Part 3: Traditional versus Kagan teaching approaches

As a teacher, questions contribute to our perception of understanding and learning. For many practitioners, once a concept has been described or an equation has been explained to students, a question will follow to test, gauge and reinforce the class’s understanding. Yet for many classes the same students will put their hands up, often the highest achievers or more confident public speakers. And once answered, the teacher is no better off. Even random selection can provide little value and insight into the class’s individual level of learning.


In this, the final article of our 3-part series on Kagan structures we delve deeper into the way that Kagan strutures are being applied, how they complement new styles of flipped classroom teaching and consider whether they serve as a replacement or supplement to traditional teaching techniques.

Part 2: Examples of successful Kagan classroom structures

Kagan structures have spanned over 30 years of academic integration with thousands of teachers attending training workshops each year.

The development of this approach followed an extensive period of experimentation before being transferred into applied classroom teaching. The concept centres on the principle that cooperativeness is most powerfully determined by the situations in which children find themselves. On this basis, an individual can be encouraged to be extremely cooperative or extremely competitive, depending on the learning environment created.

Part 1: The benefits of Kagan classroom structures

In the USA and in small but increasing numbers of UK classrooms, teaching and learning is taking quite a different approach.

Students are not seated in rows, they are not asked to be quiet, to keep their eyes on their work – just the opposite. For proponents of alternative teaching styles, Kagan has become one of the most revolutionary learning strategies.

 Whether you’re familiar with Kagan structures or interested in learning more about alternative teaching techniques. In this article, the first of a 3-part series, we consider the uses and benefits of implementing kagan structures in your classroom, particularly in relation to boosting student engagement and learning.

A digital approach to blended learning

From flipped classroom teaching to Kagan and flex learning, technology is helping teachers blend their lesson strategies in new and more integrated ways.

Teachers will often work along a continuum that sees them tailor and tweak the degree of online learning in relation to offline, face-to-face sessions. The purpose of this is to combine online resources that personalise the learning instruction with facilitated, collaborative and project work, in effect blending the teaching methods to raise engagement.

The key to any effective blended-learning approach centres on raising and maintaining effective learner engagement. While for many teachers mobile learning and the use of digital resources will naturally raise students’ interest through its appeal and relevance to them, this will not be enough to sustain their focus and interest over time. Fortunately, within the blended learning model, digital technology is used to complement and not replace the role of the teacher. There is still a strong demand for face-to-face, bricks-and-mortar learning, offering a unique opportunity to test and maintain engagement.

But how can you make the most of your time with your students?