Combo Platter

I think that working with children requires a combination of different teaching methods. I would definitely say that any age student would benefit from chunks of direct instruction to give the basic knowledge and facts. From that point, any form of collaborative group work that requires students to use and/or develop their critical thinking skills would create the greatest learning experiences. In the elementary school setting it is sometimes difficult to get the students to focus on the task at hand because group work sometimes means "fun time" for them, but this is also the best setting for young children to learn from each other too. Elementary students are open to try new things because they have been exposed to so many different ways of communicating.