UTKARSH
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
(2010-11)
Interactive Teaching-Learning Methodology
Activity-based
Learning –
An Interactive Method
What is activity-based learning?
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A constructivist learning approach
A hands –on, creative, participative method
of learning
An interactive method in language learning
•Learning should be constructive and self
motivated
•It should engage students actively for
children are naturally curious
and likes to explore their environment
•Teacher should create an environment that is
conducive for gaining knowledge
Features and Advantages
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Learning happens through activities
Learning becomes fun, an enjoyable process
Learning is contextual, so, easy to grasp
and meaningful
Classroom activities are more studentcentric
•Application of knowledge is more important than
acquiring knowledge
•Knowledge is applied through various activities in this
method of learning
•Activities bring variety to the process of learning.
Contrast this with traditional passive listening
•It's easier to catch and sustain the attention and
interest of the learners when they are actively
involved.
•The retention of knowledge thus gained is permanent.
•Bringing subjects down to the level of students’
experience makes understanding easier
•Inviting active participation helps students open up.
•They can freely try out the concepts they have
learned.
Students are not confined to their
seats and classrooms
 Free exchange of ideas
 Children are self- motivated to know, to
learn
 Teacher as a facilitator or guide, not an
authoritarian
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•Students have freedom to move around. No
student likes to be tied down to his bench.
•Class rooms become a lively, interesting place.
•Through pair-work, group-work, whole class
discussions students are exposed to a variety of
view points and perspectives.
•The guided discovery approach leads students to a
clearer understanding of the forms and underlying
concepts (in grammar)
•The teacher’s role is to set tasks that help students
arrive at an understanding of the concepts,
•make learning challenging and motivating by
selecting appropriate material,
•decide teaching tools, design activities, prompt
and ask questions that make learning challenging
and motivating.
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Most effective method for teaching
language skills and thinking skills
•Interactive teaching provides ample practice in
speaking and listening skills.
•Interacting with a group with similar skill helps remove
inhibition and
•develops confidence and fluency in the use of
language.
•Collaboration and exchange of ideas enriches the
learner’s mind.
•Role plays, skits create natural situations to think and
gain new perspectives
Activities to develop various
language skills
•Teachers should device activities to suit the age group
and skills of the learners.
•There should be variety in activities.
•Activities should not only help gather knowledge, but
apply and evaluate knowledge.
•Activities should be interesting, and thought provoking.
•There should be individual, pair, group and whole class
activities.
Reading Activities
 A reading lesson typically has three parts: pre, while
and post activities. These activities are meant to
activate prior knowledge of the learners even before they
start reading. The logic behind activating prior
knowledge is to build upon what students already
know about a topic as a lead-in to the main reading
task. The more teachers activate students’ prior
knowledge, the easier it will be for the students to retain
new information from the main reading task.
Pre reading activities
Aim
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Activating and building background knowledge
Familiarizing students with the theme and vocabulary
Bring the theme down to the experiential level of students
Activities
For theme a questionnaire, one or two questions, a picture or a
comic strip that would lead to a discussion on the theme.
For vocabulary, puzzling out from the context, brainstorming,
matching words with meanings or crossword puzzles
While reading Activities
Aim
Arouse and sustain interest,
Establish connections, predict what is to come, encourage
creative thinking
Activities
Read the headline and guess the theme/plot
Read the first paragraph and guess the setting, period how
the story would proceed – discuss various possibilities
Read further, stop, ask if a twist is expected in the plot, and
what tells this.
Gap filling, completion of tables/trees/flowcharts.
Post reading Activities
Aim
 Better understanding of the topic/plot
 Insight into characters, motives
 Interpretation, analysis of situation reactions
 Creative thinking
 Draw attention to writing style, language, how
information is organized
Activities
Group discussions, whole class discussions
Table completion, gap filling
Inferences and illustration
Summarizing, sequencing, suggesting/matching headings,
sub-headings
Speaking Activities
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Aim
Remove inhibition, build confidence
 Continuous and fluent interaction in natural situations both
informal and formal
 Exchange of ideas and higher thinking skill
Activities
Narration and description
Brainstorming and pair/group/class discussions for idea
generation
Role plays and repetition for learning language structures
Speeches, debates for fluency and confidence building
exercise
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Constraints of activity-based teaching
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Time factor: Students can get carried away by activities.
Teachers with the pressure of completing syllabus on
time may find lecture method more convenient
Large classes: Teachers cannot freely move and
monitor all groups and cannot provide individual
attention
Passivity: Just as in traditional class rooms a few
always actively participate when others remain passive
listeners
Digression: Students tend to move away from the topic
under discussion