TEACHING METHODS

D.R JOHARI TALIB

UNITAR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
 CONTENTS

• A media strategy
• A drill strategy
• An exposition strategy
• A demonstration strategy
• A concept strategy
• Simulation games
• A group discussion
• Guided discovery
• An Imaginative strategy
• Field work
• Problem-based learning
• Design-based learning
• Problem-solving
 A Media Strategy
Purpose :
 To bring in educational experiences from beyond the classroom
 Useful for developing and enriching knowledge, skills and attitudes
from specialized presenters.
 It suited to all year level and abilities and is most appropriate in social
studies, language, arts, music, maths and science
Major disadvantage
 One-way form of instruction unless teacher really prepared
 Pupils are passive receivers of material and usually there is no scope
of interaction between them and the medium
 Teacher usually cannot preview the program and this increases the
possibility og it not appropriate for a particular group of pupils
Approach to a media (film, u-tube, TV/radio broadcast) strategy consists
of three major steps :
 Setting the scene
 The broadcast
 Follow-up activity
 To present an effective media strategy it is essential for teacher to
preview the video to ascertain the video is appropriate to the age,
ability and interest, the presentation matches your learning objectives,
pupils are given specific tasks to carry out during and after the
presentation.
 A drill strategy
Purpose
 Through repetition pupils will be able to produce an automatic
response or the immediate recall of specific facts, names/wprds.
 It is based on learning by association or the frequent linking of two
things together.
 Association is strengthened by understanding, plenty brisk practice,
reinforcement, and knowledge of results
Major limitations
 It can be dull, aimless and boring
 Pupils may chant the subject in a sing-song, parrot-like manner, with
little understanding or vitality
An approach to a drill lesson consists of six major steps :
 Setting a scene
 Checking meaning and understanding
 Emphasizing key learning points
 Drill
 Written test
 Marking and recording
• To present an effective drill strategy it is essential that the following principles be
heeded:
The material must be understood by the pupils
Drill must be held in short, brisk, regular bursts, a drill session should be not longer
than ten minutes
Drill should be interesting: flash cards, using media /technology supports, games
are all means of adding interests, and in some classes computers are also used.
There should be high success rate
Reinforcement, such as praise and immediate feedback on answer strengthens
retention
Drills should be based upon need and individualized as much as possible
 An Exposition Strategy

Purpose
 To transmit information as quickly as meaningful as possible
 It emphasizes building on prior knowledge and having pupils
assimilate information by listening
 The teacher transmits information and the pupils are physically
passive receivers
 It suited to all year levels and abilities but is most commonly used
with older pupils in academic subjects.
Major limitation
 It can be boring, overlong, and poorly presented
 Limited in that pupils have very little opportunity for involvement and
social and skills learning outcomes are marginal.
 Is extremely difficult to cater for individual differences with an
academically oriented exposition strategy.
Approach
An approach to an exposition strategy consists of four major steps :
 Setting the scene
 Presenting the material
 Pupil activity
 Checking understanding/transferring material to real life
 To present an effective exposition strategy it is essential that
The strategy be appropriate to the age, ability , nterest and needs of the
pupils
You go from known to unknown
Subject matter should be presented in s all steps
It should be limited at most to a 20 minute presentation covering two to
three main ideas
The presentation is brisk, interesting, lively and enthusiastic
Pupils be involved as much as possible through listening, commenting,
questioning and responding.
 A demonstration strategy

Purpose
 To promote the acquisition of new skills/content/behavior through
observation and imitation
 It is very traditional but highly effective teaching strategy especially
with young or less able students
 It is suitable to all subjects areas and levels
 It is commonly used in all skills areas, especially physical education,
handwriting, spelling, reading comprehension, mathematic, music
and foreign languages.
Major limitation
 Little scope for independent leanrnig by pupils
 Highly structured strategy and, if insufficient effort is putting in
planning, the demonstration lessons can become very dull and
routine, especially if teachers follow the text book.
An approach to a demonstration strategy consist of four major steps:
Setting the scene
Explaining and demonstrating the skill/content
Pupil practice with teacher feedback
Applying/transferring skill/ content in another context
 A concept strategy
Purpose
 To help pupils organize and categorize information or experience into
meaningful intellectual framework
 Teaching concepts help pupils think more effectively by giving them
the tools for recalling facts, using them in different ways, and ordering
materials into patterns.
 Concept teaching is very much a product of Hilda Taba and Jerome
Brunner learning psychologists
Concepts in several subject areas
Mathematic Social Science Art Music
Studies
Shapes,setsprim Culture Energy Primary Rhythm
e numbers, Anthropologist Momentum colors Mood
order, Race, goods Magnetism Portrait Melody
Operations, and services Flotation Still life harmony
relations, Producers and Mammals Landscape
Measurement, Consumers Living/non Impressioni
base, place, Location Living sm
equations Region Things cubism
capital insects
Major limitation
 It is a process strategy and, therefore limited in its application to the
acquisition of content or highly specific information
 Difficult to find concepts that redily lend themselves to this form
teaching.
 The task of finding concepts in curriculum is time consuming.
Approach to a concept strategy consists of four major steps:
 Setting the scene
 Identifying items that are relevant to a problem
 Grouping these items according to similarity
 Labelling the group
• In order to present a concept strategy effectively it is essential that:
The concept must be worth teaching , it must be significant one
It must have clear characteristics
Pupils have concrete examples/experiences to relate to before
dealing with the more abstract form of the concept
There be active pupil involvement
• Jerome Bruner’s approach to a concept strategy consists of three
major steps :
 Presentation of data and identification of the concept
Test attainment of the concept
Analysis of thinking strategies
 Simulation Games
Purpose
 To re-create as near as possible, a real life situation or experience
 Students learn specific principles, concepts or thinking skills in the cognitive
domain, psychomotor skill/or values and attitudes related to belief,
consequence, efficacy and empathy.
 Students enjoy learning
 Simulation games may be teacher-made or commercially-made games such as
Monopoly, Poleconomy, Bafa Bafa, Black and White etc. There id also wide
range of computer simulation games.
 Simulation games are especially suited to social studies, language arts, and
problem solving activities.
Major disadvantages with simulation games are
 they may distort reality
 become over-competitive and contain hidden values
 Require a lot of effort and time to prepare and play
An approach of simulation games consist of:
 Setting the scene
 Preparing to play the simulation
 Playing the simulation
 Discussion and summary
In using games and simulations it is essential that:
 They are suited to the age, ability level and interests of the pupils
 Groups be thoughtfully arranged
 The teacher is thoroughly familiar with the rules and procedures
 The games be explained clearly
 The teacher monitor the class carefully for disputes, misunderstandings
 All pupils be actively involved
 The teacher structures the post-game discussion to draw important
pronciples, undertsandingd, values and skills from it.
 A group discussion strategy
Purpose
 To foster communication skills within the class
 To help promote thinking and decision making skills
 Fostering differing viewpoints and opinions
 Suitable to social studies such as current affairs, group investigations,
decision making activities, drama, art, research projects , problem-
solving and debating.
Limitation
 It is not suitable for young pupils because of the level of reasoning
which is required
 Depends upon the group routines and the social climate of the class.
 If pupils are not trained in group discussion techniques then the
strategy can be marked by unco-operative and disruptive behavior
An approach to a group discussion strategy consists of four major steps:
 Organizing the group
 Setting the task
 Discussion
 Presentation of findings
To present an effective demonstration strategy it is essential that :
The activity be appropriate to the age, ability, interest and needs of
the pupils
The task be clearly explained, step-step in brief, simple terms
Demonstration in different forms to be used
All pupils can see and hear the explaination and demonstration
There be as much pupil involvement and self-evaluation as possible
 A guided discovery strategy
Purpose
 To help pupils develop their problem solving skills
 Guide students how to learn by doing
 Effective in helping develop better understanding of ideas and
concepts
 Can be used also with young children provided there are lots of
concrete materials and teacher support.
 Suitable to subjects and topics that require active learning, concept
development and finding of solutions to problems
Limitation
 It is not suitable for transmitting a large number of facts in a concise
and efficient manner.
 Without teacher guidance, discoveries can also take a long time for
some pupils.
 Less able students, and thse who need a high degree of structure in
lessons, do not learn as effectively with this strategy.
An approach to guided discovery lesson or inquiry lesson consists of
three major steps :
 The teacher sets a problem
 The pupils explore the problem
 Teacher and pupils discuss the proble and formulate conclusion
To present the guided discovery strategy effectively it is essential that :
 The strategy be appropriate to the age, ability, interests and needs of the
pupils
 The strategy fits class routines
 The teacher understands the subject matter and the process of discovery
 All materials be carefully prepared
 The problem and the task be clearly explained
 Pupils are fully involved and guided through the lesson
 The major finding be summarized.
 An imaginative strategy
Purpose
 To promote creative thought and natural expression
 Emphasizes of attitudinal development, originality, problem solving
 Suitable to all years level and abilities and is most appropriate for art,
drama, movement and dramatic play in social studies.
Limitations
 Pupils’ work can become stereotyped and distinctly lacking in
imagination
 Is not a good strategy for transmitteing academic content
An approach to an imaginative lesson consists of five major steps:
 Setting the scene for the lesson
 Explaining and setting the task
 Pausing for visualization
 Involving the pupils in an open-ended activity
 Presenting and discussing the work
To present an effective imaginative strategy it is essential that:
 The activity be appropriate to the age, interests and needs of the
pupils
 The class climate be relaxed. The teacher should otivate, guide and
encourage pupils throughout the lesson
 The task is carefully explained
 Process rather than end product be emphasized
 The teacher understand the limits of pupils’ creative developent
Best Practices for Implementing 21st Century
Skills
Emerging research encourages teachers and other stakeholders to :
i. focus on real-world problems and processes
ii. support inquiry-based learning experiences
iii.provide opportunities for collaborative project approaches to
learning
iv.focus on teaching students how to learn
Darling-Hammond (2012) suggested some powerful learning that can
be applied are : project-based learning, problem-based learning, and
design-based learning.
Project-Based Learning (PBL)
• PBL has significant benefits for student who work collaboratively on learning
activities in contrast with students who work alone
• Thomas (2007) suggests best practices for PBL include :
-tying project outcomes and curriculum goals,
-employing questions or posing questions to introduce
students to central concepts and principles
- student responsibility for designing, and managing
much of their learning
- basing project on authentic, real-world problems and
questions that students care about.
• It is a form of project-based learning, allows teachers to develop, and students
to focus, on complex, real-world problem using a case study approach
• Students work in a small groups to investigate and pose solutions to problem,
they collaborate and create multifaceted environment
• Students explore multiple solutions and best practices for tackling projects
• Studies and meta-studies (Darling-Hammond et.al, 2008) have found that for
factual learning, problem-based learning has similar impact to traditional
learning methods, but that problem-based learning does exceed traditional
learning methods when skills such as critical thinking, communications,
collaboration, and applying knowledge to real world situation are measured.
Design-Based Learning (DBL)
• DBL has been shown to have the most impact in the areas of math
and science (Darling-Hammond et al. 2012)
• Popular DBL activities include robotics competitions wherein students
teams design, build and then pilot their robots in a series of
competitive challenges.
• Students who participate in learning by design projects have more
systematic understanding of a system’s parts and functions that
control groups.
Problem-based learning
• It is a form of project-based learning, allows teachers to develop, and students
to focus, on complex, real-world problem using a case study approach
• Students work in a small groups to investigate and pose solutions to problem,
they collaborate and create multifaceted environment
• Students explore multiple solutions and best practices for tackling projects
• Studies and meta-studies (Darling-Hammond et.al 2008) have found that for
factual learning, problem-based learning has similar impact to traditional
learning methods, but that problem-based learning does exceed traditional
learning methods when skills such as critical thinking, communications,
collaboration, and applying knowledge to real world situation are measured.
Inquiry-Based Learning
• A student-centered active learning approach focusing on questions,
critical thinking and problem-solving, It is associated with the idea
“involve me and I understand”
• Students and teacher structure the program which on some specific
questions. Students are require to find answer to complete the task.
• Students formulate the idea and teachers coach them to make it
happen. The way students carry on their ideas is quite similar to
project-based learning.
Field Work
• It is a form of project-based learning, allows teachers to develop, and
students to focus, on complex, real-world problem using a case study
approach
• Quite similar to PBL and Project- Based Learning
• It is based on constructivism approach, students construct and discover
their own knowledge, it follows learn by doing principle
• Teacher and students plan the project
• Students conduct the project, collect the data, prepare the report and
summarise it.
• Teacher monitor the whole process and plays role as facilitator