In which teaching method learner’s participation is made optimal and proactive ?

Concept — Teaching methods differ in how much of the learning activity the learner actually owns. Participation is optimal when the learner is engaged across the whole cycle of an activity — setting its purpose, planning it, carrying it out and evaluating the result — and it is proactive when the learner initiates that activity instead of only responding to a point put by the teacher.

Application — The project method, developed by William H. Kilpatrick, treats a project as a purposeful activity carried to completion in a natural setting. The learner chooses the purpose, draws up the plan, executes it in a real-life situation and judges the result, while the teacher works as a guide and resource. Because the learner acts at every stage and starts the work, participation under this method is optimal in extent and proactive in nature.

Cross-check — How the other listed methods place the learner:

• Discussion method — the topic and its agenda are announced and steered by a chairperson or teacher, and the learner takes part by speaking on the points raised, so the activity stays inside a frame the learner did not create.

• Buzz session method — a large gathering is split into small sub-groups that talk over one assigned point for a few minutes and then report back, so participation is short and tied to that single assigned point.

• Brainstorming session method — the group produces a volume of ideas on a problem stated to it, with evaluation deferred, so participation stops at idea generation and does not extend to planning or execution.

Answer — Project method.