15 methods for
Active Teaching and Learning
Workbook for TVET trainers
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15 methods for Active Teaching and Learning – Workbook for TVET trainers
This workbook was developed based on earlier versions of teacher workbooks on Active
Teaching and Learning, of Edukans Foundation.
The materials were further developed to build the capacity of TVETs and TVET trainers,
in North and South-Wollo, Ethiopia, in the context of the SINCE Amhara project, funded
by the European Union.
Amersfoort (The Netherlands), September 2019
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Contents
Introduction: A vision on teaching and learning ....................................................................... 5
1.
Think - Pair – Share ................................................................................................. 6
2.
Mind Mapping ......................................................................................................... 6
3.
Placemat ................................................................................................................ 7
4.
Searching for the match ........................................................................................... 8
5.
What am I? ............................................................................................................ 9
6.
Odd one out ......................................................................................................... 10
7.
Drama or role play ................................................................................................ 11
8.
Starting a discussion: 4 corners .............................................................................. 11
9.
Expert method ...................................................................................................... 12
10. Quiz .................................................................................................................... 12
11. Snowball .............................................................................................................. 12
12. Throw the ball ...................................................................................................... 13
13. Doing it the wrong way .......................................................................................... 13
14. Drawing the machine ............................................................................................. 14
15. Walk around and exchange .................................................................................... 14
Practical tips and principles for the active teacher or trainer ................................................... 15
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Introduction: A vision on teaching and learning
Learning
Traditionally, teachers direct the learning process and students play a receptive role in their education.
Influenced by psychologists and educators such as John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Janusz Korczak, Celestin
Freinet, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, whose work focused on how students learn, the Constructivist Learning
Theory was developed. According to this theory, learning always builds upon knowledge that a student already
has, and learners construct their own knowledge based on interaction with the environment (Gagnon, 2005).
So, learning is more than receiving and processing information transmitted by teachers. It means that students
learn best when they are allowed to construct a personal understanding, based on experiencing things and
reflecting on those experiences. A Constructivist Classroom is a Learner-Centered Classroom. Learner-centered
(or student-centered) learning means reversing the traditional teacher-centered understanding of the learning
process, putting the student at the center of the learning process instead of the teacher. In a teacher-centered
classroom, teachers are the primary source for knowledge; the norm is rote learning or memorizing teacher
notes or lectures, or watching the trainer demonstrate or model a skill.
In contrast, learner-centered learning allows students to actively participate in learning processes and it
promotes distinctive learning styles. Because learning can be seen as a form of personal growth, learners are
encouraged to utilize self-regulation practices in order to reflect on their own work. Over the past few decades
a shift in curriculum has occurred where teachers, but also trainers in skills education, now act as facilitators in
a student-centered classroom. This shift has made an impact on the method of teaching and training and the
way learners learn. It is important for teachers to acknowledge the increasing role and function of their
educational practices. As our educational practices change, so does our approach to learning and teaching.
Teaching and training
What teachers know, do, expect and value has a significant influence on the nature, extent and rate of learning
by the students. The powerful phrase ‘teachers make the difference’ captures the key role they play in shaping
the lives and futures of their learners. For teachers and trainers to maintain excellence they need to be
reflective. They need to deepen and refresh their own knowledge and engage in professional exchange with
their colleagues, in order to keep learning and deepening their capacities as trainers or teachers.
Why active learning?
“We learn and retain . . .
5% of lecture
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear and see
30% of demonstrations
50% discussing with others
75% what we practice by doing
90% of what we teach others”
(after William Glasser)
Of course, learning depends on many factors. For example, the content of the lessons, the enthusiasm of the
students and the interest in the subject. However, the more active the students are, the better they will learn!
In this workbook for TVET trainers you find 15 examples of methods that will encourage active learning. All
methods can be used in the classroom and in the practical skills workshop. We have tried to give you many
examples that can be used in the skills training room or workshop. Also, we mostly use the word trainer but in
fact, many of the same ideas and methods can be applied in general secondary or even primary education, also
if a class is more theory and cognition-oriented. We hope this workbook gives you a lot of inspiration to try and
make your class more active and more fun, and thus, to encourage more and deeper (skills) learning in your
students.
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1. Think - Pair – Share
This is a method to make your students think and discuss their ideas in 3 steps. Ask the class a question, then….
1. Think:
2. Pair:
3. Share:
First give the learners a few seconds to think about an answer individually.
Then the learners discuss the answer in pairs.
The pairs share their answer in a bigger group and/ or with the teacher/ class.
This method is very student-centered because you first invite the individual student to think for herself/himself
in silence. Then they compare their answers or thoughts with one other student, and then together, they share
with a larger group. This way you avoid that all students immediately call their answers out loud and only
respond to you, their teacher (which would be very much teacher-centered).
Remember that using this method is also possible in the workshop, whilst your students are standing around
benches or getting ready to work, and you want their attention.
Example ‘Think-pair-share’
Garment:
Imagine that you have already explained about how to cut material according to a pattern. Now you are getting ready to
demonstrate how to place pieces of pattern on a piece of material before cutting it. You want to evaluate if the students
remember the order of working: what comes first, next, and so on. Ask: what are the first three things to do and in what
order?
Think:
Pair:
The learners individually think (and maybe write) what the first three steps are.
The learners check the steps they wrote down for themselves in pairs. Afterwards, they discuss about the
sentences in groups of four learners (2 pairs together) .
Share: From two or three groups you let one learner call out/ write down the 3 steps in plenary.
It is usually a waste of time to ask all the groups, because they will all have similar answers. After a few groups get it right,
you can ask: is there any group with a different order/answer? If something is missing from the answers or not entirely
correct, make sure to say the right answer loud and clear.
2. Mind Mapping
A mind map is a diagram used to visualize information. A mind map is often created around a single word or
text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words and concepts are added. For example at the start of
a lesson, you can write the theme of a lesson on the blackboard/whiteboard and let the learners write down
everything they know about this subject in their own workbook. Or come forward one by one to add what they
know. You’ll discuss the findings together, while making a mind map on the blackboard. You can choose to use
this method individually, in pairs or in groups up to six learners.
Examples Mind map:
Biology:
Together with the learners you first make a Mind Map about “animals”. After this you “zoom in” on mammals:
what do they already know? This lesson they will learn more about mammals. At the end of the lesson you let
the learners complete the mind map with the information they have learned.
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Construction
Goal: to understand the importance of metal in the construction of buildings
1. Write ‘use of metal construction’ on the black board or white board
2. Let students brainstorm about the use of metal construction
3. Group the things mentioned by using for example: ‘connecting materials’ (eg screws and bolts),
construction materials (eg. sheet materials), piping and fitting materials…
Variation: You can also follow this up by giving a ‘homework’ assignment: ask your students to walk around in
the neighborhood, observe all buildings closely and find out if they have missed anything, or how common is a
particular type of metal, and so on.
3. Placemat
In this method the students work in groups of four students sitting in a circle.
1. Every group draws a ‘Placemat’, preferably on a large sheet
2. The teacher gives the assignment to the groups. It is important that this is a question with only one
correct answer.
3. Every student writes down the answer(s) individually in her/his designated space.
4. After a limited time (depending on the complexity, more or less minutes) a signal is given. All learners
will discuss their answer(s) in their group. Upon discussion they should decide on their joint answer,
and write that in the rectangle.
5. The students give the answer to the teacher/ class and explain their choice.
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In case you prefer to make groups of three students, or if you have 2 or 3 students ‘left over’, you find the
shape for alternative placemats below.
Example ‘Placemat’
Mathematics/calculations:
The subject is calculating the needed materials for a certain item, for example:
• How would you calculate the number of iron sheets for a certain type roof of a house?
• How would you calculate the needed meters of pipe for water?
• How would you calculate the number of rolls of thread for weaving a certain cloth?
1. The students individually write down the best procedure to calculate. Give them limited time, (for example 3
minutes), in which they should work in silence on their own piece of the placemat.
2. After the limited time you indicate that they should now discuss their answer and try to convince the others
about their method. This may take up to 10 minutes.
3. Ask each group for the correct answer.
4. Possible extra step: Ask the groups to carry out a calculation that you give them.
4. Searching for the match
Every student gets a card with a word, a picture or a phrase written on it. After a signal is given, the students
can make combinations with these cards by finding another student who has the corresponding/matching card.
Make sure to prepare this very well, the combinations must be clear and correct. If you have less students in
class than the number of cards, it is important to check that the correct combinations are ‘in the game’. Ask
your students to treat the cards nicely (do not fold or tear) so that you can use the cards again in another group
of students.
Do not give too much time, it works well ‘if the pressure is on’. If one pair have made a mistake, automatically
at least one other pair will get in trouble too! This adds to the learning effect: allow time to find out in plenary
where the mistakes are by checking every single combination aloud.
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Example Searching for the match
English translations of Amharic words:
For any trade or topic: half of the students receive cards with the words for materials and tools in English and
the other half of the class have cards with the meaning in Amharic. The matching cards have to find each other,
for example:
የጥጥ ክር
Cotton thread
Biology:
All learners get a piece of paper with a tree species written on it. The other half of the group gets a piece of
paper with a leaf from the trees stuck on to it, or drawn on it. Now the learners have to make couples. Which
leaf belongs to which tree? You can also do the assignment with pictures of a nut or pieces of fruit.
Use of machines or tools in any trade:
Half of the students in the group receive a card with a picture of a tool on it and the other half have cards with
the function of a tool or machine (not the name of the machine, just the use). Of course, when the matching
cards find each other they can say the name of the tool in Amharic and in English.
5. What am I?
This exercise will encourage the students to think what makes one tool, items or machine different from
another one in the workshop. You need to have small pieces of sticky paper, each with a word written on it
representing items, machines or tools from the workshop or
workplace. The exercise starts with sticking a pieces of paper on the
forehead of (a number of) your students, and the student is not
allowed to see her/his own item.
When it is the student’s turn, he/she stands in front of the class. The
other students in class know and read the item. The student must
ask questions to the other students to find out ‘what he/she is’ (or:
what is the item written on his/her forehead). Each question can be
answered only by yes or no. By deduction, the student should get
closer and closer to the solution. When the student finds out correctly what word is written on his/her
forehead, the next student takes a turn.
If there are many students you can make groups, and in each group they do the exercise independently. You
can also make groups if you have not so many different items, in that case repeat the same items for different
groups.
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Examples ‘What am I?’
Cookery:
To know the differences and similarities between items of kitchen equipment. For example: The word written
on a student’s forehead is ‘frying pan’. He can ask questions like: ‘Do you use me for stirring?’, ‘Do you need
electricity to make me function?’ ‘Do you use me for cooking?’, ‘Do you use me for heating?’ ‘Am I a type of
pan?’
Construction:
The word written is ‘masonry lime’. Questions could be: ‘Do you need electricity to make me function?’ ‘Am I
cheap to buy on the market?’ ‘Am I used by masons?’ ‘Can you build a house without me?’ ‘Am I needed in
connecting pieces together?’.
6. Odd one out
Write on the blackboard four words, concepts or pictures that look like they belong together. But one of the
words actually doesn’t belong to this series. Let the learners discuss which word or concept has to be taken out,
and let them explain why.
Examples Odd one out
Metal work:
Write down 3 tools used for cutting or sawing metal bars or sheets, and one that isn’t suitable.
Write down 3 kinds of metal alloys used frequently and one that is not an alloy.
Mathematics:
Write down in random order 3 numbers, which can be divided by 7. A third number is written which is not
dividable by 7. Now the learners have to find out which number does not belong to the other numbers and they
have to explain why. Of course the learners have the opportunity to discuss in groups or in pairs before they
give an answer.
Weaving:
Write down 3 parts of a certain weaving loom and one that is part of another type of loom. The learners have to
find out which part doesn’t belong.
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7. Drama or role play
Make groups of approximately 4-6 students. Each group has 5 minutes to prepare a role-play for a subject
given. After the 5 minutes they have to perform it for the other learners in the group.
You can use this method to repeat lessons, which are given, or to let the rest of the group guess what the roleplaying group tries to express. They can express for example, ‘what to do if….’ (something happens), but they
can also choose to act out ‘what NOT to do….’ (what behavior to avoid if something happens). This method is
especially relevant for lessons in which you have given a lot of information about a (social) subject. Many
subjects of the life skills lessons are particularly suitable for drama or role-play.
Be aware that 5 minutes to prepare is not much. Warn your students about this on forehand. To perform for
the others in class is important. The crucial part of using drama is that it raises discussion about what can
happen, about difficult situations, how to handle and how not to handle from different perspectives. In this
case, make sure there is enough time to watch and discuss all groups perform because they have created
something.
Examples ‘Drama or role play’
Life skills/employability skills:
Let the students play situations to do with work relations and communication on the work floor, for example,
when an employee arrives late for work and what the colleagues and the boss will do and say. Or when an
employee makes a big mistake in a construction, and so on.
SRHR skills or assertiveness skills:
Let the students play a situation where a young woman (or more generally, a person) is being harassed or
bullied (on the work floor, in the classroom, or in a public place). The group can act out what the bullied person
can do or should avoid, but they may also focus on what the other people can do or must avoid (colleagues,
school mates, friends, by-standers).
8. Starting a discussion: 4 corners
As the teacher, you give a statement, for example: ‘You always have to obey your elder sisters/brothers/boss’.
‘As a muslim girl you need to wear a head scarf’. ‘It is okay to live off the income of your relatives’. It needs to
be a statement that people can have different opinions about, so not a question with a clear answer. Again, life
skills subjects are especially suitable for this method.
You create 4 corners in the room:
• I disagree
• I agree
• I slightly disagree
• I slightly agree
When all students have chosen a position in one of the 4 corners by physically standing there, they can start a
discussion and try to convince each other with arguments. People are allowed to change their mind and to
move from their corner to another corner.
As the teacher, make sure you give space to each of the corners to make their point. One or two people in each
corner can take the word. Before the exercise decide how much time the discussion should take and tell the
students. This method works well when addressing a new subject: to set the student minds onto the new topic
and for you as a teacher to explore how much your students know about a topic: What arguments do they use
in their discussions? Do they use the arguments correctly?
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9. Expert method
Divide your class in e.g. 8 groups and make 8 partial assignments or 2x 4 partial assignments, practicing a
certain technical skill together, finding out principles of something or figuring out the procedure for a certain
operation. Let the students practice with this skill or solve the assignment. After a set time (eg 30 minutes) all
the students move to the next table but one student on each table stays behind! At the new table, the
newcomers listen to and watch the person who stayed there, and who will teach them the new facts or model
the new skill as an expert.
Example expert method
Agriculture:
How exactly is maize production influenced by these factors:
1.
Type and quality of soil
2.
Choice of seeds and time of sowing
3.
Availability of water supply
4.
Application of fertilizers
10.
Quiz
A quiz is an easy and attractive way to summarize what you have done in a (previous) lesson, and it is also a
good way to assess how much your students have picked up from what you have taught them. Make sure you
prepare your questions well enough and that there are no possible confusions about what is the correct
answer.
Yes/no (or True/false) quizzes are the easiest to prepare. Of course you can also make it more complicated and
think of a multiple choice quiz (choose from 3 or 4 options).
Variation: ask your students to prepare quiz questions. For example in groups, and each group is asked to
prepare questions which they consider important and at the right level. If there are 5 groups and each group
prepares 5 questions (yes/no questions, or multiple choice questions) you will have 25 quiz questions to choose
from and might be able to select the best 15. Make sure you check that questions and answers are correct!
Example Quiz
SRHR:
You were teaching about HIV/AIDS. You can ask “true or false” questions.
For example:
• ‘HIV/Aids is a virus’ True or false?
• ‘You can prevent HIV/AIDS by eating coconuts’ true or false?
• ‘Only women can have HIV/AIDS’ true or false?
• ‘Having sex with a virgin cures AIDS’ true or false
11.
Snowball
Every student gets a piece of paper. On this paper they individually write a question that they have, but would
not like (or do not dare) to ask others. They should not write their names on the paper.
They all make a ball out of their paper and they start throwing to each other. Of course they can pick up
dropped balls and throw further. After throwing for a while you stop. Now there are two options:
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•
•
Collect all the balls, before the next lesson read the questions and prepare to answer them in the
next lesson.
Ask the students to pick up one ball each, open it and read the question aloud. The question can
then be discussed in plenary, in pairs, in small groups….
Example Snowball
After a biology or life skills lesson about sexuality, students still may have some questions which they find
awkward to ask. Such questions lend themselves very well to write on the sheets and turn into snow balls.
12.
Throw the ball
A simple and interactive method to start or end a lesson on literally any subject. You throw a (small) ball to
someone and that person, upon catching the ball has to answer your question. If space allows, throwing and
catching works best if the students (including you as the teacher) stand in a circle. Make sure the speed is kept;
the idea is that it looks like a game.
There are many variations, eg.:
• You as the teacher are the one to ask the questions and to decide if the answer is satisfactory, and you
get the ball thrown back to you each time.
• The student who catches the ball, after correctly answering, will ask the next (related) question and
throw the ball to another student. The one asking the question decides if the answer is satisfactory until
all students have had a turn in catching, throwing and answering and asking.
• Especially when it is important to assess knowledge and understanding, you may wish to prepare the
questions and write them on small cards. You give those relevant question cards to your students so
they don’t need to think about a good question and can just read the question to the next person.
• Ask your students to make it more or less difficult for their fellow students, eg. Who do you think will be
able to answer this question well enough? Or: who do you want to challenge with this question?
13.
Doing it the wrong way
This method can be used for any technical skill that you can demonstrate in all fields!
In contrast to the ordinary modelling technique, you consciously make one or more mistakes in a
demonstration, for example in the order of the steps in the procedure, or in the way you manipulate a tool or
materials, or (more difficult!) by forgetting a safety measure. Or a combination of the above. Ask your students
to observe the whole demonstration from beginning to end, without speaking or discussing. After you finish,
they can say what they thought was wrong. Be prepared for some discussion: what you think you did correctly
may have been observed by them as slightly wrong! 😊
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Variation: Ask two (or three) students to prepare together and do the same demonstration two times, one of
them with a few mistakes and one of them doing it correctly. It should not be too obvious for the other
students who observe! Students usually find it very fun to be involved in this ‘doing it wrong’ with the blessing
of the teacher!
14.
Drawing the machine
This is a good way to make your students familiar with the more complex tools and machinery they have to
work with, and works best after they have used these at least for a number of days. The assignment is to give
them a piece of paper and pencil and ask them to draw the essence of a certain machine or tool (written
secretly on a piece of paper) in a very limited time. Each student draws the machine or tool and after one
minute of drawing they stop. The person next to the student must guess what machine or tool it is. If it is not
guessed, the drawing student gets another minute to draw further, and so on.
It helps if you remind students to focus on what the tool does, and not necessarily what it looks like. For
example: if it cuts metal sheets, start by drawing the knife/sawing part and not the handle bar that you use to
operate the machine or the ruler to measure precisely the width of the sheet.
15.
Walk around and exchange
All students spread in the room independently. When the teacher shouts ‘Stand still!’, everyone stops. Each
student forms a pair with the one closest to them. This method helps very much to make students exchange
and cooperate with students who are usually not so close to them. As such, it can be used simply for forming
new unexpected working duos, for example to share practice together on one machine.
The method can also be used when the teacher asks a simple or more complex question or gives an assignment.
The duos exchange and discuss their answers.
Interestingly, it can also be used for discussing a more complex assignment or a difficult situation:
Example Walk around and exchange:
Welding:
What may have gone wrong if you have fitted the piping in a building and you find out the piping has leaks in
various places. What are the possible mistakes? What can you do to solve this problem? How do you
communicate this to your superior?
Any trade that uses electric power in the work place:
If you are at a common work place with electric machines, eg. in constructing a building/assembling a piece of
garment/ and so on, what are the consequences when there is a power cut? Make sure you don’t forget a single
consequence! If the power is off for a considerable time (more than 30 minutes), what other useful activities
can you do in the mean time? What would you do first and why?
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Practical tips and principles for the active teacher or trainer
Time issues
For many exercises it is important to set the time and tell the students how much time they have. Be strict with
time or else your lesson will fly! It often helps to put a timer with an alarm. For example, ask one student to be
the time keeper using her/his mobile telephone; in the next lesson another student can be the time keeper.
Don’t forget to consider how much time a method or a variation on a method will take: if it takes quite some
time but gives additional learning experiences, it could be worth it. But then maybe you need to cut down the
time of another exercise or practice.
If you ask groups or pairs to report to the plenary, especially if it is to present something, it usually takes much
time. Avoid repetition of lengthy answers: if all groups have worked on the same assignment, each presentation
is no longer than 2 minutes. Alternatively you ask only 2 groups to present, and other groups will get their turn
on another occasion.
Praise and feedback
Never forget to praise students at the end of an exercise, also if it is a group assignment or even if the entire
class have thought about the same question. Especially when it is in plenary you need to show appreciation of
students trying. Praise a student for giving an answer, even if it is incomplete; you can then complete by saying
say something like ‘good, thank you, and don’t forget that there is also …..’. If the student’s answer is effectively
incorrect, don’t hesitate to say so, eg. ‘thank you but I have to correct you there, it is …..’ or ‘That was a really
good try, thank you! However, the correct answer is …’.
Always appreciate students who ask questions, even difficult ones. If you are not sure about a difficult question
or issue, tell your students ‘this is a difficult one, I will check it and will let you know in the next lesson!’. This
gives you time to verify in books, with colleagues, on internet. And to give them a satisfactory answer to the
issue in the next class.
However (inter)active your methods are, remember you are still the trainer/ teacher and you should be in
control. You MUST correct your students if they give incorrect or incomplete answers, if they present findings or
work which does not match with the assignment, and so on! If the method invites students to discuss their
opinions, make sure you encourage all (not only a few) students to participate and use arguments (why do they
think or feel that way). You may have to encourage individuals who are shy or not so vocal. Be prepared for
what you will respond if the students ask you to give your opinion: you can give your opinion, or say that you
want to keep it private (maybe indicate you don’t want to influence them).
Mixing students
Always consider if it is worth and feasible to make your students discuss/pair/work with another student who
they normally don’t work with. This way, students are forced to move (literally), to deal with anyone and not
only with their usual friends, and maybe even to take another role. You may think of consciously mixing
students across backgrounds including gender, ethnicity and religion. On the other hand, it may also be good to
let students choose now and then who they want to work with.
It is very important that students learn to work across genders. It is not right for students to always ‘stay safe’
and work in ‘girls-only’ or ‘boys-only’ groups. Mixing them will increase respect and understanding across the
sexes. As trainer you can control this and request them to mix whenever possible. Of course, if there are 20
male and only 4 female students in a group, it is not nice if each of the women are always in a group of male
students on their own. So occasionally you can give them the opportunity to be in a groups with two women or
all-women.
Discussions
In general, it is important to show and tell students that some subjects or issues are clear cut: they have ‘a
single correct answer’ or ‘a best way to do it’. And generally there is no reason to debate about those matters.
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Other issues are debatable and people may have different opinions about such issues. To avoid that discussions
get tense or get out of hand, make sure to set the discussion time clearly, and indicate something like: ‘This
exercise is for you to exchange opinions but I need all of you to respect each other’s opinions and after the time
is up, we are classmates again who look for gaining the best skills and knowledge about our subject’.
In such cases, explain to your students that the discussion might be heated, but it is always important to keep
listening to each other’s arguments and respecting the differences. And to focus on our similarities as soon as
the discussion time is over.
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