by 2’s then have the
2’s take 1 step to middle and turn around.
 If there are an odd number of students, the teacher can be part of the
circle, or there can be one group of three. You’ll want to designate where
the group of three will be, then make sure that the same students aren’t
always in a group of three.

Management:
Consider using the hallway, gym, or common area if space is tight.

E. Collage
Definition
Collage comes from the French meaning a glued work. It is the product of gathered
materials like newspapers, ribbons, bits of colored or hand-made papers,
photographs, etc., glued to a solid support or canvas, in order to make a visual
statement of a topic or concept.

The Collage Method is a five-step process:

Process What is to be done
Step 1 Selecting a topic
Step 2 Collecting pictures as sketches about the topic
Step 3 Select the pictures able to represent the topic best, and words and
phrases to go with it
 points brief.
 Use unlined paper, since the presence of lines on paper may hinder the non-linear
process of Mapping. If you must use lined paper, turn it so the lines are vertical.
 Use paper with no previous writing on it.
 Connect all words or phrases or lists with lines, to the centre or to other
"branches." When you get a new idea, start again with a new "spoke" from the
centre.
 Go quickly, without pausing -- try to keep up with the flow of ideas. Do not stop
to decide where something should goi.e. to order or organize material -- just get
it down. Ordering and analyzing are "linear" activities and will disrupt the
Mapping process.
 Write down everything you can think of without judging or editing -- these
activities will also disrupt the Mapping process.
 If you come to a standstill, look over what you have done to see if you have left
anything out.
 You may want to use color-coding, to group sections of the Map.

Some Organizational Patterns That May Appear in a Concept-Map

 Branches. An idea may branch many times to include both closely and distantly
related ideas.
 Arrows. You may want to use arrows to join ideas from different branches.
 Groupings. If a number of branches contain related ideas, you may want to draw
a circle around the whole area.
 Lists.

Explanatory/Exploratory notes. You may want to write a few sentences in the Map
itself, to explain, question, or comment on some aspect of your Map -- for example,
the relationship between some of the ideas.