عبدالله الاسمري
11-10-2007, 02:14 AM
This article was first published in Saudi Gazette on Monday, Sept.17, 2007
Innovation is imperative
As we were about to entre the place, we noticed a huge poster nearly covering the façade of a private school building here in Riyadh and carrying this bold statement: "Our mission is to help students think like a genius". Being a well-funded private school, the teaching staff members, as asserted by the school principal, are well-chosen so they can fulfill the school objectives. Paying visits to the classroom, I was stunned by the fact that teaching methods and approaches applied by almost all teachers are highly teacher-centred in which the student is not actively involved in the process of learning. The direct result of such predominantly teacher-oriented classroom is that the school would not make out geniuses, as predicted by their well-crafted slogan, but rather mediocre ones with minimum professional as well as personal skills.
To make out a genius, you need a new teaching vision based on an entirely new philosophy where students are no longer kept passive recipients to what their teachers are saying. A major shift from teacher-centred approaches to more student-based ones is needed, particularly if we genuinely wish to have a greater learner's involvement in the process of learning. Although it is no longer a teacher-fronted classroom, teachers are still playing a strikingly great role in conducting, directing and leading class activities. However, they need to expose learners to new ways of thinking by adapting new ways of teaching styles. In simple words, a departure from old-fashioned teaching strategies into more creative ones should be a top priority by educators. Based on new discoveries in the fields of cognitive psychology, brain physiology and pedagogy, totally new approaches to thinking and studying have been unveiled. Basically, these skills sharply contradict old ones in which a great contribution from the part of learner is unquestionably needed.
The first of these profound skills which students need to develop is inquiring. It is a hugely effective technique that could stir students' mind to engage in a self-discovery mission to get knowledge. In broader terms, inquiring means to seek information by raising questions on a specific topic in search of a better understanding of it. If a student raises questions, he would definitely develop an inquiring mind curious to debate issues and never accept ideas without much investigation and scrutiny.
Creative thinking is another important learning skill. Since it marks a departure from superficial learning styles into more deep thinking ones, students should be introduced to a variety of creative thinking techniques. Creativity experts say that everyone has a level of creative ability. But what differentiates creative from noncreative person is that the former is more willing, more patient and more enthusiastic to achieve his or her goals than the latter. To develop a creative mind, teachers need to present their students with creativity skills such as analyzing, synthesizing evaluating and reevaluating of information, ideas and assumptions presented to them by either the course teacher or the assigned curriculum.
To make use of social skills in the process of learning, students are distributed into small, multi-level teams in what is largely known as cooperative learning. Through interpersonal interaction, the team members can actually get involved in meaningful activities so they can solve a problem or find a solution to a stagnant problem. Although this skill is much more effective and time-saving, it is unexplainably neglected by many teachers.
Critical thinking, mostly abandoned by a great number of teachers, is an extraordinary powerful technique which, if conducted professionally, could revolutionize the current teaching paradigms. Here, the teacher's job is to monitor, direct and give feedback while students are entirely engaged in a deep process of thinking, evaluating and, then, giving judgments.
Another innovative teaching technique is to assign students certain roles to play so as to fulfill a learning purpose. The teacher may think of a situation where students can play the roles of policemen, doctors, interviewers and etc. while they are playing roles, they are prompted to use a variety of mental activities such as brainstorming, reorganizing and uttering ideas. Beside all the learning advantages associated with this technique, it creates an enjoyable, stimulating and relaxing atmosphere which, beside other factors, reduces stress and anxiety.
Many other innovative teaching techniques are also worth considering. Using Mind Maps, which were developed by the legendary thinking magnet Tony Buzan, is yielding powerful results, particularly with primary school students. Another powerfully significant technique involves the use of Concept Maps. For example, geographical concepts are linked together by graphical lines which branch out into other subcomponents. To facilitate recall, the teacher may draw beautiful circles with different colors carrying out notions.
However, all these teaching styles would definitely give students much responsibility at directing their own learning. Assigning that role, learners' perception of themselves as marginal figures would vanish giving way to top quality education that produces
geniuses, not dropouts.
Innovation is imperative
As we were about to entre the place, we noticed a huge poster nearly covering the façade of a private school building here in Riyadh and carrying this bold statement: "Our mission is to help students think like a genius". Being a well-funded private school, the teaching staff members, as asserted by the school principal, are well-chosen so they can fulfill the school objectives. Paying visits to the classroom, I was stunned by the fact that teaching methods and approaches applied by almost all teachers are highly teacher-centred in which the student is not actively involved in the process of learning. The direct result of such predominantly teacher-oriented classroom is that the school would not make out geniuses, as predicted by their well-crafted slogan, but rather mediocre ones with minimum professional as well as personal skills.
To make out a genius, you need a new teaching vision based on an entirely new philosophy where students are no longer kept passive recipients to what their teachers are saying. A major shift from teacher-centred approaches to more student-based ones is needed, particularly if we genuinely wish to have a greater learner's involvement in the process of learning. Although it is no longer a teacher-fronted classroom, teachers are still playing a strikingly great role in conducting, directing and leading class activities. However, they need to expose learners to new ways of thinking by adapting new ways of teaching styles. In simple words, a departure from old-fashioned teaching strategies into more creative ones should be a top priority by educators. Based on new discoveries in the fields of cognitive psychology, brain physiology and pedagogy, totally new approaches to thinking and studying have been unveiled. Basically, these skills sharply contradict old ones in which a great contribution from the part of learner is unquestionably needed.
The first of these profound skills which students need to develop is inquiring. It is a hugely effective technique that could stir students' mind to engage in a self-discovery mission to get knowledge. In broader terms, inquiring means to seek information by raising questions on a specific topic in search of a better understanding of it. If a student raises questions, he would definitely develop an inquiring mind curious to debate issues and never accept ideas without much investigation and scrutiny.
Creative thinking is another important learning skill. Since it marks a departure from superficial learning styles into more deep thinking ones, students should be introduced to a variety of creative thinking techniques. Creativity experts say that everyone has a level of creative ability. But what differentiates creative from noncreative person is that the former is more willing, more patient and more enthusiastic to achieve his or her goals than the latter. To develop a creative mind, teachers need to present their students with creativity skills such as analyzing, synthesizing evaluating and reevaluating of information, ideas and assumptions presented to them by either the course teacher or the assigned curriculum.
To make use of social skills in the process of learning, students are distributed into small, multi-level teams in what is largely known as cooperative learning. Through interpersonal interaction, the team members can actually get involved in meaningful activities so they can solve a problem or find a solution to a stagnant problem. Although this skill is much more effective and time-saving, it is unexplainably neglected by many teachers.
Critical thinking, mostly abandoned by a great number of teachers, is an extraordinary powerful technique which, if conducted professionally, could revolutionize the current teaching paradigms. Here, the teacher's job is to monitor, direct and give feedback while students are entirely engaged in a deep process of thinking, evaluating and, then, giving judgments.
Another innovative teaching technique is to assign students certain roles to play so as to fulfill a learning purpose. The teacher may think of a situation where students can play the roles of policemen, doctors, interviewers and etc. while they are playing roles, they are prompted to use a variety of mental activities such as brainstorming, reorganizing and uttering ideas. Beside all the learning advantages associated with this technique, it creates an enjoyable, stimulating and relaxing atmosphere which, beside other factors, reduces stress and anxiety.
Many other innovative teaching techniques are also worth considering. Using Mind Maps, which were developed by the legendary thinking magnet Tony Buzan, is yielding powerful results, particularly with primary school students. Another powerfully significant technique involves the use of Concept Maps. For example, geographical concepts are linked together by graphical lines which branch out into other subcomponents. To facilitate recall, the teacher may draw beautiful circles with different colors carrying out notions.
However, all these teaching styles would definitely give students much responsibility at directing their own learning. Assigning that role, learners' perception of themselves as marginal figures would vanish giving way to top quality education that produces
geniuses, not dropouts.