Effective Teaching Approach in class

Teacher plays an important role in creating an effective classroom successfully. Normally, in a typical traditional classroom, teacher tends to model a one-person role by which they do all the talking whereby the audience are just listening (Phillips, J.A., 2010). Lessons are based totally on the textbooks and notes where children just read and memorise the concepts or knowledge. Teachers basically read out the same text from the notes or textbook to the children. There is limited room for questions & answering sessions, student-directed activity, hands-on experience, and independent thought.

"Cognitive constructivist" approach will be one of the best approach to promote effective teaching in a classroom. In cognitive constructivist approach, teachers are known as facilitators or instructors who teach students to use their thinking skills to gain knowledge. Teachers observe and understand their student’s prior knowledge and create experiences or activities that will lead to a correct mental processing and attainment of a new knowledge. This is vital to the process of cognitive constructivism (Kalina, C., & Powell, K. C., 2009). The teachers are meant to extend and challenge the student’s existing knowledge by allowing them to experiment, think, process and discover knowledge individually (Doolittle, P. E., & Camp, W. G., 1999). Therefore, the teachers will have to understand the theory of cognitive constructivism thoroughly and prepare the necessary tools to form a constructivist environment. Teachers will have to actively converse and guide students to develop enquiring minds that encourage the habit of thinking within the children.

Chart 1: Creating a cognitive constructivist environment.