Due to the rapid advancement of technology, educators have the opportunity to replace traditional courses with online teaching. Even though online courses usually require a greater degree of self-motivation, they also have a variety of advantages, such as high levels of efficiency, accessibility, and improved student attendance. If the learning strategies are selected accurately, students are predicted to demonstrate a high level of knowledge in different fields of education.
To ensure that learning is organized in the most effective and engaging manner, it is essential to take into consideration a combination of various learning strategies. For instance, the discussion is known as an interactive strategy that facilitates participation and offers the chance to explore life experiences, whereas self-directed learning is frequently used to support the student in pursuing self-paced learning activities (Buitrago, 2017). In turn, small group work is considered a tremendously effective strategy for students who aim to learn the material and retain the knowledge from a long-term perspective.
Moreover, this kind of learning helps students discuss content and share ideas appropriately. Finally, project learning is used to encourage students to engage in real-world and personally meaningful plans, while collaborative learning is based on the idea to solve problems and complete tasks using groups. Subsequently, each educational approach has its benefits and disadvantages, which is why it is crucial to select them according to the goals of education.
The accurate selection of learning strategies is expected to result in the best educational outcomes for students. Therefore, from the perspective of a discussion learning tool, educators have to determine the final goal of the course in the first place. Whether it is critical inquiry, debates, or reflection, teachers use guided discussion tasks, and inquiry-based discussion tasks, as well as reflective and exploratory tasks. At the same time, to facilitate the process of individual learning, self-directed learning can be used. In addition to regular learning materials, the students can use the library or online tutorials.
In this case, self-directed learning is used as a technique to invite students to take responsibility for their educational achievements. Lastly, it would be effective to use collaborative learning in the course. First, this learning technique is intended to promote student-faculty interaction (Le et al., 2017). Second, it is beneficial for the development of higher-level thinking and self-management skills.
Currently, traditional and online learning strategies are based on different principles, which is why there are a variety of differences between these educational approaches. According to Burns (2016), online learning is accessible, “flexibly” designed, well-organized, and learner-oriented. In turn, traditional classroom learning is based on the constant students’ time, place, and pace of learning. Taking into consideration that the process of education has dramatically changed since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the whole world, various online learning techniques were developed to satisfy the needs of both teachers and students.
At present, students improve their knowledge with the help of ebooks, recorded lectures, discussion forums, and interviews. Simultaneously, educators have the opportunity to assess the level of gained knowledge among students with individual assignments, discussion activities, and exams. These tools help teachers adjust to this communication channel appropriately.
Thus, online learning has become an integral part of the life of numerous individuals throughout the entire world lately. The most considerable difference between traditional and online learning is that online students can study from anywhere. If the appropriate learning technique is selected by the teacher, retention rates are expected to be high. In other words, it is important to apply learning approaches according to the educational goals.
References
Buitrago, A. (2017). Collaborative and self-directed learning strategies to promote fluent EFL speakers. English Language Teaching, 10(5), 139. Web.
Burns, M. (2016). Designing effective online courses: 10 considerations. eLearning Industry. Web.
Le, H., Janssen, J., & Wubbels, T. (2017). Collaborative learning practices: Teacher and student perceived obstacles to effective student collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 48(1), 103-122. Web.