Teaching

Methods - 01

EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP

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Teaching Methods - 01
Teaching methods are the broader techniques used to help students achieve learning outcomes, while
activities are the different ways of implementing these methods. Teaching methods help students: master the
content of the course. learn how to apply the content in particular contexts.

Need and Importance of Teaching Methods

 They stimulate the mind of the students to learn.

 They make the children understand the subject rather than just memorize it.

 They encourage the students to prepare for the lesson before the commencement of class.

 They are necessary as a means of creating or sustaining interests among the children.

 Proper use of techniques of teaching leads to the retention of subject matter taught to children more
thoroughly.

Types of Teaching Methods

1 Instructor/Teacher Centered Methods

Here the teacher casts himself/herself in the role of being a master of the subject matter. The teacher is
looked upon by the learners as an expert or an authority. Learners, on the other hand, are presumed to be
passive and copious recipients of knowledge from the teacher.

Examples of such methods are expository or lecture methods – which require little or no involvement of
learners in the teaching process. It is also for this lack of involvement of the learners in what they are taught
that such methods are called “closed-ended”.

2 Learner-Centred Methods

In learner-centered methods, the teacher/instructor is both a teacher and a learner at the same time. In the
words of Lawrence Stenhouse, the teacher plays a dual role as a learner as well “so that in his classroom
extends rather than constricts his intellectual horizons”.

The teacher also learns new things every day which he/she didn’t know in the process of teaching. The
teacher “becomes a resource rather than an authority”. Examples of learner-centered methods are the
discussion method, the discovery or inquiry-based approach, and Hill’s model of learning through discussion
(LTD).

3 Content-Focused Methods
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In this category of methods, both the teacher and the learners have to fit into the content that is taught.
Generally, this means the information and skills to be taught are regarded as sacrosanct or very important.

A lot of emphasis is laid on the clarity and careful analyses of content. Both the teacher and the learners
cannot alter or become critical of anything to do with the content. An example of a method that subordinates
the interests of the teacher and learners to the content is the programmed learning approach.

4 Interactive/Participative Methods

This fourth category borrows a bit from the three other methods without necessarily laying emphasis unduly
on either the learner, content, or teacher. These methods are driven by the situational analysis of what is the
most appropriate thing for us to learn/do now given the situation of learners and the teacher.

They require a participatory understanding of varied domains and factors.

Teacher Centered Methods

Lecture Method

A formal or semi-formal discourse in which the instructor presents a series of events, facts, or principles,
explores a problem or explains relationships

 It creates new ideas and good for a large class.

 The teacher is experienced and has mastery of the subject, explains all points, and can answer all
questions raised by students.

 Students can ask if they need any clarification.

 Learn through listening

 The teacher explains all the points.

 Students give their input

 The teacher discusses the whole topic in the class in easy language students can easily understand the
topic.\

 It is good for a large class.

 The teacher provides all knowledge related to the topic.

 Time-saving as a teacher is supposed to finish the lecture on time.

 Students give their views at the end of the lecture.

 Students can ask the question if they have any problem understanding the lecture.

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 Students attentively listen to a lecture and take notes as the teacher ask questions at the end of the
lecture.

 Students know and understand basic concepts.

 The teacher knows all the students so he/she can use suitable strategies for the class to make them
understand.

 The teacher is experienced and has mastery of a subject and can answer all questions by students.

 Teachers share information with students so it creates interest in students.

 Students are more involved and participate when the teacher asks the question.

 The teacher provides notes.

 Students easily understand every point.

 Students share knowledge with the teacher.

 The teacher is a role model for students.

USES

 To orient students.

 To introduce a subject.

 To give directions on procedures.

 To present basic material.

 To introduce a demonstration, discussion, or performance.

 To illustrate the application of rules, principles, or concepts.

 To review, clarify, emphasize or summarise.

ADVANTAGES

 Saves time.

 Permits flexibility.

 Requires less rigid space requirement.

 Permits adaptability.

 Permits versatility.

 Permits better center over contact and sequence.

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DISADVANTAGES

 Involves one-way communication.

 Poses problems in skill teaching.

 Encourages student passiveness.

 Poses difficulty in gauging student reaction.

 Require highly skilled instructors.

Demonstration Method

A method of instruction where the instructor by actually performing an operation or doing a job shows the
students what to do, how to do it, and through explanations brings out why, where, and when it is done.

 To teach manipulative operations or procedures.

 To teach troubleshooting.

 To illustrate principles.

 To teach operation or functioning of equipment.

 To teach teamwork.

 To set standards of workmanship.

 To teach safety procedures.

USES/ADVANTAGES

 Minimize damage and waste

 Saves time

 Can be presented to large groups.

 Enable learning evaluation.

DISADVANTAGES

 Require careful preparation and rehearsal.

 Requires special classroom arrangements.

 Requires tools and equipment.

 Requires more instructors.

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Learner Centered Method

In this approach the ‘learner’ or ‘child’ and not the ‘teacher’ is the main focus of the educational programme.
It emphasizes ‘learning’ rather than ‘teaching’.

 The overall goal of education, according to this approach is all round development of the child and not
only that of acquiring knowledge. Curriculum, according to this approach, should be based upon needs,
interests, aptitudes and abilities of learners at different levels so that it enables them to acquire the
necessary skills, knowledge, attitudes and values for realizing their full potential.

Learner-centered approach advocates:

 flexible curriculum

 varied methods of teaching

 varied learning experiences/tasks/activities

 varied learning time

 varied methods of assessing children’s progress

The Two basic principles of Child centered Methods:

 Children create their own knowledge from their experiences and interactions with the world around them.

 Teachers foster children’s learning and development best by building on the existing knowledge, abilities,
interests, needs, styles of learning and strengths of the children in the class.

In a child-centered classroom:

 The child and not the teacher is the focus of the entire process of teaching learning.

 The child is not a passive but an active participant in the classroom process.

 Has democratic climate so that the child gets maximum opportunities for interaction with other children in
the class, with the teacher and with a variety of teaching-learning material.

 Reflects planning of teaching-learning and its monitoring jointly by teacher and children.

 The curriculum and the instructional materials serve as a means to foster the child’s all round
development and are not ends in themselves.

 The goal of teaching-learning is not merely helping children to acquire knowledge but also to promote all
round development of personality.

 Activities planned by teachers and carried out by children become the medium of learning for the child
rather than only the textbook.

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 Teacher adopts a variety of teaching-learning strategies to address the needs of all children at the same
time.

 Evaluation of the child’s attainment is done to ensure child’s progress and not as a means of passing
judgement on the child’s abilities and achievement. it is diagnostic as well as remedial.

 The environment in the class is warm, joyful and encouraging in which children feel secure and confident
and participate freely and without fear.

 Varieties of activities/opportunities are available in the classroom, which enable each child to learn at her/
his own pace and in tune with her/his own learning style.

 The teacher is a friend and a facilitator for the children and allows the center of action to shift in the
classroom from herself/himself to the children

Unlike the teacher-centered approach the learner-centered approach provides scope for a wide range of
experiences for children, which would help to lay the foundation for the following four pillars of learning
that :

 Learning to know

 Learning to do

 Learning to live together

 Learning to be

Few Examples of Learner Centered Methods

 Heuristic Method

 Play way Method

 Montessori Method

 Field Trip

 Discussion

 Role Play

 Kindergarten

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