Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University

Cliff Kelvin Riley; Beverley Dawn Myers

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University

Cliff Kelvin Riley, Beverley Dawn Myers

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 2, Issue 5)

Received: 22 September 2014 Accepted: 10 October 2014 Published: 20 October 2014

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Abstract

The extent to which lecturers utilise interactive teaching strategies in the tertiary science classrooms at a tertiary institution in Jamaica was investigated. Interactive strategies used, preferred strategy, frequency of use, perceived benefits to students, deterrents to use, and challenges faced with implementation were investigated. The sample comprised of 60 full-time science lecturers with a minimum undergraduate teaching load of 10 contact hours per week. The population comprised primarily of females (93.3%) with a mean age of 38.1 ± 3.67 years. The results show that teacher-led discussion (90%) and cooperative learning strategies (50%) were the most frequently used interactive teaching approaches employed by the lecturers while peer teaching was the least (8%). Further analysis of lecturers’ views of their teaching approach revealed that all lecturers facilitated in-class discussions, student-teacher interactions and questions from students at some point during their lectures. Preparation time (40%), increased workload (40%) and poor student participation (40%) were identified as the primary challenges faced while time restriction (90%) was the main deterrent to using interactive strategies by lecturers in the classroom. Despite this however, lecturers reported that interactive teaching strategies were explored and incorporated during their lectures in a bid to improve student comprehension, improve the learning environment, and build critical and lateral thinking skills. The results also suggest that curriculum scope and institutional policies did not impact negatively on the lecturers’ ability to incorporate interactive teaching strategies in their classroom.

Published in	Science Journal of Education (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
Page(s)	146-151
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Interactive Teaching, Tertiary Science Classroom, Jamaican University, Benefits of Interactive Teaching

References

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[6]	Smith, L. A. (2006). Think-aloud mysteries: Using structured, sentence-by-sentence text passages to teach comprehension strategies. Reading Teacher, 59, 764-773.
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[8]	Meyer, C., & Jones, T. B. (1993). Promoting active learn¬ing: Strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[9]	Conway, D. (1994). Student response to hypermedia in the lecture theatre: A case study. World Conf. on Educational Hypermedia and Multimedia (ED-MEDIA '94), Vancouver, 141-146.
[10]	Wilen, W. (2004). Refuting misconceptions about classroom discussion. Social Studies, 95, 33-39.
[11]	Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., & Waterhouse, F. (1999). Relations between teachers’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning. Higher Education, 37, 57-70.
[12]	Kuh, G., Pace, R., & Vesper, N. (1997). The development of process indicators to estimate student gains associated with good practices in undergraduate education. Research in Higher Education, 38, 435-454.
[13]	Smith, P. (2000). Preparedness for flexible delivery among vocational learners. Distance Education,21, 29–48.
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[15]	Weimer, M. (2011). 10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions. Faculty Focus. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/10-benefits-of-getting-students-to-participate-in-classroom-discussions/. Accessed February 12, 2014
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[18]	Gambrell, L. B. (2004). Shifts in the conversation: teacher-led, peer-led, and computer mediated discussions. The Reading Teacher, 58, 212-215.
[19]	Wehrli, G., & Nyquist, J.G. (2003). Creating an Educational Curriculum for Learners at Any Level. AABB Conference.

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Cliff Kelvin Riley, Beverley Dawn Myers. (2014). Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Science Journal of Education, 2(5), 146-151. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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Cliff Kelvin Riley; Beverley Dawn Myers. Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Sci. J. Educ. 2014, 2(5), 146-151. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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Cliff Kelvin Riley, Beverley Dawn Myers. Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Sci J Educ. 2014;2(5):146-151. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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@article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12,
  author = {Cliff Kelvin Riley and Beverley Dawn Myers},
  title = {Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University},
  journal = {Science Journal of Education},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {146-151},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  abstract = {The extent to which lecturers utilise interactive teaching strategies in the tertiary science classrooms at a tertiary institution in Jamaica was investigated. Interactive strategies used, preferred strategy, frequency of use, perceived benefits to students, deterrents to use, and challenges faced with implementation were investigated. The sample comprised of 60 full-time science lecturers with a minimum undergraduate teaching load of 10 contact hours per week. The population comprised primarily of females (93.3%) with a mean age of 38.1 ± 3.67 years. The results show that teacher-led discussion (90%) and cooperative learning strategies (50%) were the most frequently used interactive teaching approaches employed by the lecturers while peer teaching was the least (8%). Further analysis of lecturers’ views of their teaching approach revealed that all lecturers facilitated in-class discussions, student-teacher interactions and questions from students at some point during their lectures. Preparation time (40%), increased workload (40%) and poor student participation (40%) were identified as the primary challenges faced while time restriction (90%) was the main deterrent to using interactive strategies by lecturers in the classroom. Despite this however, lecturers reported that interactive teaching strategies were explored and incorporated during their lectures in a bid to improve student comprehension, improve the learning environment, and build critical and lateral thinking skills. The results also suggest that curriculum scope and institutional policies did not impact negatively on the lecturers’ ability to incorporate interactive teaching strategies in their classroom.},
 year = {2014}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University
AU  - Cliff Kelvin Riley
AU  - Beverley Dawn Myers
Y1  - 2014/10/20
PY  - 2014
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DO  - 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
T2  - Science Journal of Education
JF  - Science Journal of Education
JO  - Science Journal of Education
SP  - 146
EP  - 151
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2329-0897
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
AB  - The extent to which lecturers utilise interactive teaching strategies in the tertiary science classrooms at a tertiary institution in Jamaica was investigated. Interactive strategies used, preferred strategy, frequency of use, perceived benefits to students, deterrents to use, and challenges faced with implementation were investigated. The sample comprised of 60 full-time science lecturers with a minimum undergraduate teaching load of 10 contact hours per week. The population comprised primarily of females (93.3%) with a mean age of 38.1 ± 3.67 years. The results show that teacher-led discussion (90%) and cooperative learning strategies (50%) were the most frequently used interactive teaching approaches employed by the lecturers while peer teaching was the least (8%). Further analysis of lecturers’ views of their teaching approach revealed that all lecturers facilitated in-class discussions, student-teacher interactions and questions from students at some point during their lectures. Preparation time (40%), increased workload (40%) and poor student participation (40%) were identified as the primary challenges faced while time restriction (90%) was the main deterrent to using interactive strategies by lecturers in the classroom. Despite this however, lecturers reported that interactive teaching strategies were explored and incorporated during their lectures in a bid to improve student comprehension, improve the learning environment, and build critical and lateral thinking skills. The results also suggest that curriculum scope and institutional policies did not impact negatively on the lecturers’ ability to incorporate interactive teaching strategies in their classroom.
VL  - 2
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Cliff Kelvin Riley

College of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica
Beverley Dawn Myers

Faculty of Science and Sport, University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica

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APA Style

Cliff Kelvin Riley, Beverley Dawn Myers. (2014). Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Science Journal of Education, 2(5), 146-151. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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ACS Style

Cliff Kelvin Riley; Beverley Dawn Myers. Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Sci. J. Educ. 2014, 2(5), 146-151. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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AMA Style

Cliff Kelvin Riley, Beverley Dawn Myers. Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University. Sci J Educ. 2014;2(5):146-151. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12

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@article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12,
  author = {Cliff Kelvin Riley and Beverley Dawn Myers},
  title = {Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University},
  journal = {Science Journal of Education},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {146-151},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20140205.12},
  abstract = {The extent to which lecturers utilise interactive teaching strategies in the tertiary science classrooms at a tertiary institution in Jamaica was investigated. Interactive strategies used, preferred strategy, frequency of use, perceived benefits to students, deterrents to use, and challenges faced with implementation were investigated. The sample comprised of 60 full-time science lecturers with a minimum undergraduate teaching load of 10 contact hours per week. The population comprised primarily of females (93.3%) with a mean age of 38.1 ± 3.67 years. The results show that teacher-led discussion (90%) and cooperative learning strategies (50%) were the most frequently used interactive teaching approaches employed by the lecturers while peer teaching was the least (8%). Further analysis of lecturers’ views of their teaching approach revealed that all lecturers facilitated in-class discussions, student-teacher interactions and questions from students at some point during their lectures. Preparation time (40%), increased workload (40%) and poor student participation (40%) were identified as the primary challenges faced while time restriction (90%) was the main deterrent to using interactive strategies by lecturers in the classroom. Despite this however, lecturers reported that interactive teaching strategies were explored and incorporated during their lectures in a bid to improve student comprehension, improve the learning environment, and build critical and lateral thinking skills. The results also suggest that curriculum scope and institutional policies did not impact negatively on the lecturers’ ability to incorporate interactive teaching strategies in their classroom.},
 year = {2014}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Incorporating Interactive Teaching Approaches in the Tertiary Science Classroom; Benefits, Challenges and Deterrents to Use in a Jamaican University
AU  - Cliff Kelvin Riley
AU  - Beverley Dawn Myers
Y1  - 2014/10/20
PY  - 2014
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
T2  - Science Journal of Education
JF  - Science Journal of Education
JO  - Science Journal of Education
SP  - 146
EP  - 151
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2329-0897
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20140205.12
AB  - The extent to which lecturers utilise interactive teaching strategies in the tertiary science classrooms at a tertiary institution in Jamaica was investigated. Interactive strategies used, preferred strategy, frequency of use, perceived benefits to students, deterrents to use, and challenges faced with implementation were investigated. The sample comprised of 60 full-time science lecturers with a minimum undergraduate teaching load of 10 contact hours per week. The population comprised primarily of females (93.3%) with a mean age of 38.1 ± 3.67 years. The results show that teacher-led discussion (90%) and cooperative learning strategies (50%) were the most frequently used interactive teaching approaches employed by the lecturers while peer teaching was the least (8%). Further analysis of lecturers’ views of their teaching approach revealed that all lecturers facilitated in-class discussions, student-teacher interactions and questions from students at some point during their lectures. Preparation time (40%), increased workload (40%) and poor student participation (40%) were identified as the primary challenges faced while time restriction (90%) was the main deterrent to using interactive strategies by lecturers in the classroom. Despite this however, lecturers reported that interactive teaching strategies were explored and incorporated during their lectures in a bid to improve student comprehension, improve the learning environment, and build critical and lateral thinking skills. The results also suggest that curriculum scope and institutional policies did not impact negatively on the lecturers’ ability to incorporate interactive teaching strategies in their classroom.
VL  - 2
IS  - 5
ER  -

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