Adv. Madhumita Bar

Interactive teaching is all about instructing the students in a way they are actively involved with their learning process. There are different ways to create an involvement like this. Most of the time it’s through teacher-student interaction, student-student interaction, the use of audio, visuals, video, hands-on demonstrations and exercises
I encourage my students to be active members of my class, thinking on their own, using their brains, resulting in long-term memory retention. Not only the students’ knowledge will improve, but their interest, strength, knowledge, team spirit and freedom of expression will increase as well.

First, I want to put some activities in the spotlight. The following interactive student activities are three of the most effective ways to encourage more speech in your classroom.

1. Think, pair and share
Set a problem or a question around a certain topic, and pair up your students. Give each pair of students enough time so they can reach a proper conclusion, and permit the kids to share their conclusion in their voice. This way your students will be engaged, communicating, and remember more of the class than ever before.

2. Brainstorming
Interactive brainstorming is mostly performed in group sessions. The process is useful for generating creative thoughts and ideas. Brainstorming helps students learn to work together, and above all, learn from each other. You’ll be surprised by all the great ideas they come up with! Check out these 8 fun brainstorming apps you can use in your classroom, or use BookWidgets’ Mindmap widget to structure thinking.

3. Buzz session
Participants come together in session groups that focus on a single topic. Within each group, every student contributes thoughts and ideas. Encourage discussion and collaboration among the students within each group. Everyone should learn from each other’s input and experiences. As a teacher, you could give your students some keywords to spark the conversation.

Of course, there are many other interactive teaching ideas as well. I split up the activities in different categories:

Individual student activities
Student pair activities
Student group activities
Interactive game activities