The role of methods in teaching and learning process in modern education

Today's modern society calls for the use of new teaching methods and tools in the classroom. The majority of schools already have these tools at their disposal – computers, interactive boards, whiteboards that can be written on with felt-tip pens instead of chalk, and others. Society supports, even encourages, innovation in education. If you want to work in the school system today, you have to know at least the basics of working with computers. And if you can also work with other devices, e.g. with the interactive board, that is undoubtedly a great advantage

But not many teachers use these tools, although the majority of schools have them available. Many teachers are reluctant to use the new teaching methods, usually for a number of reasons. They are either afraid to try something new or have insufficiently good ideas for new teaching methods. However, the majority of teachers refuse to use the innovative methods because they are time-consuming. Getting an idea, thinking about something, preparing all the necessary tools and materials for a specific lesson takes too much time. If every teacher were to do this strenuous preparation twenty-one times a week while working full-time, they would have almost no free time.

Nevertheless, teachers should try modern teaching methods in the lessons, at least in some subjects, at least in a few lessons, not only for the effectiveness of the lessons, but also for variety. The subject could then be of interest to the students again. You can start with the foreign language. In a foreign language class, there are many ways to convey the new knowledge to the students in a playful and entertaining way.

The modern education system prevailing in this 21st century requires advanced methodologies that’d create a unique and progressive space for them compared to the older educational methods. The 21st-century teaching methodologies have developed new horizons of learning which the participants should explore.

As a participant of the same advanced education system, the teachers should also take the practical methodologies and the perks of the same into consideration. For that, they need to know and clear about specific methods.

Project teaching is an important teaching method that every teacher should use. Using the project method, students not only learn the information on a specific topic, but they also learn to work together and to select, sort and process information from different sources. They must present their work, choose the most important and defend their opinion.

When choosing the themes of the project, the imagination knows no bounds, you just have to take into account the age and the level of progress of the students.

The method is suitable for students to work in groups of at least three members. However, it is also possible for the whole class to work together on a project.

Every project should have some phases:

• •    The students or their teacher find a topic or a problem.

• •    The teacher or the students themselves decide how big the groups they will work in should be.

• •    Each group does their own work, looking for all sorts of information from different sources (books or encyclopedias, the internet, magazines or newspaper articles, films, etc.)

• •    The group sorts the information gathered and agrees on a result. The teacher can of course also determine the result, but it is better if the students choose it.

• •    The result can be the creation of a bulletin board, a poster, a photo album or a musical, for example.

• •    The students work out the result in the project. The teacher can help and advise them.

• •    At the end, the groups present the results of the project in a presentation.

• •    The last point of the work is reflection and evaluation.

The project method has many advantages, as already described above. Pupils gain new knowledge on a certain topic, they learn to cooperate, to select, sort and process information from different sources. The project method develops important skills and supports independence. Students discover new things with fun form. In the project, the students work with different sources (books, magazines, the Internet, their own photographs, pictures from newspapers or magazines, information from the news, from stories told by parents or grandparents, etc.). The project work is not so much about the time, but above all about the result. Therefore, less gifted students or students with poor concentration can also be successful. The project also improves the social climate. The students understand the context and can experience everything themselves, compared to the classroom in which the teacher tells them everything and they take it in without thinking. Students are responsible for their work, they can present the results and defend their opinions. This form of teaching is fun for the students and awakens their curiosity and motivation to learn.

No teaching method has only positive sides, so the project method also has its negatives. For example, the inappropriate level of noise in the classroom or switching from German to Czech when working on projects is often a problem. Another disadvantage is that it takes a lot of time.