Teaching Methods

Those responses that discussed teaching methods employed in global education were rich, to say the least. Four generalizations were drawn from them. First, the number of responses that identified traditional methods was greater than the number talking about newer, more progressive ones. It was obvious that traditional methods are still far more common in the classrooms of the world. These reportedly ranged from very traditional (teacher lectures, assigns text readings, gives students practice exercises or questions to answer, tests students) to more modern (e.g., use of film and other audio-visuals, field trips, speakers, culture festivals). Second, according to these responses, the so-called progressive methods showed up more at the primary level; while, at the secondary levels, traditional methods tended to dominate. One European respondent, for example, said, “. . .both a more cross-curricular and more affective approach is easier to put into practice and to observe at the primary level than at the secondary level where the ‘objectivity’ and the subject bound instruction have, traditionally, a stronger emphasis.” Similarly, a respondent from another part of the world said, “. . .at lower levels of schooling attitudes and values are emphasized as well as knowledge and understanding; while, at the upper secondary level, instruction is pretty much knowledge based with only some work on attitudes." Third, it has to be noted that many of the responses describing newer, more progressive methodologies were probably derived from normative sources. That is, they were statements about what should be happening rather than what is happening. One respondent put it quite clearly when he said, “Various documents suggest methods in an idealistic way but this does not mean they are practiced, as you well know." Fourth, it was pointed out by several people that national standards, national curriculum and related assessment procedures have had the effect of limiting the willingness of teachers to use any but the most traditional of teaching methods. One respondent said, “Assessment and examination requirements do not encourage the use of a wide range of teaching approaches." Culture festivals are quite common and therefore deserve special comment. The assumption is that by experiencing and celebrating the art, clothing, customs, dance, food, music, and/or stories and poetry (literature) of other cultures, students will be more apt to perspective take (see things through the eyes, hearts and minds of others). This kind of activity is most often used when there are two or more ethnic or racial groups represented in a student body of a school or class. Such activities have a significant affective component and are fine, as far as they go. However, caution has to be taken to avoid student stereotyping and/or emphasis being placed upon uniqueness and difference. It is very important that students go “beyond” such types of activities to learn how systems work, how and why prejudice and propaganda are formed and utilized, and how the various problems common to humankind can be solved. A surprisingly large number of respondents indicated that the project method was frequently involved with global education in their countries, albeit in some cases it was seen as extracurricular. This “modern” method is based upon the notion espoused by John Dewey that schooling should reproduce the actual conditions of social life. It involves having students work (learn by doing) rather than having them be passive receptors of information.4 For example, one respondent described a primary level program in which students, as part of an ecology unit, actually tracked the use of various kinds of energy in their own homes and the amounts of trash in their neighborhoods. Likewise, there were secondary level students who did community service work in culturally different communities as a way of developing understanding of the needs of people of diverse origins. A number of extracurricular UNESCO and UNICEF clubs and Model United Nations programs were reported to be in operation in various countries. In addition, student travel programs were reported in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. One of the most interesting was the South Asian Association of Regional Countries (SAARC) that sponsors exchange programs for secondary students between Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. While it was reported that the majority of teachers used traditional methodologies in their classrooms, there were some efforts reported that promoted more progressive teaching methods. The following were methodologies which were mentioned: active learning, critical thinking, cooperative learning, discovery learning, experiential method, inquiry, integration, performance assessment, problem solving method, project method, reflective thinking, and simulation and role play. In Chapter Four, each of these methods is described in some detail. Most instruction in the classrooms of the world is, however, still conducted through expository teaching. The teacher functions as the director of instruction and conveys content information to students in a direct, concise, and time efficient manner. In this common approach, lessons are usually presented in a predetermined sequence and on predetermined schedules. To varying degrees, depending upon how educational governance is organized in a country, this predetermination is done by a central ministry of education, a state department of education, a regional or local education authority, and/or the school and the classroom teacher. There are legitimate and important reasons for the use of expository methodologies. After all, teachers have knowledge or know where it can be found in books, films, on the Internet, and so forth. Students can benefit from having such knowledge. In far too many classrooms of the world, however, the problem is that expository teaching is all there is, and students are less than fully engaged in their own learning, particularly when dealing with abstract concepts.5 Global education, by its very nature, tends to promote the use of more progressive teaching methods. Because of this, it holds particular promise as a strategy for school improvement.