Integrating innovative teaching methods in education

Why it is important to integrate innovative teaching methods in the educational context?
To engage students, it’s a complex challenge: using innovative teaching methods can be a significant resource to motivate them and to enhance their learning. 
​
How to do that?

​Thanks to different kind of studies and research, today there are many tools available that can be used in the school environment: project-based learning, non-formal education, outdoor education, and ICT are some of the many opportunities that can be integrated with traditional teaching methods.

At first, Project Based Learning allows students to delve into content in a more direct and meaningful way, starting from a topic question and trying to investigate real world issues.  Analysing the principles of PBL, the participants of the course had the opportunity to discover how teamwork, collaboration, and creativity can help students to discover the way to deal with real problems, learning strategically and searching the answers from the start.

On the other side, visual strategies and teambuilding games showed the power of Non-Formal Education. In fact, starting from the activities, we explored the Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and we learned how it allows to pass from reflection to conceptualization and application, giving the student an active role in the learning process.

Discovering the city of Bologna with an urban trekking App was a very funny way to deepen the power of Outdoor Education in an urban environment. Some of the benefits of OE that emerged during the debriefing are on the one hand the increasing of motivation and creativity, on the other the improvement of the psychophysical well-being thanks to the contact with the nature and the consequent reduction of the stress.

Finally, we explored innovative teaching methods with ICT: Mentimeter, Edpuzzle and Thinglink are some of the tools we practiced in class, finding out new ways to engage students, assess and display a lesson.  

During these intense days of training, held in Bologna from 3 October to 9 October, participants coming from different parts of Europe discovered the beauty of Bologna, Florence and Ferrara, having the chance to network, teambuilding and foster an intercultural exchange.

The last day has arrived and it’s time to say goodbye: now it’s up to you to use all the new tools discovered in your school context. The rule is only one: be creative.... and have fun!