SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
AND CURRICULUM STUDIES

BET2101: PEER TEACHING AND MEDIA

copyright@2014-All rights reserved for MKU

MOUNT KENYA UNIVERSITY;P.O BOX 342-01000 Thika:Email:econtent@mku.ac.ke

BET2101: PEER TEACHING AND MEDIA

Credit hours: 3

Pre-requisites: None

Purpose

To give students practical skills, and knowledge in the design, selection, production, utilization

and evaluation of a wide range of media, audio, visual and print media materials that can be used

in modern teaching and learning.

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Conduct micro-teaching lessons in a given classroom climate.

ii) Explain terms like set inductions, peer teaching and a micro-lesson.

iii) Select, design and produce instructional material for classroom teaching

iv) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

v) Apply knowledge, skills and attitude in the implementation of classroom discourse based

on media use and application.

Course Content

 The concept of Micro-teaching

 Peer teaching; micro-lessons

 Set Induction

2
  Skills of asking questions

 Reinforcements

 Lecture techniques; and role play

 Concept of media materials

 Significance and contribution of media materials to teaching and learning

 Systems Approach in teaching

 Development & Management of media materials;

 Methodology of using media materials in teaching and learning

 Preparation of a radio lesson with the help of:

- CD-ROMS

- Audio Cassettes,

- DVDs, and Operating films and film projectors

- LCDs and Still life Pictures for classroom purposes

Teaching / Learning Methodologies: Lectures and tutorials; Group discussion; Demonstration;

Individual assignment; Media materials

Instructional Materials and Equipment: Projector; Text books; Design catalogues; Computer

laboratory; Design software; Simulators

3
Course Assessment: Examination - 70%; Continuous Assessment Test (CATS) - 30%; Total -

100%

Recommended Text Books

i) M.u. Qureshi (2005); New Media And Educational Planning, Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd

ii) Mukwa C.W & M.M. Patel; Design and Use of media in Educational Lecturer

Publications; Burry Ridge Irwin

iii) Wurtzel Alan (1979); Television Production; McGraw Hill Book Company New York

iv) Bittner John R (1980); Broadcasting; An Introduction; Prentice Hall New Jersey

Text Books for further Reading

i) Wittich W.A Schuller C.F (1977); Instructional Technology: Its Nature and Use; New

York Harper and Row

4
TABLE OF CONTENT

WEEK 1

LECTURE ONE

The concept of Micro-teaching…………………………………………………………………7

Peer teaching; micro-lessons …………………………………………………………………..13

Activity …………………………………………………………………………………….19

WEEK 2

LECTURE TWO

Set Induction ………………………………………………………………………………..…19

Skills of asking questions………………………………………………………………………23

Activity ………………………………………………………………………………………...31

WEEK 3

LECTURE THREE

Reinforcements ………………………………………………………………………………….25

Activity …………………………………………………………………………

WEEK 4

LECTURE FOUR

Lecture techniques; and role play ……………………………………………………………….59

Activity …………………………………………………………………………………………

WEEK 5

LECTURE FIVE

Concept of media materials ………………………………………………………………..89

Activity …………………………………………………………………………………….

WEEK 6

5
LECTURE SIX

Significance and contribution of media materials to teaching and learning………………99

Activity ……………………………………………………………………………………102

WEEK 7

LECTURE SEVEN

Systems Approach in teaching…………………………………………………………….103

Development & Management of media materials ……………………………………….105

Activity ……………………………………………………………………………………109

WEEK 8

LECTURE EIGHT

Methodology of using media materials in teaching and learning…………………………111

Activity ……………………………………………………………………………………121

WEEK 9

LECTURE NINE

Preparation of a radio lesson with the help of ……………………………………………..122

- CD-ROMS …………………………………………………………….122

- Audio Cassettes ………………………………………………………123

- DVDs, and Operating films and film projectors ………………………124

- LCDs and Still life Pictures for classroom purposes…………………..128

Activity ……………………………………………………………………………………128

6
LECTURE ONE: MICROTEACHING

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Conduct micro-teaching lessons in a given classroom climate.

INTRODUCTION

Microteaching is a training technique whereby the teacher reviews a videotape of the lesson after

each session, in order to conduct a "post-mortem". Teachers find out what has worked, which

aspects have fallen short, and what needs to be done to enhance their teaching technique.

Invented in the mid-1960s at Stanford University by Dr. Dwight W. Allen, micro-teaching has

been used with success for several decades now, as a way to help teachers acquire new skills.

In the original process, a teacher was asked to prepare a short lesson (usually 20 minutes) for a

small group of learners who may not have been their own students. This was videotaped, using

VHS. After the lesson, the teacher, teaching colleagues, a master teacher and the students

together viewed the videotape and commented on what they saw happening, referencing the

teacher's learning objectives.

Seeing the video and getting comments from colleagues and students provided teachers with an

often intense "under the microscope" view of their teaching.

Micro lessons are great opportunities to present sample "snapshots" of what/how you teach and

to get some feedback from colleagues about how it was received. It's a chance to try teaching

7
strategies that the teacher may not use regularly. It's a good, safe time to experiment with

something new and get feedback on technique.

TECHNIQUES

Since its inception in 1963, microteaching has become an established teacher-training procedure

in many universities and school districts. This training procedure is geared towards

simplification of the complexities of the regular teaching-learning process. Class size, time, task,

and content is scaled down to provide optimal training environments. The supervisor

demonstrates the skill to be practiced.

This may be live demonstration, or a video presentation of the skill. Then, the group members

select a topic and prepare a lesson of five to ten minutes. The teacher trainee then has the

opportunity to practice and evaluate his use of the skills. Practice takes the form of a ten-minute

micro-teaching session in which five to ten pupils are involved.

FEEDBACK

Feedback in microteaching is critical for teacher-trainee improvement. It is the information that a

student receives concerning his attempts to imitate certain patterns of teaching. The built-in

feedback mechanism in micro-teaching acquaints the trainee with the success of his performance

and enables him to evaluate and to improve his teaching behavior.

8
Microteaching - Lesson Plan

Teacher training plays a vital role in the successful implementation of the IT Master Plan. As

part of the Initial Teacher Training programme, the School of Education (SOE) conducts training

in the use of IT, especially in the integration of IT into the school curriculum.

In the IT Foundation and Elective courses conducted by the Instructional Science Division,

trainee teachers, in collaboration with faculty members, produce IT instructional materials. We

call these computer-based instructional materials micro-lessons

The micro-lessons are focused IT-based instructional components that are developed to teach

specific objectives within a lesson. The micro-lessons could consist of instructional activities,

simulations, games, problem-solving activities, mother-tongue materials, and teacher-

presentation materials. They are developed to fit the instructional needs of teachers and students

and their production is based on sound Instructional Design principles.

Teachers have problems locating commercially developed materials that are suitable to our

schools' curriculum and thus there is a need to produce our own materials. In this project, the

micro-lessons will be developed, evaluated, selected and compiled into a resource for school

teachers and will be categorized into subject areas and into primary, secondary and JC levels.

This R & D project will help to fill the need for locally produced instructional materials

1. Background: Topic, Subtopics, Class, Location

Static Electricity: Introduction to electrostatics, charging by induction, and practical uses of static

electricity for Secondary Four Express mixed ability class.

9
As this is a mixed ability class, the lesson will not attempt to cover the entire topic of static

electricity (forgoing the sections on electric fields and hazards of electrostatics). Instead, a more

comprehensive approach to conceptual development and induction by experimentation is

favored.

The class is to be conducted in a computer laboratory, but the students will not require to use

their computers until the second half of the class.

2. Lesson Objectives

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

a) State that there are two types of charges, positive and negative, and that charge is measured in

coulombs.

b) State qualitatively the difference between current and static electricity.

c) Explain that electrostatic charging by friction or rubbing results in a transfer of electrons.

d) State the law of electrostatics, that unlike charges attract and like charges repel.

e) Describe experiments to show electrostatic charging by induction.

f) Describe an example of the use of electrostatic charging (such as a photocopier or spraying of

paint).

3. Students’ Prior Knowledge

Before the lesson, students should be able to:

a. Describe an atom as an electrically neutral entity making up of a positively charged nucleus

(protons and neutrons) with negatively charged electrons moving round the nucleus

b. Describe that a charged ion is formed when an atom gains or loses electron(s)

c. Explain qualitatively what is meant by current in a circuit

10
4. Learning Resources

Students’ material:

– Perspex rods

– Polythene rods

– Retort stand with string

– Plastic ruler

– Pieces of paper

– Long balloons

– Cloth

Teacher’s demonstration material:

– Gold-leaf electroscope

– Metal spheres on insulating stands

– OHP, Power-point slides, Worksheet, Quick-time video, White-board, Markers

5. Set Induction

The lesson begins with a series of hands-on experiments – ―make your own magic‖ – to pique

the students‘ interest in the subject. The material designated ―students‘ material‖ above is

distributed to each pair of students, together with ―Worksheet 1‖ which looks like a quiz, but is

mostly blank except for spaces to fill in their names and class. The (fake) ―quiz‖ element would

help to capture the students‘ attention.

The students are told to inflate the long balloons and try two experiments: run the balloon over

their partners‘ hair and note that it can make his/her hair stand. Next, try to stick the rubbed side

of the balloon against the wall - it will seemingly defying the laws of gravity.

11
The students will then be told to tear up ―Worksheet 1‖ into small pieces of paper, a guideline for

the size of which will be shown on the OHP. This will provide kinesthetic learners a chance for

hands-on activity and greater involvement in their own learning.

Students will place their small pieces of paper on the table and rub their provided plastic rulers

with the cloth. By bringing the ruler near the pieces of paper, students would observe that the

ruler ―magically‖ attracts the pieces of paper to itself, seemingly defying gravity.

At this point, ask the students what kind of forces they know about other than gravity, and

introduce the term ―static electricity‖ to begin the topic. Further hooks into the topic can be

provided with some real-life static electricity examples, such as thunderstorm clouds and

anecdotes of static shock (though the latter is not as applicable in this country).

6. Lesson Development

Teaching Method, Class Organization

The lesson will be led by the teacher, alternating between teacher-centered explanations of new

concepts and student centered experimentation and discussions.

Students will have access to computers for demonstration purposes and for simple research tasks

such as finding examples for the use of static electricity in practical applications.

Teacher-centered instruction will be interspersed with leading / Socratic questions to encourage

higher-order thinking in the students.

12
Use of IT

To liven up the class, a video will be shown at the beginning of class (obtained from Teachers‘

Domain – see references for actual URLs) that demonstrates more dramatically electrostatic

attraction between objects.

As a refresher for the students on the topic of atomic structure, an applet from Physics 2000 will

be used to illustrate the atomic structure of various elements. Animations will be used to provide

visual learning aids. These are obtained from the The Physics Classroom, which provide

animated sequences demonstrating charging by induction on a single metal sphere and two metal

spheres.

This will be used to enhance the experience of seeing the demonstration with the metal spheres,

since the charges on each sphere are not immediately obvious. Since the demonstration can only

be to a small group at a time, other groups will have to do their own reading on this site to fill up

the worksheet provided.

Collaborative Learning

Students will be working in pairs for the mini-experiments that they have to perform, for

example with the balloons and paper in the first experiment, and later again with the different

types of rods to determine the existence of like and unlike charges.

The students will be encouraged to work together to determine answers to their worksheets.

Using the ―think-pair-share‖ strategy, the students will discuss in pairs and some will be called

upon to present their findings to the class.

13
8. Lesson Closure

Students will be asked to recall what they have learnt during the lesson before being presented

with a brief summary, serving to address the content and process learning outcomes of the

lesson. They will be told to complete their worksheets.

These worksheets will serve as indicators of successful learning, hence one of the worksheets is

a simple concept map of what they have learnt in this class that can be completed and discussed

in class to clarify any alternative conceptions.

14
• If an atom is electrically neutral, what happens when you remove an electron of charge

negative-one from it?

• Where else have you seen the phenomenon of static electricity?

• What do you remember learning about electricity? How is this different?

MICRO-LESSONS

Micro-lessons are IT-based instructional materials that are used to teach specific

objectives. They are small and specific units of instruction for teachers to use within

lessons. The micro-lessons developed span many curricular content areas, and are suitable

for supporting a wide variety of learning outcomes. The majority of the micro-lessons are

student-centered materials that incorporate various computer features (e.g. animation,

graphics, sound, interactivity) that will enhance the teaching-learning process.

In the first generation micro-lessons, the projects were mainly student-centered projects

adopting a direct instructional approach. Most of the micro-lessons developed under this

phase adopted one of these common modes of instruction: tutorial(teach some content and

then test the students' understanding of the content), drill or informational multimedia.

These are mainly used for transmission of knowledge in curricular areas. Multimedia

features are also used in these micro-lessons to help enhance the learning process.

15
In the second generation micro-lessons, the learning paradigm has shifted from knowledge

transmission (as in the 1st Generation lessons) to one which allows students to explore,

construct and create knowledge through various computer-based learning activities.

Generally, these micro-lessons consist of two parts.

In the first part, students are presented with some multimedia instructional materials and

these could be in the form of an ill-defined problem, a case study, a scenario, or a situation.

In the second part, the students may access some linked documents that requires them to be

involved in some form of higher order activities such as generating possible solutions,

solving complex problems, accessing the web to collect information, exploring a simulation

or to collaborate on a piece of work.

We can now classify these micro-lessons into five types:

1) Resource-based

In this approach, various links to the WWW can be established and students will access the web

sites to collect information, facts, opinions and then synthesize them or compare the We can now

classify these micro-lessons into five types:

2) Problem-based

micro-lessons can now be used to present "instructional problems" in a multimedia fashion

through which activities can be formulated and where students can be engaged in the process of

investigation and problem-solving. For example, a video-clip of a water shortage problem in

16
Singapore can be presented and students would be made to undergo a scientifically sound

investigative process where possible causes and solutions found.

3) Case-based

Another more generic approach besides the problem-based method is for a "case" or scenario to

be presented to students through the micro-lessons. Through such an approach, students would

have to consider the learning situations and the problems associated with it. From the

considerations of problem-identification, students can then be made to determine the possible

solutions and alternatives. Through the process, students need to access other resources most

possibly from the WWW.

4) Collaborative-based

In this approach, students can be asked to work collaboratively or in pairs to undergo an

instructional activity presented intentionally in the micro-lessons to be jointly worked through.

For example, tasks can be assigned to different individuals and they work on different pieces of

the "puzzle" and later come together to co-construct the entire "jig-saw puzzle".

Because micro-lessons can be linked to other applications, the possibilities of different kinds of

co-construction tasks can be varied and many-fold.

5) Simulation-based

finally micro-lessons can also be used to create simulations where students can observe

particular phenomena and learn from the processes and the variables that will affect the

simulated actions. Again, because micro-lessons can be linked to Java applets (for example) and

other applications such as the geo-meter sketchpad, simulations become a reality.

17
ACTIVITY

1. What do you observe from the initial demonstrations? What do you think it is caused by?

2. Discuss the types of Micro-Lesson.

REFERENCES

Electronic media gadgets that can be used to facilitate effective feedback is a vital aspect of

micro-teaching.(Teg, 2007).

18
LECTURE 2: SET INDUCTION

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Explain terms like set inductions, peer teaching and a micro-lesson.

INTRODUCTION

Set induction is about preparation, usually for a formal lesson. When the students are set, they

are ready to learn ('are you set?'). Set induction is thus about getting them ready, inducing them

into the right mind-set.

 Set is a mental state of readiness

 Induction brings it on

 Set Induction gets learners thinking and ready for the lesson

 Anticipatory Set is another name used

Set induction should:

 Contain a statement of the learning

 Relate the objective

 Involve the learner in the learning

State of Learning

Provides a reference point between what the student knows and the new material, thus creating a

link from one lesson or class to the next.

Relate the Objective

19
Relating the objective to some experience past, present and future helps in retention and transfer

at a later time.

Techniques for Involvement of the Learner in the Learning

 Covert

 Overt

 Questions

 Activity

 Pictures

 Objects

 Cartoons

 Stories

 Anecdotes

 Outlines

 Transparencies

 Summarizing

Facilitating Sets

 Used to summarize information presented in previous lessons

 Used to summarize information that will occur

 Emphasizes the cognitive aspects of a new lesson by reviewing or summarizing

Motivating Sets

Catch the students attention

 Arouses curiosity

20
 Poses interesting questions

 Uses dramatic appeal

 Creates a need or interest

 Induces an affective or emotional response

Summary

 It is best to provide both motivating and facilitating sets

 Monitor behavior by involving students in overt behavior

SET EXAMPLES

How Sets are used before any new activity, from introduction of a new concept to giving

homework. It is important in each set both to create clarity about what is expected happen (both

what you will do and what they should do), and to create motivation for this to occur, with

students being fully engaged in the learning.

Set induction can be done by such as:

 Explaining potential benefits to the learner.

 Giving clear instructions.

 Describing what is going to happen.

The STEP acronym may be used to help remember what to do:

 Start: Welcome the students, settle them down and gain attention.

 Transact: Understand their expectations and explain yours. Link with previous learning.

 Evaluate: Assess the gap between their expectations and current reality. Clarify any

discrepancies for them.

21
  Progress: Move on to the main body of learning.

Perrott (1982) identified four purposes of set induction.

1. Focusing attention on what is to be learned by gaining the interest of students.

2. Moving from old to new materials and linking of the two.

3. Providing a structure for the lesson and setting expectations of what will happen.

4. Giving meaning to a new concept or principle, such as giving examples.

ACTIVITY

1. If you are teaching, think about and prepare carefully how to get your students in the

right state of mind to be ready to understand and learn.

Reference

Perrott, E. ((1982). Effective Teaching: A Practical Guide to Improving Your Teaching, New

York: Longman

SKILLS IN QUESTIONING

INTRODUCTION

Skills in questioning are very useful in many applications, including interviewing, coaching,

designing questionnaires and interpersonal relations. They also are useful in asking oneself and

others various questions to help them reflect on their experiences and to learn.

22
Traits of Destructive Questions

Before suggesting guidelines to conduct supportive questioning, it is important for you to know

what types of questions to avoid. Consider these guidelines:

1. Avoid asking questions that can be answered simply with ―yes‖ or ―no.‖You and your

employee gain little understanding or direction from such pointed questions that have

such short answers. Instead, consider questions that start with ―What,‖ ―How,‖ ―When‖

and ―Where.‖

2. Avoid leading questions. Leading questions are questions that are asked to lead another to

a certain pre-determined conclusion or insight.

3. Those questions can be perceived by the other as manipulative and dishonest. Leading

questions often can be answered with ―yes‖ or ―no,‖ for example, ―You did what I

suggested, right?‖

4. Avoid frequently asking questions that begin with ―Why.‖

Those types of questions can leave others feeling defensive, as if they are to be accountable to

you to justify their actions. That feeling of defensiveness can damage feelings of trust and

openness between you and your employees.

Skills in questioning are very useful in many applications, including interviewing, coaching,

designing questionnaires and interpersonal relations. They also are useful in asking oneself and

others various questions to help them reflect on their experiences and to learn.

23
Traits of Useful Questions

Consider these guidelines:

1. Where possible, use open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are those that are not

answered with ―yes‖ or ―no.‖ They generate thinking and reflection on the part of the

person you are coaching. They also ensure that the person keeps focused in the coaching

session.

2. Focus questions on the here-and-now .The goal of coaching is to help the person to go

forward by changing how he/she looks at the problem, identifying realistic actions to

take, and learning from those actions.

3. Ask questions to clarify what the other is saying. Clarifying questions help you and the

person you are coaching to understand the key point or ―bottom line‖ of what he/she is

saying. They often lead to discovering the root cause of issues.

4. Ask questions about the person‘s perspectives, assumptions and actions . Adults can learn

a great deal by closely examining their own thinking. Often, they struggle because of

inaccurate perceptions or assumptions. Therefore, ask questions about their thinking,

assumptions and beliefs about current priorities. Do not ask lots of questions about other

people – you cannot coach people who are not with you.

Ask the other person for help. It can be powerful when you show enough trust and confidence in

the relationship with your employee that you can ask him/her for help with helping them. For

example, you might ask, ―What question should I ask you?‖ or ―What additional questions

should I be asking now?‖

24
Powerful Questions

A fundamental skill in the coach‘s toolbox is the ability to ask powerful questions. Powerful

questions evoke clarity, introspection, lend to enhanced creativity and help provide solutions.

Questions are powerful when they have an impact on the client which causes them to think.

Learning to ask powerful questions will help you augment your personal and business

communication.

The most effective powerful questions begin with ―What‖ or ―How‖, are short and to the point.

When questioning, be genuinely curious about the person you are speaking to.

Here are some powerful questions that can help you be more effective in many situations.

1. What do you want?

2. What will that give you?

3. What is important about that?

4. What is holding you back?

5. What if you do nothing?

6. What is this costing you?

7. How much control do you have in this situation?

8. What do you need to say ―no‖ to?

9. How can you make this easy?

10. What options do you have?

11. What will you do? By when?

12. What support do you need to assure success?

25
 13. How will you know you have been successful?

14. What are you learning from this?

Traits of Strategic Questions

A strategic question (from "Strategic Questioning" by Peavey, in In Context, No. 40):

1. Creates motion -- Gears to "How can we move?"

2. Creates options -- Instead of "Why don't you ..?", asks "Where would you ...?"

3. Digs deeper -- "What needs to be changed?" "What is the meaning of this?"

4. Avoids "why."

5. Avoids "yes" and "no" questions -- These leave the presenter in a passive or uncreative state.

6. Empowers -- "What would you like to do?"

7. Asks the un-ask-able questions.

Examples of Powerful Questions

1. How important is this?

2. Where do you feel stuck?

3. What is the intent of what you're saying?

4. What can we do for you?

5. What do you think the problem is?

6. What's your role in this issue?

7. What have you tried so far? What worked? What didn't?

8. Have you experienced anything like this before? (If so, what did you do?)

9. What can you do for yourself?

26
10. What do you hope for?

11. What's preventing you from ..."

12. What would you be willing to give up for that?

13. If you could change one thing, what would it be?

14. Imagine a point in the future where your issue is resolved. How did you get there?

15. What would you like us to ask?

16. What have you learned?

FIVE BASIC TYPES OF QUESTIONS

The art of asking questions is an ancient part of good teaching and one of the basic skills all

teachers should be able to master. Socrates believed that knowledge and awareness were an

intrinsic part of each learner. Thus, in exercising the craft of good pedagogy a skilled educator

must reach into learners‘ hidden levels of knowing and awareness in order to help the them reach

new levels of thinking through thoughtfully developed questions.

1. Factual - Soliciting reasonably simple, straight forward answers based on obvious facts or

awareness. These are usually at the lowest level of cognitive (thinking) or affective (feeling)

processes and answers are frequently either right or wrong.

Example: Name the Shakespeare play about the Prince of Denmark?

2. Convergent – Answers to these types of questions are usually within a very finite range of

acceptable accuracy. These may be at several different levels of cognition

27
— Comprehension, application, analysis, or ones where the answerer makes inferences or

conjectures based on personal awareness, or on material read, presented or known. While these

types of questions are valuable in exercising mid-level cognitive thinking skills, it is quite easy to

expand students‘ cognitive processes even higher by adding another layer to these questions

whereby teachers ask students to justify their answers in light of the evidence offered or the

inferences made.

Example: On reflecting over the entirety of the play Hamlet, what were the main reasons why

Ophelia went mad? (This is not specifically stated in one direct statement in the text of Hamlet.

Here the reader must make simple inferences as to why she committed suicide.)

5. Divergent – These questions allow students to explore different avenues and create many

different variations and alternative answers or scenarios. Correctness may be based on

logical projections, may be contextual, or arrived at through basic knowledge, conjecture,

inference,

6. Projection, creation, intuition, or imagination. These types of questions often require

students to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize a knowledge base and then project or predict

different outcomes. Answering these types of questions may be aided by higher levels of

affective thinking as well — such as valuing, organization, or characterization.

Responses to these types of questions generally fall into a wide array of acceptability.

Often correctness is determined subjectively based on the possibility or probability of the

proposed answer.

The intent of these types of questions is to stimulate imaginative, creative, or inventive thought,

or investigate ―cause and effect‖ relationships.

28
Example: In the love relationship of Hamlet and Ophelia, what might have happened to their

relationship and their lives if Hamlet had not been so obsessed with the revenge of his father‘s

death?

4. Evaluative - These types of questions usually require sophisticated levels of cognitive and/or

emotional (affective) judgment. In attempting to answer these types of questions, students may

be combining multiple cognitive and/or affective processes or levels, frequently in comparative

frameworks. Often an answer is analyzed at multiple levels and from different perspectives

before the answerer arrives at newly synthesized information or conclusions.

Examples:

a. Compare and contrast the death of Ophelia with that of Juliet?

b. What are the similarities and differences between Roman gladiatorial games and modern

football?

c. Why and how might the concept of Piagetian schema be related to the concepts presented in

Jungian personality theory, and why might this be important to consider in teaching and

learning?

5. Combinations – These are questions that blend any combination of the above.

You can easily monitor what types of questions you are asking your students through simple

tallies and examining degrees of difficulty.

Factual

Her factual are still the ones that are easily answered with definitive, and comparatively simple

answers. These are the questions that you find on the show Jeopardy. Unfortunately they are also

too common in schools and on tests.

29
Conceptual

Her conceptual questions might be ones that are convergent, divergent, or evaluative in

construction — ones that delve deeper and require more sophisticated levels of cognitive

processing and thinking.

Provocative

Her provocative ones are ones that entice, and ones that cannot be answered easily. They are

questions that can be used to motivate and frame content or ones that could be classified as

Essential questions. In the initial categorization above they would be either complex divergent

questions or more sophisticated combination questions like divergent/evaluative ones.

ACTIVITY

1. What are essential questions, discuss them

2. Skills in questioning are very useful in many applications, including interviewing,

coaching, designing questionnaires and interpersonal relations.

3. They also are useful in asking oneself and others various questions to help them reflect

on their experiences and to learn.

4. Discuss traits of useful questions

REFERENCE

Erickson, H. L. (2007Concept-based curriculum and instruction for the thinking classroom.

Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press.

The Value of questions

"Asking good questions is productive, positive, creative, and can get us what we want".1 Most

people believe this to be true and yet people do not ask enough good questions. Perhaps one of

the reasons for this is that effective questioning requires it be combined with effective listening.

30
Effective questions help you:

 Connect with your clients in a more meaningful way

 Better and more fully understand your client's problem

 Have clients experience you as an understanding, competent lawyer

 Work with your staff more effectively

 Help your staff take responsibility for their actions and solve problems within the

workplace more easily

 Cross examine more effectively

 Take revealing depositions

 Gather better information

 Do more solution oriented problem solving

 Improve your negotiating skills

 Reduce mistakes

 Take the sting out of feedback

 Defuse volatile situations

 Get cooperation

 Plant your own ideas

 Persuade people

Effective Questions

Effective questions are questions that are powerful and thought provoking. Effective questions

are open-ended and not leading questions. They are not "why" questions, but rather "what" or

"how" questions.
31
"Why" questions are good for soliciting information, but can make people defensive so be

thoughtful in your use of them. When asking effective questions, it is important to wait for the

answer and not provide the answer.

When working with people to solve a problem, it is not enough to tell them what the problem is.

They need to find out or understand it for themselves. You help them do this by asking them

thought provoking questions. Rather than make assumptions find out what the person you are

talking to knows about the problem.

For example: "What do you think the problem is?"

Behind effective questioning is also the ability to listen to the answer and suspend judgment.

This means being intent on understanding what the person who is talking is really saying.

What is behind their words? Let go of your opinions so that they don't block you from learning

more information. Pay attention to your gut for additional information.

Listening as Part of Effective Questioning

Effective listening is a skill that requires nurturing and needs development. Since lawyers are

smart, the temptation is to get by with listening at a minimal level. To connect with your client

and have them experience you as an effective lawyer requires you to maintain superior listening

skills along with asking effective questions.

Factors that may work against effective listening include:

1. A desire to keep control of the conversation.

2. As highly trained professionals, lawyers want to demonstrate their intelligence and skills

so they often want to give the answer before they have fully heard the question.

32
 3. Listening may result in hearing the client express feelings and emotions and some

lawyers are uncomfortable with emotions and feelings being expressed. They think it is

not within a lawyer's role or that it is unprofessional to do so.

When we really listen to a client, we begin to hear different levels of communication. Getting to

a deeper level of understanding, rather than coming up with an immediate answer, is key to more

effective problem solving. Listening in this manner allows the client to come up with their own

solution or plan of action.

Consider the following different levels of listening:

Level 1 Listening:

When we are listening at level 1 our focus or attention is on how the words the other person is

saying affect ourselves with minimal concern for the person talking.

We listen for the words of the other person to see how they affect us. The attention is on me -

what are my thoughts, judgments, issues, conclusions and feelings.

There is no room to let in the feelings of the person being "listened" to. When listening at level 1

our opinions and judgments arise. Level 1 listening is appropriate when you are gathering

information for yourself like getting directions or ordering in a restaurant or a store.

Level 2 Listening:

When we listen at level 2, there is a deeper focus on the person being listened to.

This often means not even being aware of the context. Our awareness is totally on the other

person. We notice what they say as well as how they say it and what they don't say.

We listen for what they value and what is important to them.

33
We listen for what gives them energy or sadness or resignation. We let go of judgment. We are

no longer planning what we are going to say next. We respond to what we actually hear.

Level 3 Listening:

When we listen more deeply than the two levels described above, in addition to the conversation

we take in all information that surrounds the conversation.

We are aware of the context and the impact of the context on all parties. We include all our

senses, in particular our intuition

. We consider what is not being said and we notice the energy in the room and in the person we

are listening to. We use that information to ask more effective questions.

Listening Skills as part of Effective Questioning include:

Articulating

Attention and awareness result in articulation and succinctly describing what we have learned

from our client. Sharing our observation clearly but without judgment does this. We can repeat

back to our clients just what they said.

We can expand on this by articulating back to them what we believe they mean. This helps a

person feel heard. For example: "What I hear you saying is . . ."

Clarifying

Clarifying is a combination of asking and clearly articulating what we have heard. By asking

questions our client knows we are listening and filling in the gaps. When our client is being

vague, it is important for us to clarify the circumstances.

34
We can assist them to see what they can't see themselves by making a suggestion. For example:

"Here's what I hear you saying. Is that right? "

Being Curious

Do not assume you know the answer or what your client is going to tell you. Wait and be curious

about what brings them to see you. What motivates them? What is really behind the meeting?

Use your curiosity so that your next question can go deeper.

Silence

Giving the person we are listening to time to answer questions is an important aspect of listening.

Waiting for the client to talk rather than talking for them is imperative for an effective listener.

ACTIVITY

1. Discuss how to apply different levels of listening:

REFERENCE

Erickson, H. L. (2007Concept-based curriculum and instruction for the thinking classroom.

Thousand Oaks, CA. Corwin Press.

35
LECTURE 3: REINFORCEMENT

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Explain terms like reinforcement, types of reinforcement and their impact

INTRODUCTION

B.F. Skinner was a high profile researcher that articulated many of the theoretical constructs of

reinforcement and behaviorism. Skinner defined reinforcers according to the change in response

strength rather than to more subjective criteria, such as what is pleasurable or valuable to

someone.

Accordingly, activities, foods or items considered pleasant or enjoyable may not necessarily be

reinforcing (because they produce no increase in the response preceding them). Stimuli, settings,

and activities only fit the definition of reinforcers if the behavior that immediately precedes the

potential reinforcer increases in similar situations in the future, for example, a child who receives

a sweet when he or she asks for one.

If the frequency of "sweet-requesting behavior" increases, the sweet can be seen as reinforcing

"sweet-requesting behavior". If however, "sweet-requesting behavior" does not increase the

sweet cannot be considered reinforcing.

The sole criteria that determines if an item, activity, or food is reinforcing is the change in

probability of a behavior after administration of that potential reinforce.

Other theories may focus on additional factors such as whether the person expected the strategy

to work at some point, but in the behavioral theory, reinforcement is descriptive of an increased

probability of a response.
36
The study of reinforcement has produced an enormous body of reproducible experimental

results. Reinforcement is the central concept and procedure in special education, applied

behavior analysis, and the experimental analysis of behavior.

Definition

Reinforcement refers to an enhancement of behavior but this term may also refer to an

enhancement of memory. One example of this effect is called post-training reinforcement where

a stimulus (e.g. food) given shortly after a training session enhances the learning.

This stimulus can also be an emotional one. A good example is that many people can explain in

detail where they were when they found out the World Trade Center was attacked.

Reinforcement is an important part of operant or instrumental conditioning.

Diagram of operant conditioning

37
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence that will strengthen an organism's

future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus.

This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher frequency of behavior (e.g., pulling a

lever more frequently), longer duration (e.g., pulling a lever for longer periods of time), greater

magnitude (e.g., pulling a lever with greater force), or shorter latency (e.g., pulling a lever more

quickly following the antecedent stimulus).

Although in many cases a reinforcing stimulus is a rewarding stimulus which is "valued" or

"liked" by the individual (e.g., money received from a slot machine, the taste of the treat, the

euphoria produced by an addictive drug), this is not a requirement. Indeed, reinforcement does

not even require an individual to consciously perceive an effect elicited by the stimulus.

Furthermore, stimuli that are "rewarding" or "liked" are not always reinforcing: if an individual

eats at a fast food restaurant (response) and likes the taste of the food (stimulus), but believes it is

bad for their health, they may not eat it again and thus it was not reinforcing in that condition.

Thus, reinforcement occurs only if there is an observable strengthening in behavior.

History of reinforcement

Much of the work regarding reinforcement began with behavioral psychologists such as Edward

Thorndike, J. B. Watson and B.F. Skinner and their use of animal experiments. B.F. Skinner is

famous for his work on reinforcement and believed that positive reinforcement is superior to

punishment in shaping behavior.

At first glance, punishment can seem like just the opposite of reinforcement, yet Skinner argued

that they differ immensely; he claimed that positive reinforcement results in lasting behavioral
38
modification (long-term) whereas punishment changes behavior only temporarily (short-term)

and has many detrimental side-effects.

Skinner defined reinforcement as creating situations that a person likes or removing a situation

he doesn't like, and punishment as removing a situation a person likes or setting up one he

doesn't like.

Thus, the distinction was based mainly on the pleasant or aversive (unpleasant) nature of the

stimulus.

Two other researchers, Azrin and Holz, expanded upon operant conditioning by focusing on the

definition of punishment in their chapter to Honig‘s volume on operant behavior, and they

defined it as a ―consequence of behavior that reduces the future probability of that behavior.‖

Skinner‘s assumptions regarding reinforcement and punishment were thus challenged

throughout the 1960s, and some studies have shown that positive reinforcement and punishment

are equally effective in modifying behavior; that debate, however, continues in studies today as

to whether or not reinforcement is more or equally as effective as punishment.

Edward Thorndike also did some work regarding reinforcement in learning theory and believed

that learning could occur unconsciously; that is, reinforcements or punishments could have an

effect upon learning even if the person or organism is unaware of it.

The research on the effects of positive and negative reinforcement alongside punishment

continue today as those concepts apply directly to many forms of learning and behavior.

Operant conditioning

39
The basic definition is that a positive reinforcer adds a stimulus to increase or maintain

frequency of a behavior while a negative reinforcer removes a stimulus to increase or maintain

the frequency of the behavior. As mentioned above, positive and negative reinforcement are

components of operant conditioning, along with positive punishment and negative punishment,

all explained below:

Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement occurs when an event or stimulus is presented as a consequence of a

behavior and the behavior increases.

 Example: Whenever a rat presses a button, it gets a treat. If the rat starts pressing the

button more often, the treat serves to positively reinforce this behavior.

 Example: A father gives candy to his daughter when she picks up her toys. If the

frequency of picking up the toys increases, the candy is a positive reinforcer (to reinforce

the behavior of cleaning up).

Negative reinforcement occurs when the rate of a behavior increases because an aversive event

or stimulus is removed or prevented from happening.

 Example: A child cleans his or her room, and this behavior is followed by the parent

stopping "nagging" or asking the child repeatedly to do so. Here, the nagging serves to

negatively reinforce the behavior of cleaning because the child wants to remove that

aversive stimulus of nagging.

40
  Example: A person puts ointment on a bug bite to soothe an itch. If the ointment works,

the person will likely increase the usage of the ointment because it resulted in removing

the itch, which is the negative reinforcer.

Punishment

Positive punishment occurs when a response produces a stimulus and that responses decreases

in probability in the future in similar circumstances.

 Example: A mother yells at a child when he or she runs into the street. If the child stops

running into the street, the yelling acts as positive punishment because the mother

presents (adds) an unpleasant stimulus in the form of yelling.

Negative punishment occurs when a response produces the removal of a stimulus and that

response decreases in probability in the future in similar circumstances.

 Example: A teenager comes home after curfew and the parents take away a privilege,

such as cell phone usage. If the frequency of the child coming home late decreases, the

removal of the phone is negative punishment because the parents are taking away a

pleasant stimulus (the phone) and motivating the child to return home earlier.

Simply

put, reinforcers serve to increase behaviors whereas punishers serve to decrease behaviors; thus,

positive reinforcers are stimuli that the subject will work to attain, and negative reinforcers are

stimuli that the subject will work to be rid of or to end.

Further ideas and concepts:

41
 Distinguishing between positive and negative can be difficult and may not always be

necessary; focusing on what is being removed or added and how it is being removed or

added will determine the nature of the reinforcement.

 Negative reinforcement is not punishment. The two, as explained above, differ in the

increase (negative reinforcement) or decrease (punishment) of the future probability of a

response. However, in negative reinforcement, the stimulus is an aversive stimulus,

which if presented contingent on a response, may also function as a positive punisher.

 The increase in behavior is independent of (i.e. not related to) whether or not the

organism finds the reinforcer to be pleasant or aversive. Example: A child is given

detention for acting up in school, but the frequency of the bad behavior increases. Thus,

the detention is a reinforcer (could be positive or negative) even if the detention is not a

pleasant stimuli, perhaps because the child now feels like a "rebel" or sees it as an

opportunity to get out of class.

 Some reinforcement can be simultaneously positive and negative, such as a drug addict

taking drugs for the added euphoria (a positive feeling) and eliminating withdrawal

symptoms (which would be a negative feeling). Or, in a warm room, a current of external

air serves as positive reinforcement because it is pleasantly cool and as negative

reinforcement because it removes uncomfortable hot air.

 Both positive and negative reinforcement increase behavior. Most people, especially

 children, will learn to follow instruction by a mix of positive and negative reinforcement.

42
Primary reinforcers

A primary reinforcer, sometimes called an unconditioned reinforcer, is a stimulus that does not

require pairing to function as a reinforcer and most likely has obtained this function through the

evolution and its role in species' survival.

Examples of primary reinforcers include sleep, food, air, water, and sex. Some primary

reinforcers, such as certain drugs, may mimic the effects of other primary reinforcers. While

these primary reinforcers are fairly stable through life and across individuals, the reinforcing

value of different primary reinforcers varies due to multiple factors (e.g., genetics, experience).

Thus, one person may prefer one type of food while another abhors it.

Or one person may eat lots of food while another eats very little. So even though food is a

primary reinforcer for both individuals, the value of food as a reinforcer differs between them.

Secondary reinforcers

A secondary reinforcer, sometimes called a conditioned reinforcer, is a stimulus or situation that

has acquired its function as a reinforcer after pairing with a stimulus that functions as a

reinforcer. This stimulus may be a primary reinforcer or another conditioned reinforcer

(such as money).

An example of a secondary reinforcer would be the sound from a clicker, as used in clicker

training. The sound of the clicker has been associated with praise or treats, and subsequently, the

sound of the clicker may function as a reinforcer. As with primary reinforcers, an organism can

experience satiation and deprivation with secondary reinforcers.

43
Other reinforcement terms

 A generalized reinforcer is a conditioned reinforcer that has obtained the reinforcing

function by pairing with many other reinforcers and functions as a reinforcer under a

wide-variety of motivating operations. (One example of this is money because it is paired

with many other reinforcers).

 In reinforcer sampling, a potentially reinforcing but unfamiliar stimulus is presented to an

organism without regard to any prior behavior.

 Socially-mediated reinforcement (direct reinforcement) involves the delivery of

reinforcement that requires the behavior of another organism.

 The Premack principle is a special case of reinforcement elaborated by David Premack,

which states that a highly-preferred activity can be used effectively as a reinforcer for a

less-preferred activity.

 Reinforcement hierarchy is a list of actions, rank-ordering the most desirable to least

desirable consequences that may serve as a reinforcer. A reinforcement hierarchy can be

used to determine the relative frequency and desirability of different activities, and is

often employed when applying the Premack principle.

 Contingent outcomes are more likely to reinforce behavior than non-contingent

responses. Contingent outcomes are those directly linked to a causal behavior, such a

light turning on being contingent on flipping a switch. Note that contingent outcomes are

not necessary to demonstrate reinforcement, but perceived contingency may increase

learning.

44
  Contiguous stimuli are stimuli closely associated by time and space with specific

behaviors. They reduce the amount of time needed to learn a behavior while increasing

its resistance to extinction. Giving a dog a piece of food immediately after sitting is more

contiguous with (and therefore more likely to reinforce) the behavior than a several

minute delay in food delivery following the behavior.

 Non-contingent reinforcement refers to response-independent delivery of stimuli

identified as reinforcers for some behaviors of that organism. However, this typically

entails time-based delivery of stimuli identified as maintaining aberrant behavior, which

decreases the rate of the target behavior. As no measured behavior is identified as being

strengthened, there is controversy surrounding the use of the term non-contingent

"reinforcement".

ACTIVITY

1. Discuss how to apply different types of reinforcement

Natural and artificial reinforcement

Charles Ferster in his 1967 paper, Arbitrary and Natural Reinforcement, proposed classifying

reinforcement into events that increase frequency of an operant as a natural consequence of the

behavior itself, and events that are presumed to affect frequency by their requirement of human

mediation, such as in a token economy where subjects are "rewarded" for certain behavior with

an arbitrary token of a negotiable value. In 1970, Baer and Wolf created a name for the use of

natural reinforcers called "behavior traps".

45
A behavior trap requires only a simple response to enter the trap, yet once entered, the trap

cannot be resisted in creating general behavior change. It is the use of a behavioral trap that

increases a person's repertoire, by exposing them to the naturally occurring reinforcement of that

behavior. Behavior traps have four characteristics:

Artificial reinforcement is in fact created to build or develop skills, and to generalize, it is

important that either a behavior trap is introduced to "capture" the skill and utilize naturally

occurring reinforcement to maintain or increase it.

This behavior trap may simply be a social situation that will generally result from a specific

behavior once it has met a certain criterion (e.g., if you use edible reinforcers to train a person to

say hello and smile at people when they meet them, after that skill has been built up, the natural

reinforcer of other people smiling, and having more friendly interactions will naturally reinforce

the skill and the edibles can be faded).

Intermittent reinforcements

Pigeons experimented on in a scientific study were more responsive to intermittent

reinforcements, than positive reinforcements. In other words, pigeons were more prone to act

when they only sometimes could get what they wanted. This effect was such that behavioral

responses were maximized when the reward rate was at 50% (in other words, when the

uncertainty was maximized), and would gradually decline toward values on either side of

50%.R.B Sparkman, a journalist specialized on what motivates human behavior, claims this is

also true for humans, and may in part explain human tendencies such as gambling addiction.

46
When an animal's surroundings are controlled, its behavior patterns after reinforcement become

predictable, even for very complex behavior patterns. A schedule of reinforcement is a rule or

program that determines how and when the occurrence of a response will be followed by the

delivery of the reinforcer, and extinction, in which no response is reinforced.

Schedules of reinforcement influence how an instrumental response is learned and how it is

maintained by reinforcement.

Between these extremes is intermittent or partial reinforcement where only some responses are

reinforced.

Specific variations of intermittent reinforcement reliably induce specific patterns of response,

irrespective of the species being investigated (including humans in some conditions).

The orderliness and predictability of behavior under schedules of reinforcement was evidence

for B.F. Skinner's claim that by using operant conditioning he could obtain "control over

behavior", in a way that rendered the theoretical disputes of contemporary comparative

psychology obsolete. The reliability of schedule control supported the idea that a radical

behaviorist experimental analysis of behavior could be the foundation for a psychology that did

not refer to mental or cognitive processes.

The reliability of schedules also led to the development of applied behavior analysis as a means

of controlling or altering behavior.

Many of the simpler possibilities, and some of the more complex ones, were investigated at great

length by Skinner using pigeons, but new schedules continue to be defined and investigated.

 Differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior

47
 – Used to reduce a frequent behavior without punishing it by reinforcing an incompatible

response. An example would be reinforcing clapping to reduce nose picking.

 Differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO)

– Also known as omission training procedures, an instrumental conditioning procedure

in which a positive reinforcer is periodically delivered only if the participant does

something other than the target response. An example would be reinforcing any hand

action other than nose picking.

 Differential reinforcement of low response rate (DRL)

– Used to encourage low rates of responding. It is like an interval schedule, except that

premature responses reset the time required between behavior.

o Lab example: DRL10" = a rat is reinforced for the first response after 10 seconds,

but if the rat responds earlier than 10 seconds there is no reinforcement and the rat

has to wait 10 seconds from that premature response without another response

before bar pressing will lead to reinforcement.

o Real world example: "If you ask me for a potato chip no more than once every 10

minutes, I will give it to you. If you ask more often, I will give you none.

 Differential reinforcement of high rate (DRH)

– Used to increase high rates of responding. It is like an interval schedule, except that a

minimum number of responses are required in the interval in order to receive

reinforcement.

48
 o Lab example: DRH10"/15 responses = a rat must press a bar 15 times within a 10

second increment to get reinforced.

o Real world example: "If Lance Armstrong is going to win the Tour de France he

has to pedal x number of times during the y-hour race."

 Fixed time (FT)

– Provides reinforcement at a fixed time since the last reinforcement, irrespective of

whether the subject has responded or not. In other words, it is a non-contingent schedule.

o Lab example: FT5" = rat gets food every 5" regardless of the behavior.

o Real world example: a person gets an annuity check every month regardless of

behavior between checks

 Variable time (VT)

– Provides reinforcement at an average variable time since last reinforcement, regardless

of whether the subject has responded or not.

Compound schedules

Compound schedules combine two or more different simple schedules in some way using the

same reinforcer for the same behavior. There are many possibilities; among those most often

used are:

 Alternative schedules – A type of compound schedule where two or more simple

schedules are in effect and whichever schedule is completed first results in reinforcement.

49
 Conjunctive schedules – A complex schedule of reinforcement where two or more

simple schedules are in effect independently of each other, and requirements on all of the

simple schedules must be met for reinforcement.

 Multiple schedules – Two or more schedules alternate over time, with a stimulus

indicating which is in force. Reinforcement is delivered if the response requirement is

met while a schedule is in effect.

o Example: FR4 when given a whistle and FI6 when given a bell ring.

 Mixed schedules – Either of two, or more, schedules may occur with no stimulus

indicating which is in force. Reinforcement is delivered if the response requirement is

met while a schedule is in effect.

o Example: FI6 and then VR3 without any stimulus warning of the change in

schedule.

 Concurrent schedules – A complex reinforcement procedure in which the participant

can choose any one of two or more simple reinforcement schedules that are available

simultaneously. Organisms are free to change back and forth between the response

alternatives at any time.

o Real world example: changing channels on a television.

 Concurrent-chain schedule of reinforcement – A complex reinforcement procedure in

which the participant is permitted to choose during the first link which of several simple

reinforcement schedules will be in effect in the second link. Once a choice has been

made, the rejected alternatives become unavailable until the start of the next trial.

 Interlocking schedules – A single schedule with two components where progress in one

component affects progress in the other component. An interlocking FR60–FI120, for

50
 example, each response subtracts time from the interval component such that each

response is "equal" to removing two seconds from the FI.

 Chained schedules – Reinforcement occurs after two or more successive schedules have

been completed, with a stimulus indicating when one schedule has been completed and

the next has started

o Example: FR10 in a green light when completed it goes to a yellow light to

indicate FR3, after it is completed it goes into red light to indicate VI6, etc. At the

end of the chain, a reinforcer is given.

 Tandem schedules – Reinforcement occurs when two or more successive schedule

requirements have been completed, with no stimulus indicating when a schedule has been

completed and the next has started.

o Example: VR10, after it is completed the schedule is changed without warning to

FR10, after that it is changed without warning to FR16, etc. At the end of the

series of schedules, a reinforcer is finally given.

 Higher-order schedules – completion of one schedule is reinforced according to a

second schedule; e.g. in FR2 (FI10 secs), two successive fixed interval schedules require

completion before a response is reinforced.

Superimposed schedules

The psychology term superimposed schedules of reinforcement refers to a structure of rewards

where two or more simple schedules of reinforcement operate simultaneously. Reinforcers can

be positive, negative, or both.

51
An example is a person who comes home after a long day at work. The behavior of opening the

front door is rewarded by a big kiss on the lips by the person's spouse and a rip in the pants from

the family dog jumping enthusiastically.

Another example of superimposed schedules of reinforcement is a pigeon in an experimental

cage pecking at a button. The pecks deliver a hopper of grain every 20th peck, and access to

water after every 200 pecks.

Superimposed schedules of reinforcement are a type of compound schedule that evolved from

the initial work on simple schedules of reinforcement by B.F. Skinner and his colleagues

(Skinner and Ferster, 1957).

. Brechner (1974, 1977) introduced the concept of superimposed schedules of reinforcement in

an attempt to create a laboratory analogy of social traps, such as when humans overharvest their

fisheries or tear down their rainforests. Brechner created a situation where simple reinforcement

schedules were superimposed upon each other.

Brechner and Linder (1981) and Brechner (1987) expanded the concept to describe how

superimposed schedules and the social trap analogy could be used to analyze the way energy

flows through systems.

Superimposed schedules of reinforcement have many real-world applications in addition to

generating social traps. Many different human individual and social situations can be created by

superimposing simple reinforcement schedules. For example a human being could have

simultaneous tobacco and alcohol addictions.

52
Superimposed schedules of reinforcement can create the three classic conflict situations

(approach–approach conflict, approach– avoidance conflict, and avoidance–avoidance

conflict) described by Kurt Lewin (1935) and can operationalize other Lewinian situations

analyzed by his force field analysis.

Other examples of the use of superimposed schedules of reinforcement as an analytical tool are

its application to the contingencies of rent control (Brechner, 2003) and problem of toxic waste

dumping in the Los Angeles County storm drain system (Brechner, 2010).

Concurrent schedules

In operant conditioning, concurrent schedules of reinforcement are schedules of reinforcement

that are simultaneously available to an animal subject or human participant, so that the subject or

participant can respond on either schedule.

For example, in a two-alternative forced choice task, a pigeon in a Skinner box is faced with two

pecking keys; pecking responses can be made on either, and food reinforcement might follow a

peck on either.

The schedules of reinforcement arranged for pecks on the two keys can be different. They may

be independent, or they may be linked so that behavior on one key affects the likelihood of

reinforcement on the other.

Concurrent schedules often induce rapid alternation between the keys. To prevent this, a

"changeover delay" is commonly introduced: each schedule is inactivated for a brief period after

the subject switches to it.

53
When both the concurrent schedules are variable intervals, a quantitative relationship known as

the matching law is found between relative response rates in the two schedules and the relative

reinforcement rates they deliver; this was first observed by R.J. Herrnstein in 1961.

Shaping

This is a reinforcement of successive approximations to a desired instrumental response. In

training a rat to press a lever, for example, simply turning toward the lever is reinforced at first.

Then, only turning and stepping toward it is reinforced.

The outcomes of one set of behaviors starts the shaping process for the next set of behaviors and

the outcomes of that set prepares the shaping process for the next set, and so on. As training

progresses, the response reinforced becomes progressively more like the desired behavior; each

subsequent behavior becomes a closer approximation of the final behavior.

Chaining

Chaining involves linking discrete behaviors together in a series, such that each result of each

behavior is both the reinforcement for the previous behavior, and the stimuli for the next

behavior.

There are many ways to teach chaining, such as forward chaining backwards chaining and total

task chaining . An example is opening a locked door. First the key is inserted, then turned, then

the door opened.

Forward chaining would teach the subject first to insert the key. Once that task is mastered, they

are told to insert the key, and taught to turn it. Once that task is mastered, they are told to

perform the first two, then taught to open the door.

54
Backwards chaining would involve the teacher first inserting and turning the key, and the

subject is taught to open the door. Once that is learned, the teacher inserts the key, and the

subject is taught to turn it, then opens the door as the next step.

Finally, the subject is taught to insert the key, and they turn and open the door. Once the first

step is mastered, the entire task has been taught. Total task chaining would involve teaching the

entire task as a single series, prompting through all steps. Prompts are faded (reduced) at each

step as they are mastered.

Persuasive communication & the reinforcement theory

Persuasive communication

Persuasion influences any person the way they think, act and feel. Persuasive skill tells about

how people understand the concern, position and needs of the people. Persuasion can be

classified into informal persuasion and formal persuasion.

Informal persuasion

This tells about the way in which a person interacts with his/her colleagues and customers. The

informal persuasion can be used in team, memos as well as e-mails.

Formal persuasion

This type of persuasion is used in writing customer letter, proposal and also for formal

presentation to any customer or colleagues.

55
Process of persuasion

1. Persuasion relates how you influence people with your skills, experience, knowledge,

leadership, qualities and team capabilities.

2. Persuasion is an interactive process while getting the work done by others. Here are

examples for which you can use persuasion skills in real time.

 Interview: you can prove your best talents, skills and expertise.

 Clients: to guide your clients for the achievement of the goals or targets.

 Memos: to express your ideas and views to coworkers for the improvement in the

operations. Resistance identification and positive attitude are the vital roles of

persuasion.

Persuasion is a form of human interaction. It takes place when one individual expects some

particular response from one or more other individuals and deliberately sets out to secure the

response through the use of communication. The communicator must realize that different

groups have different values.

Criticisms

The standard definition of behavioral reinforcement has been criticized as circular, since it

appears to argue that response strength is increased by reinforcement, and defines reinforcement

as something that increases response strength (i.e., response strength is increased by things that

increase response strength). However, the correct usage of reinforcement is that something is a

reinforcer because of its effect on behavior, and not the other way around.

56
It becomes circular if one says that a particular stimulus strengthens behavior because it is a

reinforcer, and does not explain why a stimulus is producing that effect on the behavior.

ACTIVITY

1. Discuss different types of reinforcement

REFERENCES

Rent control (Brechner, 2003) and problem of toxic waste dumping in the Los Angeles County

storm drain system (Brechner, 2010).

57
LECTURE 4: LECTURE

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Explain terms like lecture

Introduction

A lecture (from the French 'lecture', meaning 'reading' [process]) is an oral presentation intended

to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or

college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theories

and equations.

A politician's speech, a minister's sermon, or even a businessman's sales presentation may be

similar in form to a lecture. Usually the lecturer will stand at the front of the room and recite

information relevant to the lecture's content.

Though lectures are much criticised as a teaching method, universities have not yet found

practical alternative teaching methods for the large majority of their courses. Critics point out

that lecturing is mainly a one-way method of communication that does not involve significant

audience participation.

Therefore, lecturing is often contrasted to active learning. Lectures delivered by talented

speakers can be highly stimulating; at the very least, lectures have survived in academia as a

quick, cheap and efficient way of introducing large numbers of students to a particular field of

study.

58
Lectures have a significant role outside the classroom, as well. Academic and scientific awards

routinely include a lecture as part of the honor, and academic conferences often center around

"keynote addresses", i.e., lectures.

The public lecture has a long history in the sciences and in social movements. Union halls, for

instance, historically have hosted numerous free and public lectures on a wide variety of matters.

Similarly, churches, community centers, libraries, museums, and other organizations have hosted

lectures in furtherance of their missions or their constituents' interests. Lectures represent a

continuation of oral tradition in contrast to textual communication in books and other media.

General Uses of Media

 Media can be used in many different settings for different purposes. Obtaining abundant

resources for improving human performance and promoting learning requires the

following:

 A broad knowledge of different media

 A broad knowledge of different methods for designing instructions and

 A broad knowledge of factors affecting learning and media use.

 However, the three general uses of media are:

 For entertainment

 For information and

 For Instruction

59
Media for Entertainment

This includes the use of media for recreation and enjoyment. Entertainment media include fiction

stories, and radio broadcasts of music, and movies which are typically shown in motion picture

theatres and comedies, dramas, and sporting events on televisions.

Media for Information

This is another common use of media. Through information media increases the level of

awareness and present facts necessary for the user/consumer. Examples in these categories are

newspapers, news magazines, and their accounts on currents events that takes place and

eventually affects human balance with his natural environment.

Other print media give spellings and stock market analyses, news broadcasts and documentaries

on both radios and TVs. Computerized data bases for information retrieval and advertisements in

all media are included in this category. Human learning at these levels are largely incidental and

are not necessarily the main intention of the senders or the receivers of information.

Media for Instruction

This is the third use of media. Whenever media are used for this purpose, usually, programmes

are designed intentionally to take the viewer and the listener from the state of poor performance

to a state of competence.

Examples of Teaching Media Commonly Used in our Classrooms today

Blackboard, graphics, chalks, chalkboards, and text books.Yet quite steadily, there has been

increased use of other sophisticated media technologies in our classrooms today that we cannot

enumerate all of them here. Some of these media include.

Motion pictures, slides and slide projectors, film strips, records and audio-tapes still picture

cameras and computers both hardware and software gadgets.

60
The use of computers and TVs in our classrooms today increases day by day. At the same time,

the appearances of other new media technologies like videodiscs and

Liquefied Crystal Disc (LCD) have typically revolutionized our classrooms and conferences

today. The education system today is a welcome of innovations in the education sector.

Media which was originally intended as an entertainment or information device can now be used

as an instructional device with some few adaptations and moderation where necessary. Such uses

require some adaptations, extra guidance, careful selection, planning, preparations, analyses,

utilization, learners‘participation, and proper evaluation before it is put into practice.

Teachers of Literature or drama may require showing short cartoon films or excerpts from

motion pictures to illustrate a lesson on humour. Hence, the effectiveness of the lesson will

automatically depend on the teacher‘s careful structuring of the most appropriate examples and

class discussions to give a well intended output.

Incorporating newspapers or reference books into lessons can help to teach reading skills and

improve language status of the learners. Such media that the teacher incorporates with learning

activities may enhance media technology into mechanisms of learning.

Some Flaws/Confusions in the Application and Use of Media Technology

The adaptation of media, which is originally intended for a particular purpose, is a good sign of

practice when appropriately applied. However, problems, flaws and confusions arises when:

The methods of creating entertainment and information programmes are confused with methods

of creating instructional programmes. Contending every instructional programme with

commercial televisions.

61
Most programmes for teaching and training are presented in settings where students or trainees

are cumbered by the learners that are not highly motivated to learn.

Activity III – A

Different Ways of Avoiding Such Flaws and Confusions

Make which was originally intended as an entertainment or information device can now be used

as instructional devices with few adaptations and moderation where necessary.

Elucidate with reference to the context.

Identify some flaws and confusions in the application and use of media technology. Make

instructions enjoyable but not at the expense of efficiency and effectiveness. The difference

between the methods of creating entertainment and information programmes should be clearly

stated to avoid confusion with the methods of creating instructional programmes. Avoid

contending every instructional programme with commercial Televisions.

Most programmes for education and training should be presented in settings where students and

trainees are unnumbered /bothered by distractions and the learners who are not highly motivated

to learn.

Definition

Media are the means (usually audiovisual Electronics) used for transmitting or delivering

messages. It includes such gadgets like:

 Print Media

 Graphics

 Audio-Communications

 TV sets and Monitors

 Simulations and Games and

62
  Computers

Hence, media may be subdivided as Print and Non-Print having two main components.

Components of Media

There are two main components of media. These are:

Hardware and

Software

Hardware

This is the type of equipment needed to produce and present information.

It is also the machinery of device used to produce or present a message.

Examples of Hardware Devices

 Film Projectors

 Tape recorders

 Over Head Projectors (OHPs)

 Transparency Projectors

 Record Players

 TV Monitors and

 Computer Terminals

Software Devices

In software devices, all information is placed is placed upon these materials.

They are the materials that are transmitted through Hardware.

Examples of Software Devices

 Films
63
  Audio tapes

 Transparencies

 Records

 Video tapes and

 Computer Programmes

Activity III-B

Application of Media

The application of the principles for designing instruction and using media is influenced by

factors like:

 Nature of the students

 Constraints of time and resources

 What media and technology will be expected to accomplish

 How ready people are to accept innovations that might results and

 How decisions concerning technology and media are made.

Application of Media and Technology as Dynamic Learning Processes

Define the term Media

 What are the various components of Media

 Identify the principles that influence the application, designing, and use of media

 Identify common results responsible for the application of media and technology as

dynamic learning processes.

The application of media using knowledge to solve problems and implement desirable learning

outcomes involve procedures like:

64
  Identification of appropriate theory and relevant resources to solve problems involving

learning and performance.

 Prioritization (Setting up) as to which problems are to be solved first and

 Finding out Procedures and Techniques necessary for the application of theory and

resources.

 Common Results Responsible for the Application of Media and Technology as

 Dynamic Learning Processes

Common results responsible for the application of media and technology as dynamic learning

processes require knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of different instructional media.

Both teachers and trainers who contemplate to develop and use mediated instructions should first

find out what others have done and how successful or unsuccessful they have been in similar

circumstances.

In this way, they can benefit from other‘s experiences and avoid mistakes or duplication.

Perhaps, they may exchange information with similar persons ding similar work. This may help

avoid time constraints, financial limitations, and administrative problems arising from different

opinions, ideas and opposing attitudes from different managers and supervisors.

However a dynamic learning process involve parameters like:

 Acquisition of new knowledge that can often guide future applications

 Adoption and adaptation of existing products, methods and approaches

 Development of new products,

 Methods and new approaches to teaching and

 Training

65
The ASSURE Model

All effective instructions require careful planning.

The ASSURE Model is a well constructed procedural model designed to ensure effective use of

media instructions. It is also a guide for planning and conducting instructions that incorporates

media.

Teaching with instructional media has become paramount. Since the ASSURE Model is a

procedural guide for planning conducting instruction that incorporates media. This subsection of

the model assumes that training or instruction really is required where students are to use a new

laboratory microscope or how to handle toxic materials.

This LESSON further continues to examine how to plan systematically for the effective use of

instructional media. The Model therefore focuses on planning surrounding the actual classroom

use of media.

The ASSURE Model through careful planning will help the teacher to focus on how to handle

such situations well in advance before the lesson begins. The teacher will have to plan, on what

materials to use, how to use them, where to get them and decide on the cost effectiveness of the

materials and their availability.

The model is less ambitious than other models of instructional development, which are intended

to guide the entire process of designing instructional systems.

Such processes are required to undergo other procedures like:

 Needs Analysis

 Product Design

 Prototype – tryout

 System Implementation and

66
  Evaluation and Assessment procedures.

These larger-scale instructional development procedures typically involve teams of specialists

and require major commitments in terms of time and money. Yet, this long-term procedure is not

within the purview of the model. Above all, the model is meant for use by the individual teachers

in planning everyday classroom use of media. The model was the brainchild of Molenda, M.;

Russell. J. D. and Heinich. R.R (1989, 1993).

The model therefore proposes six steps or procedures in Systematic Planning for the use of

Media. These were given in the form of Acronym ASSURE which means:

A- Analyse the Learners

S- State the Objectives

S- Select Media and Materials

U- Utilize Media and Materials

R- Require the Learners Participation

E- Evaluate the Revise

The six different steps of Systematic Planning for the Use of Media are discussed

Here under.

STEP I: Analyse the Learners

The first step or procedure in planning is to identify the learners who may be the students,

trainees or members of any organization. As a teacher, you must know your students thoroughly

to enable you select the best media to meet your objectives. The effective use of instructional

media involves a match between the learner‘s characteristics and the content of the lesson, and

its presentation.

67
The first step in the ASSURE model is therefore the Analysis of the audience (learners).

Analyzing the learners also involve knowing the learner‘s learning styles, analyzing more on

their information-processing habits, motivational factors and psychological factors as well.

Psychological factors are more related to sex differences, health and environmental conditions.

These factors obviously influence the effectiveness of learning. In specific entry competencies,

means such as, in-class-questioning, out-of-class interviews, testing-with-standardized or

teacher-made-tests. Hence, entry tests are assessments, formal and informal, that determine

whether or not the student posses the necessary pre-requisites (entry-skills) which are the

competencies the learner must possess in order to benefit from the instruction.

Note

In view of the above discussions, we may conclude this step by summarizing and identifying

several factors about the learners that must be considered for making good and judicious

decisions on media selection. These factors are as stated below:

STEP II State the objectives

This is the second step of the ASSURE Model. Objectives must be stated as specifically as

possible. They must be derived from a course, a syllabus stated in a textbook, taken from a

curriculum guide or developed by the teacher. Every activity has an objective.

Objectives are unifying statements for our daily and future activities. Objectives may be imposed

on or even offered to us by someone and may even be of our own making.

They may be conceived as points marking the achievements of some efforts, ambition, or

accomplishment.

All objectives rest upon an assumption or underlying complex of value. They lie at the very

heart of a planning process.

68
 1. Planning objectives enables the teacher to command the future rather than be commanded

by it.

2. Planning objectives enables the teacher to command the future rather than be

commanded by it.

3. Planning a head makes it possible anticipate and hopefully avoid unforeseen classroom

difficulties.

 General Characteristics: Whereby broad-identifying descriptions must be identified. They

include the following: Age factor, Grade Level, Job Positions, Cultural back-ground and

Socioeconomic status of the learners: These are the factors that are not in anyway, related

to the lesson-content. They help the teacher to determine the level of the lesson and select

contexts and examples that are meaningful to the audience (students).

 Specification of the Entry Competencies: These include:

 Knowledge and skills that the learners have or lack. They are sometimes referred to, as

the (pre-requisite skills) needed by the learner to start instruction. Do the learners have

the knowledge base required to enter the lesson. Form I students must have undergone

Standard VIII and successfully passed K.C.P.E.

 Mastery: Have they mastered some of the skills you are planning to teach?

 Attitude: Are there biases or misconceptions about the subject or the teacher?

Importance of Stating Objectives

Stating the objectives require the teacher to analyse and understand the following questions;

69
  What do you hope to accomplish by the end of the instruction and how much time do you

need to present the lesson effectively and successfully? Above all, limit your objectives

and content on the available time.

 As a teacher, you must know your instructional objectives thoroughly in order to make

the correct selection and judgments of media and methods to be used. Your objectives

will undoubtedly dictate your choice of media and the sequence of learning activities.

 To create a conducive and relevant learning environment in which specific objectives can

be reached i.e. to solve quadratic equations correctly within five minutes; to change a flat

tyre within seven minutes. The learning environment here must include a sum to be

solved, time probably a stopwatch, and a car with a flat tyre.

 To help assure proper evaluation. The teacher will not know if the learners have achieved

the objective unless proper evaluation is done. Without explicit objectives, students will

not know what is expected of them.

 Objectives must dictate the choice of media and the learning sequence (activities)

 To enable teaching and learning environment become objectively oriented.

 Before we conclude this step, it is imperative to say that a statement of objective is a type

of contact between the teacher and the learner.

Note

Characteristics of a well sated objective

A well stated objective starts:

 By naming the audience or the learners for whom the objective is intended.

 The teacher must give major focus on what the learner is doing rather than what the

teacher is doing. In this way, learning is most likely to take place when he learner is
70
 active, mentally processing an idea, and physically practicing a skill. This is because,

accomplishment of an objective depend upon what the learner does, but not what the

teacher do. All specific objectives must begin by stating whose capability is going to be

changed.

 To specify the behavior or capability to be learned and the conditions under which

capability will be observed. Objectives must be stated in observable and in behavioral

terms. What will the learner be able to do by the end instruction? Vague terms like

understand, know, and appreciate do not communicate the aim clearly. Behaviors, which

denote observable performance, are Recall, Revise, Demonstrate, Generate, Categorize,

Apply,

 Plot, Select, Illustrate, Solve, Devise, Categorize, Compute, Write, Describe,

 Objectives state what learning goals each learner is expected to reach.

 What new capability should the learner posses at the completion of instruction?

 Thus, objectives are not statements of what the teacher plans to put into the lesson, but,

rather, of what the learner ought to get out of the lesson. Hence, statements of objectives

must be:

 Specific. The required responses must be acceptable as adequate. Attempts to describe in

the clearest term possible, exactly what a student will think, act, or feel at the end of a

learning experience.

 Measurable in Behavioral Terms: Must show details of desired behavior.

 Observable: Details of any limiting conditions under which the responses will be gauged

must be observed, and

71
  Achievable: Just like goals describe destinations or events, so, objectives (specific)

describes and activity that the learner will be able to do in order to demonstrate mastery.

 Relevancy: Objectives must demonstrate to be related to the real world and to the

problems at hand. Such abstracts, and isolated activities, which are unrelated to human

concerns, are likely to be regarded as irrelevant, unless steps are taken to demonstrate

their utility. Objectives therefore give clarifications to the intentions for a learning

situation.

Devise, Label, and Classify etc are action oriented. Hence, recommended for writing objectives.

 Conditions: Any statement of the objective must include conditions under which

performance is to be observed. Given a political map of East Africa, the learner will be

able to mark the major coal mining areas without referring to the atlas. (any library

material, seeking the help of the teacher etc).

 To specify the degree to which the new skills must be mastered i.e. the standard by

which, the capability can be judged. This is the final requirement of a well-stated

objective. It usually indicates the standard under which performance must be judged. It

also states the criterion which acceptable performance will be fulfilled. To what degree of

accuracy or proficiency must the learner display? (Be judged?). Whether the criteria are

stated in qualitative or quantitative terms, they should be based on some real world

requirements i.e. How well must a mechanic be able to operate a lathe in order to be a

productive employee? How much time should the learner take to be able to solve

quadratic equations? (5 minutes).

72
Activity III-D

After going through the second step of the ASSURE Model, you should try to attempt the

following activities stated below.

 What is the importance of stating instructional objectives?

 What are the major characteristics of a well-stated objective?

 It has been established that a well-stated objective caters for the audience or learners

behavior (Capabilities), conditions, and degree or criteria by which acceptable

performance will be judged.

 Elucidate.

 In any one of your teaching subjects, write at least five objectives that include the

learner‘s, behavioral outcome, and conditions (if appropriate) and degree of mastery.

 Write at least six objectives into the following domains and skills:

Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor Domains, and Motor and Interpersonal Skills.

STEP III Selecting Media and Material

A systematic plan for using media demands that media be selected systematically.

The selection process involves, choosing an appropriate media format and, selecting, modifying,

and designing specific materials within that format. There are four main procedures involved in

the selection, modifying, and designing specific materials.

Media selection usually takes different forms. Within these, instructional situations may take

different settings in the form of large group format, small group, or self-instruction formats. Due

consideration must take care of other key players of learner variables such as reader, n on-reader,

73
or auditory preference and the nature of the objectives like cognitive, affective, and psychomotor

domains and interpersonal skills.

Selection of instructional media must also give more preferences against the presentational

capabilities of each of the media formats e.g. presenting sill visuals, motion visuals, and printed

and spoken words.

Above all, selection of an appropriate media must give feedback to both the learner and the

teacher. There are certain procedures to be followed when selecting an appropriate media. These

procedures are:

 Choose the Media Format

 Obtaining Specific Materials

 Survey the sources

 Modifying available materials and

 Design new materials.

We can now discuss very briefly about these procedures to be followed when selecting media.

 Obtaining Specific Material

As a teacher, having decided what media forma suits your immediate instructional

objective, your main task now is to find out specific materials to convey your lesson so

that the learners can be in a position to learn effectively. Obtaining specific and

appropriate materials involve the following alternatives.

 Selecting available materials. If materials are already available that will allow your

students to meet your objectives, then, the materials should be used to save both time and

money. Majority of instructional materials used by teachers today is ready-made,

available in most schools, districts, or Teachers‘ Advisory Centers

74
  (TAC) and most of them are commonly found on the shelves in the schools. It is

therefore the duty of the teacher to source out these learning resources and make sure that

they are easily available in their institutions ready for classroom use.

 Modifying the available and existing materials. However, when the media and the

available materials do not meet the requirements of your audience, then modify them to

suit your objectives and needs of the learners. This could be done if as a teacher you

survey some of the published media reference guides to get a general idea of what is

available or not. Modification of the media also comes in when you cannot locate suitable

materials and media in the shelves or at the various resource centers nearer to you.

 Designing new Materials: However, if no alternatives match your needs, then design

your own materials. It is much easier and less costly to use available materials and media

without modification than to start from the scratch.

Note

Certain basic considerations must be taken into account when designing new materials.

These are:

Objectives - What do you want your students to learn?

Audience - What are the characteristics of your audience/learners?

Do they have the pre-requisite knowledge and skills to use or learn from the materials?

Cost – Is sufficient money available in your budget to meet the cost of supplies (films, audio

tapes, videocassettes and TV sets etc? If not, then you will need to prepare the materials yourself.

Technical Expertise - Do you have the necessary expertise to design and produce the kind of

materials you wish to use? If not, will the necessary technical assistance be available to you? Try

75
to keep your design within the range of your own capabilities. Do not waste time and money

trying to produce expensive materials.

Equipment- Do you have available the necessary equipment to produce or use the materials you

intend to design?

Facilities – If your design calls for use of special facilities for preparation or use of your

materials, are such materials available?

Time – Can you afford to spend whatever may be necessary to design and produce the kind of

materials you have in mind?

Activity

STEP IV – Utilize Media and Materials

This is the fourth step of systematic plan for using media. This step involves the following

procedures:

 Preview of the Materials

 Practice the Presentations

 Prepare the Learning Environment,

 Prepare the Audience/Learner

 Require/Seek for the Learner‘s Active Participation and Present the Materials

1. Preview of the Materials

As we have discussed earlier during the selection process, you as a teacher, you should have

determined that the objectives and materials, you are going to use in your lesson are appropriate

for your audience/learners.

Before you go to class, you must ensure that you have a full mastery of the materials to be

effectively used in your class.

76
Previewing the materials in advance enables you to detect some parts, which might be

objectionable or distract the class participation. It also enables you to eliminate some sensitive

sections or if need be, discuss with them in advance those portions which might cause ripples in

the class. This will let the learners be aware of what is to take place in advance and avoid

classroom embarrassment.

2. Practice the Presentation

What are the basic procedures for selecting, modifying and designing instructional materials?

Indicate when each procedure is appropriate

List two general characteristics of the learners and two types of specific competencies that could

affect media selection.

Select a topic in your subject area and suggest two media that would be appropriate for use in

your teaching.

Discuss in your own words, how each of the above procedures may effectively contribute to the

selection of media and materials.

Previewing the materials leads us to actual practice of some important portions of the

presentation. It is advisable for the teacher to go through the presentation at least once well in

advance and then to review your notes just immediately before the presentation. During this

reviewing process, you should avoid over practice.

Depending on the nature of the available resources you have, you should always try to get some

feedback during practice time. Some teachers prefer using mirrors, others like to have a
77
colleague/friend around to provide feedback. Usually, and depending on its availability, always

try to use media to provide you with feedback.

The type of media can be audiotape, or video recorder, which can give an accurate replay while

practicing the presentation. These two types of media will not only let you hear what you said

but see yourself presenting. This will definitely make you improve and correct yourself where

you went wrong.

Note

3. Prepare the Learning Environment

Depending on the place where presentation may take place, always remember to consider the

following factors, which might make delivery of instruction become more comfortable

 Consider the seating plan of the class

 Adequate ventilation

 Suitable lighting

 A good conducive classroom climate

Many media require a darkened room, a convenient power supply, and access to light and

switches. Ensure that all these facilities are available at the right time before you begin your

lesson.

It is important for us to tell you that you should observe the following:

That during the practicing time, the newness of the material, the importance of the presentation,

and the amount of time available will automatically determine how many times you should

practice.

78
Always try to use a real mirror, a friend, an audiotape, or a video cassette recorder for immediate

feedback, that the importance of practice cannot be overstated.

Do not just walk through it in your mind but you should actually stand up and practice it.

As a teacher, you should always check if the equipment is in good working order

Always try to arrange the facilities in such a way that the learners, audience can see and hear

properly whatever is going on in the classroom.

4. Prepare the Audience/Learner

Various researches conducted on human learning have concluded that whatever is learned from a

presentation depends highly on how the learners are prepared for the presentation, starting a

lesson by giving a broad overview of the content and its rationale. Telling the learner how the

content is related to the topic being studied. At the same time, giving motivating statements,

which relates to the content, will definitely capture the learner‘s attention and interests.

This is sometimes termed as giving warm ups to prepare the learners to have the need and urge to

know how they are going to profit paying attention and provide cues which direct their attention

to specific aspects of the presentation.

5. Present the Material

This is the most opportune time you have been preparing for. You are therefore ready to show

your learners that you really know your subject matter quite well. You have to control the

attention of your students during the presentation time. You are therefore considered to act like a

general showmanship that you are in charge of the class. The success of the lesson will depend

on how you present the lesson and how you conduct yourself throughout the entire period.

79
ACTIVITY III-E

STEP V – Require Learner Response

The fifth step in the ASSURE Model is to provide opportunities for learners to practice the

capability of being taught. This is because active participation in the learning

Give examples of five basic procedures in Utilizing Instructional Materials

Explain how these five basic procedures may be used effectively to aid teaching learning

process.

Describe several methods for eliciting student response during and after using media.

Justify the need for the learner‘s response when using media.

The process enhances learning. In order to enhance active classroom participation, the teacher

should incorporate topics, which promote more classrooms activities. Such topics are, class

discussions, short quizzes, and application exercises.

These may provide immediate response and reinforcement during instruction. Follow-up

activities may also provide further opportunities for learning. At the same time, teachers‘ guides

and manuals that accompany instructions elicit a lot of learner‘s responses and reinforcement

during instruction. Since the utmost aim of the teacher is to provide learning it is his/her utmost

duty to ensure that meaningful learning is actually taking place during instruction.

Several researchers and psychologists have realized that active participation in the classroom

learning process enhances meaningful learning.

Some of their contributions, which gave more emphasis on active learner participation, have

been highlighted hereunder.

80
Note

Contributors of Learner’s Active Participation

STEP VI – Evaluate/Revise

There is need for teachers to know the total picture of the entire instructional episode being

undertaken in any instruction. The teacher is the master and essential player in

In the early 1900s, John Dewey campaigned for the reorganization of curriculum and instruction

to make students participation a central part of the teaching learning process.

B.F. Skinner, a behavioral psychologist demonstrated that instructions providing for constant

reinforcement of desired behavior are more effective that instruction in which responses are not

reinforced.

Cognitive theories of learning more recently focused on internal mental processes and have also

supported the principle that effective learning demands active manipulation of information by the

learners. Cagne. R.M. (1985),concluded that there are several necessary conditions for effective

learning of each type of objective. Gagne therefore asserted that: The one condition that pertains

to all objectives is practice of the desired skills.

The most effective learning situations are those that require learners to perform activities that

build toward the objective.

The form of participation may include repetitive drill of new spelling or vocabulary words,

solving mathematical problems, rehearsal of a basketball play, and creating an original product

such as term paper, the game of teaching learning process.

81
He is the one in charge of everything going on in the classroom. While in the classroom, the

teacher‘s duty is to facilitate meaningful learning. Evaluating and revising instruction definitely

makes the teacher aware of any loophole if any in his lesson. In order to do this he needs to:

To get the total picture of the entire instructional process very clearly.

Ask himself, did the learners meet the objectives?

Did the media use help in assisting the learners reaching the objectives? and

Did all the learners use the materials properly? etc.

After going through this type of checklist, you are likely to identify some discrepancies.

Wherever there are discrepancies between what you intended to do and what you actually

attained, you need to revise your plan for he next attempt. There are many different types of

evaluating the learners. For proper evaluation to take place, the teacher should try to evaluate the

student‘s achievement, media and methods used during instruction, and evaluation of the entire

instructional process.

Once utmost question in the instructional process is whether or not the students have learned

what they were supposed to learn. Are they able to display the capabilities specified in the

original statements of objectives? When the objectives criteria of acceptable performance which

will be evaluated by the end of instruction because you must assess whether the learner‘s skills

meet that criteria.

The method of evaluating achievement also depends on the nature of the objective itself. Some

objectives call for relatively simple cognitive skills, others may call for process – type behavior

i.e. (operating a lathe machine, and solving quadratic equations, and observing safety procedures

in the laboratory etc).

82
Lastly, evaluating objectives must indicate that the learners have the capabilities of the process,

product, or attribute to solve problems. Evaluation must also show that the learner by the end of

instruction must display a behavior in action.

This means setting up a situation where the learner must demonstrate the new skills in which

instructional judgment can be based. Although attitudes are rather difficult to evaluate at all time,

setting up long time goals and observation may be required to determine if the learner really

attained the goals set.

Depending on the outcomes of your evaluation, you as a teacher will be free to revise the

instruction.

Revising and evaluation of instruction are essential elements that determine whether or not the

lesson is a success.

Activity III- F

Hints

The hints listed below are meant to enable you gain more confidence before you go to class to

meet your students.

Summary

In view of the topic discussed in the last step of systematic planning for the use of media, briefly

discuss how you would

 Evaluate media and the methods used during instruction

 Evaluate the learner‘s achievement

 Evaluate his/her performance and attitude towards the instruction

83
  Evaluate the instructional objectives. Were the objectives very clear/Unclear? Dull?

 Appraise the modules/content used. Was the lesson very interesting? Dull?

Was the module difficult?, simple?, etc.

Always remember to mentally run through the presentation to review each idea in sequence.

Do a stand-up rehearsal of your presentation. Try to practice in the room where you will be

presenting or the one similar to it.

Give a simulated presentation, idea for idea (but not word for word) using all visual aids and

props.

Practice answers to questions you anticipate from the audience or learners.

Videotape or (audiotape) yourself or have a colleague sit on your rehearsal to give your

immediate feedback.

Always use keyword notes. Not a script. Print keywords on index cards. Never

Read from a script. Print keywords on index cards.

Never read from a script because written language is different from spoken language.

We have discussed at length all the six steps of systematic planning for the use of media

commonly known as the ASSURE Model.

During our discussions, we learned of the various stages under which the model can help

ASSURE learning. In our discussions, we learned that:

 The first step of the model is Analyze Learners.

 The second step is State the Objectives

 The third step is Select Media and Materials.

 The fourth step is Utilize Media and Materials and

 The fifth step is Require Learner Participation

84
  The sixth step is Evaluate/Revise.

REFERENCE

Gagne R. M. (1985). The Conditions of Learning, 4th Edition (New York: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston. Gloria, F. (1981). The Educational Use of Mass Media. World Bank Staff Working

Paper No. 491. Washington D.C. 20433, USA.

Lewis, J. Perelman, (2001). Schools‘ Out. Understanding Instructional Technology.

Sitemap, Engaging Kids about Curriculum and Instruction. pp1-2. Lumsdaine. A. A. and May.

M. A. (1958). Learning from Films. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Pinckney, R.L. (1980). Syllabi for Educational Technology Courses and Selection and

Maintenance of AV Equipment, Ginn Custom Publishing, 191 Spring Street,

Lexington, Massachusetts, 02173.

85
LECTURE 5: SELECTION AND USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Select, design and produce instructional material for classroom teaching

ii) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

Key Words and Concepts

Instructional media

Selection of instructional media

Learning Outcome

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

Define the term instructional media

Describe the importance of using instructional media in teaching and learning

Explain the steps to be followed in implementing instructional media

State the factors that a teacher needs to follow during the process of selecting instructional media

What is Instructional Media?

Instructional media encompasses all the materials and physical means a teacher might use to

implement instruction and facilitate students' achievement of instructional objectives. This may

include materials such as chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real objects, and

videotape or film, as well newer materials and methods such as computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs,

the Internet, and interactive video conferencing.

86
Why Use Instructional Media?

Quote: A good aid is like a window, it should not call attention to itself, it should just let in

the light.

In general, you should use media whenever, in your best judgment, it can facilitate learning or

increase understanding of your content. Of course, communicating to facilitate learning can be a

challenging process, often requiring creative efforts to achieve a variety of implicit instructional

goals. Among the implicit goals that media can help achieve are the following:

Media and Technology Influence How Learning

How Media and Technology Influence Learning

Clark, a professor of instructional technology at the University of Southern California, insists

that media does not influence learning under any conditions. He felt that its only influence was

cost and distribution

He goes as far as to say, that different forms of ―media‖ are mere vehicles that delivers

instruction but does not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our

groceries causes changes in our nutrition‖ (Clark, 1994, p. 22). In addition, Clark mentions,

―Learning seems to result from factors such as task differences, instructional methods, and

learner traits(including attitudes) but not the choice of media for instruction‖ (1992, p.812). It

seems evident that Clark‘s (1983) focus is to separate the relationship between media and

instructional strategies (method) and to assert that there are no learning advantages from the use

of any particular medium.

87
On the other hand, Kozma (1994), a principal scientist at the Center for Technology in Learning

SRI International, challenges Clark‘s idea in the debate about the impact of media and

technology on learning.

He argues that ―learners will benefit most from the use of a particular medium when its

capabilities are employed by the instructional method to provide representations and cognitive

operations that are salient to the task and the situation‖ (Nathan,& Robinson, 2001, p.72).

Kozma proposes that the combination of media with methods in instructional research might

influence and benefit learning for particular students, tasks, and situations. He also recommends

that educators try to question ―the ways can we use the capabilities of media and technology to

influence learning for particular students with specific tasks in distinct contexts‖

(Reeves, 1998, p. 26)

Clark and Kozma both have important points of view. Teaching and learning environments

certainly have changed a lot since Clark and Kozma wrote these two papers. Perhaps after

observing all the changes, Clark and Kozma might agree that each argument has its own value

and strength.

Clark has a strong argument that people tend to ―encourage students and teachers ) to begin with

educational and instructional solutions and search for problems that can be solved by those

solutions‖ (Clark, 1994, p.28).

It is not uncommon to see people working intensely on developing new technologies (media)

but then having difficulty marketing the product line because it has limited use or value in real

life. If not careful the same thing could happen to instructional design if we omit the underlying

guidelines (methods) for the teaching/learning model when exploring various possibilities of

improving the use of media.

88
On the other hand, I think Kozma is also right when he argues that the combination of media

with methods in instructional research might influence and benefit learning for learners who can

engage in technology-embedded instruction. Overall ―In what ways can we use the capabilities

of media to influence learning for particular students, tasks, and situations?‖ (Kozma, 1994,

p.18) By doing so, we will have more opportunities to discover the potential relationship

between media and learning and then use the available media to enhance teaching and learning

environments to facilitate our students.

Learning “with” and “from” media and technology

Thomas C. Reeves points out that ―media and technology have been introduced into schools

because it is believed that they can have positive effects on teaching and learning‖ (1998, p.1).

In addition, there is an important approach educational researchers have indicated which argues

that both media and technology can effectively be used in schools as phenomena to learn both

from and with (Jonassen, & Reeves, 1996).

In terms of learning ―from‖ technology, it includes the instructional television, computer-based

instruction, or integrated learning systems that have been implemented into classrooms (Reeves,

1998, p.4). Learning ―with‖ technology means to use the technologies as cognitive tools to create

constructivist learning environments (Reeves, 1998).

Moreover, many researchers such as Jonassen (1996) have shown that the learning process

might be changed as an effect of predominant media being used, because ―technology or media

has been successfully evaluated as type of cognitive mind tool‖ (Kenny, 2001, p. 210).

89
Therefore, the media and technology can play a powerful role to improve instructions ―when

students can actively use them as cognitive tools rather than simply perceive and interact with

them as tutors or repositories of information‖ (Reeves, 1998, p.25).

It seems apparent that media does play an important role in the design of an instructional

method, because technology can more readily provide a highly learner-oriented and interactive

environment in a less expensive way.

Furthermore, today‘s learners will need to enter the real-world with capabilities such as the

ability to communicate effectively, analyze, synthesize information, utilize higher-order thinking

skills and think creatively.

I suppose that new technologies could bring new opportunities for teachers to connect with

students who are already spending large amounts of time in these activities in creating a more

collaborative learning environment. Many researchers agree that computers can be used as tools

to engage learners in higher order thinking and provide a constructive learning environment to

help the learner actively build up their own knowledge and reflect on their interpretations

(Jonassen, & Carr, & Yueh, 1998).

Jonassen et al. claim that ―Mind tools function as formalisms for guiding learners in the

organization and representation of what they know‖ (1998, p.30). Consequently, educators or

instructional designers should pay more attention to the fundamental principles and methods.

In addition to the fundamental principles of education, educators should use new technologies in

order to create a suited learning environment to educate the students to be lifelong learners in the

future.

The teacher’s role in the process of learning

90
Seymour Papert defines the process of learning as the ―making [of] connections between mental

entities that already exist‖ and states that ―new mental entities seem to come into existence in

more subtle ways that escape conscious control‖ (1993, p.105).

Learning is a process that students should be encouraged to experience by themselves. Focusing

on the learning process will lead them to positive engagement in learning, because they will not

be afraid to make mistakes and will be able to find the answers through a series of trials. From

this perspective, the teacher is controlling the learning most of the time, and the child is

responsible for following instructions.

However, teacher-centered teaching cannot provide a better open-ended learning environment to

encourage students to think independently and critically than students-centered ways of teaching.

I feel that if a teacher can be a facilitator rather than the information deliverer in the classroom

during the process of interaction , then students can become deeper thinkers, not just

memorizers.

In the meantime, a teacher should ―facilitate learning by improving the connectivity in the

learning environment‖ (Papert, 1993, p.105), which means involving various real-life or more

realistic situations in the teaching and learning materials.

Many constructivists believe that hypermedia can be a type of medium that allows learners to

―create their own schemata from the pieces of information provided‖ (Cates, 1995, p.4).

Moreover, the research shows that many students in the 21st century could be more actively

engaged in instructions through using technology-based learning activities than traditional

teacher-based learning environments (Cates, 1995).

91
The impact of media and technology in school settings

If we look back at prior educational environments before the invention of computers and

multimedia technologies, we see there were other types of technologies introduced as

instructional tools such as radio, film, and television into classrooms with a certain degree of

success (Nathan, & Robinson, 2001).

Today, digital technologies have greatly influenced children in the 21st century. Educational

experiences have remained consistent even while there have been some significant changes in

the modes and models of teaching and learning with the advance of technology, mainly due to

the invention of the Internet and the popularity of personal computers.

Thus, educators should deliberately ―look differently on communicating and educating today‘s

media-centric youth‖ (Kenny, 2001, p. 210) and use those technologies to be the instructional

supplementary materials that enable pedagogies to be more diversified.

However, after reading the article ―Now More Than Ever: Will High-Tech Kids Still Think

Deeply?‖, I found that Tarlow and Spangler (2001) mainly tried to argue that educators or

educational instruction designers, should be sure not to overlook technology tools, but instead,

use critical capabilities to deliberate on the most essential learning objectives seek to achieve,

and apply and estimate high-tech applications in order to achieve those objectives.

The challenges of learning by media and technology

In school settings, how can we design instruction and implement applications in the classroom?

There are some concerns applying technology in the real-world classroom. First, the virtual

classroom is not necessarily suitable for every learner, because it requires more self-discipline

from students themselves, and it might not be able to provide a full-scale learning environment

for students because of the lack of social experiences and interactions among students.
92
Secondly, the technological implementation process will take time to integrate with current

school systems. In addition, it will involve a lot of money, strength, and time. Will most of the

schools have enough resources to adapt new technology? Finally, many teachers realized that

they are not well-prepared for new technologies.

Susan Nelson mentions that educators can not sophisticatedly adopt technological instructions,

because ―the school setting and the student-teacher learning paradigm have been largely ignored

by most major software designers‖ (Nelson, 2000, p.46).

It is important that schools provide teachers with continuous professional development training

to enhance their teaching methods and gain confidence in using new technology tools. For

instructional designers, it is important to incorporate teaching methods to create a more effective

and interactive learning environment. These are the challenges and real problems that I foresee.

Recommendations for applications of technology

Modern technology offers an easier and even faster environment to access and retrieve

information. Children can retrieve information much more rapidly using Internet service, but it

doesn‘t necessarily mean that children have the ability to evaluate the validity of information,

nor does it mean that the information they acquire from the Internet will trigger them to think

deeply.

Nelson states that, ―true learning is not so much about the gathering of information as it is about

using and analyzing information. The Internet does not promote this level of thinking‖
93
(2000, p. 47). Essentially, education should prepare students to be creative thinkers and develop

the needed models and purpose for learning.

Therefore, the goal of teaching and learning should be focused on training students to think

critically and giving them opportunities to build up their own thinking experiences they

implement the future teaching model. I believe that educators should pay more attention to how

instructions are delivered to students and how the learning objectives should be achieved. At the

same time, they should prepare children to have the life-long capabilities and decision-making

skills to face a society that is changing rapidly.

Final remarks

It is important to evaluate the following four questions that Cates (1995, p.10) quoted in White‘s

article, ―Educators must ask themselves some important questions,‖ when they integrate

technology into instructions.

First educators should ask, ―What is the educational value of the technological advance?‖

Secondly, instructors must pose the question, ―What type of information is best presented

through which medium?‖ Furthermore, they also need to think about ―How can we get more

tools for education that combine quality technology with quality education?‖

Lastly, it‘s important to ask ―What are the critical tools for education?‖

It is very hard to think that everything that needs to be learned can be learned only through

technology. Everyone is unique; thus, some of the learners might easily absorb new knowledge

through technology-incorporated materials, but others might need more face-to-face.

94
LECTUER 6: HOW TO USE MEDIA TO ENHANCE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Expected Learning Outcomes

i) Select, design and produce instructional material for classroom teaching

ii) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

INTRODUCTION

Media complements instructor-led learning by encouraging students to listen to music, read

print materials, or watching a documentary or movie clip. The primary advantage of this

approach is that the instructor takes on the role of a facilitator who helps students interpret what

they are listening to, reading or seeing. Media can also be student-generated.

This approach utilizes asks the student to step into the role of the teacher and create content that

will engage learners and help them to master concepts. Lastly, social media can also be used to

enhance teaching and learning and it includes varied online technology tools that allow people to

communicate easily via the internet to share information and resources.

Instructor-led Learning:

Using media requires that the instructor step outside of the traditional lecture method and

facilitate learning by encouraging students to learn through the media. This approach works best

when students are primed. If students are not adequately informed about what they are expected

them to learn, they will struggle to make the connection between the learning objectives and the

media that they are exposed to.

95
When to introduce media?

 Before learning the concept. Showing media before the discussion gives students an

image to which they can compare the topics under discussion. This approach allows

quick reference to easily recalled examples. Schwartz and Bransford (1998) show that

demonstrations focused on contrasting cases help students achieve expert-like

differentiation. In addition, Schwartz and Martin (2004) found that carefully-prepared

demonstrations "help students generate the types of knowledge that are likely to help

them learn" from subsequent lectures.

 After a brief introduction but before learning the concept. This method provides

students with a brief capsule of what the media is about and what to look for – helping to

focus attention while watching the media.

 After learning the concept. Showing media after describing a theory or concept allows

the instructor to use the scenes as a case study. This approach helps students develop their

analytical skills in applying what they are learning.

 Before and after. Repeating the media is especially helpful when trying to develop

student understanding of complex topics. Utilize the media before the discussion to give

students an anchor. Guide students through a description or discussion of the topics.

Rerun the media as a case study and ask students to analyze what they see using the

theories and concepts just discussed. Also punctuate the rerun with an active discussion

by asking students to call out the concepts they see in the scenes. This method helps to

reinforce what they have just learned.

96
Tips if you are new to this method:

 Start small. Find one movie, song, or news source and incorporate it into your class.

Expand once you are comfortable.

 Provide a clear link between what you want your students to learn and the media.

Care must be taken provide the proper learning context.

 It takes time to integrate media effectively into a course. This is not edutainment; it is

the conscious use of media to enable students to learn more.

 Use the subtitles feature for visual media. This is especially useful in focusing student

attention on the words being said.

 Be prepared. Technology does not work 100% of the time so have a back up plan. If the

media equipment does not work, go to plan B and continue on with your class without

missing a beat.

 Evaluate student understanding. Students respond to incentives. If you require them to

write a reaction paper, take a quiz, or place questions on your exams that relate to the

media content they will pay more attention and learn more in the process.

 Stay legal. View the copyright information on the cautions page.

Frequently Asked Questions:

 What differentiates this teaching method?

97
 Show more

 How does the use of media help with recall and understanding?

Show more

 What is the preferred class size?

Show more

Student-generated Learning:

Involving students in creating media encourages collaboration, accountability, creativity, and

mastery of ideas and concepts. Importantly, one does not need a large budget, fancy studio, or

advanced degree to create original media that is informative, entertaining and educational. An

article by Joshua Kim notes that video projects are inexpensive to create and that this approach

also encourages non-linear learning.

Instructors do not need to be media savvy. Our students have grown up in the digital age and

they are comfortable with technology. Here are some of the winning student videos from the

California Student Media Festival which feature entries from elementary and secondary schools.

Instructors should help students focus on creating content that is meaningful for the intended

audience. Here is a college financial aid contest and a NAFSA video contest featuring college

student entries describing their experiences studying abroad. Each of these contests showcase the

ability of students to create high-quality videos with targeted messages.

For questions regarding Wikipedia, please visit the Wikimedia Foundation press room or, email

the address shown here.

98
Media may refer to:

 Communications

 2 Computing

 3 Fine art

 4 Life sciences

 5 Locations

 6 Music

 7 Phonology

 8 Ships

Communications

See also: Medium (disambiguation) § Communication

 Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data

o Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising

o Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass electronic communication

networks

o Digital media, electronic media used to store, transmit, and receive digitized

information

o Electronic media, communications delivered via electronic or electromechanical

energy

o Hypermedia, media with hyperlinks

o Mass media, all means of mass information and communication

99
 o Multimedia, communications that incorporate multiple forms of information

content and processing

o New media, a broad term encompassing the amalgamation of traditional media

with the interactive power of computer and communications technology

o News media, mass media focused on communicating news

o News media (United States), the news media of the United States of America

o Print media, communications delivered via paper or canvas

o Published media, any media made available to the public

o Recording medium, devices used to store information

o Social media, media disseminated through social interactions

o MEDIA Programme, a European Union initiative to support the European

audiovisual sector

Computing

 Media (computer), used in computer data storage devices

 Media player (application software), a piece of software designed to play audio and

videos

Fine art

 Media (arts), materials and techniques used by an artist to produce a work

100
100
100
LECTURE 7: DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT OF MEDIA MATERIALS

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

ii) Apply knowledge, skills and attitude in the implementation of classroom discourse based

on media use and application.

INTRODUCTION

As you are aware teaching cannot be effective when the teacher simply teaches without making

use of other resources. The teacher must of necessity make use of some input or devices simply

known as learning resources. In this lesson, we shall focus on these learning resources. Teachers

need to use learning resources that meet the students‘ needs, subject area and style.

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 Identify print and non-print media

 Discuss the advantages of text books

 Describe criteria for selecting text books

 State and describe a variety of non-print media

 Explain the use of various types of print media to supplement the use of print

 media

 Name some of the unique characteristics of both print and non-print media

101
101
101
Variety of Instructional Media

1.) Print Media

These include, books, magazines newspapers, pamphlets, handouts, forms, brochures,

Manuals questionnaires, microfilms and Braille

2.) Graphic Media

These include, Charts, maps, graphs, transparencies, drawings, models and dioramas

3.) Photographic Media

These include, prints, slides, film strips and motion pictures

4.) Audio Media

These include, audio tapes, radio and radiogram

5.) Television

These include Broadcast Television and Cable Television

6.) Computers

Let us now proceed to look at the difference between print and non-print media

Print Media Non-Print Media

Dominate ways of delivering instruction Instructional delivery without it

Involves printed materials like, papers, newspapers

Do not require all these materials for meaningful learning to take place

Can be read by literate persons only their operations do not necessarily require literate persons

often supplement visual programmes Do not require print materials for supplementation

Documents may be displayed electronically

Some non-print material may not be displayed electronically

102
102
102
What is print Media?

Print media are opaque paper based materials suitable for individual as well as group Use.

Print media have characters, numerals and words and may also contain pictures and Illustrations.

Print media include electronic and photographic means of storing and Presenting documents.

Characteristics of Print Media

i. They are usually on a paper surface

ii. Print media usually have a mechanism of production such as a typewriters and

computers.

iii. Most print media for instruction are intended for use by a single individual

Weaknesses of Print Media

i. They are convenient and powerful media besides catering for individual working rates

ii. They provide easy access to information and facilitate easy revision

iii. Often contain outstanding visualization of concepts and information with accompanying

text to explain them

iv. They are highly portable and economical to buy and maintain

Disadvantages of Print Media

i. They are largely non-interactive

ii. Some times the authors ignore the needs of the audience

iii. If used as class text, print media may make a teacher to ignore using a lesson plan,

syllabus or scheme of work

Textbooks

Textbooks are published in various forms to serve various purposes. Mostly, they are usually the

chief sources of information for both a teacher and a learner.

103
103
103
Functional Use of Textbooks

Some of the functional use of textbooks are:

Teaching assistants: The teacher may only mention the key points and let the learners use the

textbook to further explore details of a particular topic.

Individualize learning: Individual students can attempt assignments in the textbooks by

themselves.

Base for Use of other media: From the textbooks teachers can develop lessons using other

media such as exhibits for better teaching

Improve learners’ Research Skills: By reading textbooks to extract information, learners

develop their research skills.

Avail Visual Content use: In books, you will find graphs, diagrams, pictures and maps which

supplement the text and aid understanding.

Criteria for Selecting Textbooks for Use in Schools

Content: Ask yourself this question; does the textbook interpret curricular objectives well?

How is the textbook handling controversial issues?

Does the subject matter there in promote sound moral values?

Content treatment: Is the style adapted for the age level of the target learner?

Arrangements of the content: Are the index and table of contents complete?

Is there a glossary of difficult words?

Are there illustrations, maps sketches, tables and graphs to supplement print matter?

Mechanical standards: Is the type? Is there good spacing between lines for easy reading?

104
104
104
Newspapers and Magazines

These are very commonly available and are good for general audience. They may be subdivided

into two categories; those published for the general audience, and those published for school

readers.

Newspapers are quite useful in the following ways:

i. They provide study guide and analysis of current events taking place

ii. They provide background studies on important local, national and international problems

iii. They provide practice in improving reading and discussion skills.

iv. They may be used for analyzing propaganda.

v. Provide best opportunities to study writing and editorial styles.

vi. Foreign language training and bulletin board display material and scrapbook collection

items.

Newspapers also tend to have the latest and up to date information. This is mainly because most

of them are daily, weekly or monthly publications.

However, because of them are not necessarily well; researched before publication, they may be

inaccurate at times. They are normally printed on cheap and low quality paper and therefore

cannot last long or even withstand rough usage. Newspapers also have the advantage of being

relatively cheap compared to other print media.

Look through newspapers/magazines and identify one with content that could be used to teach a

topic in one of your teaching subjects. Prepare a lesson plan incorporating the

newspaper/magazine clip.

105
105
105
Comics

A comic is a form of cartooning in which the same cast of characters enacts a story in a sequence

of closely related diagrams designed to entertain the readers. Most comic book series have turned

into straight picture stories in strip or pamphlet forms. Young readers enjoy cartoons and

therefore will most likely learn through them.

Non Print Media

This type of media includes audio, visual, audio-visual and teaching machines.

Audio media include radio, cassette and record player.

Visual media includes chalkboard, live lecture, overhead projector, slides and filmstrips. Audio-

visual media includes television, videocassette and slides which are synchronized with sound.

Teaching machines include computers.

Whether a teacher intends to use print or non-print media, it is advantageous to make one‘s own

materials. Some of the advantages for a teacher making their own materials are:

1. The teacher takes into account the objectives of the lesson

2. The teacher considers the learning environment

3. The teacher is familiar with the learners‘ needs

4. Materials will end up being relatively cheap

5. The teacher will make use of readily available materials

6. The learners may have a chance of collecting, assembling and manipulating the parts of the

finished product.

Summary

In this lesson we have learnt about the differences between print and non-print media.

We have also learnt about the textbook, its advantages and disadvantages.

106
106
106
We have also explored the qualities that a teacher should look for while selecting textbooks.

Activity

1. Using examples state four differences between print and non-print media

2. What are the advantages of using textbooks as learning resources?

3. Why are teachers encouraged to prepare their own learning resources?

References

Brown J.W et al. Audio Visual Instruction: Technology, Media and Methods

Dale, E. (1969) Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching.

The Dryden Press, Illinois. Patel M.M and Mukwa C.K (1993) Design and Use of Media in

Education. Lecturn Publisher, Nairobi.

107
107
107
LECTURE 8: SYSTEMATIC PLANNING FOR THE USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL

MEDIA

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Select, design and produce instructional material for classroom teaching

ii) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

iii) Apply knowledge, skills and attitude in the implementation of classroom discourse based

on media use and application.

INTRODUCTION

The ASSURE model analyzes the learner‘s general characteristics, their specific entry

competencies, learning styles, stating the objectives, selecting and evaluation and revise all that

you have done with the learners. Much later in this model, we are going to go through all these

steps one by one to cover the different aspects of the model.

The model has been stated in a systematic manner to help you learn in a systematic and more

coherent manner. But since the ASSURE model is covered within the ambit of instructional

technology, you are obliged to know as part of your training the meaning of the term

instructional technology, and its concept thereof. We are therefore going to start by stating what

you are going to cover as part of your learning objectives.

Instructional Objectives

By the end of this LESSON, the learner should be able to:

a) Define the term Instructional Technology

b) Define the concept of Instructional Technology

108
108
108
 c) Define the term media

d) Apply media and technology as dynamic learning processes.

e) Identify different general uses of media

f) Identify some flaws and confusions in the application and use of media technology

g) Suggest different ways of avoiding such flaws and confusions.

h) Identify some of the most common teaching media commonly being used in our

classrooms today

i) Describe six procedures (steps) in systematic planning for the use of media.

j) (The ASSURE MODEL)

k) State the criterion for the selection of the most appropriate media

l) Identify at least three characteristics necessary for media selection procedures.

Definitions of Instructional Technology

The term technology is a systematic application of scientific or other or other organized

knowledge to practical tasks. Instructional technology may be defined as the application of our

scientific knowledge about human learning to the practical tasks of teaching and learning.

It is a systematic arrangement of teaching and learning events designed to put our knowledge of

learning into practice in a learning events designed to put our knowledge of learning into practice

in a predictable and effective manner to attain specific learning objectives.

Instructional technology also involves the learners ‗application of different learning styles.

Learning style is a cluster of psychological traits that determine how the individual learner

perceives, interacts with and responds emotionally to learning environments.

109
109
109
They are also fixed patterns for viewing the world (Bonham, 1988). The main purpose of

learning style is to select information to which the learner will organize, attend, and integrate

what is to be learned in a meaningful manner.

Learning styles also control and effectively moderate the learners‘different aspects of

personalities.

The styles also enable the learners to adapt to different situational constraints as imposed by the

different learning tasks. Hence, instructional technology is the process by which instructional

problems are analyzed and solutions sought through the application of knowledge about learning,

with the help of the learners and the use of media resources.

Instructional technology is just but what it sounds like using computers, CD-ROMs ,interactive

media, modems, satellites, teleconferencing, and other interactive, computer-based technology is

crucial to improving classroom learning. These educators contend that advanced technology will

fundamentally change the learning process and structure. Other educators believe technology is

merely a tool that has minimal impact on the quality of learning.

Effects of Instructional Technology on Human Learning

Instructional technology may affect human learning in several ways. These are through:

 Curriculum

 Instruction and

 Assessment

Curriculum: Advanced technology has the potential to significantly expand the breadth and

depth of the curriculum. With the Internet for example, students can access information far

beyond the scope of their traditional textbooks. Curricula can be individualized and adapted to

110
110
110
students‘ specific learning styles. Instructional technology therefore has the power to enhance

overall knowledge accumulation, instead of just focusing on content mastery.

Instruction: Advanced technology could significantly affect the role of teachers, as well as the

structure of schools and classrooms. The use of instructional technology also changes the

teacher‘s role from an expert to a facilitator or coach. For example, students can take courses

from a global satellite feed or on the Internet (the example of AVU at Kenyatta University).

In this way, learning can take place either at home, at place of work, or anywhere else that has

the capacity for a television, a telephone, or a computer i.e. distance or open learning centers.

Assessment: Instructional technology focuses more and more on building feedback loops

directly into the learning process. Students can obtain frequent and accurate feedback. They can

also make corrections of their work on their instructors can monitor assessment, or it can be on

going and cumulative.

ACTIVITY

Procedures of Instructional Technology

The procedures of instructional technology often result in the creation of new instructional

products or strategies. One major goals of the procedures is to improve,

How does instructional technology affect learning?

Instruction by increasing effectiveness and efficiency through learning. Since the application of

instructional technology very often results in the creation and use of media or both, all educators

should have the knowledge and skills necessary to use it as a means of solving instructional

problems.

111
111
111
Some educators known as media specialists do this on a full-time basis. It is therefore within the

dockets of a teacher to apply the principles of media and instructional problems. Some educators

known as media specialists do this on a full-time basis. It is therefore within the dockets of a

teacher to apply the principles of media and instructional technology to meet their instructional

needs whether in the schoolroom, private industries, non-profit organizations, or in the

universities.

The Concepts of Instructional Technology

The concept of instructional technology stresses the use and application of instructional media in

the teaching learning process. The concept relates how media and technology interacts with

human learning with respect to the following areas:

 Planning

 Selecting

 Designing

 Using and Evaluating all types of media with respect to human learning.

The concept not only explains how each media can be applied in human learning, but also

describes the medium‘s inherent capabilities. The concept therefore, assumes that whoever is

dealing with the learner in the school, as a teacher must have had a few teaching skills before

getting a chance to go to the classroom.

Going to the classroom means that the teacher must have the ability to interact, speak, and talk to

the students. This is because:

A great deal of instruction is based on talking.

The interaction between the teacher and the student is often the main element that binds them

together with other components of teaching.

112
112
112
The way in which the teacher presents verbal information provides the foundation for other

instructional events to take place during the lesson.

Quite a great deal of teaching is done wit the help of two media i.e. (the teacher‘s voice and the

chalkboard).

Hence, these two media of communication provide a starting pint for any instructional strategy.

However, teaching by talking involves styles that require little activity on the part of the student.

Moving a way teaching and learning out of the realm of a spectacular spot and into the arena of

active involvement is the subject covered within the perimeters of instructional technology.

MEDIA

General Uses of Media

Media can be used in many different settings for different purposes. Obtaining abundant

resources for improving human performance and promoting learning requires the following:

 A broad knowledge of different media

 A broad knowledge of different methods for designing instructions and

 A broad knowledge of factors affecting learning and media use.

 However, the three general uses of media are:

 For entertainment

 For information and

 For Instruction

113
113
113
Media for Entertainment

This includes the use of media for recreation and enjoyment. Entertainment media include fiction

stories, and radio broadcasts of music, and movies which are typically shown in motion picture

theatres and comedies, dramas, and sporting events on televisions.

Media for Information

This is another common use of media. Through information media increases the level of

awareness and present facts necessary for the user/consumer. Examples in these categories are

newspapers, news magazines, and their accounts on currents events that takes place and

eventually affects human balance with his natural environment. Other print media give spellings

and stock market analyses, news broadcasts and documentaries on both radios and TVs.

Computerized data bases for information retrieval and advertisements in all media are included

in this category. Human learning at these levels are largely incidental and are not necessarily the

main intention of the senders or the receivers of information.

Media for Instruction

This is the third use of media. Whenever media are used for this purpose, usually,

programmes are designed intentionally to take the viewer and the listener from the state of poor

performance to a state of competence.

Examples of Teaching Media Commonly Used in our Classrooms today

Blackboard, graphics, chalks, chalkboards, and text books. Yet, quite steadily,

there has been increased use of other sophisticated media technologies in our classrooms today

that we cannot enumerate all of them here. Some of these

media include.

114
114
114
Motion pictures, slides and slide projectors, film strips, records and audio-tapes still picture

cameras and computers both hardware and software gadgets.The use of computers and TVs in

our classrooms today increases day by day. At the same time, the appearances of other new

media technologies like videodiscs and Liquefied Crystal Disc (LCD) have typically

revolutionized our classrooms and conferences today. The education system today is a welcome

of innovations in the education sector.

Media which was originally intended as an entertainment or information device can now be used

as an instructional device with some few adaptations and moderation where necessary. Such uses

require some adaptations, extra guidance, careful selection, planning, preparations, analyses,

utilization, learners ‗participation, and proper evaluation before it is put into practice.

Teachers of Literature or drama may require showing short cartoon films or excerpts from

motion pictures to illustrate a lesson on humor. Hence, the effectiveness of the lesson will

automatically depend on the teacher‘s careful structuring of the most appropriate examples and

class discussions to give a well intended output.

Incorporating newspapers or reference books into lessons can help to teach reading skills and

improve language status of the learners. Such media that the teacher incorporates with learning

activities may enhance media technology into mechanisms of learning.

Some Flaws/Confusions in the Application and Use of Media Technology

115
115
115
The adaptation of media, which is originally intended for a particular purpose, is a good sign of

practice when appropriately applied. However, problems, flaws and confusions a rises when:

The methods of creating entertainment and information programmes are confused with methods

of creating instructional programmes. Contending every instructional programme with

commercial televisions, most programmes for teaching and training are presented in settings

where students or trainees are cumbered by the learners that are not highly motivated to learn.

Activity III – A

Different Ways of Avoiding Such Flaws and Confusions

 Make which was originally intended as an entertainment or information device can now

be used as instructional devices with few adaptations and moderation where necessary.

 Elucidate with reference to the context.

 Identify some flaws and confusions in the application and use of media technology.

 Make instructions enjoyable but not at the expense of efficiency and effectiveness.

 The difference between the methods of creating entertainment and information

programmes should be clearly stated to avoid confusion with the methods of creating

instructional programmes.

 Avoid contending every instructional programme with commercial Televisions.

116
116
116
LECTURE 9

Expected Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course unit the learner should be able to:

i) Select, design and produce instructional material for classroom teaching

ii) Design instructional episodes based on appropriate choice of media and materials.

iii) Apply knowledge, skills and attitude in the implementation of classroom discourse based

on media use and application.

Preparation of a radio lesson with the help of

- CD-ROMs

- Audio cassettes

- Operating films and Films projectors

- Still life pictures for classroom purpose

CDS AND AUDIO CASSETTES

Introduction

As teachers, particularly language arts, literature, and writing specialists, we fear that "hearing"

classics on cassettes or CDs will discourage young readers from savoring the written words of

the world's literature. With the advent of Howard Gardner's studies of multiple intelligences,

teachers have begun to understand how using audio cassettes or CDs in the classroom can

increase the circle of readers by engaging learners with auditory and spatial intelligence learning

styles.

117
117
117
Through the use of audio cassettes or CDs in literature classes, these students can use their own

learning styles as a catalyst for in-depth study of masterworks. Indeed, audio projects, radio

broadcasting, and student community audio events can become integral parts of the reading,

writing, and oral fluency portfolio assessment process.

Through independent audio projects, students will also develop and enhance valuable personal

and marketplace skills. In addition, teachers who wish to individualize instruction for gifted

students as well as physically challenged students can use cassettes as tools for learning centers

and individual student projects.

RADIO

Radio is an important instrument for educational instructions. It has received considerable

research in developed countries compared to the developing ones. In Kenya, for example,

distance learning through radio, has been used for a long time in the primary schools. It is

important to note that, the effectiveness of a lesson will depend on the teachers careful

structuring of the most appropriate examples and class discussions to give a well-intended

output.

CD - ROMs

With the advent of Howard Gardner's studies of multiple intelligences, teachers have begun to

understand how using audio cassettes or CDs in the classroom can increase the circle of readers

by engaging learners with auditory and spatial intelligence learning styles. Through the use of

audio cassettes or CDs in literature classes, these students can use their own learning styles as a

catalyst for in-depth study of masterworks.

118
118
118
With the broad implementation of whole language literacy approaches, which encourage both the

classroom teacher and the librarian to teach reading in a rich multisensory environment,

librarians justifiably include audio cassettes or CDs as part of their 21st-century literacy mission.

Collaboration by librarians and teachers in integrating audio experiences into critical reading and

writing instruction can measurably enhance these skills.

Lesson Preparation using Audio CDs and Cassettes

Before the playback of CDs

 Teachers should listen to the complete CD or Cassette prior to using it in the classroom,

even if only a short excerpt will actually be played. Share copies of that excerpt (should

be no more than two to three pages) with the students.

 Ask them how an audio producer would record this text.

 Have them consider the following aspects of audio production: sound effects (SFX),

music, tonality/character voices (accented, throaty, deep) narrative voice selection (if in

text), insertion of narrative voice over to move action along or explain elements not

easily understood by the listener (if not in text), and necessary textual omissions of

material not suitable for audio.

 Give the students ten to 15 minutes to come up with ideas for potential audio text

production. Request that they record their concepts. You many have students work

individually or in cooperative teams for this or any of the suggested strategies. Give them

time to share the concepts they have developed.

119
119
119
  To use audio CDs to develop listening skills and promote appreciation of particular

genres, have the students open their notebooks to a blank sheet. Tell them they will be

listening to an excerpt (of 2-3 minutes duration) from a piece of literature (or nonfiction)

they will be studying, and challenge them to transcribe the text from the recording.

 Assure them that the excerpt will be played twice. Ask that they leave a blank space on

their sheet where they will guess the genre of the text in the recording.

 Have the students note the words, information, music, or sound effects that signal a

particular genre, be it mystery, horror, adventure, or comedy.

During the playback

 Allow the students to listen to the actual recording of the text excerpt. While they are

listening, have them compare and contrast the audio CD with their own preconceptions.

 After the first play of the excerpt, have the students read their transcripts aloud. Then ask

them what genre they feel the excerpt is from and what aspects of the production

characterize that genre.

After the playback

 Have students discuss the ways in which the actual audio recording compares with their

projected preconceptions.

 Students may decide that their production treatments are superior to those of the

commercial audio. Allow them time to collect their own sound effects and music, as well

as cast the audio. Then have them record the audio.

120
120
120
  Class produced audio productions can be shared with parents, parallel subject classes,

friends, hospitalized teens, and seniors.

 When the second play of the excerpt is completed, have the students share their

transcriptions of the piece. Ask them what final decisions they have made about the genre

of the work and in what ways, if any, the second play of the excerpt affected their

judgment.

 To provide students with the ability to measure their own listening skills, offer them

regularly scheduled listening skills sessions, followed by regularly scheduled audio genre

listening sessions. Have the students maintain a portfolio of their listening skills

transcriptions, and genre predictions. After several exercises, have the students write

and/or share their own self-evaluations of the ways in which their listening and genre

skills have been enhanced.

Audio Cassettes and CDs are most appropriate for languages, most specifically literature.

Specific audio resources of classics can be used with the appropriate grades and courses. Since

they can spark writing, contemporary nonfiction and issue-themed audio cassettes or CDs are

appropriate for use with any secondary level reading, literature, or journalism class, as well as in

discussion, critical thinking, proactive citizenship inquiries, personal development, and critical

reading activities.

Operating films and Films projectors

Introduction

Many teachers find chalkboards to be almost a thing of the past with the advent of projectors in

the classroom. Rather than writing notes across a board, teachers can make use of PowerPoint
121
121
121
presentations, images and even film as teaching tools through the use of projectors.

Consequently, teachers and students alike find projectors to be useful classroom devices.

Projectors allow teachers to get important notes on the board without wasting the time it usually

takes to write them.

This provides teachers with more time to spend actually talking to the students, creating a more

effective use of class time. This is especially useful in a college environment, where a professor

might need to communicate much more information during a single class than a high school

teacher would during a similar time frame.

Projectors are more effective due to the following reasons

 Visibility

Before projectors entered the education market, if a teacher wanted to show a presentation,

students either had to take turns looking at a small monitor or the educators had to deal with

frustrating conversion cables to try and run the presentation on a TV screen. By the same token,

notes written on a board are very difficult for the people in the back row to read in a 500-seat

lecture hall. A projector enables educators to easily display information so that all students can

read it clearly.

 Multimedia

Projectors are useful because they enable a teacher to show students a variety of media through

one easy-to-manage piece of technology. There is no need to switch between an overhead for

displaying notes, a slide projector for images and a film projector for video. Instead, all of those

types of media and more can be displayed through a laptop hooked up to a single digital media

projector.

122
122
122
  Immersive Education

Projectors allow educators to take lessons to a level that is simply not possible to reach through

traditional note-taking and textbooks. Instead of a diagram in a text book, a professor can show a

life-size three-dimensional diagram of a biology dissection. Instead of trying to describe the ruins

of ancient Rome, they can be shown on the big screen in high-definition video.

 Demonstrations

When teaching a class that involves the use of computers, having a projector allows a teacher to

demonstrate how to perform a given task live, rather than trying to describe it. For instance,

commerce students see how accounting software is used for certain functions. Beginning

students are shown how to use basic research tools such as a library database. Computer science

students perhaps see the most of all, as professors can demonstrate any concept on-screen.

Of all the technological resources that are available to teachers, in my opinion, the one which is

the most underused and sometimes misused is the OHP, or overhead projector. The OHP is a

small machine designed to project an image onto a small screen or whiteboard.

If you have a screen, which can be placed above the whiteboard and pulled down accordingly, it

will stop the glare. The materials we normally use with it are pens, which can either be

permanent, or cleanable. In addition to these there are transparencies (OHT), which you can

write or draw on, and a special type of transparency which a text or image can be photocopied

onto.

The OHP is extremely practical and versatile as every classroom activity can be adapted for the

OHP and even the worst technophobe can use it with confidence. Allowing you to have complete

control of the class and holding your students‘ attention, it is a useful tool for any teacher or

indeed worthwhile purchase for any school which doesn‘t have one. Finally, as global warming
123
123
123
threatens to devastate our world, using the OHP can play more than a small part in saving paper,

therefore trees, and the environment.

Still life pictures for classroom purpose

History

In ancient Egyptian tombs, still life paintings would often adorn the walls in the belief that the

food and other items could become real and be used by the deceased. (70 AD). In the 1600s and

1700s, Netherland artists developed a symbolism in still life art called Vanitas. Vanitas, in Latin,

refers to the "vanity" of all worldly things, such as wealth, beauty, Idle hands (the wasting of

time), learning, and the arts. The Vanitas took on a macabre feel.

These pieces would often portray lovely objects, however the symbolism would be reminding us

of mans mortality, being centered on life, death, and aging. Skulls were often used to remind the

observer of the certainty of death. Decaying or peeled fruit would be a reminder of aging. Broken

glass, bubbles, a burning candle, smoke, watches, hourglasses or a book with turned pages would

symbolize the fragility and brevity of life, and the suddenness of death.

Musical instruments were also used to exemplify the ephemeral nature of life. Seafood or a

peeled lemon would tell us that although they were fabulous to look at, they were bitter to taste,

just like life could be. Anything hinting at wealth could also be included as a reference that this

too was not eternal. A gold chain could mean loyalty and games represented the frivolity of the

pleasures in life.

Use in Classroom Setting (Example)

Lesson Title: Still-Life Painting- Arranging Nature

124
124
124
Lesson Overview

This is the first lesson in a sequential unit. Students look at and discuss still-life paintings and

develop a definition for the genre. They then further their understanding of this type of painting

and practice watercolor techniques by painting their own still life from direct observation. Art

production focuses on the tools used to create the illusion of three-dimensional space and convey

texture in watercolors.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

 Identify and discuss two key elements of European still-life painting: the use of symbols

and direct observation from nature.

 Use various watercolor techniques.

 Create a painting of objects from direct observation

 Use painting techniques to successfully depict the illusion of three-dimensional form and

space

 Use new vocabulary specific to watercolors and still-life painting.

Model teaching strategies

Students Develop Music Listening Skills:

Before the playback

1. To use audio CDs to develop listening skills and promote appreciation of particular

genres, have the students open their notebooks to a blank sheet. Tell them they will be

125
125
125
 listening to an excerpt (of 2-3 minutes duration) from a piece of music they will be

studying, and challenge them to analyze it from the recording.

2. Assure them that the excerpt will be played twice. Ask that they leave a blank space on

their sheet where they will guess the genre of the music in the recording.

3. Have the students note the dynamics, mood, instruments, texture, structure, tonality that

signal a particular genre.

During the playback

After the first play of the excerpt, have the students read their transcripts aloud. Then ask them

what genre they feel the excerpt is from and what aspects of character determines that genre.

After the playback

1. When the second play of the excerpt is completed, have the students share their

transcriptions of the piece. Ask them what final decisions they have made about the genre

of the work and in what ways, if any, the second play of the excerpt affected their

judgment.

2. To provide students with the ability to measure their own listening skills, offer them

regularly scheduled listening skills sessions, followed by regularly scheduled audio genre

listening sessions. Have the students maintain a portfolio of their listening skills

transcriptions, and genre predictions. After several exercises, have the students write

and/or share their own self-evaluations of the ways in which their listening and genre

skills have been enhanced.

126
126
126
AUDIO CASSETTES

While audio tapes are not as commonplace as they once were, many schools still use this simple

recording medium because of its ease of use and affordability. By integrating audio tapes into

your lessons, you can provide students with helpful auditory stimuli and make it easier for them

to both learn and retain the information you are teaching.

Things you'll need:

 Books on tape

 Tape recorder

 Blank cassette tapes

 Tape players

 Earphones (optional)

Instructions:

Provide books on tape for student use. As Scholastic reports, books on tape build literacy skills.

By hearing skilled readers read a text as they follow along, students can easily see how words are

pronounced and are given a source to emulate when they begin to read. Purchase or create taped

books of both novels and textbooks.

Listen to these audio versions as a whole class, or allow students to listen to them independently

by setting up audio stations around the classroom.

Use music as an educational tool. Music is naturally engaging and, as such, makes a great

educational tool. Play educational songs, such as those from the classic series "School House

127
127
127
Rock," to provide your students with a musical reminder of lessons. Use contemporary tunes as

short story inspirations or poetic pieces for literary exploration.

Record lectures for absent students. By recording your lectures, you can ensure you don't have to

repeat yourself yet again. Create a tape of all important lectures and allow absent students to

check the tape out so they can listen to your instructions as they complete their absent work. Also

offer the created tapes to students who struggle academically, as listening to the lessons again my

make it easier for them to understand the content material.

Allow students to create audio projects. An audio project provides a fun break from standard

assignments. Engage your students in the creation of a radio play, using found materials to create

sound effects, or instruct them to write and record radio shows about topics germane to the

lessons taught in class.

Use material created one year in future lessons. While creating audio-tapes to accompany your

lessons can be daunting, you can reuse your creations from year to year. Instead of discarding or

taping over your tapes, catalog them carefully and pull them out when appropriate during the

next school term.

FILMS

Using films to teach English can be an integral part of effective learning. English is much more

than just spelling, grammar and punctuation. Watching films help develop critical

comprehension and analysis skills. Here are some tips if you want to teach English through

128
128
128
films.

INSTRUCTIONS

Hold class discussion previous to the film viewing. Use films in English classes to help students

visualize the meaning of an idea. If you want to teach a student about streams of consciousness,

it might be a good idea to show a Fellini movie and talk about abstract versus realism, for

example. Be sure to have an effective preview discussion.

Develop a film check list. Help students focus on specific areas by developing a guideline check

list for them to follow while the movie is playing. Experts refer to this practice as "while-

viewing." It helps students develop their critical thinking skills. Check lists may also be used as a

platform for other lessons later.

Have periodic discussion breaks. Be sure to let students ask questions about what they have seen

to increase both their listening and speech skills. Students must organize their thoughts in order

to ask questions aloud. Have them draw parallels to their own lives.

Wrap it up and conduct a through review after your film is over. This is commonly referred to as

"post-viewing," which is a similar technique used in many literature and English classes.

Improve students' summary skills by having them give an overview of what they have seen and

talk about why it might be relevant to them. Have students extend their thinking beyond simple

"I liked it" or not.

Use a public library card to get good films. Some schools just do not have a good selection of

movies. It is not necessary to use your Blockbuster card to find decent movies for your students

to watch.

129
129
129
STILL PICTURES

Still pictures can be actively used for creating an interactive lecture session. Still images may be

from the Internet from a search engine such as Google Images, Yahoo or Bing. Students use

these pictures to analyze various concepts and test their knowledge with real world images.

Science and Mathematics concepts

Capture real world examples of mathematical concepts such as parallel lines (for instance, power

lines), shapes, geometric solids and right angles with a digital camera. Each week, one can show

students a photograph in which a mathematical concept evident. Then, get the students to

research and figure out what the concept is.

Each student can then analyze the concept and write a short description. You can also take

pictures of different types of clouds, trees, plants, soil and other things to get students to analyze

each concept.

Activity

1. Prepare a radio lesson with the help of

 CD-ROMs

 Audio cassettes

 Operating films and Films projectors

 Still life pictures for classroom purpose

References

1. Unit Module note

2. http://getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources

130
130
130