Direct Instruction

Interactive Teaching

Collaborative Small-group Teaching

Constructivist

Teaching

Core Value

Listen to me and follow

1) Let’s have a discussion.

2) What do you think?

1) Let’s divide our class into groups.

2) What’s group one’s finding?

1) Learning is an active process and every

learner is an active knowledge constructor.

2) Learning is from experience to knowledge.

Main

Features

1) Active teaching

2) Whole-class teaching

3) Lecture style

1) Effective questioning

2) Classroom discussion

3) Clear guideline

4) Timely feedback and summarization

1) Task assignment

2) Group work

3) Active participation from students.

1) Teacher constructs learning activities for

learners to search for meaning.

2) Learning is socially constructed via

interaction with others.

3) Learning is contextualized.

4) Exploring and revisiting material

5) Learners are empowered to discover and reflect.

6) Hand-on and real-life materials

7) Connecting new ideas to prior knowledge

Teaching Effects

1) Best method to teach rules, procedures and basic skills, esp. to younger learners.

2) Effective for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, or starting from a low level of achievement in certain subject.

1) Best teaching method for open-ended questions.

2) Effective for learners with good knowledge base and self-discipline.

1) Help foster cooperative aspects.

2) Make contribution to the development of

learners social skill

3) Develop empathic abilities, realizing their strengths and weaknesses.

1) Authentic learning and deeper understanding

of knowledge can be obtained through

discovery and reflection on the experiences.

2) Social skills can be fostered through interactive learning.

3) The link between the evolvement of knowledge can be clearly comprehended.

4) Curricula focus on big ideas and are treated in depth rather than a breadth of topics.

5) Student-centered, most cognitively and motivationally.

6) Competences can be cultivated.

Limitations/

Difficulties

1) Less effective when the goal is more complex.

2) Individual practice lacks social skills

3) Right answers matter

4) Surface understanding

5) textbook-based and fixed curriculum

1) High command of classroom management from teacher

2) Less effective for certain natural science class

1) Be used in conjunction with and not as a replacement of, individual practice.

2) Can easily lead to free-rider effects

3) Misconceptions can be reinforced

4) Hard for teacher to control and manage

1) Teacher should have a good knowledge of child development and learning theory.

2) Flexible, varied and adaptive teaching methods are required to command the classroom.