What are the key differences between traditional and progressive education methods?

The traditional method of teaching is made up of two solids: Chalk and Talk. Centered around a teacher.

So, there is a classroom full of children and one teacher who is the central figure and the only one who provides information. While every school’s primary function and priority is to provide education to the children as well as get optimal results, it all starts going in different directions when how to implement the teaching methods is down for discussion.

In a traditional classroom, discipline is taught separately, for example, wherein in a progressive setup, it is integrated through the learning processes and becomes a part of life as a whole. Basically, it all comes down to how the curriculum is being taught. Students in a traditional school are expected to process the information as soon as the teacher has taught the children. In a progressive school, however, there is no structured curriculum and everything is taught by experience and subtle guidance by the educators.

The main difference between the two methods is that conventional teaching has been and continues to be governed by grades, exams and homework, leaving one child happier than the other. The sense of competition amongst the children is higher than the sense of achievement. Whereas in the PBL (Project Based Learning) system, every child learns through collaborative inclusion, experiences and play. The difference here lies in student learning and where it is centered. Traditional schools focus on the teachers and subjects taught while progressive school focuses on the student.