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Sunday, April 30, 2023

STAGES OF TEACHING

Teaching involves different activities. It implies a rationally designed process. It refers to a flow of acts, from the beginning to the end. To make teaching effective teacher has to do different actions or play specific roles during the process. It is observed very accurately that teaching activities can be divided into three different phases

  •        Pre-active stage of teaching
  •        Interactive stage of teaching
  •        Post-active stage of teaching

PRE-ACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING: 

It is the preparatory or planning stage of teaching. According to P.W. Jackson, in this stage, the teacher “selects objective, plans the curricula, arranges the classroom, and studies pupils’ readiness”. This stage consists of the following operations or sub-stages: -

Formulating instructional objectives: The teacher determines what should be the specific instructional objectives in terms of clearly defined terminal behavior. For formulating I.O. the teacher needs to consider the entry-level behavior of the learner, the time period, the needs of the society, and the school.

Deciding the Subject Content: The teacher decides the amount of content to be imparted and the specific structures he/she will try to develop in the classroom.

Arranging and sequencing the content for Presentation: The teacher tries to arrange and analyze the content matter for presentation in the class during teaching.

Deciding the Strategy: The teacher makes a decision regarding a proper strategy he/she will employ in teaching. Teaching considers the nature of the content and entry-level behavior of the learner.

  INTERACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING: 

This stage of teaching is concerned with the implementation and carrying out of what has been planned at the pre-active stage of teaching. The activities of the teacher are right from entering the classroom till the presentation if the content is included in this stage of teaching. According to P.W. Jackson, “The teacher provides the students verbal stimulation of various kinds, makes an explanation, asks questions, listens to the student’s response, and, provides guidance at the stage of teaching”. This is the execution stage. This stage includes the following activities: -

Understanding the Class: The teacher’s first activity in this stage is concerned with the perception of classroom climate. He/she keeps an eye on the faces of the learners to locate which areas may be troublesome, and which faces may be discouraging, encouraging, or apathetic. In this way, the teacher tries to understand the whole climate of the classroom.

Diagnosing the Learner: The teacher then tries to diagnose the student’s achievements in three levels:

  1. Activities 
  2. Interest in attitude
  3. Academic Backgrounds

After diagnosing the student’s achievement level, the teacher starts the interaction session.

Action and Reaction: It is the actual interaction between the teacher and the taught. The moment the teacher goes into the classroom, non-verbal interactions start between him/her and the student. With his/her speech, the verbal reactions start. With more questions put by the teacher to the students, the reactive process gains momentum. Then the students also put questions to the teacher, which makes teaching more learnable for the student. The action and reaction make the teaching go on and ultimately make it a success.

POST-ACTIVE STAGE OF TEACHING: 

This final stage is concerned with evaluating activities. The teacher evaluates the student’s performance on the basis of terminal behavior. The teacher also assesses the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process as occurred in the interactive stage. This stage consists of the following sub-stages: -

Selecting appropriate testing devices: The teacher selects appropriate tools and techniques for measuring different dimensions of behavior as expressed in terminal behavior. The test may be written, oral or practical, etc.

Testing the actual behavior: With the help of testing devices, the teacher evaluates the performance of the learner.

Defining the Changes of Behavior: The teacher compares the expected and actual behavioral changes of the learner.

Changing the Strategies of teaching: The results found in the previous sub-stage helped the teacher to understand the strength and weaknesses of the teaching-learning process. Accordingly, the teacher modifies the teaching strategy for better result

 

 

Saturday, April 22, 2023

ROLE OF A TEACHER IN EFFECTIVE TEACHING

ROLE OF A TEACHER IN EFFECTIVE TEACHING

       1. FACILITATOR – A teacher facilitates the students to find answers on their own. A teacher should show the path. This term is used by the NCF. 

       2. MANAGER/PROBLEM SOLVER: effective teaching is not possible without playing the role of an efficient manager. She needs to manage the whole class altogether as well as small things or situations. 

        3. COUNSELLOR: very important in the present time, students are sensitive, and a teacher in the class is the first one to observe/identify the problem and counsel. 

         4. MOTIVATOR – A teacher acts as a motivator to achieve the objectives set by the curriculum.

 5.      GUIDE – A teacher guides the students regarding examinations, future prospects, and future vocations.

 6.      EVALUATOR/ASSESSOR: comprehensive assessment, evaluation of not only bookish knowledge but also other aspects of the learners

 7.      LEADER – A leader always acts democratically, unlike a boss of an office/organization.

 8.  EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR – A teacher must be an effective communicator with the students as well as the administration. He or she acts as a mediator. Miscommunication often creates confusion and misunderstandings.

 9. CREATOR OF POSITIVE LEARNING ATMOSPHERE – Teaching is effective only when the teacher has a positive attitude towards his or her students. There should also be a democratic atmosphere.

 10.  CREATIVITY – A teacher should also be a creative person. Different methods should be used and as per the context, one has to blend the methods and recreate the available resources. If a teacher is creative, he or she will be able to appreciate the students' creativity too.

 11.  ORGANISER – It brings discipline and avoids chaos. It is a systematic approach and leads to logical, rational, and scientific thinking. For example, showing a film, demonstrating or arranging things for a class.

 12.  ROLE MODEL – Teaching by example. It inspires discipline from within and leads to the formation of a disciplinarian.

 13.  EFFICIENT USER OF TECHNOLOGY – This concept is used in the NCF. A teacher should be able to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) effectively. A teacher should be technologically sound.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Education for Generation, Conservation, and Transmission of Knowledge

 

The process of knowledge generation has already been discussed.
Now the question is what should be the role of education in knowledge generation?
Education is for gaining knowledge and learning something new through dialogue, and discussion by using different mediums, books, magazines, journals, encyclopaedia internet etc.
We can also learn through our experience or by listening to the experience of others. But sometimes that is not enough to gain new knowledge. Hence education can play a significant role here.
Education should not only help the learner with new knowledge but also help to learn how to create or generate new knowledge. This is possible through research. The training for finding the truth and new knowledge can be started at an early age. The different approaches like discovery problem solving, the enquiry process, and projects used in the teaching-learning process are helpful for that. They help to understand the systematic process of finding and reaching knowledge. Hence pave the way for understanding the basic requirement of research and generating knowledge.
The knowledge that is generated needs to be conserved. If we are not able to do that then what is the benefit of generating it? The conservation of knowledge can be done in various ways- through books, journals, encyclopaedia, audio, video, internet, social media etc. That means the knowledge which is generated should be stored in any form.
Transmission of knowledge - how society can proceed in the path of development if the knowledge that has been generated and conserved is not transmitted to the next generation? The understanding of the knowledge provides us with the base for creating new knowledge. This would not have been possible if the knowledge was not transmitted. The conservation and transmission of existing knowledge help us to generate new knowledge. That is the reason why our civilization has progressed from the stone age to the Age of artificial intelligence. 

Friday, March 17, 2023

Maxims of Teaching

Maxim means a short pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct.

Significance of the maxim of teaching:

The maxims of teaching are very helpful in obtaining the active environment and participation of the learners in the teaching learning process. They quicken the interest of the learners and motivate them to learn. They keep the students attentive to the teaching learning process. They make learning effective, inspirational, interesting and meaningful. A good teacher should be quite familiar with them.

The different maxims of teaching have been briefly explained below.

1.     From known to unknown:

Known is trustworthy whereas unknown is feared. So a teacher should utilize previous knowledge of students for teaching a particular subject or topic and then help them to collect information and explore the unknown.

For example, students can right words only if they know the alphabets of a language.

Students can explore (a+b+c) 2 only if they know (a+b) 2

2.     From simple to complex:

Proceeding from simple to complex subject matter provides an appropriate learning sequence, thus motivating and encouraging students to try to learn more difficult ideas.

For example, while teaching English, simple sentences should be taught first and complex sentences may be taken up later on.

3.     From indefinite to definite:

The ideas of children are vague and indefinite in the beginning. Gradually children gain more learning experiences and attend definite ideas.

For example, the respiratory system will remain vague if taught without a diagram of the nasal passage lungs etc.

4.     From concrete to abstract:

Abstract things are confusing and difficult to comprehend whereas concrete things can be visualized, are relatively simple and understandable. Acquisition of new knowledge becomes easy when it is supported with concrete examples, objects and events.

For example: a lesson in geography can be made interesting with the help of models, pictures and illustrations of the bridges, rivers and mountains etc.

 

5.     From particular to general:

Teacher should present particular examples before stating the principles and rules. A study of particular facts leads the children themselves to frame the general rule.

For example, student will gain the general idea that sum of three angles of any triangle is 180 degree if she is ask to find out the sum of 3 angles of different triangles.

6.     From actual to representative:

When actual objects are shown to children they learn easily and retain them in their minds for long time.

For example, a visit to zoo is of more value then showing the pictures of various animals.

An excursion to historical place will create better understanding than showing picture or simply telling about it in class.

7.     From whole to part:

Whole is more meaningful to the child than the parts of the whole. Guilford, Newman, and Seagoe concluded after their research that the 'whole' approach is generally better than 'part' learning because the material to be learnt makes sense and it parts can be seen by the learner as interrelated.

For example, during teaching the 'part of a flowering plant', it is better to show the entire plant and then proceed to the structure and function of each part of the plant.

8.     From psychological to logical:

While teaching, psychological principles of teaching should be kept in mind and then teaching should proceed to the logical arrangement of the subject matter. The teacher should psychologically plan learning experience is in accordance with the needs, interest and abilities of the students but the teaching act must have logic too.

For example, in a drawing lesson a child has little understanding of lines and curves. Logically we start with simple lines and curves but psychologically we start with drawing a whole animal.

9.     From near to far:

A child learns well in the surrounding in which he resides. So, he should be acquainted with his immediate environment first. Gradually he may be taught about things which are far from his immediate environment.

In a Geography lesson, we can start from the local geography and then can take up district, state, country and world gradually.

10.  From empirical to rational:

Observation and experience are the basis of empirical knowledge. Rational knowledge implies a bit of abstraction and argumentation. The general feeling is that a child first of all experiences knowledge in his day-to-day life and after that he develops rational or logical thinking.

For example, geometry makes better sense when taught in the context of everyday life instead of it in the form of a highly abstract theory.


Qualities of a good Science Textbook

 

Qualities of a good Science Textbook

   

1.     Content of the textbook should be relevant. It should be in accordance with the syllabus.

2.     Redundancy in the content should be minimal. Too much repetition of the same points can make a topic look big, reducing children’s interest in reading the book.

3.     The language of the writing and other content should be simple, in accordance with the age of the children.

4.     The book should contain relevant pictures, diagrams, tables, illustrations (solved examples and solved numerical problems), and exercises/activities.

5.     The appearance of the book should be attractive. Colorful books are more attractive. The size of the book should be appropriate.

6.     At the end of every chapter, there should be a summary and a list of references for further reading.

7.     For every chapter, there should be a guideline given in the book, both for the teacher and for the students, about what is to be expected from them.

8.     The book should contain a glossary.

9.     The writing of the content should be such that it takes care of the present social issues. For example, a problem given in a science textbook should not highlight that the father is working outside and the mother is staying home. The opposite scenario should also be portrayed to break the gender bias.

10.   The content should be based on the previous knowledge of the students. For example, if writing contains a discussion about computers, an urban child may be able to relate it to his or her previous knowledge but a rural child may not be able to do so.

11.   The author of the book should be experienced, expert, and efficient in dealing with the subject matter.

12.   The book should be written following the maxims of teaching, in a logical and psychological sequence.

13.   The printing of the book should be necessarily clear and beautiful. Printing mistakes should be avoided. The headings, sub-headings, and subject matter should be prepared according to the requirements.

14.   The paper should be of good quality. The binding of the book should be strong.

15.   The book should be affordable. An E-book version should be available, preferably for free or for a lower price.

16.   The book should be revised from time to time and necessary updates should be made.

17.   Before releasing a book, it should undergo a field trial and necessary changes should be made from the feedback. Later, the book should also be reviewed by experts.