Corporal punishment, the use of physical pain as a consequence for negative behavior, was one of the key features of older approaches to classroom management. It was employed not only to curb disruptions but also as a punishment for academic failure. Modern teachers do not employ corporal punishment, not only because it is cruel, but because it does not work. If the only thing that makes a student learn in class is fear of a switch, modern teachers would argue, then when that fear is removed the learning will melt away as well.
In previous eras, students were often expected to commit facts such as the historically significant dates or lists of prepositions to memory, and to be able to repeat them on command. While modern teaching has not wholly dispensed with memorization, much more emphasis is placed on contextual learning. Students are expected to be able to know the historical significance of an event rather than the date on which it took place, or to be able to use a preposition properly in a sentence rather than repeat it as part of a list.
Traditional lectures were the most common lesson type in the past, if not indeed the only type. Teachers would read from a text or explain a concept and students were expected to listen quietly and take notes. Modern approaches to lessons are much more varied. They make use of group work, games, computer presentations and other activities that encourage student participation. Modern-day teachers need to give straightforward lectures from time to time, but these make up part of a much broader curriculum.
Giving students rewards for good behavior is an idea that has been around as long as teaching itself, but it was particularly emphasized by the Behaviorist school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s. According to the theory, if students were conditioned by rewards to learn and behave well in class, the conditioning would stay with them even after class. However, modern teachers have found that more often than not, rewards that are specifically tied to a particular desired action do not stick for very long. As such, modern teachers try to emphasize the intrinsic benefits of learning and only tie rewards to long-term, mutually beneficial goals rather than specific actions.