Teaching methods in instruction developed as a replacement for ”general pedagogical methods” since specific subjects require different approaches (e.g. the same teaching method cannot be efficiently applied to foreign language and physics classes). Teaching methods are a theoretical and practical system which in a scientifically established way describes and proscribes effective teaching methods of a specific subject or a group of related subjects.
Teaching methods (methodology) of a certain subject will use didactic knowledge about the individualization of the instructional process, teaching methods and didactical principles, the types of instruction and organization of instruction. In addition, the choice of appropriate teaching method and instruction in a specific situation will be influenced by the scientific and expert field of a certain subject, as well as the characteristics of the participants (their psychosocial development, previous knowledge, interests etc).
The basic question resulting from the previous definition of methodology or teaching methods is whether universal or general methodology in distance education is possible. In distance education general principles and different educational methods can be formulated, but every specific subject or area in distance education should use theoretical and practical principles of methodology developed especially for this subject or field. General didactic principles and available educational methods for online education should in practice always be adapted to specific methodical teaching approaches for a specific subject or field.
It is especially important to be well acquainted with different education methods and teaching approaches in order to apply them appropriately in order to achieve educational objectives. Among the most wide spread types of instruction the following can be pointed out:
- transmission instruction and direct teaching (informing, describing, explaining, training, asking questions, monitoring the questions, intervening);
- heuristic instruction and teaching through conversation (asking questions, dialogue, group discussions);
- pair work and cooperative grouping (joint assignments, analyses, evaluations, problem solving, creative techniques, decision making etc);
- problem teaching (identifying and defining a problem, setting hypotheses, gathering data, generating the solution, evaluating the possibilities, selecting the solution, concluding and applying this in practice);
- programmed instruction (division of content into smaller units, tasks and questions which stimulate relevant activities, and feedback about the users and their results).
Programmed instruction is a system of theoretical concepts and different technical forms of programmed instruction which enable simulated delivery of instruction so as to achieve a 1:1 student:” instructor” ratio (i.e. a technical system simulating an instructor). Instead of traditional instruction in which there is one teacher and several students and where a complete individualization of the educational process is impossible, in programmed learning individual teaching is “multiplied” by using the so-called programmed textbooks, computer-based instruction or learning management systems (LMS). Research shows that programmed teaching is usually more successful than traditional instruction, taking into consideration short-term and long-term memory of educational content, as well as time spent on learning . With programmed learning participants are guided by questions and tasks which stimulate their inner mental activity, while the possibility to check the correct answer influences the so-called self-confirmation which causes the feeling of extrinsic and intrinsic reward and motivation. The use of programmed learning is especially useful in distance education and computer-based instruction.
Computer-based instruction (CBI) is based on automation and individualization of the presentation of educational content and interaction with the students. Computer-based instruction can be applied in the following areas: drills and practical problems, handbook teaching, educational games, modelling and simulations, hypertext, multimedia and distance education. Computer based instruction uses numerous teaching methods: problem solving , guided dialogue, linear teaching, network teaching, adaptive teaching, algorithmic request generating, simulation, computer-guided experimenting, monitoring of the learning process, self-assessment and diagnostic testing.
Tips & tricks: Taking into consideration the available technology for online education and methodological principles for instruction of a certain subject, try to provide a precise definition of learning objectives and elaborate specific methodological principles based on which you will design an LMS that you are working in. Divide the educational content into chunks and elaborate specific presentation, practice and knowledge assessment methods for each chunk. When integrating them, try to do it so as to achieve a harmonious consistent unit of content presentation and interaction with the participants.
