Study: It’s not teacher, but method that matters – SFGate

The students who had to engage interactively using the TV remote-like devices scored about twice as high on a test compared to those who heard the normal lecture, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

The interactive method had almost no lecturing. It involved short, small-group discussions, in-class “clicker” quizzes, demonstrations and question-answer sessions. The teachers got real-time graphic feedback on what the students were learning and what they weren’t getting.

I wonder how this applies to a subject like language arts where it’s skills, not knowledge, that is learned. Won’t you need someone to diagnose and give feedback when the skill isn’t learned quite right? There are infinite wrong paths to go down, and a good teacher is needed to figure out what went wrong. I don’t think a method can cover all the possibilities. Also, wasn’t it a teacher that came up with the method (teacher’s still matter / who else is going to innovate)?