Interactive techniques

It is said that “relinquishing control of learning to the students is much like parents allowing their children to go home. It’s scary!” But the learning process needs it and puts more fun into the learning effort.
The most common interactive techniques are guide discussion, role-play, case study, group-work, programmed fieldwork and cooperative learning. 

Discussion groups
Discussion can target almost any level of cognitive and affective domains but requires a structured process of large and small group discussion focused in the subject–matter objectives. There are some variations like “circle responses” that gives the opportunity to talk to every one in the small group; “spend a penny” which works with the use of credits to allow everybody to talk a certain number of times; “brainstorming” that is open to the imagination of the group; “guided discussions” where the group facilitation expertise of the teacher gently draws out the more unwilling speakers and keeps hold of the more verbal participants; “panel discussions” a conversation of a small group in front of the whole group; “debates” a discussion between two opposing sides where the instructor will be the “host”; “reaction groups” which constitute a forum for quick responses;

Case Study
This technique is widely used in social, medicine and legal professions, It refers to real life problems, presented as if the participants are the lawyers or doctors or social worker etc and challenges them to find recommendations and solutions to the problems. They are mainly used in teaching knowledge, values and attitudes. Human beings are always fascinated by well-told stories, so it enhances the case study when we can give adventurous names to the protagonists…or play with words. It is also appealing to use realistic details, descriptive situations, put the words in the mouth of the protagonists like in a real novel and give a complete view; depending on participants’ mentality, it is possible for the instructor to leave them alone for speculation and mystery.
Group Work
Group work is a broad term for multiple techniques in which two or more students (more than six is not recommended) are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self initiated conversation. Group work is considered vital to education because among other reasons, it creates a climate of affection, promotes learner responsibility and autonomy, and is a step toward self directed learning.
In order to select the appropriate group techniques, the teacher must plan them, must monitor them and follow them up. In order to do this, it is important to clarify the differences between pair work and group work. Pair work serves for short and simple tasks. Group work comprise of games, role-play and simulations, drama, projects, information gaps, jigsaw techniques and buzz groups or Phillips 66 (groups of six working for six minutes). We chose to describe the buzz group dynamics because it is considered one of the most interesting in interactive teaching strategies.
The buzz group (buzz refers to the “sound” produced by the group of adults concentrating on the task) is a spontaneously formed team with a task to be accomplished in short time. One person acts as recorder, summarizing the group output and reporting to the larger group afterwards. The teacher allows four to six minutes for the buzz, the instructions and the report. The group may need some materials like paper, newsprint, transparencies, etc.

Programmed Field Work
More than a technique the fieldwork is a learning process that occurs in a natural setting with or without teacher observation. The most important benefit is the opportunity to apply and integrate theory with practice, even if the evaluation process is difficult because of the absence of the teacher, for example in a hospital placement for nursing students.

Cooperative learning
It is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members:

In order for the students to work cooperatively teachers must systematically structure the basic components, and be available as a resource person to monitor and facilitate group process. (Bennett, 1975)

Role-playing
Role-playing is a re-creation of a real life situation, which involves acting in front of the group. It can be spontaneous or guided by the teacher, is useful for the development of interpersonal skills and the affective domain and can induce a real experience of emotions. It is modelled on the assumption that human interactions are communicative events. It is especially suitable for subjects like politics, law, commerce, management and so on. In role-playing, learners interact using personas, chase "game goals," try out various strategies and build the experience collectively.

Simulations and Games
Simulations and games provide a fun break from the seriousness of our daily life, and allow students to relax and learn painlessly. They represent or model a real life situation in a concrete or abstract form and encourage the use of rules, principles, concepts and decision-making inner processes. Skillful debriefing is necessary to transfer insights into real-life applications.
Here are the four principles to be followed in creating learning games and simulations
1. INVOLVEMENT: The structured experiences must be participatory. Everyone must have a role to contribute in throughout the game. All participants should be encouraged to use their creativity to enliven their part.
2. RELEVANCE. Should reflect the real-life circumstances as much as possible, through references and details.
3. EXCITEMENT. Simulation should capture attention, generate energy and commitment with whatever means appropriate, such as some simple costuming, music, playcards, etc.
4. BONDING. Games provide a common experience from which the instractor and co-players can reflect on the challenges they've been through together. Debrief afterwards is needed to share learnings.