What were the ancient techniques of teaching that could help in today's modern world as well?

 

In today's digital era, online teaching and online learning have become popular practices. While most of us may not be lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn from the greats in a classroom setting, there are a lot of benefits that come with utilizing these new technologies. But, when we look back into ancient history, we can find that there were some techniques that were used to teach children in a way that would make them remember whatever they learned. These methods could be applied today as well to make students learn better and even retain whatever they have learned for a longer period of time.

Socratic Method

The ancient technique of teaching which is still followed in today's modern world coaching was known as the "Socratic Method". This method includes asking students questions and then waiting for them to answer. Once they have answered, the teacher would follow up with further questions that will help understand their answers better and what they really meant when giving them. For example, if a student answers "Ram is taller than Rohit", the teacher might ask, "How do you know that Ram is taller?" or even better, they would ask another question such as what makes them think so. This method helps make students reflect on their own thoughts and ideas to be able to explain them in more detail.

Seven Sages

The ancient Greeks believed that children were inherently good, however, they believed that their minds needed to be shaped. This led them to create a series of techniques known as the "Seven Sages" which are still used today in modern education of online teaching and online learning. The Seven Sages consisted of exposing students to great works of literature, training them in music and sports, teaching them about societal norms through stories, allowing students to explore freely without teachers or parents present, giving students specific challenges with tangible rewards for success and punishments for failure and teaching students through imitation where they would learn by watching others. This technique works because it makes children self-aware of their own behavior, as well as allows them to explore what the world has to offer without any limitations or rules set by adults. It is important that we let children experience things on their own first before having teachers explain everything to them, which is why it can be applied today.

Hedge Schools

Medieval times saw the emergence of "Hedge Schools" where children would gather under a hedge to learn from one teacher who had no official qualifications, they did this because there were not enough schools for everyone and some parents could not afford to send their children to school. This technique was also used in the 1800s. This technique of teaching is still applicable today because although there are enough schools throughout the world, some parents cannot afford to send their children or they live in remote areas where there aren't any schools nearby so these hedge schools would help them get an education without having to move away from home. Modern-day online educators that include private tutors and coaching institutes in rural areas also can work on similar principles.

Gurukul System

Ancient Indian technique of teaching was known as the "Gurukul System" where students would live with their teachers who trained them in various different skills. The belief behind this was that children were inherently good in their learning pedagogy and they needed to be taught how to behave well which is why parents would send their kids away; it allowed children to learn by living with other people rather than at home under their parents' rules. Although this technique is not used in today's modern world, the idea of teaching children by living with them can be applied to homeschooling where they are taught at home rather than going to school every day.