Pedagogy. The very first subject that a trainee teacher would be taught when enrolled in teaching college. Pedagogy is the theory and practice of teaching and in this post, we will discuss some approaches to pedagogy and how technology could be integrated into these approaches.
Case-based learning
Case-based learning can be observed in law courses where legal principles are taught through decided cases. A case on point is the classic English case Donoghue v Stevenson or the Snail and Ginger Beer case which laid the foundation for modern law of negligence and is the starting point for teaching the principle of negligence.
Legal cases are easily searchable on online databases through its name, and if the database does not have the feature already, perhaps cases could be made searchable through the legal principle that it seeks to convey (eg. input "negligence" into an online case database search and it will return "Donoghue v Stevenson").
Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning (IBL) seeks to depart from the traditional mode of classroom teaching where the teacher "spoonfeeds" his/her students with content to pass a year-end examination. In IBL, the role of the teacher becomes that of a "facilitator" and will guide the class to take ownership of their own learning. For a facilitator, it's a case of "tell me what you want to know and I will guide you to where you can find it". Students are encouraged to question everything that have been taught.
IBL is more suitable for adult learners and is the approach taken in professional workshops. However, organisations like the International Baccalaurate brings an inquiry-based pedagogical approach to classrooms and claims that it is more effective than the traditional mode of teaching. An online education management system like Moodle will definitely be the tool of choice for IBL.
Games-based learning
This is the idea of getting students to play a game in order to teach a concept. An example and a personal favourite of mine is the classic "Monopoly". A great learning tool which teaches that to "win" at the financial game of life one has to buy up as many green houses and red hotels as possible is largely true when it come to real life!
Monopoly has now been digitised and is available on Android and Apple smartphones. A handy game for students to learn the basics of financial literacy.
Project-based learning
Creating a blog as a course assignment to learn the nuances of blogging as a tool for online learning, developing a Facebook page for a real-world business to learn the concepts of E-business strategies, these are some examples of effectively applying project-based learning. There is no better way to learn a theory than to actually test it out in the real world. This is an approach which is not only benefits a student's learning, but also adds value to society at large (provided that the project is one that is beneficial to society of course!)
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