T&L Techniques & their MGT.docx

T&L Techniques & their MGT.docx

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  HANDOUT 1. CONCEPTOF TEACHING AND ASSUMPTIONS Teaching methodology is a very important component of teacher education or instructor training within the realm of teaching as a profession. Before we venture further to look into the essentials of teaching methodology, it is necessary to define some key concepts. These concepts are teaching, learning and finally teaching methodology. The understanding of these concepts will be crucial for our overall understanding and application of teaching methodology. Knowledge is like a garden: If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.- Guinean proverb. TEACHING - SOME ASSUMPTIONS It is often assumed that when one knows the subject matter well, then such a person is capable of teaching the subject. For example, a highly skilled carpenter may feel that he can readily instruct others in the skills of his trade by simply showing how he does the work and explaining the ideas and purposes which are involved. This does not amount to teaching. Many people also mistakenly think that anybody can teach. Perhaps one inordinate precedent which reinforces this thinking is the concept of “untrained teachers”. We rarely hear of untrained doctors, engineers, architects e.t.c. What makes teaching a profession, like others, is that it has its own principles, ethics and unique practices. Therefore, not every Tom, Dick and Harry can arrogate to themselves the functions of teaching without undertaking the requisite training in teaching. Teaching is not simply the presentation of new skills and knowledge to the trainee. It is also not the mere transferring of what the teacher/instructor knows into the hands or minds of the trainee. Furthermore, teaching, is not the same as telling nor is telling synonymous with teaching. Effective teaching means that there are certain things which the teacher must do and other things which the trainees must also do to increase the chances of learning taking place. The teacher has to go through formal, theoretical and practical training. In addition, the teacher needs to plan his/her activities in order to ensure that trainees can acquire the desirable knowledge and skills. In teaching the process is just as important as the product. We do not focus on the product alone: Both the means and end are crucial. Planning is crucial because it involves the selection and organisation of learning experiences which will lead to meaningful interaction between the teacher and trainees.
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  “Tell me andI will forget show me and I will remember do it with me and I will know”. This means knowledge is a result of telling, showing and doing “actively” with learners (trainees) in a teaching process. FOCUS OF TEACHING Teaching focuses on three fundamental elements and processes. These are cognitive, psychomotor and affective processes. All the three are interrelated and it is often difficult to arbitrarily teach only one without unconsciously or sub-consciously teaching the other. 1. COGNITIVE PROCESS The cognitive process is related to knowledge. It appeals mainly to our mind or intellect. It is reflected in the acquisition of new ideas or the re-organisation of an existing body of ideas. This knowledge affects our responses and reactions to situations. We can illustrate cognitive abilities in teaching situations involving:-  Ability to identify facts which explain the existence or absence of particular matter.  Ideas which can convince or persuade someone in an argument.  Ability to determine the interconnection between two or more things.  One’s ability to create alternative ways of doing something.  One’s ability to organise ideas and thoughts when making a verbal or written presentation:- a) Ideas, facts, figures, numbers and symbols. b) Inter-relationship between such facts, ideas, figures, numbers, symbols e.t.c. c) Organisation of such ideas, figures, facts, numbers, symbols e.t.c. in an orderly manner so as to reflect clear, understandable and logical meaning. 2. PSYCHOMOTOR PROCESS
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  Refers to skillsacquired through the teaching/learning situation. These skills relate to how we learn to co-ordinate and use our hands, heads, legs and other parts of our bodies. We can manipulate things using our psychomotor abilities such as:-  Manual (Using hands) skills in Carpentry, Garment-making, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Masonry e.t.c.  Ability to play any or all ball games e.g. Soccer, Basketball, Netball, Rugby, Volleyball e.t.c.  On becoming effective athletes and gymnastics.  Undertaking any other trade, skill or craft. All these processes will require both teachers and trainees to be practical, creative, precise and manipulative. 3. AFFECTIVE PROCESS Affective means feelings and attitudes. Our feelings and attitudes reflect the values we are associated with. Some values are positive and progressive while others are negative and archaic. Affective teaching seeks to promote positive values and attitudes while at the same time gradually, but systematically chipping at those which are negative and disruptive. Attitudes and values are important in another sense. They greatly influence not only what we do, but also how we do what we do. TEACHING AND TRAINING What would be the difference between teaching and training? Is training the same as teaching and vice versa? The answer to these questions particularly the second one, is YES and NO. Yes because training focuses mainly on the practical known as “knowledge how” as differentiated from “knowledge that”, the theoretical (or philosophical knowledge). But not all training is teaching because in training, the instructor can almost determine with certainty the exact skills and expected behaviour of a learner. That is why we know how a trainee who has acquired desirable skills should behave. But teaching in general travels beyond this. It has to do with making learners creative and critical thinkers with desirable values and attitudes in addition to having requisite skills (Which is an aspect of training). But as we said earlier on, it is difficult to teach skills alone, for example without communicating (consciously or unconsciously) certain attitudes and values. GUIDELINES OF TEACHING
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  According to CarlShafer, “effective learning is fostered by masterful teaching.” This means teachers should develop an ability for making complex or difficult material simple enough for their learners. Successful teachers are those who display the following abilities. Good mastery of the subject they teach. Stimulate and sustain learners’ interest in what they teach. Use language which learners understand easily. Break down the content or lesson into simple manageable yet systematic blocks. Help learners to learn on their own rather than depending wholly on the teacher. Makes learners creative and critical in order to fully understand the idea, art or skill being taught. Ability to review, test and confirm, if not apply what has been taught. Put differently, Shafer has come up with specific guidelines which he refers to as the seven laws of teaching. These laws can be paraphrased as shown below. A good teacher needs to: 1) Have a clear understanding of the content embodied in the lesson. 2) Makes learners develop interest in the subject matter through effective class management techniques. 3) Uses words and expressions which have common meaning to the learner and teacher alike. 4) Starts teaching the known and proceeds gradually to teach the unknown or more abstract material. 5) Makes learners to think, act and discover new knowledge on their own. 6) Encourages learners to reproduce in their own words what they have learned.
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  7) Evaluates whathas been taught in order to determine its worth and correct any false impression. See: The Seven Laws of Teaching by Carl Shafer. ACTIVITY 3. FOCUS OH TEACHING Procedure: Divide the participants into three or more groups depending on their size (in numbers) Question: Let each group discuss the question: What kind of broad changes are reflected in individuals after undergoing any training? Processing: Each group makes a presentation in the plenary. At the end of each presentation a few minutes of question and answer, a critique or comments should be allowed. Facilitator: Helps the groups after presentations on newsprint to identify issues which can go together or have common intent. Once the clusters of issues emerge the facilitator helps the whole group to identify which ones relate to any of the following:  Knowledge  Attitudes  Practices HANDOUT 2. METHODOLOGY The next area of concern is teaching methodology. And how is it related or linked to teaching? First, a method is a technique of doing something effectively and efficiently. But Lawrence Stenhouse does not like the word “Method”! He would rather talk of ‘strategy’. He argues that a strategy is well thought out, systematic and discretional, whereas a method would be what is commonly accepted and is in use or recommended to be used. Be that as it may, the use of certain sets or combination of more than one set of methods would constitute methodology. For example teaching being an art and skill requires that a teacher has to use and vary the lesson by employing different methods for effective learning to take place. In summary teaching methodology means:-
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  Techniques and procedureswhich govern the instructional process. Teaching methodology is not abstract, but practical and real. It arises from deliberate choice and practical experience of the teacher/instructor. It facilitates the acquisition of knowledge, skills and values by the learners. It helps to build bridges between the “Known” experiences and the “unknown”. FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE TEACHING METHODOLOGY There are four factors which influence teaching methodology. These are, the purpose of what shall be taught (objective of the lesson), subject matter itself, the instructional materials to be used and learners themselves. (i) PURPOSE This refers mainly to the goal or main objective of what we want to teach. Before an instructor decides on suitable teaching methodology, he/she should ask the following questions:  What do I want to achieve by teaching this lesson? Or what is the purpose of this form of education? Alternatively, why do I want to take my trainees/learners through this lesson? Every form or type of education, be it academic, technical or vocational education has definite aims, goals and objectives. If the purposes of what we want to teach are clear, then we can decide how to teach it in order for effective learning to take place. Besides, if we know precisely why we want to teach a particular body of knowledge, then we can justify its relevance for our learners. For example the aims of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in Kenya today are:-  To build on the concepts, principles and skills established in the primary cycle.  Preparation of learners for self-reliance, training and further education.
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   Help inlaying a firm foundation for the development of self-discipline, integrity, diligence, adaptability, co- operation and patriotism. Amongst other things, one of the cardinal aims of technical education as practised in youth polytechnics in this country today (and which is similar to those above) is the preparation of learners for self-reliance through appropriate training and further education. The ultimate projection is to see learners acquire skills which can enable them become self-employed in order to earn their living without looking up to the government or the private sector for white collar jobs. (ii) SUBJECT MATTER To a great extent, subject matter (i.e. a body of knowledge or content) has a direct bearing on the choice of teaching methodology. The simple logic here is to select methods which will ensure, that teaching proceeds from the simple matters to the complex matters of content, but in a sequential fashion. Learning by its nature is gradual and systematic. A methodology which ensures a breakdown of content into manageable steps makes it easier not only for the teacher to teach but also for the learners to understand easily. The rule here is simplicity. That the choice of method should be determined by the extent to which it will help to simplify the material to be taught. A picture says a thousand words Anonymous (iii) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL The techniques we adopt for teaching are directly influenced by the choice of instructional materials. The interesting thing is that instructional materials are quite varied and often depend on WHAT and WHY we teach what we teach. Some common examples of instructional materials often used in the classroom are:- Chalkboard Flip chart Felt/flannel board Magnetic board White board Maps Posters
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  Charts and graphs Photographs Textbooks Manuals Handouts/handoutmaterial Summary cards Overhead projectors Slides and slide projectors Film strips and projectors Workbooks The most basic element here is that the choice of instructional material will determine the activities of the teacher as well as those of the learners, and hence the Methodology. For example use of the chalkboard may involve note-making on the part of the teacher and note-taking on the part of the learners. This would mean the teacher has to employ among other things an expository or lecture method. (iv) LEARNERS THEMSELVES Different learners bring to a learning situation many diversities. The vast differences in the learners, otherwise called “Entering behaviour” is manifested in the form of varied:- a) Experiences b) Aptitudes c) Skills d) Values e) Feelings f) Responses An experienced instructor needs to do a delicate balancing act. This is required of him/her in order to synchronise and harmonise these differences amongst learners in order for each and everyone to benefit from the learning process. Learning requires that both the teacher and learners have to contribute. But for each and every learner in a classroom setting to do this he/she must feel accepted for what they are, and what they possess. That is why it is useful to emphasise that every learner brings to a learning situation unique:-
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   Knowledge  Skills Experiences Each and every learner can benefit from others’ knowledge, skills and attitudes, just as much as they learn from the teacher. The difference is that the methodology employed should enable both the teacher and learners to share whatever they have in order to promote meaningful learning. This calls for methodology which allows for equal participation of learners in the teaching/learning process. SUMMARY: In summary four main factors which influence the choice of teaching methodology are:- The purpose of teaching Subject matter. Instructional materials. Learners themselves.