Tools and Methods of Teaching - NURP 4405 PDF

# Tools and Methods of Teaching - NURP 4405 ## The Concept and Nature of Teaching - What is your perception on the nature of teaching? - Many individuals fail to appreciate what teaching really is and the skills required. - It is important to know what good teaching is and what teaching and learn...

# Tools and Methods of Teaching - NURP 4405 ## The Concept and Nature of Teaching - What is your perception on the nature of teaching? - Many individuals fail to appreciate what teaching really is and the skills required. - It is important to know what good teaching is and what teaching and learning is. - Teaching and learning are opposite sides of the same coin, because a lesson is not taught until it has been learned. - According to Gibran, "the teacher does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to enter the threshold of your mind, for the wisdom of one man lends not its wings to another". - Gibran implies that the teacher does not own any wisdom he wants his students to imitate. Rather, he stimulates students to enable them use their mental faculties to find solutions to their own problems. - Teaching is business. - Profits must come out of it to the student, parents, community and teachers themselves. Therefore, time is money. - Teachers who do not see it this way waste a lot of teaching time in doing other things. - Other teachers even create a bigger mistake by blaming and attacking children who are unable to perform tasks on knowledge they are teaching or have taught. - These issues show that teachers need to understand what teaching means in order to take the right decisions in the classroom. ## Who is a Teacher? - Smith and Ragan (1999) use the term 'teaching' to refer to those learning experiences that are facilitated by a human being (not video, TV, textbook, or computer-based program), a real live. - A teacher has been defined as an expert who is capable of imparting knowledge that will enable learners to build, identify and acquire skills useful to face challenges in life (Senge, 2000). - The teacher is capable of utilizing available opportunities and resources to bring transformation through meaningful education. - This means that teaching is a situation where a more experienced person engages in activities with a less experienced person in order to help the less experienced person to gain some knowledge or skills. - This implies that the teacher is expected to be a more experienced and knowledgeable person than the learner. ## What Then, is Teaching? - Teaching as an Art - Teaching as a Science ## Teaching as an Art - Some argue that teachers are born and not made and that the ability to be an effective teacher cannot be taught. - Teaching as an art is explained in terms of the different skills and tools, verbal and non-verbal communicative skills, and materials with which the teacher presents the learning activities in a meaningful way to the pupils. - If these skills come automatically to some teachers and not much to others, then teaching can be considered as an art. - In this case, it is the teacher's competence in terms of the mastery in the action system skills and subject matter knowledge and personality that give meaning to the art of teaching. - **Personality**: this may be said to be the totality of the physical and psychological characteristics that makes an individual unique. Since people have different personalities, and some have personalities suitable for teaching, it is an Art. - **Action System Knowledge**: these involve skills needed for planning and making decisions about what, when and how to teach, as well as managing the classroom environment for effective learning. ## Teaching as a Science - Teaching as a science is seen in terms of the systematically tested theories and approaches to teaching. - For instance, we have agreed that some people have instinctive characteristics that are good for teaching. Now, is it possible to identify how those instincts are displayed and train teachers on how to exhibit them? - If yes, then one needs to scientifically verify those characteristics and then confirm them before teaching others to use them. - Also, one major characteristic of science is its ability to predict and control the behaviors of the trend being studied. - Teaching is a science because it is possible to predict the outcome of some treatment we give to learners. - For instance, if you give verbal praise to pupils, they will put in more effort. - Since you can predict this, you can control the behavior of learners by either applying or failing to apply the treatment. - The two views are both acceptable in training good teachers. - Today, most educators agree that there is a scientific basis for the art of teaching. Thus, teaching can be viewed as having both artistic and scientific elements. - This means that one can practice and become perfect in applying teaching skills like an art. - One can also study the scientifically tested strategies and procedures for good teaching and apply them. - Generally, Teaching involves helping others to learn or to do something, to think and to solve problems and to react in new ways. - UNESCO (2015): “Teaching is a complex process that involves planning, organizing, and providing instruction to facilitate learning.” - The important thing however is that the information influences the individual and causes a change in behavior of some sort. - American Psychological Association (APA) (2020): “Teaching involves creating conditions that facilitate learning, including setting goals, providing feedback, and promoting motivation.” - Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) (2020): “Teaching involves designing and implementing learning experiences that foster critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.” ## Characteristics of a Good Teacher - A good teacher possesses the following characteristics: - Good leadership skills - Expert communication skills - Superior listening skills - Deep knowledge and passion for their subject matter. - The ability to build caring relationships with students - Friendliness and approachability - Excellent preparation and organization skills - Strong work ethics - Community-building skills - High expectations for all ## Learning - Teaching and learning are actions necessary to accomplish an educational goal. - Effective teaching is one that will bring about the intended learning outcome. - Teaching is perceived as stimulating, directing, guiding the learner and evaluating the learning outcomes of teaching. - The teacher is a person who teaches, controls learning, dispenser of knowledge, an ultimate authority, a director of learning - **Learning is about a change**: the change brought about by developing a new skill, understanding a scientific law, changing an attitude. - **The change is not merely incidental or natural** in the way that our appearance chances as we get older. **Learning is a relatively permanent change**, usually brought about intentionally: When we attend a course, search through a book, or read a discussion paper, we set out to learn. ## Process involved in Teaching and Learning - Teaching-learning is a continuous process consisting of various steps. These steps are; - Plan - Implement - Evaluate ## Teaching-Learning Process - A diagram is described for the teaching-learning process with the following 3 steps: Plan, Implement and Assessment, with Feedbacks and Reflection between the Plan and Implement steps. ## Teaching Instructional as a Process - A process diagram is described, with the following stages: - **Pre-Instructional Stage**: - Deciding instructional objectives - Determining materials and methods of instruction - Deciding evaluating devices - **Instructional Stage**: - Set Induction Introduction - Inducement of Trial Responses - Correction of learning structures - Fixation of correct search image - **Post Instructional Stage**: - Evaluate instruction ## Planning Stage - Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve a desired goal. It is the first and foremost activity to achieve desired results. - Planning Phase includes decisions such as; - The needs of the learner(s) - The achievable goals and objectives to meet the needs - Selection of content to be taught - Motivation to carry out the goal - Strategies most fit to carry out the goals - Evaluation Process to measure the learning outcome. ## Considerations When Planning - Learner - Availability of materials - Time requirements of particular activities - Strategy need to achieve the objective - Teacher ## Implementation Stage - Implementation is to put into action the different activities in order to achieve the objectives through the subject matter. - Use of different teaching styles and strategies such as: - Lecture method - Discussion method - Role play method - Peer teaching - Use skills such as: - **Good Introduction of the lesson**: There is the need to begin lesson in such a way that students' attention is focused on major ideas. This requires linking what you (the teacher) will be discussing to what you are sure the students know about. It is known as Review of Precious Knowledge (RPK). The teacher can effectively do this by arousing the intellectual curiosity of students. - **Explaining**: The teacher must attempt to make certain concepts, ideas and formulas clear for students' complete understanding. Pictures, diagrams, charts, and sketches also help in explaining concepts, ideas, theories, etc. - **Materials must be well used for illustrations**: Make sure the pictures, diagrams, and any other materials used for teaching are visible, clear, easy to understand and relevant to the subject matter. - **Varying stimulus**: The teachers’ attitude, posture, and movement in the classroom plays a significant role in promoting effective and successful teaching and learning. Move from one place to the other with definite purpose. For instance, you move from where you are standing to write a point on the board. Changing speech pattern by varying the tone and pace of your voice at random intervals. This break or reduce monotony and make students alert and attentive. - **Questioning**: Questioning is a tool when properly framed and effectively used, can help find out what students know, assist in directing students to important points in what they are learning. - **Managing students' responses to questions**: In order to make students feel encouraged to make attempts to answer questions in class, the teacher should learn to handle students’ answers with expertise. Show pleasure in every answer that is in any way helpful. Use partially correct answers for further questioning. When an answers is wrong, say so and explain why it is wrong among, do not complete students' answers and discourage chorus answering. - **Achieving closure**: How well do you end a lesson? This can be achieved by revising the major points of the lesson with students, get students to apply knowledge gained in a variety of situations, give assignments in form of questions and guide students to link present knowledge with future learning. ## Assessment Stage - A match of the objective with the learning outcome will be made. - Answer the question if the plans and implementations have been successfully achieved. - It involves measurement and decision-making on an individual's educational traits, potential and actual performance. - Assessment is done to help students, improve teaching, and provide information for interested persons. - **Helping Students**: - Diagnose learning difficulties - Motivate learners - Guide students and teachers - Determine the progress and potentialities of students. - **Improving teaching**: - Determine the extent that objectives are achieved. - Compare progress of students. - **Providing information**: - Screening individuals for promotion - Certify students - Inform parents about performance - For research purpose ## Processes Involved in Teaching and Learning - It can be concluded that teaching is goal-oriented with the change of behavior (learning) as the ultimate "end". ## Conducive Learning Environment - According to Encyclopedia Britanica (2010), conducive learning environment is an environment that allows one to learn more easily. - Khalid (2008:152) defined conducive learning environment as: the environment that satisfies the needs of its participants, not only in the acquisition of numeracy and literacy skills, but is also able to link the economic and occupational needs of the group to literacy with their learning activities. - Conducive learning environment is an environment that allows a free flow of communication between the learners and educators, on one hand, and on the other, the classroom management is adequate. - An environment that is conducive for learning must possess the following elements: - There should be adequate classroom management, interaction, and an acclimation of innovation. - The environment should be participatory in nature. This has to do with active involvement of the learners in the classroom situation. - The environment of the learners should be free from stress. The educator should strive to avoid unhealthy competition among the learners. This is because a competitive environment will create tension. Those that are less endowed will feel marginalized while the vocal ones will dominate the class. But rather encourage the learners to help each other improve. ## Instructional Objectives - Instructional objectives indicate the intended outcomes of the teaching-learning interaction. - They are the ultimate goals and destination of the learner as planned by the teacher. - Objectives aim at providing desirable changes in the behavior of the learner. - Objectives specify what the learner must be able to do after the lesson. - They indicate the behaviors that the learner must exhibit to show what is learned. - The learning outcome of any lesson with properly-formulated objectives may be expressed in several ways. - It can be verbal or non-verbal: That is, the learner may be expected to respond orally, in writing, or demonstrate a certain skill or solve a problem. - Instructional objectives therefore define the purpose, aim, or the rationale for a lesson. - In other words, objectives are what the teacher hopes the student will have been able to achieve by the time the lesson comes to an end. ## Characteristics of Good Objectives - Good lesson objectives must have the following characteristics: They must be - **Clear, concise, and specific** - **Measurable**: Must be themselves to assessment. - **Behavior**: Must be performance-oriented. - **Achievable**: That which can be achieved during or after the lesson. ## Objectives - When objectives are well formulated, they serve very useful purpose for making lesson effective. - **Instructional objectives**: - Set the limit to the content of the lesson. That is, they guide the teacher to select appropriate content for the lesson. - Keep the teacher from wandering away from the topic. - Determine suitable methods or approaches to be employed in delivering the lesson. - Give an indication of suitable teacher and pupil activities. - Guide the teacher to select and prepare relevant teaching-learning materials. - Make it possible for the learning outcome to be evaluated (assessed). ## Formulating Good Objectives - In stating objectives in lesson plan teachers must be careful to specify what they expect their students to be able to achieve "by the end of the lesson". - This phrase is preferred because the intended learning can take place any moment or stage as the lesson progresses. - Objectives should be stated in behavioral terms because they help the teacher have a definite target to aim at during the teaching-learning process. - Some examples of statements of good lesson objectives are: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to: - Wash their hands - Use contraceptives - Know how to live a hygienic life ## Categories of Objectives - Instructional objectives have been categorized into three educational domains: the cognitive domain, psychomotor domain, and affective domain. ### Cognitive doman - This category includes intellectual skills. This domain embraces those objectives which deal with the recall or recognition of knowledge and the development of intellectual abilities and skills. - Bloom (1956) established this domain into six levels of [taxonomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy) or classifications. These six levels are hierarchically arranged from the lowest to the highest level of cognition (thinking). - Knowledge is the lowest level. ### Bloom's Taxonomy - These levels are: - Knowledge - Comprehension - Application - Analysis - Synthesis - Evaluation ### 1. Knowledge - Objectives specified at this level require an ability to recall previously-learned material like simple definitions, facts, rules, procedures, conventions, and principles. Example: show, tabulate, label, name, state, define, identify, etc. ### 2. Comprehension - Objectives formulated at this level require the ability to translate ideas or concepts from one level to another. It involves the ability to grasp the meaning of a concept or problem. For example, by the end of the lesson, students should be able to explain the purpose of learning objectives. - This level involves verbs such as paraphrase, illustrate, describe, classify, convert, explain, restate, give examples, make sense out of, etc. ### 3. Application - Deals with the ability to use concepts and principles in new and concrete situations to solve problems. The learning outcomes at this level require a higher level of understanding than comprehension. Here, students need to recall previously-acquired knowledge and meaning before applying it in a new situation to solve a problem. - Example of verbs used for this level includes: examine, relate, modify, change, classify, experiment, discover, use, construct, apply, demonstrate, calculate, etc. ### 4. Analysis - It involves the ability to break down materials into its component parts and understand its organizational structure. It also involves breaking apart information and ideas into their component parts and showing relationships between parts. - Example of verbs includes: breakdown, correlate, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, focus, compare, and contrast, etc. ### 5. Synthesis - It deals with the ability to produce something unique and to put parts together to form new whole. Here, it is expected that the learner use old ideas to create new ones. - Examples: combine, substitute, integrate, modify, rearrange, plan, create, design, invent, compile, devise, express, incorporate, reconstruct, etc. ### 6. Evaluation - Involves the ability to place a value judgment on data based on personal value/opinions in order to make a decision. It involves reviewing and asserting evidence, facts, and ideas, and then making appropriate statements and judgments. - Example: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to assess the usefulness of Bloom's taxonomy in writing test items. - Assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, judge, etc. ### Psychomotor Domain - This domain is concerned with behavior that deals with skills and manipulations and handling equipment. ### Affective Domain - This domain is concerned with chances in interest, attitude, and values and the development of appreciation and judgment. ## Questions - A lesson is not taught until it is ... - We have various methods of teaching. Write down two of them. - Write two ways of managing answers. - A relatively permanent change in behavior is ... - Write down two goals of nursing. - The ultimate goal of teaching is ... - Two characteristics of instructional objectives ...