Teaching and learning methods
What are teaching methods?
Teaching methods refer to the ways in which instruction is carried out, through which the teacher supports students in achieving the intended learning outcomes. Instruction can be implemented using various modes of working that aim to strengthen the student’s agency and active role in the learning process, rather than having students passively receive information from the teacher.
What are learning methods?
Learning methods describe the ways of working through which students, under the teacher’s guidance, work to achieve the intended learning outcomes. The difference between teaching and learning methods is that teaching methods reflect the teacher’s perspective, while learning methods reflect the student’s perspective. When planning instruction, it is important to consider what students do during teaching. The terms “teaching activities” and “learning activities” are also used for teaching and learning methods, referring to the aforementioned agency in the learning process.
Selecting teaching and learning methods
The selection of teaching and learning methods is guided by the kinds of competences being targeted. To enable students to achieve the intended learning outcomes, the teacher must consider the approaches and methods that best foster learning. Learning experiences arise from how teaching and learning are conducted, not only from what content is studied. However, the purpose of teaching and learning methods is not to entertain students but to promote their learning.
Individual teaching and learning methods can be combined into broader wholes. Structuring a session with different methods helps activate students and maintain their concentration. When planning the pacing of instruction, it is also beneficial to include sufficient breaks. As a rule of thumb, sessions should be broken about every 45 minutes. Shorter micro-breaks—such as standing up or doing a brief embodied task related to teaching—also help to reduce cognitive load. Breaks are beneficial for both the teacher and the students.
Methods themselves are not inherently effective or ineffective; their effectiveness depends above all on how well they support the achievement of the intended outcomes. The teacher should also consider how to secure students’ engagement in the work. Fully teacher-controlled situations leave little room for students’ own thinking and action. By using activating teaching methods, the teacher can direct more of the activity toward developing, challenging, and making students’ thinking visible. It is worth remembering that learning is not only an internal individual process; it occurs through interaction with other learners, the teacher, and learning materials.
Constructively aligned teaching
The teacher’s task is to design a learning environment in which learning methods support the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, and to assess student’s performance in relation to those outcomes. In addition, the application of new skills should be addressed only after it has been properly introduced and grounded in prior studies.
References:
Bale, Richard 2025. Introduction to university teaching: 3. Considering how we learn and how we teach & 4. Understanding course design and planning teaching.
Biggs, J. &Tang, C. 2011. Teaching for Quality Learning at University: what the students does. 8. Teaching/learning activities for declarative intended learning outcomes & 9. Teaching/learning activities for functioning intended learning outcomes.
Hunt, L & Chalmers, D. 2021. University Teaching in Focus: A Learning-Centred Approach. 5. The four Cs of effective classroom teaching.
Teaching methods refer to the ways in which instruction is carried out, through which the teacher supports students in achieving the intended learning outcomes. Instruction can be implemented using various modes of working that aim to strengthen the student’s agency and active role in the learning process, rather than having students passively receive information from the teacher.
What are learning methods?
Learning methods describe the ways of working through which students, under the teacher’s guidance, work to achieve the intended learning outcomes. The difference between teaching and learning methods is that teaching methods reflect the teacher’s perspective, while learning methods reflect the student’s perspective. When planning instruction, it is important to consider what students do during teaching. The terms “teaching activities” and “learning activities” are also used for teaching and learning methods, referring to the aforementioned agency in the learning process.
Selecting teaching and learning methods
The selection of teaching and learning methods is guided by the kinds of competences being targeted. To enable students to achieve the intended learning outcomes, the teacher must consider the approaches and methods that best foster learning. Learning experiences arise from how teaching and learning are conducted, not only from what content is studied. However, the purpose of teaching and learning methods is not to entertain students but to promote their learning.
Individual teaching and learning methods can be combined into broader wholes. Structuring a session with different methods helps activate students and maintain their concentration. When planning the pacing of instruction, it is also beneficial to include sufficient breaks. As a rule of thumb, sessions should be broken about every 45 minutes. Shorter micro-breaks—such as standing up or doing a brief embodied task related to teaching—also help to reduce cognitive load. Breaks are beneficial for both the teacher and the students.
Methods themselves are not inherently effective or ineffective; their effectiveness depends above all on how well they support the achievement of the intended outcomes. The teacher should also consider how to secure students’ engagement in the work. Fully teacher-controlled situations leave little room for students’ own thinking and action. By using activating teaching methods, the teacher can direct more of the activity toward developing, challenging, and making students’ thinking visible. It is worth remembering that learning is not only an internal individual process; it occurs through interaction with other learners, the teacher, and learning materials.
Constructively aligned teaching
The teacher’s task is to design a learning environment in which learning methods support the achievement of the intended learning outcomes, and to assess student’s performance in relation to those outcomes. In addition, the application of new skills should be addressed only after it has been properly introduced and grounded in prior studies.
References:
Bale, Richard 2025. Introduction to university teaching: 3. Considering how we learn and how we teach & 4. Understanding course design and planning teaching.
Biggs, J. &Tang, C. 2011. Teaching for Quality Learning at University: what the students does. 8. Teaching/learning activities for declarative intended learning outcomes & 9. Teaching/learning activities for functioning intended learning outcomes.
Hunt, L & Chalmers, D. 2021. University Teaching in Focus: A Learning-Centred Approach. 5. The four Cs of effective classroom teaching.