Are you looking for new ways to engage your online students and motivate them to think critically? Performance-based learning can be a great addition to your teaching strategy. Read on to discover powerful strategies to help your students take charge of their learning journey.
What Is Performance-Based Learning?
Performance-based learning emphasizes the development of skills and knowledge through experience and practice. This approach to teaching encourages students to become active learners by putting their knowledge into action.
The following are some of the incredible benefits of performance-based learning:
1. Ignites Passion for Learning
Performance-based learning gives students a chance to take control of their education while adhering to the guidelines set by their teachers. This teaching style effectively cultivates long-term results, motivating students to hone their skills and reach their full potential.
Beyond the classroom, performance-based learning often encourages learners to explore new interests. As a result, this learning method is beneficial in its own right and can lead to discovering new passions and interests.
2. Makes Assessments More Meaningful
Performance-based learning makes assessments more meaningful and relevant. Since this approach involves practical tasks, students can better understand and apply the information they learn. This learning method also encourages students to think critically, collaborate, and create solutions to real-world problems.
Finally, performance-based learning can provide educators with objective insight into student progress and development. They can use this as a guide to tailor their teaching methods and give more support to their students.
3. Develops Critical Thinking Skills
As educators, it’s our mission to nurture students’ critical thinking capabilities. By honing their analytical skills, we help them explore topics more thoroughly, be more imaginative, and make wiser choices. Performance-based learning is an effective way to promote critical thinking and create an engaging learning environment.
Performance-Based Learning Strategies for Online Teaching
Now that we know how beneficial performance-based learning is when it comes to helping students learn better, it’s time to boost your students’ learning with these effective techniques:
1. Create a Branching Scenario
A branching scenario is an interactive story that allows the user to make decisions that affect the outcome. This helps students understand possible effects and how their choices affect them.
For example, if you’re teaching the English language, you could create a scenario where the user is presented with various dialogue options that affect the conversation’s outcome. By allowing the user to explore different dialogue options, they can better understand how their language choices can impact a conversation.
2. Add Challenges to Your Teaching Style
Engage learners with fun and challenging tasks. When you make a challenge to finish a task within a reasonable deadline, for instance, they develop problem-solving skills and a sense of accomplishment.
Try challenging your class to finish a project in a week. Get them excited to work efficiently by rewarding those who complete the task on time. This will motivate your students to work harder and learn the skills they need to succeed.
3. Create Online Quizzes
Quizzes are a great way to measure learning. Make your quiz interactive and assess how well your learners are retaining information. Include multiple-choice and open-ended questions to evaluate their understanding. This approach will help you pinpoint where they need more support.
4. Inspire Critical Thinking through Case Studies
Case studies let learners dive into a situation and uncover the issue and its origins. Through examining different angles, students can devise potential solutions. Plus, they can apply their ideas and measure possible outcomes. They can use case studies to tackle moral dilemmas or assess the success of a business strategy.
Here are some ways to help your students learn complex topics through a case study:
Ask Students to Describe the Scenario
Let them provide a comprehensive description of the situation. As them to include relevant details such as the names of the people involved, the dates, the location, and the context.
Identify the Problem
Help your students understand the main problem that needs to be solved. Be sure to provide examples and help them develop critical thinking skills.
Analyze the Causes
Inspire analytical thinking by letting them explore what caused the problem in the first place. Have them look at the different perspectives and consider the potential root causes.
Generate Solutions
Let your students brainstorm possible solutions and evaluate possible results. Here they can apply what they have learned to come up with creative solutions.
Draw Conclusions
Guide them to write about what they have learned from the case study. What were the results? What were the successes and failures? Allowing them to draw conclusions is a great way to help them learn.
Conclusion:
Performance-based learning is an effective way to promote student engagement and critical thinking. By providing students with meaningful tasks that challenge them and encourage them to put their knowledge into action, we help them become active learners.
The outcomes of performance-based learning can be long-lasting and meaningful. Students can become independent and self-directed learners who are better equipped to meet their goals.