Author(s): Meta Selic Turnsek
ABSTRACT
With changes in society, the school and its role have also changed, as well as the concept of teaching, learning and knowledge. Learning is no longer about memorizing, accumulating as much information as possible, but it is about sense-making of and planning one’s own knowledge. Teaching no longer means that only a teacher is the one who passes the knowledge and is the only source of information, but the teacher is a mentor, organizer, researcher, consultant and observer of the learning process, who focuses on a student. All this stated above can be achieved by using innovative teaching methods, which are not new, they are traditional, but when modern technology and the Internet are used in a modern, interactively equipped classroom with a modern pedagogical approach, these methods are regarded as a new innovative way of teaching. A lot of new skills and knowledge as well as preparation for lessons are required from the teacher by such an approach. The following methods may be used: collaborative learning, teaching-as-research, problem-based teaching, projectrelated work, flipped learning and peer learning. For the successful implementation of such lessons and demanding preparation for them, changes in us, teachers, are necessary. With visible results there is immense satisfaction, which will be supported by an example of good practice.
Ever since the introduction of compulsory education, the school has been unpopular among the students, even the ones who like the school have holidays. It is up to us teachers to motivate students to learn and to teach them in such a way that they will take away the most knowledge from our lessons. Modern education puts the student at the forefront, which means that each student has different needs and needs his own approach. The student himself decides what, how and when he will learn and determines the pace of learning in order to achieve the set or prescribed goals [1].
The changed role of the school, teaching and learning goes hand in hand with work methods that enable an interactive relationship between the teacher and the students and also between the students themselves. It is a way of working that enables research, independent thinking, construction of acquired knowledge, development of today’s important communication skills, empathy, trust, leadership and education. It is about the use of innovative teaching methods based on the use of modern technology. This allows for easier individualization and personalization, easier giving of feedback, and is an indispensable tool for checking and evaluating knowledge. In short, they enable an innovative pedagogical approach, in which innovative teaching means developing 21st century competencies, meaningful and effective use of technology, and places students in an active role and at the center of the learning process. Dr. Štefan Trojar (Professor of Didactics at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana) always warned us as young students that a good teacher leaves the class rested, but the students are tired. For such a lesson, the teacher must prepare and work in advance.
Innovative teaching nowadays must include very important communication skills, which means that it is necessary to combine digital literacy with oral and written communication. Students should be encouraged to communicate in new ways through video conferencing, recorded conversation, video, Skype, etc. When students listen, read, watch, write, record, exchange ideas with others, they not only learn important communication skills, but it also deepens their thinking and understanding. When preparing a presentation, recording, or recording, students must carefully choose the content, tools, and language according to the audience, so that their contribution is understandable, interesting, varied, and long enough.
Edpuzzle - is a tool with which we equip the video with comments or questions - students answer them and this is recorded.
Lino - represents a kind of bulletin board on which students write comments, ideas and thus collaborate.
Prezi - enables the creation of a presentation in which students insert images, videos, diagrams, symbols.
PowToon - allows you to create animations and short videos. Tricider - participants can express their opinion, argue it, vote for the best record or idea.
Twiddla - an online service where participants can write, add documents, pictures, chat, ...
StoryKit - allows you to write text, add images, sound, videos - you can create a book or educational material.
E-services and e-content – e-materials, e-textbooks, learning platforms (e.g. Moodle).
Of course, there are many other options. In this case, students work and create, and teachers act as mentors. But mentoring requires a lot of learning, especially in the field of ICT. Distance learning during the corona virus has already shown that teachers’ lack of ICT skills is a big problem.
In the continuation, I want to present which methods are already known and how to make them innovative so that we can use them to approach the modern student. Traditional methods can become innovative with the use of modern technology. What does innovation even mean? There are many definitions, but all of them have in common that an innovation is an improved or completely new product that turns out to be useful. The main characteristic of innovation is that we do things in a different and not already existing way. So in a way that brings better results. In the SSKJ, innovation is defined as “a new phenomenon, novelty”.
In the modern world, the ability to be able and know how to cooperate with others is crucial. Cooperation and being part of a group is one of the human needs. Cooperation is an ability that is important not only in education, but also in the workplace, in partner relationships, in everyday life.
In the pedagogical process, it represents work in small groups, in which there must be positive interdependence between group members, when all group members try to achieve a common goal. It is considered the most complex form of work in the classroom, suitable for all subjects in all age groups. With this form, we achieve cognitive goals such as the use and understanding of what we have learned, critical thinking and creativity. We can implement different forms of collaborative learning.
Raziskovati je izraz, ki je v šoli velikokrat uporabljen za razlicne vsebine, metode in oblike dela. Slovar slovenskega knjiznega jezika raziskovati pojasnjuje kot »s temeljitim, nacrtnim delom, opazovanjem zbirati podatke, ugotavljati dejstva o cem«. Raziskovalni pouk je v sodobni šoli zelo pomemben. Od ucenca zahteva stalno pripravljenost, sodelovanje, raziskovanje, obvladovanje tehnologij in iskanje virov. Naloga sodobne šole je, da ucenca pripravi na samostojnost reševanja problemov v vsakdanjem ?ivljenju in na bodocem delovnem mestu. Raziskovalni pouk vkljucuje tako problemski pouk kot tudi projektno delo.
The flipped learning method is a modern educational method, it represents an inverted approach to teaching, since basically the learning process takes place in such a way that the student acquires knowledge at school and then consolidates and conquers it at home (homework, exercises, learning, etc.). With such a performance in school, there is no space or time for discussion and group activities. In the flipped learning method, the teacher gives directions and problems of a certain subject, which the students research at home and familiarize themselves with this and prepare for the new subject of the next lesson. This allows the teacher to present the material at a higher taxonomic level and leave more time for discussion, discussion and consolidation. In this method, in contrast to the traditional method, where the teacher is at the center of the action, the center of the action is the student [1]. Students actively participate in acquiring knowledge and evaluate it in a way that suits them. At school, such learning is carried out in groups, pairs or individually. For this, it is also necessary to arrange a place so that we can see each other.
Peer-to-peer learning is a learning method in which learning takes place among peers, as students learn from each other and the exchange of knowledge takes place from their own experiences. All students have an equal position and the same opportunities because prior knowledge is not important here. Students ask and answer other students before asking the teacher, discuss and clarify points of view and share their experiences [1].
All of the listed and briefly presented innovative methods supported by modern technology require the teacher to have continuous education and on-the-spot, very accurate preparation for lessons. This preparation is by no means done once every several years, but is different every year, even from department to department, often even personalized. Quality education is based on the quality of the teacher and, of course, many other factors (number of departments, classroom equipment, etc.). The prerequisite for a professional and highly effective teacher is certainly more practice in the education process, numerous opportunities for professional development, mechanisms for evaluating teachers and rewarding them, and greater responsibility of school management in choosing a teacher.
If I quickly go back to the time of my beginnings as a teacher, I can say that after graduating from the Faculty of Arts, I thought that this was the time when I had completed my education and that I was equipped with the skills to successfully teach and teacher. I was driven and perceived my profession as a mission. Even though I had somewhere in my head that I had to set up the lesson in such a way that the students would work more than I did, I felt guilty if I didn’t tell them everything and more. Over the years of teaching, I have gained many experiences both in the classroom and at many trainings organized by the school or that I have sought out myself. At college, we didn’t hear anything about working with children with special needs, not to mention skills related to the use of modern learning technology. When I was educated in this field, the students also changed a lot. It was immediately clear to me that they were not going to change, even if I kept trying in my established way. I have to change as a teacher. Again, it was necessary to think about education or to think very hard about it, to experiment and to realize that there is an ever-increasing generational gap between me and the students, and with it also the way of life. To be honest, my teenage sons taught me how and what. If before I saw the smartphone as a great evil in the classroom for distraction, now I have included it in the lessons. If the fact that my students do not know how the ox as a sled animal of its time came to be, once disturbed and amazed me, now it is completely normal for me. But how should they know, oxen are almost non-existent in our culture because we have nothing to do with them. However, these same students know how to insert audio and video clips into Prezi presentations, but I didn’t even know what Prezi was. When I listen to female colleagues in the cabinet that their students do not know how to write a power of attorney, I reassure them that they do not need this knowledge - they just need to be able to find the power of attorney form online, enter their personal information and sign it. I came to the administrative unit myself with a handwritten power of attorney, with which my adult son authorized me to do some errand, but they told me that the power of attorney must be on their form, which I can find on the website. There are a lot of such cases.
So, if I stop at this point, I would say that in the awareness of all of the above, it is necessary to air the curriculum, the minimum standards, if not to completely renovate education. However, until this happens, teachers must search and find innovative teaching and learning methods that are interesting and suitable for modern students. In order to be innovative, we need to acquire modern skills to use modern technology, which enables us to do many things. If the corona time has had any positive consequences, it is certainly the use of modern technology for everyone. Much of what I use today in my lessons, I learned and learned during distance learning. At the end of each school year, I ask the students what they would like to keep and change in my lessons. I try to take their initiatives into account and adapt lessons and teaching methods to their wishes. Several departments pointed out that they do not like to explain the material during the PowerPoint presentation because they fail to take notes. I completely abandoned this method of teaching. But they wanted more group work - collaborative learning, so I try to organize at least two hours a month in the mentioned way. Already in the Dictionary of the Slovenian Literary Language, cooperation is defined as “being actively connected for the sake of a joint activity, participating together with others in some work and following what is happening with thoughts and actions”.
I divide students into smaller heterogeneous groups based on their abilities, gender, personality traits, academic performance, and ethnic characteristics. Each group is given a topic to research and then present to their classmates. The basic literature is a textbook, which is supplemented with the help of smartphones and the Internet. I pay attention to the fact that they have to find some data or information related to their topic, which is not in the textbook. Better students tend to take the initiative to find information and how to design a presentation for their classmates. They help and guide weaker students so that they too achieve the best results. When reporting their findings, all group members can participate and complement each other. This method is not only about emphasizing thinking skills and promoting higher levels of learning, but about bridging gaps in knowledge, improving relationships between students, and preparing students for the collaborative world that awaits them.
In the implementation of the cooperative learning method, ICT and didactic applications are of great help, which enable students to be more motivated to learn, achieve higher taxonomic and cognitive levels of competence, and enable individualization and personalization of students. This method is even more successful if we have a block hour and a computer room where students can create really great presentations. The teacher’s preparation for this kind of teaching must be very careful already in the formation of groups, the distribution of topics, in predicting the available time for their work and reporting. It is very important that the reporting is done in the same hour that the cooperative learning takes place. During the course of the work, the teacher must always be available for the many questions that arise from the students and guide them so that they do not go into too much detail or even completely off topic. Many times, the students illuminate the topic from their own point of view, which the teacher does not foresee at all. In such cases, you get confirmation that it is worth making an effort for quality lessons, which the students do enthusiastically and happily and get a lot out of it. I praise them for a job well done and point out what is really excellent and where they could be even better. The more often we carry out collaborative learning, the less it is necessary to point out shortcomings and mistakes. Before implementing this method, I was most worried that only the hardworking students would work, and the less hardworking ones would just be members of the group and wait for the class to end. I was pleasantly surprised that these latter are almost non- existent if the groups are carefully composed and small. Also, if they want to occupy themselves in idleness, the other members activate them and, as a rule, everyone works.
During distance education, I also started using flipped learning, which involves modern information technology in the lessons, and attracts and sensibly activates the student. In the future, I recorded a video explaining the learning content, I sent the video and other learning materials to the online classroom or by e-mail. The students could watch the video at home when they wanted to. The length of the recording is very important, which in my experience should not exceed 10 minutes - this is somehow the time of best concentration. As I already mentioned, the students plan the viewing time themselves, they can prepare questions in advance, write down summaries, and can watch it several times. During the lessons, there is a discussion, an exchange of opinions and experiences, and solving specific situations, which there would be no time for in school. In this method, the role of teacher and student changes significantly. The student is the whole learning process in a very active role, while the teacher becomes more of a mentor and guide and coordinator of the discussion. If necessary, I help solve tasks during lessons, guide them, encourage collaborative work and mutual assistance. Experience says that in today’s time of necessary coexistence with personal computers, tablets, and smartphones, this method represents a logical alternative to classical lessons.
The method itself is not new, its origins go back 20 years, and the authors are Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams, teachers from Colorado, who in 2007 recorded the first contents of the teaching material and published them online.
Now that classes are back at school and the recordings are left over, they can be used to spice up classic lessons. The students of the fourth year themselves proposed an innovation in sociology lessons, which turned out to be more than excellent. In the sociology subject, each student must prepare a presentation of the topic for his classmates and a summary of what was said - in the form of a short note that was sent to the online classroom. These notes provided them with literature to study and review. The students of the computer engineering course suggested to me that instead of a written summary, they should record a voice message. We agreed that it could be between 5 and a maximum of 8 minutes long, that it should be clear, without distracting noises and that it should include the essence of their presentation that they make at school in front of their classmates. The students prepared the speech recordings very carefully and responsibly with a great deal of enthusiasm. They submitted them to the online classroom, thereby enabling classmates to consolidate the material, learn it or simply repeat it with headphones in their ears at home, on the bus, train, even on the way to school. Of course, no one knows what they are listening to, or no one knows that they are learning, because everyone thinks they are listening to music. The students took this novelty as their own, and I will definitely keep it in the future. I had quite a few concerns about how they would do this in the electrical and chemical engineering program. My concerns were completely unnecessary. These students, regardless of the program, master modern technology and know how to change their voice to a radio one, so that it is even more pleasant to listen to them.
My role in these video summaries was simply to distill the essence and shorten the clips before the actual publication.
These are some of the innovations or methods that I use in my teaching and that the students like. What is even more important is that students remember new learning content easier, faster and for a longer period of time, because they acquire it through their own research and active learning. I am aware that this is only the beginning of my innovative teaching and that there are still many possibilities for enriching the lessons, with which I can approach modern students, who have completely different expectations and needs than the generations before them. I am also aware that the students are several steps ahead of me in knowing how to use modern technology and that they can teach me a lot of this - and we are already in mutual learning [2-5].
A modern school requires modern teachers who realize that being a teacher is a mission, which is much more than just a profession, a job. Such teachers have strong positive feelings about their subject area, about students and about teaching in general. They exude energy and enthusiasm for teaching. They will do everything to motivate students to learn, introduce modern teaching methods, and educate themselves so that they can be even more successful. It is absurd to think that every lesson will be conducted with some modern method, using a smartphone, a computer. We will do a lot if we don’t just explain dryly - classically, but we also actively involve the students in the explanation. We can do this by asking ourselves and the students questions. We ask the students a variety of questions and provide the opportunity as often as possible when the students can also ask questions. The quality of thinking is the result of quality questioning, which is made possible only by good, open questions aimed at stimulating thinking. Such questions encourage students to compare, analyze, evaluate and create new solutions. Students who ask questions themselves are actively involved in the learning process, and teachers encourage them to do so.
Preparing for such a lesson requires the teacher to ask questions related to the goals and minimum standards of the lesson and how to achieve these goals and standards. All too often, teachers try to achieve them through traditional teaching and learning methods. The placement of modern ICT presents them with a great challenge due to various factors - most of the time it is a lack of knowledge or insufficient equipment in the classrooms. It is the task of the schools to enable their staff to acquire these necessary skills, which they will be able to use in their work and transform classical lessons into modern ones. The task of the authorities is to allocate funds for equipping classrooms with modern technology. The task of society is to respect and value the teaching profession. The task of teachers is to experience their profession as a mission.
