Teachers should be aware that there is no single and absolute method

in any teaching and learning process (Serin, Serin, Yavuz &

Muhammedzade, 2009). Multiple intelligence theory provides a

platform and guidance to teachers to use integrated strategies and

instructional activities to cater to the different needs of students in

terms of intelligence profiles, learning styles and learning preferences.

Hence, it is evident that to ensure successful and effective learning,

educators, students and society in general will need to redefine the

role of a student, the remedy of effective teaching and learning as well

as the types of knowledge, skills and strategies deemed important

(Sellars, 2008).

II. GROUP BASED LEARNING METHODOLOGIES

These approaches focused on group works and team-based

learning activities.

A. COOPERATIVE LEARNING APPROACH

Cooperative learning involves students working together in small

groups to accomplish shared goals. (Gillies, R., 2007) Formal

cooperative learning consists of students working together, for one

class period over several weeks to achieve shared learning goals and

complete jointly specific tasks and assignments. (Johnson, Johnson &

Holubic, 2008) Base groups are long-term, heterogeneous cooperative

learning groups with stable membership. Members’ primary

responsibilities are to (a) provide one another with support,

encouragement, and assistance in completing assignments; (b) hold

one another accountable for striving to learn; and (c) ensure that all

members are making good academic progress. Typically, cooperative

base groups are heterogeneous in membership, especially in terms of

achievement, motivation and task orientation. They meet regularly for

the duration of the class. (Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, F.P., 2009)

It works because it fulfils all the basic psychological needs of:

1.Belonging (being accepted and part of the group) 2. Power (it

enables students to gain mastery over their work or the task) 3.

Freedom (it provides students with the autonomy over their own work)

Key Elements of Cooperative Learning

1. Positive interdependence exists when students perceive that they

are linked to other members in the group in such a way that they

cannot succeed unless they all do and they must coordinate their

efforts with each other in order to complete the task.

2. Individual accountability involves each student: (a) being

responsible for part of the task; (b) reporting to the group on their

progress; (c) reporting on the group’s progress to the whole class and

(d) being rewarded (e.g., receiving bonus points) on the basis of all

group members completing their tasks/goals.

3. Promotive interaction involves individuals encouraging and

facilitating each other’s efforts to complete the task and achieve the

group’s goals. Promotive interaction involves students: (a) providing

each other with efficient and effective help and assistance, exchanging

needed resources; (c) providing each other with feedback in order to

improve their continuing performance on tasks; (d) challenging each

other’s conclusions; (e) advocating efforts to achieve mutual goals; (f)

influencing each other’s efforts to achieve mutual goals; (g) having

faith and trust in each other; (h) being motivated to strive for mutual

benefits, and (i) feeling less anxiety and stress.

Interpersonal skills: (a) Actively listening (b) Stating ideas freely (c)

Accepting responsibility (d) Providing constructive criticism Small-

group skills: (a) Taking turns (b) Sharing tasks (c) Democratic decision

making (d) Perspective taking (e) Clarifying differences

In order to do this effectively, students must: (a) get to know each

other and trust each other; (b) communicate accurately; (c) accept

and support each other and (d) resolve conflicts constructively.

Group Processing Group processing is reflecting on a group’s session

(a) describing what members actions were helpful and unhelpful and

(b) making decisions about what actions to continue or change.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Dewey (1938), who was probably one of the most significant and

influential educators of his time, founded an educational movement

based, at least in part, on the concept of, ‘experience plus reflection

equals learning’.

David A. Kolb (with Roger Fry) created his famous model out of four

elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the

formation of abstract concepts and testing in new situations. He

represented these in the famous experiential learning circle that

involves (1) concrete experience followed by (2) observation and

experience followed by (3) forming abstract concepts followed by (4)

testing in new situations (after Kurt Lewin). It is a model that appears

time and again.

Kolb and Fry (1975) argue that the learning cycle can begin at any one

of the four points – and that it should really be approached as a

continuous spiral. However, it is suggested that the learning process

often begins with a person carrying out a particular action and then

seeing the effect of the action in this situation. Following this, the

second step is to understand these effects in the particular instance so

that if the same action was taken in the same circumstances it would

be possible to anticipate what would follow from the action. In this

pattern the third step would be understanding the general principle

under which the particular instance falls.

It is surmised that experiential learning is a philosophy of learning

which encompasses the traditional learning theories but emphasises

that the source of the learning material can be from experience, as

opposed to the more traditional view of classrooms and lectures. In

terms of a learning theory, it is not a reductionalist theory as none of

the literature attempts to identify what specific bit of the experience it

is that stimulates learning, nor of how the brain processes it. It is

however a learning theory which is holistic in nature - which the

author would define as (Fowler, 2006b), ‘Experiential learning is the

learning which results from the coming together of experience, of a

certain quality, with meaningful reflection’. A simple representation of

this is shown in Fig. 1. If the notion of the ‘quality’ of experience and

‘meaningful’ reflection, as identified within the definition, are added to

the diagram using criteria previously developed by the author: that of

: degree of involvement of the student with the experience, the

subject relevance of the experience, whether the experience is task or

patient centred and the tools used to aid reflection, the students

activity and the planned or ‘ad hoc’ nature of the reflection (Fowler,

2003; Fowler, 2006a,b), then the diagram becomes more complex, as

follows, see Fig. 2. Experiential learning is dependent upon both

experience and reflection. If the experience is of limited quality and

the reflection is also limited then the experiential learning is also

limited (represented as smaller circles) see Fig. 3: If the person’s

experience is of ‘good quality’, but the reflection is limited, then the

learning will also be limited, see Fig. 4: Likewise, if the person reflects
in a meaningful way, but the experience is limited, then an equally

limited experiential learning will be achieved, see

III. CLASSROOM-BASED TEACHING STRATEGIES

A. Constructivist Approach

There are many psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget and John

Dewey who have worked to develop Social Constructivist Learning

Theory (CLT). This theory seeks to answer the question how people

know what they know? (Gordon, Habley, and Grites, 2008)

Fundamentally, constructivism says that people construct their own

understanding and knowledge of the world through experiencing things

and reflecting on those experiences. Constructivism is a learning

theory • Learning is an active process • Knowledge is constructed from

(and shaped by) experience • Learning is a personal interpretation of

the world

Emphasizes problem solving and understanding • Uses authentic

tasks, experiences, settings, assessments • Content presented

holistically – not in separate smaller parts

Constructivism is a process – the instructor • Adapt curriculum to

address students’ suppositions • Help negotiate goals and objectives

with learners • Pose problems of emerging relevance to students •

Emphasize hands‐on, real‐world experiences • Seek and value

students’ points of view • Social context of content

Constructivism is a process – the instructor • Provide multiple modes

of representations / perspectives on content • Create new

understandings via coaching, moderating , suggesting • Testing should

be integrated with the task and not a separate activity • Use errors to

inform students of progress to understanding and changes in ideas

Constructivism is a process – the student • Help develop own goals

and assessments • Create new understandings (via coaching,

moderating, suggesting) • Control learning (reflecting)

Twenty first century necessities have changed the education

environment from teacher-fronted framework to learner-centred

classrooms. Moving from this point, teaching methodologies are

increasingly formulated around constructivist approach where learners

are believed to create new understandings by integrating their existing

knowledge with new experiences (Fer, 2009). However, it is important

to state that the theory should not be applied rigidly, the teacher can

adapt the theory in a way that serves his stated objectives and carry

out his/her goals. He/she should be thoughtful and creative so as to

use it effectively inside his/her classroom. In this way, the theory

becomes a means to an end, not an end in itself (Ahmed, 2012)

Moreover, 21st century digital age students are more demanding and

are more in need to connect new information with their prior

knowledge and other disciplines. Moving from this point, applying

integrated program (connection between disciplines) together with

constructivist teaching process are seen to be effective on intellectual

and sensual development of the learners (Savas, Senemoglu &

Kocabas, 2012).

The field of study criteria in the present study shows that major use of

constructivist approach is in the teaching and learning process is

English Language as 66 studies are seen to be published in this field.

Taking into account that language learning is widely connected to

lifelong learning therefore this approach plays a big role in language

learning (Ozcan, 2011)

Rahimi and Hematiyan pinpoints that great burden is on the teachers'

shoulder; because, he/she as an instructor or like a movie director

who is supposed to pave the way to have a creative classroom and

make the students motivated (Rahimi & Hematiyan, 2012

The Constructivist Way of Seeing the World Constructivism is more a

philosophy, not a strategy. Rather, constructivism is an underlying

philosophy or way of seeing the world. This way of seeing the world

includes notions about: • The nature of reality (mental representations

have "real" ontological status just as the "world out there" does). •

The nature of knowledge (it's individually constructed; it is inside

people's minds, not "out there"). • The nature of human interaction

(we rely on shared or "negotiated" meanings, better thought of as

cooperative than authoritative or manipulative in nature). • The nature

of science (it is a meaning-making activity with the biases and filters

accompanying any human activity).

According to Ndon (2011, p. 253) “a teacher as a facilitator, should

provide rich environments, experiences, and activities for learning by

incorporating opportunities for collaborative work, problem solving,

authentic tasks”.

According to Zhan (2008), collaborative learning activities can engage

students’ participation, and interaction, working together toward a

common academic goal, and increasing the level of satisfaction and

feelings of connection and community.

As Miles (2008) Learning styles refer to the variations in the ability to

accumulate as well as assimilate information. Basically, learning style

is the method that best allows us to acquire and use knowledge in a

specific manner.

Ashcraft, Treadwell, and Kumar (2008) state that, in social

constructivism, knowledge is developed through cognitive activity

which happens through the discussion of experiences with other

individuals or in groups.

The success of one student in the group encourages other students to

be successful (Shimon, 2011)