Towards an Alternative Pedagogy

                                                                                               Christykim
Current classroom pedagogy is the “transmission of knowledge” which is similar to the “banking method”. If the purpose of teaching is to involve all students in learning then transmission is not a good method because material is preplanned and outcomes predetermined. Too often transmission doesn’t work in the classroom because every plan has problem when executing them plus not every student is paying attention to the lecture. This emphasizes that not many students are involved in the learning process. This does not mean that there shouldn’t be material. So a new alternative method needs to be developed.

The main idea for an alternative method is based on the individual process of learning. If the material is interesting to the student, then the student will become actively involved in the learning process and remember the material better because it has meaning. In order to do this, teachers have to be trained to recognize individual processes and to position these at the center of his teaching: broad collective plans and decisions would be secondary to this central response. Teachers can start with the interests of the students as a starting point to take them to a destination the students never thought about.

There are 2 distinct alternative methods: child-centered progressivism which would focus on the child’s interest and allow the child to personally direct their learning. The problem with this is that it is over-dependent on what the students do themselves.

There are 2 problems to this. First, there can be many distractions since there is no control. Second, students will miss out on learning on interaction with peers and teachers.

The second pedagogy would also focus on the child’s individual interests with external challenges and collaboration and that would be at the center of the teacher’s actions.

A new alternative pedagogy would move the pedagogic focus from the pre-active situation (making and planning) where students are not involved to the interactive situation where students are involved. So by changing the focus learning becomes less mastering of material but actively constructing knowledge. This does not mean that teacher will not plan but will make sure the plans do not become the lesson, “the predictive becomes prescriptive.” This new alternative method would become ‘cooperative learning’ that is between student and teacher.

Cooperative learning might have 3 stages:

First stage: The student picks a subject and starts exploring it for something that catches his attention.

Second stage: Now the teacher gets together with the student to focus the student and to offer other ways to looking at it.

Third stage: The student is satisfied at the accomplishment of investigating a topic and bringing it under control. The student can support their work, make hypotheses confidently and improvise with knowledge.

Now the relationship has become stimulating for both and both have learned and the teacher has gotten interested it the student.