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Old School Teaching Methods are Tried and True
What are “old school” teaching methods and why are they making a comeback?
As teachers, we often feel the push to keep up with the ever-evolving trends in education— digital classrooms, AI-driven tutoring, and personalized tech tools that promise to make our jobs easier and students more engaged. Education, like many industries, evolves like a pendulum. We move away from some theories and strategies, usually to an extreme for a bit, and then we head back to what’s been proven to work. I believe after Covid and the emergence of AI, teachers (and students) are reminded of the importance of social communication, emotional intelligence, grit, rigor and essential “soft skills.” I sense a strong desire among my peers to return to that focus in the classroom. Read on to learn more about old school teaching methods that can inspire your modern classroom.
Soft skills include the ability to hold a conversation, present new ideas, organize thoughts, brainstorm, problem solve, read a room, and so much more. Soft skills require trial and error, failure, and occasionally discomfort but build grit, purpose, self-reliance and community. While innovation is undeniably valuable, there’s a quiet truth many seasoned educators know but hesitate to say out loud: some of the “old ways” of teaching need to make a comeback.
In fact, in this age of automation, it’s never been more important to double down on timeless, human-centered skills—grit, communication, presentation, collaboration, problem-solving, and plain-old face-to-face social interaction. These are the soft skills that machines still struggle to master, and they’re rapidly becoming the most important attributes we can nurture in our students.
Let’s be clear, there are many strategies of the past that we have rightfully left behind (think corporal punishment). And developing 21st century skills are essential to succeed. But today, teachers are faced with students that fear struggle and failure, while recent test scores provide a dire warning that for the first time, this generation is less capable than its predecessor.
The old-school classroom—while not perfect—had elements that we’d do well to revisit:
- Public Speaking: Remember oral reports, debates, and speeches? These high-stress, high-reward activities, built confidence, presence, and the ability to think on one’s feet. Today, with so much of students’ communication happening behind screens, we must bring these opportunities back.
- Writing by Hand: Research shows that handwriting (yes, with a pencil!) improves memory and comprehension. Taking notes, journaling, sketching—these weren’t just quaint habits, they were brain-builders.
- Rote Practice: While creativity is critical, foundational skills still matter. Whether it’s memorizing math facts or diagramming sentences, repetition and mastery form the base students need to engage in higher-order thinking later.
- Structured Group Work: Not just throwing students into a group and hoping for the best—true cooperative learning, with roles, reflection, and social accountability, teaches teamwork in a way no app can replicate.
- Face-to-Face Problem Solving: Worksheets may offer practice, but real learning happens in dynamic discussions, peer feedback circles, and trial-and-error challenges where students must navigate the process as much as the content.
Why are Soft Skills an Essential Aspect of Education?
For years, schools have been asked to prioritize test scores, efficiency, and standards-driven instruction. In the process, we’ve sometimes left behind the intangibles—those messy, real-world skills that don’t always fit neatly into a rubric but determine success far more than a multiple-choice test.
Grit, for instance, isn’t taught through flashcards. It’s cultivated when a student works through frustration, persists through revision, and sees value in finishing something that wasn’t easy.
Communication and presentation aren’t built through AI essays or digital worksheets—they grow in classrooms where students have to speak, listen, disagree respectfully, and reflect publicly. When students tackle real problems with no clear answer, collaborate in messy group projects, or learn how to respectfully advocate for their ideas, they’re not just “doing school”—they’re preparing to lead, innovate, and thrive in a world where technical knowledge is no longer enough.
What does AI Get Wrong in Education?
Here’s the paradox: the more powerful artificial intelligence becomes, the more we need to double down on the things only humans do well.
AI can now write passable essays, summarize complex texts, solve math problems, generate images, and even simulate tutoring. That’s both amazing and alarming. But it also leaves a gaping hole—a space only real human beings can fill. In a recent study by Nataliya Kosvmana, it was revealed that Learning Language Modules like ChatGPT actually create a cognitive deficit in users. The study is profound and groundbreaking. You can read it here, or watch Nataliya’s interview on CNN.
AI doesn’t have empathy. It also doesn’t think critically or morally, take creative risks or read a room during a presentation. AI doesn’t know how to collaborate with diverse personalities, adapt in real time, or inspire a team. These are human strengths. And if we let students rely too heavily on tools that do the thinking for them, we risk raising a generation that can generate content but can’t connect, think deeply, or lead with conviction.
How can Teachers Use Old School Teaching Methods Without Going Backward?
This isn’t a call to ditch every innovation or ban technology from our classrooms. It’s about intentional balance. There are benefits to glean from the 21st century classroom. We can harness the best of AI and edtech while intentionally creating space for the human work that matters most.
Some ideas:
- Build a “soft skills” rubric into project grades—assess teamwork, communication, and grit alongside content knowledge.
- Require students to present their work live (even just to a small group), rather than submitting everything digitally.
- Reinforce the value of productive struggle. Instead of rescuing students at the first sign of frustration, teach them to reflect, revise, and persist.
- Host “Tech-Free Fridays” or low-tech class periods where students problem-solve, create, and connect without digital tools.
Is Teaching Is Still Human?
At the end of the day, our role as educators is not just to deliver information—it’s to shape people. The world doesn’t need more fact-memorizing, test-crushing students. It needs resilient thinkers, compassionate collaborators, and bold communicators.
AI will continue to evolve, but it will never replace the teacher who knows when a student needs a push or a pep talk. It will never replicate the magic of a breakthrough moment during a Socratic seminar or the pride a student feels when they finally present a project they struggled with for weeks.
More information on how AI can be used to support academic achievement can be found in the course: AI in ED (Artificial Intelligence in Education) This course provides teachers with the resources necessary to navigate this new technology and make it work for the benefit of their students.
So let’s bring back the old-school rigor, soft skills, and the human touch that never went out of style. Our students—and our future—depend on it. Need a little inspiration before thinking about the new year? Inspiring Ideas for the 21st Century Classroom will have you looking forward to a fresh new start in no time—with a renewed appreciation for old school teaching methods.