Dear Friends,
Teaching methods
is the topic given to me to talk today.
This topic is very easy to lecture but very
difficult to practice I totally agree to this point because we have a 90 days
constraint with in which we have to finish 5 units, test, seminar, assignments,
functions, holidays, leave etc.
It is not easy I totally agree but we have to
apply combinations of these methods and attempt to make it interesting, we have
no choice. Having said this, I wish to narrate a personal story to start
with.
I started this noble profession in the year 1983
not by choice but by compulsion. After my PG I presumed no more studies, a
typical student mentality, but my dad said you should take up only teaching as
employment because you are safe, ( not now though), no transfers, and you get
summer vacations. So I applied where ever he asked me to and finally landed in
a CBSE school 2 km away from my home. When I received my appointment letter I
was happy but also sad….OMG I have to
study again!
My first class had 21 boys and 4 girls, very
notorious and mischievous. The minute I turn to the board to write something
they will throw paper arrows at my back. I used to feel annoyed and sad. I went
to meet my Professor in college to get some tips to handle these “Vallu
Pasanga”..those days no internet and no orientation like this.
She congratulated
me on my job, and said Good.
I told her: “My
class is boisterous”.
She said: “you
have a classic group of students.”
I said: “They are
throwing paper arrows at me.”
She said: “Ignore
it or catch it.”
I said “they are inattentive”. She said “my dear
child, you are no longer a student, you are now on the other side of the table;
plan, prepare, learn, understand and teach, celebrate each class and each student.”
Thus I did not get any comforting words from her;
so with no choice, to gain economic independence I decided to follow her
advice.
Thus my journey as a teacher started. Initially I
used to prepare for 2 to 3 hours write notes, sometimes memorize like a student
and address the class….Learn and Lecture...method.
I realized when you have command on the subject
the students will slowly settle down, because they have their parents and peer
to face. So the interaction between us was very cordial/ authoritative and
focused.
As the generations followed lecture method became very ineffective so
new teaching methods evolved: role play, case method, debate, brainstorming,
fishbowl, Buzz group, puzzles and of course seminars and assignment. The
methods evolved from a teacher-centric learning to student-centric
learning. Student engagement and collaborations became the buzz
word.
Technology offers
audio visual aids to teaching.
Teaching involves
3 stages: Ignorance; confusion; and then clarity.
The purpose of education and learning is to
eliminate ignorance, ‘Gudakesa’. Arjuna was ‘gudakesa’ but
he was self–motivated. We will never find students like Arjuna nor are
we Dhronacharyas.
Teachers are considered leaders and their duty is
to guide and mentor the students. We need to ignite the spark in them to bring
out their best potentials, and sharpen their mind. We in fact must teach them
how to unlearn and learn, of course we should also train our self to unlearn
and learn.
Think of the days when you learnt to ride a
bicycle. You were not taught to ride. You were told to shed fear and try to
balance. You were initiated to take the risk and balance. You fell down a
number of times but one fine day even without realizing you were able to
balance and ride. A technique you experienced and followed it whenever you sat
on the bicycles until it became a habit. Similarly the students must be
introduced to experiential learning so that it stays and the technique
of learning becomes a habit. This type of teaching builds Confidence.
We need to understand that the confines of class
room are not teaching the students anything. In the class room we teach then
concepts and offer them some content to secure a passport to enter into the
world which is like a football arena. Life is the greatest teacher. We have to
teach them to cope because the future is very uncertain and our
intelligence and experience can never predict it.
Instilling confidence is what we must work for.
I had students from the Tamil medium also. They
never used to speak in English and preferred to write in Tamil. They were very
good in numbers but were not very confident in theory subjects. I told them
that they should attempt to write in English because after you finish your
graduation you are expected to speak a minimum of 10,000 words in English
fluently. If they did not talk the fault lies in us. So I asked these students
to bring the text book read in the class read aloud and as they read I would
teach. This is a very primitive method of teaching yet sometimes we need to
adopt it also. Our objective to see that “all pass in flying colors”; sometimes
we need to adopt this primitive method – Read aloud and teach. This
technique is also collaboration or engagement method.
Teaching involves
2 aspects: Research, Relationship.
Research involves reading, simplifying,
understanding and reproducing.
As teachers we are content creators and we only
deliver the meaning of the concepts. We can only do this, no doubt because we
have a great constraint: time. We can try / attempt to make these concepts
interesting by initiating the students into research.
Send a group of students to the nearby Kirana
store to understand how he / she maintain accounts:
How they get this information is their choice:
interview, observation, and questionnaire. By doing this exercise you are
offering them opportunity to connect with the real world, engaging,
collaborating, communication and igniting critical thinking offering
them some choices.
While applying these teaching methods we need to
have some principles in mind:
(a)
Every student can
achieve results;
(b)
Goals must be ambitious, measurable and meaningful to your students;
(c)
Invest some extra
time for them;
(d)
Plan backwards
but purposefully;
(e)
And finally ensure that the students are able to see their
improvements.
Having briefed on the teaching methods now the
question is how we implement it?
Just be creative
everyday!
Teachers are meant to ignite and inspire, that
will happen only if we are creative in our class every day. You need to think
ahead of your students.
Now, I just want you to look back and think about your school or
college days. Try to recollect one teacher who would have made you feel ‘awe’
or ‘wow’. It could be her or his personality, knowledge, presentation or
simply because he or she spent some extra time with you. You may not member
the concepts but you will remember how she or he made you feel in your class.
As teachers we should also create this sense of ‘wonder’ among students. After
your class they should feel ‘wow’. This is possible only if you think and act
creatively.
What is
creativity?
It is just finding unexpected solutions to obvious problems.
Its features are originality (drawing something new), novelty
(battery driven car), uniqueness (only one of the kind A R Rahman) and usefulness.
The future is very unpredictable, we need to
train the young minds to think out of the box, or think differently, to find
new solutions. Creativity is not art or music, these are creative pursuits.
Creativity is not an inherent talent but an ability to operate differently. It
can also be an ‘old wine in new bottle.’
It is a new perspective to an existing problem.
It springs when you raise your curiosity by frequently asking questions like “why”.
It requires you to be open-minded and tremendously flexible. You must stop
being judgmental-all are good and all are bad. Eliminate or ignore all the bad
and highlight and celebrate the good, that’s all.
Therefore whether you are lecturing, offering
case study, role plays, brain storming, fishbowl, buzz groups, seminars,
assignments or debate just be research oriented and implement it creatively.
The other aspect
in teaching is a very important aspect: Relationship
our relationship with your students is
very important to get across your goal and achieve it. Without that ‘chemistry’
between the teacher and the student it is impossible, none of you are robots.
The old man again asked about the people in the
place the traveler has just left. “They were fine people; honest industrious
and generous,” declared the second traveler. “I am sorry to leave.”
The old man
responded “that’s exactly how you‘ll find the people here.”
Moral: The way people see others is a
reflection of themselves..Its all our perspective.
Teaching is fun and keeps you young throughout.
Be passionate about the profession where your destiny has brought, by being a
confidence builder and igniting creativity in the young minds offering them
boundless care and compassion.
You are the leader engaged in the task of building
valuable leaders of tomorrow.
You can do it;
you shall do it.
Thank you……..@ps
Source:
1. Catherine
Thimmesh, Creativity in classroom,
2. Pierre Pirard, The 5 principles of highly effective teachers:
3. Azul Terronez, What makes a good teacher great?, |
4. Ben Richards, Why teachers teach but kids don’t
learn,
5. Joe Ruhl, Teaching Methods for Inspiring the
Students of the Future,
6. Wakhlu O N Arun Wakhlu, Niloufer Aga, Creativity
Teachers, A Mannual, S.Chand Co.,
Pvt.,
Ltd.,2013
7. Vijoy Prakash, Creative Learning, Viva Books,
Indiaa,2010
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