Bachelor of Education
Principles of Education
1
UNIT 1
UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL TERMS
AND KEY PRINCIPLES
1.1
Understanding terms in education
2
1.2
Characteristics of education
6
1.3
Principles of teaching ad learning
11
1.4
Roles of an educator/teacher
28
1.5
The training of a teacher
31
1.6
Concepts in education
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UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL TERMS
AND KEY PRINCIPLES
1.1
Understanding terms in education
Schooling
Schooling Refers to all what goes on in an institution called school. Malinowski
defines schooling as somewhat restricted part of education which is given by
professional teachers to those who come under their tutelage. The primary
task of the school is to teach and teaching aims at the acquisition of
knowledge and skills and therefore concerns the mind, memory and the brain.
In school, one does not only consider the acquisition of knowledge but many
other aspects concerning the task of the teacher.
Education
Above we discussed what happens at a school under the heading of schooling.
Technically, schooling is known as formal education. Formal education includes
education at school level and at colleges, technikons and universities.
However, it is important to note that education involves more than formal
education. It includes all experiences & activities that help children to learn
about and master what they have to know and also the ways in which they are
expected to act as adults. The education process starts at
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home where children learn their own language and the customs of their
parents. This is the beginning of their education. As they grow up, they learn
from other children and adults by looking, listening playing and by generally
participating in life. This is true both of traditional African communities
where there was little formal schooling during the past, and of modern
societies where a child can spend twelve or more years attending school on a
daily basis.
The word education is derived from the Latin verb ‘educare’ which means to
lead, to accompany or to bring forward. The Greek equivalent is ‘pedagogue’
while in English the relevant term is pedagogy. (Visit the library and try to
understand the terms mentioned above).
Education is thus the process or an undertaking of leading out into new
knowledge. In includes teaching (as the transmission of knowledge) and aims
at developing all the faculties of the child and all aspects of man’s existence.
The people involved are the educator (teacher) and the educand (learner).
The process can be described as the endeavors of the mature to lead the
immature to maturity.
Teaching
Teaching is thus a process by which knowledge is transferred from one person
to another. It refers to the interpretation of facts and skills to those who
must acquire them. It is an essential element of education that cannot occur
at the exclusion of education. When a teacher teaches the learner learns and
thereby gets educated. Teaching cannot occur at the exclusion of education.
Profession
All work can be divided according to the amount of skill that is necessary to
do it. Most people can do unskilled work as this generally requires very little
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skill. Work such as sweeping and dinging falls in the category of unskilled
work.
At the second level, we find semi-skilled work. A short period of training is
necessary to do this type of work. Persons who are responsible for operating
machines are example of semi-skilled workers.
At third level, we find the skilled workers, people who have to complete a
period of apprenticeship and who usually need a certain amount of technical
schooling.
The forth level of work is known as the profession. Professional training is
acquired at post standard-ten level, usually at universities, colleges or
technikons. Such training includes advanced theoretical work and enables the
person to solve basic problems in connection with the work and identify the
relationship between the work and the community. Professional training
usually lasts for at least three years.
Examples of the professions are medical doctors, engineers, social workers,
nurses, lawyers and teachers.
Some professions are practiced as independent business, as in the case of
medical doctors and lawyers who have their own practices. In other cases
professional people are employed in businesses for example when doctors and
nurses work in hospitals, or engineers who work in industrial concerns. In most
cases teachers are employed by the Government department known as the
Department of Education. This Department is responsible for everything that
has to do with schools, and includes the provision of school buildings.
Profession is a body that provides special service to the community based on
accumulated knowledge, skill and wisdom.
A profession can be understood in many ways. The following are the few:
 It is a vocation or a calling that involves some branch of advanced learning
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 It is a body of specialized and cumulated knowledge
 It involves great personal responsibility
 Life-long vacation because of the nature of training and satisfaction
derived from the job
Learning
It is a process by which we acquire and retain attitudes, knowledge,
understanding, skills and capabilities that cannot be attributed to inherited
behaviour patterns. Rate of learning depends on environmental factors.
Training
Training is different from teaching but is also an important aspect of
education. The trainees are the recipients. Whereas in teaching it is facts
and skills that are transferred in training only skills are involved. Skills are
acquired through experimentation, trail-and-error, practice and conditioning.
Drill and rote learning fall into this category. Training does not involve the
application of the intellect and often without insight. It is a fact that animals
cannot be taught but trained to a limited extent.
Moulding
In the original sense of the word, the concept ‘moulding’ refers to the process
of changing the shape or form of metals, rubber, or synthetic materials by
pouring them in the liquid form into a mould or cast. When the material has
hardened it has taken on the shape of the mould.
When used in education it refers to the teacher’s action of forming or
changing the character and personality of a child. The concept of ‘moulding’
is a direct translation of the German Bildung and Bildsamkeit and the
Netherlands (and Afrikaans) word vorming.
Indoctrination
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The concept “indoctrination” is derived from the Latin word in (in) and
doctrina (learn). Indoctrination refers to the imprinting of particular ideas on
someone else’s mind. The concept usually has an unfavourable connotation.
Indoctrination leaves open no other options, it tells people what to think, and
annihilates independent thought. The indoctrinator believes that his cause is
the only one that is valuable and acceptable
1.2
Characteristics of Education
1.2.1
Education is a typically human activity
This does not mean that all people are always educating or being educated,
but merely that only man educates, can be educated and depends upon
education. Animals and things cannot educate and cannot be educated. Man is
a being that educates and can be educated, is in itself one of the most
fundamental characteristics (features) of the human image. As a typically
human relation, education is interwoven with all other human activities (such
as eating, dress, religion, etc) but is nevertheless clearly distinct from these.
1.2.2.
Education is a universal phenomenon
Although it may be true that in the more specialized (open) cultures,
education is an organized and systematized activity is more clearly and visibly
present than in the less specialized (closed) cultures, it does not mean that
only civilized people educate. Education occurs wherever and whenever there
are people. It cannot be confined to formal institutions of learning such as
schools. All man educate and can be educated regardless of space and time.
1.2.3
Education is an inter-human relation
Education may be typically human and may be universal, but man in isolation
cannot achieve education. Education is never a man-animal or a man-thing
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relation but always an inter-human contact relation. It is always man that
educates man. The number of people involved cannot be fewer than two - it
may be more.
1.2.4
Education is a heterogeneous phenomenon
Although education implies two people at least, these two cannot both be
adults, and although no adult ever achieves completion, the adult (mature) is
the self-responsible and free personality, guiding and assisting the dependent
and yet unfree person-in-becoming. Education thus implies the become and
the becoming, not specifically biological or economic self-sufficiency or even
mental ability per se, but much rather moral and spiritual maturity, i.e. the
responsible and answerable conduct of the free personality to decide on
grounds of knowledge or conviction (including concepts of good and evil)
whence to lead the young. This responsibility includes the consequences of
such acts as decided upon. Education therefore takes place amongst unequals.
It may occur between adults and adults but such adults should not be at the
same level of development.
1.2.5
Educating is a purposeful situation
Education implies intended exertion of influence, i.e. (not merely incidentally
being together, but purposive interference with the process of becoming, of
growing. This being-together is based on sympathy, on love and on a sense
of responsibility. The learner (child) is not responsible for his existence,
for his being-there; he is in fact the responsibility, both in the biological
and in the spiritual (moral) sense, of the adult. The teacher is responsible
for causing the being-together to develop into an educational situation in
which the adult is responsible for the changes brought about, for the
consequences, i.e. for the realisation of that which is present as potential
only. The child is not responsible for his immaturity nor for his being in
need of education. The teacher is responsible for the situation, the process
and its means and methods, and also for the outcome. The teacher is
responsible and answerable, the child not yet. Education is thus
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directed towards positive goals and seeks to modify and develop the
personality of the person. It develops all the human capabilities of the
individual.
The fact that the teacher is the responsible agent implies that he has
decided upon the direction, the aims and values that are to be transmitted in
the process of education. These, we find, can only be interpreted if seen as
the specific task of a specific teacher in a specific milieu (environment).
Educationally milieu would include all the cultural, spiritual and environmental
influences typical of a specific cultural group in which these values are to be
maintained and progressively developed, Even for this the teacher is
responsible; the specific purpose is decided upon by the specific, teacher,
and is related to a set of values.
1.2.6
Education brings about changes
Although it is true that to a certain extent society is fashioned by education
(and vice versa), the changes brought about, by education as defined, refer to
changing the learner. As a child is a being that wants to become a personality,
the child is co-operatively engaged in the process of education, but in the last
instance it is the teacher that decided upon the contents and direction of the
changes that are realised. To a certain extent it is not what the teacher says
that most directly influences the child, hut what he really is. The teacher
only then achieves lasting results when his own person can act as an example.
The learner observes his teachers, evaluates them and either follows or
rejects these.
Education has only then taken place when certain
characteristics of the teacher have been assimilated by the learner, but then
as transformed and made into his own.
The teacher, therefore, does much more than direct the learner's innate
abilities, his natural process of maturation: the teacher is an integral part of
the change effected in the learner. What is more, the same teacher under
similar conditions, affects different learners differently because although
only a personality-in-becoming, each individual learner is unique and
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responds in an individual way to the educational situation. Only this do they
all have in common: education changes the learner, and this is always related
to positive values.
1.2.7
Education is not a continuous phenomenon (intermittent)
Education does not appear as soon as an adult and a child meet in a "contact"
situation. Very often adults (parents, teachers) and children are together for
pleasure; for company or for conversation, where the adult does not figure as
teacher or the child as learner. Education as phenomenon appears only when
the external contact or being-together becomes an existential meeting, but
the educational, situation may and the being-together may return to a mere
societal niveau. The existential meeting is at the same time didactical
(instructive) and pedagogical (accompanying). The child is aware of the
directed attention and of the purposive intention of the teacher. If
education takes place, if the "situation succeeds", the learner accepts the
intention, the attitude or norm as offered by the teacher., but that not
merely authoritatively - the learner makes it his own: he changes, adjusts and
modifies his own conduct and his own beliefs to such an extent that he is in
harmony with the teacher. This harmony is the result, of the achieved
intention and is therefore the prerequisite to the creation of the educational
situation. If the child has misbehaved, the teacher (parent) will become aware
of the distortion of this harmony and will take the responsibility on himself to
restore the broken harmony, i.e. the sympathetic sentiment of love towards
the child activates the phenomenon of education.
Education does not always succeed - there may be many reasons the child may
not be prepared to follow the guidance or to accept the assistance offered,
but very often, the teacher may fail in his intention to restore harmony and,
instead of assisting the child in his becoming a free personality, may cause a
feeling of guilt. Sometimes education is intended to be a harmonious
development, an unfolding of a process that is taking place, and then there is
no misbehaviour and no break in the harmonious feeling of being together; and
yet it may fail if the existential contact, is not realised.
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The child is in need of help, but help motivated by and grounded on a
sympathetic appreciation of his being-in-need-of-help. Only then can the
learner surrender itself to the education offered.
1.2.8
Education is a "vanishing" phenomenon
The learner is a personality-in-becoming and as such he is constantly changing.
This process of changing constitutes his own decision, his own approval of
what is taking place. The learner wants to become a personality and so looks
for a free, self-responsible personality that can serve as his ideal. In his
growing towards this ideal, in fact and sometimes only in fantasy, he approves
of his growth, he is pleased with the fact that he not only can do, but also can
act as the ideal personality does. His growth towards adulthood, towards his
own self, is the aim of education and of the teacher. The teacher feels
himself driven to supply the means rind direction of this growth of the child.
Sometimes this may be overdone, and education may fail, as in the case of the
Japanese mother (quoted by Perguin) who secretly supplied her sick child with
sugar although it was forbidden by the hospital. The child got worse and in
the end died - but the mother could not resist this basic desire to assist, to
help the child. The only way in which this drive can be satisfied is when the
learner follows the advice, the direction given by the teacher and thus
achieves the ideal as envisaged by the latter.
Then education as a
phenomenon vanishes - the learner has achieved adulthood, and is no longer in
need of guidance and help.
It is important to note that no human being is over complete, or final.
Achieving adulthood, therefore, cannot be said to have happened on a certain
moment - it is a gradual process and education vanishes gradually, to the same
extent as independence is realized. In other words, a child at 6 will need
more constant education than a child of 10, while a child at 16 will occasionally
be educated for as the child grows towards adulthood, the need for help and
guidance will vanish. This does not mean that at l6 a child does not need
education: this may be a very difficult, stage of his transition to adulthood,
but he is at, the threshold of manhood. When he has achieved
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the latter, education has achieved its aim, and, in his case, must vanish. The
adult, including the parent, should now recognize in him that free independent
human being who will be responsible for himself and answerable to his own
conscience. Very often adults wish to continue educating their grown-up
children, usually with disastrous effect. Education is a vanishing phenomenon.
1.3
Principles of teaching and learning
Teaching takes place in and out of school. Out of school, teaching is informal,
unplanned and spontaneous. What is taught out of school is a body of
haphazard or un sorted facts or pieces of knowledge about life e.g how to
cook, how to do washing, how to drive a car and so-on. The teaching of these
facts of life takes place informally and is not pre-prepared. Numerous and
various methods are used. Any method that comes to mind and can serve the
purpose at any given time is used. A fair number of methods can be used to
teach one single piece of activity.
At school, teaching is systematic, planned and has clear objectives or aims.
What is taught is pre-planned. Facts and skills to be taught are selected
from the whole body of available knowledge in life. These are arranged
systematically in a meaningful way. Similar pieces of knowledge are put
together to form subjects. Within one subject, it is possible to further
classify pieces of knowledge according to their level of difficulty so that the
easier are taught in the lower classes while the more difficult are taught in
the upper classes. It is further possible to set aside a fair amount of
knowledge for a particular class in one subject. Specific methods are used in
delivering this knowledge. Methods are decided on the basis of both
traditional and basic principles.
1.3.1
a)
Traditional principles
From the known to the unknown
Knew knowledge should form a link with the knowledge and experiences that
the learner has already acquired. All knew knowledge must relate to existing
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knowledge. This means that the unknown should be linked to the known. A
teacher should start with the known and gradually moves to the unknown.
Teachers should first find out what the learners already know. This will help
the teacher to add new knowledge. Doing so also motivates learners to be
attentive as they connect what they know with the new.
b)
From the simple (easy) to the complex (difficult)
It is advisable that teachers should always start with the easy content and
make sure that it is thoroughly understood before moving to the difficult one.
Mastering what is simple first ensures success and leads to confidence. The
work should not be too easy as this is likely to demotivate learners. The
teacher should not judge what is easy because it may be easy for the teacher
and not the learner.
c)
From the concrete to the abstract
The learner lives in a concrete world (world of matter) and learns by
observing things. In the process of learning the learner should understand
the meaning of words. All teaching must be based on the concrete world of
the learner. This involves the use of visual material. Even the language used
by the teacher is very important and should relate to the learner’s
experiences.
1.3.2 Basic principles of teaching & learning
a)
This




Totality
principle is named in various ways, e.g
Principle of integration
Principle of focus and context
The principle of wholeness
The global principle
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It is the starting point (nucleus) of education. Emphasis is on man as a unity,
a totality or a whole.
Although human beings are made up of many
characteristics, these still form a whole and cannot be separated. Education
is directed at forming the whole person (developing the person in all respects
– physically, ethically, religiously, emotionally, socially, politically and
vocationally). Education offered at home, school and community should
complement each other. All activities should thus be related, and is all
activities are linked, education becomes more meaningful.
Summary of the totality process
a) global impression of an undifferentiated whole
b) analysis of the whole into its parts
c) relation information between the parts and their sub-divisions and
between the parts and the whole
d) Synthesizing and systematization
e) Return to the whole, which now is something more than the original
undifferentiated whole
In teaching, the summary of the whole lesson must therefore, be presented
first in an outline, for example, the summary of the whole novel may be given
before coming to chapters; the map of the world comes before the study of
the various countries.
b)
Individualisation
No two people can ever be the same. Any individual human being is unique.
Various factors, both hereditary and environmentally influence the
development of a human personality. Even identical twins become different
persons altogether in many respects. Every individual has unique attitudes,
wishes, behaviour, character, aspirations and will react differently in unique
way to different situations. The teacher, therefore should not treat learners
as if they were the same. They react differently to the teacher’s approaches
when he ridicules, speaks, punishes, praises etc. The teacher has to study and
understand the personality of every learner and treats all learners in
accordance with unique personality.
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Individualized teaching constitutes a practice in which teaching as a whole is
designed to fully develop each learner according to his own potentialities,
abilities and interests. In teaching practice this would mean that each learner
would follow his own adapted syllabus, apply his own ways of working and
method, work at his own pace and, in doing so, perform in accordance with his
own particular skills and interests. (The distinction between the principle of
individualization, as described earlier, and individualized teaching should be
noted.)
Individual teaching is a form of individualized teaching, but not synonymous
with individualized teaching. Individual teaching is a one-to-one meeting where
each teacher teaches one learner at a time.
Differentiated teaching aims at the teaching of different homogeneous
groups of learners in order to make provision for specific skills, intellectual
abilities, common interests, etc.
Some
advantages
and
disadvantages
of
the
didactic
principle
individualization are as follows:
Advantages
a) Individualization takes into account the fact that every pupil is a unique
individual, with a need for individual attention.
b) It allows every pupil to take part in the learning activity as an
individual according to his own ability.
c) This principle can be applied in all the facets of learning and not only
in one specific facet.
(d) It ensures more meaningful contact between teacher and pupil.
(e) It recognizes the principle of an individual working pace.
(f) It demands greater responsibilities from the child and a greater
involvement in the situation of instruction.
(g) The risk of failure, one of the main disadvantages of class teaching,
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is lessened with individual teaching.
Disadvantages
(a) It is very time-consuming.
(b) The advantages of group work are lost.
(c) Intellectual differences may be overemphasized at the expense of
qualitative differences.
(d) It takes too much note of the individual and too little of the group.
(e) Individualized teaching methods make heavy demands on the teacher.
(f) Not all teachers are capable of applying this principle with success.
The teacher is, therefore, faced with a situation where neither class teaching
nor individualized teaching is wholly satisfactory as a separate teaching
method. The fact of the matter is that, in practice, the teacher finds himself
in a school that has a pronounced classroom character, but the need for
individualization cannot be ignored. The best solution to this problem seems to
be a combination of class teaching and individualized teaching. The teacher
does not have to choose between the principles of class teaching and
individualization, but he must apply both principles in a sensible way to achieve
the best teaching and laming results. The actual way in which he combines
class teaching and individualized instruction, will vary from subject to
subject, topic to topic, lesson to lesson, standard to standard, etc.
An important point to remember is that individualization does not only imply
the practice of teaching each child separately or individually. It also means
working in more or less homogeneous groups. Group formation is an important
aspect of individualized instruction. Pupils are usually grouped according to
ability, achievement and interest. Each of these groups then works as a team
on a particular topic and within each group every individual works in such a way
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that his individuality is not ignored. The teacher works with each group
individually and attends to individual problems on a continuous basis.
c)
Mother tongue teaching
To a large extent this principle links up with the principles of individuality and
home instruction. It features mainly during the first years in primary school.
As we cannot ignore the child’s individuality, his home and environment, it is
necessary to teach him in his home language. Going to school is in itself
traumatic experience for some children. If, in addition to this, he is
instructed in a foreign or semi-foreign language, the results can be
disastrous. Language is the most important medium used in the child’s
acquisition of knowledge. It is the medium of expressing thoughts. This is
why the home language (the language learnt at home) should be used as the
medium of instruction.
By recognizing the principle of mother-tongue
instruction, we are also recognising the principle of home instruction.
Only after a child has fully mastered his home language and is able to express
his thought in it, can he be instructed in another language. A child who cannot
learn successfully when he is instructed in his home language (mother tongue)
will be an even greater failure if he is instructed in another language.
The ideal situation would be if every pupil could at all times be educated
through his mother-tongue. This is not always possible or practical. There
are considerations which at times force educational and school authorities to
replace the mother-tongue at carefully chosen stages of pupil’s school
careers. What are the most important of these considerations in connection
with the different indigenous African languages in operation in Southern
Africa?
The following reasons for replacing the mother-tongue as a medium of
instruction with a foreign language (in most cases English) may be mentioned.

They do not possess the scientific and technical terminology necessary
for use as a teaching medium at the higher levels.
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d)
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There is a lack of literature in general, and academic textbooks in
particular, written in theses languages.
Socialisation (group work)
This principle takes into account that the teaching activity in a school in
general, and the classroom in particular, is primarily a group activity. In this
sense the principle of class teaching also implies the principle of socialization.
It is, therefore, based on the fact that man is a social being. Education and
instruction must therefore be directed at preparing the child for life in the
community. He should become a responsible person who can work together
with other people. He can become a responsible, independent social being only
within a community. In realizing this objective the school has an important
role to play. It must function as a community and it is in this respect that the
principle of class teaching or class instruction is important.
What is class teaching? It may be defined as teaching for the benefit of a
group of people wanting to learn. This implies teaching in which all pupils in a
class assimilate the same subject matter, according to the same time-table,
by the same method and with the same teaching and learning media. In this
system of teaching the teacher is in full control of the teaching situation, and
the grouping of pupils is done according to more or less the same age level.
Advantages
(a) It promotes socialization and co-operation in class activities.
(b) It prepares the pupil for life in a bigger community.
(c) The pupil learns to respect the views and actions of others.
(d) It is a practical solution to the problem of large pupil numbers and not
enough teachers.
(e) The teacher's task is made easier as far as supervision and maintaining
order and discipline are concerned.
(f) The teacher does not have to fall into the habit of repetition, and the
demands made on him or her are less exacting.
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Disadvantages
Despite these advantages, class teaching also has a few disadvantages:
a) One of the strongest arguments against class teaching is that little
happens in respect of individualization, because the uniform teaching
tempo in class teaching fails to allow for differences in pupils' ability. Also
class teaching has a compelling nature which does not allow for individual
pace, interest and ability.
b) Secondly, class teaching holds the danger of passive listening on the part
of the pupils. They do not become actively involved in classroom and
learning activities.
c) Class teaching often results in teaching primarily aimed at the average
pupil, mainly because the teacher has to deal with a heterogeneous group of
pupils. The outcome of this is that below-average and above-average pupils
are often ignored or overlooked and their educative needs are not
adequately met.
(d) Class teaching may easily lead to stagnation and degenerate into
repetition for attaining results in examinations without first promoting
insight and learning.
(e)Teachers often regard class teaching as an easy solution for their didactic
problems.
e)
Differentiation
The principle of differentiation stems directly from the principle of
individualization.
individualized
Differentiation
teaching.
It
brings
comprises
together
all
the
class
teaching
different
forms
and
of
individualization. In the teaching situation the application of this principle
implies a less rigid class organisation, allowance for individual differences,
difference
in
working
pace,
interest,
ability,
cultural
background,
environment, etc. It takes the accent away from teaching directed at the
average pupil and places emphasis on the individual pupil and his personal
circumstances and potentialities.
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Advantages of differentiation
(a) The requirements and needs of the class as a group as well as every
individual pupil are taken into consideration, and these are reconciled in
an integrated teaching-learning situation.
(b) Because differentiation concerns the individual pupil, the possibility of
success is raised.
(c) The pupil's interest is kept at a high level at all times and he is
constantly involved in a learning activity.
(d) Differentiation creates opportunities for healthy competition within the
class.
Disadvantages of differentiation
(a) It is not always easy to differentiate properly and with certainty
between pupils. Therefore, pupils may often be classified on a wrong
basis.
(b) The gifted pupils may tend to look down on their less fortunate
classmates, while the less gifted pupils may develop a sense of
inferiority.
c) The question often arises whether teachers are in all circumstances able
to differentiate in their teaching, e.g. in the methods and educational
media they use, the way in which they evaluate pupils' work, etc.
(d) A school does not always have the facilities, freedom in time-table
construction, or enough teachers to make proper differentiation
possible.
(e) When pupils are not grouped into different classes but groups are
formed within a class, there is always the danger that differentiation
will not be effective.
(f) Differentiation is a very time-consuming endeavour.
f)
Perception (experience)
Perception refers to the principle that the student should familiarize himself
with the concrete aspect of the subject matter to ensure a better grasp of
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the theoretical. The abstract learning situation needs a concrete basis,
otherwise it frequently becomes meaningless verbalism. Perception is more
than just sensory perception: it includes more than touching, seeing, etc. in
the literal sense; it includes all of these plus the mental process of forming a
concept or making sense of the thing observed.
Learning content must be made perceptible and must be experienced. Learning
begins with perception and representations, in other words, with observation
and experience. The principle of perception (experience) therefore implies
that the teacher will take measures to present the subject matter in such a
way that the pupils can enter into the spirit and the feeling of it. In teaching
practice this can be accomplished by concretizing, that is, by acquainting the
pupils with the actual object, or a true-to-life replica of it. It can also be
achieved by dramatization, that is, by relating the event in such a way that
the pupils experience the emotions of the people constituting the subject
matter themselves.
g)
Self-activity
The didactic principle of self-activity has been characteristic of learning
activities throughout the centuries. Socrates emphasized self-activity in his
learning discussion; Rousseau came out against the so-called word-teaching;
Pestalozzi emphasized direct experience and self-activity as the foundations
of successful teaching.
The principle of self-activity is based upon the fact that no learning can take
place if the learner does not do something by self-exertion. Therefore
learning can be regarded as an intellectual act which must occur for the
benefit of the learner and at the learner's own initiative. No one can actually
teach someone else something; one can supply the educational material, make
the learning circumstances as ideal as possible and provide the necessary
verbal, visual or auditory stimuli, but it remains the learner's responsibility to
form his own concepts. He will remember the subject matter and gain
knowledge by self exertion, exercise and repetition. This knowledge will have
greater didactic value than that obtained through communication.
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Although written and spoken expression may also be regarded as activities,
self-activity as didactic principle or guideline encompasses far more than
those. There are many skills which man cannot acquire except by active
participation. Meaningful activity, which complements traditional instruction
and follows as an application of theory, obliges the student to think once
again, and offers an opportunity for better insight.
Purposefulness is a prerequisite for meaningful self-activity, and other
didactic principles also form a close interrelationship with self-activity; a
learner who is busy with purposeful self-activitv will be motivated to learn;
the emphasis on the individual requirements of the learner will be an incentive
for self-activity; regular and continuous evaluation will assist the learner to
acquaint himself with his present standard and he will be encouraged to
improve on his performance; etc.
h)
Discovering
The principle of discovering emphasizes that the teacher will purposefully
take steps to teach his pupils inquiringly, experimentally, by solving problems,
analytically and by asking questions.
One of the most important goals in education is to help pupils to solve
problems. Unfortunately, teachers do not always grant their pupils the
opportunity to seek solutions to problems. Instead, they make use of the
"telling" method. Facts are merely discussed, relationships pointed out,
subject matter "explained" and so on, while pupils sit and listen passively, look
up definitions in books or, at most, try proving the result of a problem
experimentally. In many cases this result is already known! The numerous
problems which do arise in pupils as a result of phenomena which they
observe, read, or experience daily in the classroom, are often overlooked.
Still, it is precisely these problems which trigger the learning process into
motion.
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Discovering takes place when the learner, making use of his senses and
cognitive (thinking) processes, succeeds in gaining insight into relationships
leading to concept, rule or theory formation. In general, the following steps
are associated with discovering:
 perception
 comparison
 contrasting
 prediction
 description.
The close interrelationship of discovering, as didactic principle, with the
totality principle, which was dealt with earlier, should be noted.
i)
Mastering
It sometimes happens that a teacher applies all of the didactic principles
thoroughly and his pupils understand the work, but they still fare badly in
the final examination. This under-achievement can be ascribed to faulty
mastering.
The mastering principle assumes that once the teacher has explained the
work to his pupils, he will take steps to ensure that they master it completely.
In the normal teaching-learning (lesson) situation these would include
application of didactic principles, linking up with previous knowledge, proper
questioning techniques, chalkboard and other summaries, exercises, coaching,
repetition, revision, homework, etc. The mastering principle also stresses the
necessity for regular testing and remedial work.
j)
Interest and motivation
The principle of motivation is one of the most important principles of our
study of teaching method. The teacher is often faced with questions such
as: "How can I create in my pupils a desire to learn?" "How can I maintain this
desire?" "How can I motivate my pupils to work or to learn?" "What method is
the best for motivating them?" "What drives children to learn or wish to
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know?" "How can pupils be influenced towards desirable knowledge?" All
these questions involve the principle of motivation. We distinguish between
two types of motivation, namely extrinsic and intrinsic.
Extrinsic motivation results from such external factors as favourable
circumstances, favourable environmental influences, an exemplary (ideal)
teacher, the subject matter and method of instruction, competition, prizes,
allocation of marks, promotion, certificates and various other rewards.
Intrinsic motivation is closely related to the learning situation and is
determined by such factors as the meaningfulness of education, its purpose,
the inner striving of the pupil towards self-activity, self-realization, values,
norms and standards, and the will to arrive at intellectual maturity by means
of education.
The most important fact about motivation is that it results from the child's
interests and from the activities of play. The teacher must be acquainted
with the child's interests and his teaching must be based on these and form a
link with them. If the child's interest can be aroused he will be motivated
and become self-active.
Motivation as didactic principle is the insight to win students, and to prepare
them for the learning situation and for optimum tension. From this it follows
that successful motivation by the teacher will have the result that the
learner will spontaneously show a willingness to learn and will be dedicated to
his learning task. Since motivation is a highly personal issue, it is often the
decisive element in efficient instruction and learning.
The input and enthusiasm of the teacher, and therefore his motivation, kindle
a similar response from the learner, with the result that the learner will, to
the best of his ability, respond to the demands of the didactic situation. All
learning activity is in a sense dependent on motivation. In some students
motivation has to be created, in others it is innate. There are many ways of
motivating students. One of the most effective is to delineate the aims with
enthusiasm at the beginning of a learning activity.
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The following motivation techniques are identified:
1. The teacher's personality and view of life, where positive aspects are
emphasized, can be an important motivation for learners.
2. Linking up of subject matter with the learners' needs.
3. Application of differentiation and individualization principles.
4. Self-activity.
5. Reward as incentive.
6. The application of positive tension as learning incentive.
7. Stimulation of the learner's sense of curiosity.
8. Presenting relevant learning matter.
9. Striving at clearly-defined aims and objectives.
10. The effective use of educational media.
Another important factor in motivation is the "knowledge of results". Present
success and expectation of further success have a desirable effect on the
motivation of students. Success leads to a raising of the student's level of
aspiration. In general, the greater the success, the higher is the level of
aspiration and achievement.
From the above it is again evident that there is an interrelationship between
didactic principles: efficient and effective learning and teaching can only take
place when both teacher and learner are motivated, and motivation is
dependent on purposefulness, self-activity, individuality, planning, mastery,
evaluation, etc.
k)
The principle of environmental teaching
We have pointed out that the child's home and social environment should be
brought into the classroom. Education should proceed from this and link up
with it. This is especially true of the primary school child.
By environment we mean the place (farm, town, or city where the child spends
his youth, and where he lives when he is not at school. The child's
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environment offers him a great deal of knowledge and experience. When the
child goes to school, this knowledge is still largely disorganized and does not
form a whole. It is the task of the school to organize the knowledge into a
meaningful whole. The school must always consider the child's experience
outside the school, and attempt to bring this experience into the classroom.
This is especially true in the primary school. The teacher must unite the
home, community and school to the advantage of the child and his education.
Therefore the teacher must know the community and should participate in
community activities.
It is obvious that different environmental situations exist in rural and urban
areas. Rural schools have at their disposal a variety of teaching and learning
materials such as trees, flowers, animals, birds, dams, roads, mountains,
streams, the weather, frost, drought, etc. Urban schools have city traffic,
town planning, water schemes, power stations, big shops, banks, post office,
the zoo, fire brigade, abattoir, railway stations, university, colleges, etc. It is
the task of the teacher to use the resources his environment offers him and
to use the things with which his pupils are familiar to make his teaching
interesting and meaningful.
When deciding on a lesson to be taught and a method to use it should always
be remembered that learners will learn much faster and easier if content/
the facts to be learnt are related to what the child already knows in his/her
environment.
l)
Example
It has already been stated (in Chapter 2) that educative teaching implies the
unlocking of the learner for the world and the unlocking of the world (reality)
for the learner. This reality, however, is extremely complex and all the
learning content is not readily accessible for the child. In fact, as the result
of the rapid increase in knowledge, the total of this reality is not even an open
book for the adult. It has been calculated that the first doubling of
man's knowledge since the birth of Christ occurred around 1750, the second
in 1900, the third in 1950 and the fourth in 1960. Since then, it is calculated
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that knowledge doubles every five years. The result is that the teacher must
select certain representative parts or aspects of reality and present these by
way of example as learning content to the learner.
By using an example to represent a matter, the relationships of the
particular (i.e. the example) with the general matter assist the learner to
grasp structures within a greater reality. The example is used to explain basic
principles of a matter, thus enabling the learner to apply these principles in
understanding greater related fields of knowledge.
From the foregoing is should be clear that, in order to qualify as example, the
example must be representative of a greater field of knowledge. The example
should therefore reflect the characteristics of the general type or field of
knowledge it represents.
Examples may, depending on the matter they represent, function in different
ways:
(a) A simple object used as example can be an example of a specific type, for
example in Biology where monocotyledons, self-pollination and crosspollination are dealt with.
(b) The example can also serve as typical of a group of individual possibilities.
The structure of a symphony, for example, may be described by using a
Beethoven symphony as example.
(c) The example can be used to prove a rule, for example in mathematical
theorems.
(d) The example can also serve as a model to illustrate abstract aspects of a
subject, for example atomic models in the study of the structure of the
atom.
(e) The example may be used as norm, for example standardized scholastic
tests.
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Development
The child must be helped and guided in his natural desire for development.
Man is born with the potential for developing. How far he develops will depend
on the education and instruction he receives. Man develops gradually along the
path of life through the various developmental stages, each with its own
needs, problems, possibilities, values and characteristics. He remains a
developing individual all his life and never reaches perfection in his
development. The stages of development cannot be completely separated. It
is the developmental process as a whole (totality) that is important. The
principle of totality is therefore also valid in this case.
A further aspect that we should consider here is that the child at a certain
age may be in one stage of development as far as his physical and emotional
aspects are concerned, but in either a higher or lower stage of development
as regards his intellectual ability. The teacher, in his choice of subject
matter, his method of presenting the subject matter, his choice of
educational media, his enforcement of discipline, his evaluation methods and in
the degree of difficulty of the work he sets, must always consider the
developmental stage of his pupils.
n)
Purposefulness and actualization
The degree to which education generally, or a single lesson in particular, can
be regarded as successful, is determined by the extent to which aims and
objectives originally set are achieved. The objectives should therefore form
the core around which the lesson is built, the point of departure from which
the teacher plans his presentation and the target at which he aims his
subject matter, methods, strategies and educational media.
The teaching-learning situation is a directed situation: it has a direction. The
teacher must clearly state were the situation will lead to, what is intended,
how specific objectives will be attained, what will be expected from the
learner in the specific situation, how the effect of the didactic situation will
be evaluated, etc. It is therefore important to discuss the aims and
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objectives with the pupils so that they, too, may know the destination(s)
envisaged and can follow the progress towards them. The formulation of
objectives will usually be meaningful to the pupils, contribute to their
motivation and effect greater purposefulness in their participation.
The term "actualization" refers to the realization of particular acts. In the
teaching-learning situation this action refers to the fact that teacher and
learner are actively together, with a view to the actualization (or attainment)
of positive (human) potentialities. Actualization, as didactic principle,
therefore, stresses the importance of purposefulness in the teaching-learning
situation towards goal achievement.
Purposefulness is one of the basic principles in didactics, applicable to all
teaching-learning situations and to all subject areas and levels. As such,
purposefulness is closely interrelated with other didactic principles such as
motivation, planning, mastery and evaluation.
1.4
Roles of an Educator / Teacher
(Please note that in this section there is reference to educators as policy
makes reference to educators).
After the elections in 1994, the new Department of Education appointed a
Committee on Teacher education Policy (COTEP) to develop a set of norms and
standards for teacher education. These norms and standards were declared a
national policy in 1995 by the then Minister of education, Professor Sibusiso
Bengu. According to the National Education Policy Act of 1996, the document
was determined Norms and Standards for Educators as National Policy and
the final document was published in February 2000. The document that was
developed reflected a shift away from the former content-based approach
to teacher training, and towards a process-oriented
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Scope and purpose of the policy statement
The document starts by defining an educator. The term, educator in the
document refers to all those who teach or educate others. It refers to all
those who provide professional educational service at any public school,
further education and training institution or departmental office. These are
educators in the classroom, Heads of Departments, Deputy Principals,
Principals, Education Development Officers (EDOs), District and Regional
Managers and Systems Managers. The policy was later augmented to
encompass the entire range of educators as defined in the Employment of
Educators Act (Act No 76 of 1998) – those who teach, educate and train in
adult basic education centres or early childhood development centres.
The policy describes the roles of educators. There are seven roles that
educators are expected to perform. They are:
1.4.1
Learning Mediator
1.4.2
Interpreter and Designer of Learning Programmes and Materials
1.4.3
Leader, Administrator and Manager
1.4.4
Scholar, Researcher and Lifelong Learner
1.4.5
Community, Citizenship and Pastoral role
1.4.6
Learning Area/Subject/Discipline/Phase Specialist, and
1.4.7
Assessor
1.4.1
Learning Mediator
The educator is expected to mediate learning in a manner sensitive to the
diverse needs of the learners. He/she has to construct learning environments
that are appropriate, contextualised and inspirational. He/she should display
sound knowledge of the subject content and communicate that effectively.
1.4.2
Interpreter and Designer of Learning Programmes and
Materials
The educator will understand and interpret the provided learning programmes.
The educator is also expected to design original learning programmes, select
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and prepare suitable textual and visual resources for learning. The educator
will also pace learning in a manner sensitive to the needs of the learning area
and the learners.
1.4.3
Leader, Administrator and Manager
The educator will manage learning in the classroom, carry out classroom
administrative duties efficiently. He/she will also participate in school
decision structures.
1.4.4
Scholar, Researcher and Lifelong Learner
The educator will achieve ongoing personal, academic, occupational and
professional growth though pursuing reflective study and research in their
learning area.
1.4.5
Community, Citizenship and Pastoral role
The educator will practice and promote a critical, committed and ethical
attitude towards developing a sense of respect and responsibility to others.
He/she will also promote democratic values and practices in schools and
society. The educator is expected to develop a supportive and empowering
environment for the learner, and also develop supportive relations with
parents and other key persons and organisations.
1.4.6
Learning Area/Subject/Discipline/Phase Specialist
All educators should be well grounded in knowledge, skills, value, principles,
methods and procedures relevant to discipline. This goes with the knowledge
of different approaches to learning.
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Assessor
This involves an understanding that assessment is an essential feature of the
teaching and learning process. The educator will understand purposes,
methods and effects of assessment, design and manage both formative and
summative assessment. There has to be detailed and diagnostic records of
assessment.
1.5
The training of a teacher
The teacher undergoes various stages of training. They are
Pre-service: This is provided at a teacher training institution where teacher
trainees are taught knowledge and skills needed to do a professional job of
teaching. This involves introduction to practical work of teaching.
Induction: This is a stage when one has completed the initial training and is
now taking a full responsibility of teaching. This teacher is said to be on
probation.
In-service: This is a life-long process to learn and adapt to new challenges
of the job. Inservice is mostly determined by educational authorities who
may not identify what teachers really need.
1.6
Concepts in education/ Types of education
In the introductory sections above the concept "education" has been
explained in detail. It has been emphasized that education is the positive
influencing of a child with the specific purpose of effecting changes of
significant
value.
This
goal
can
be
attained
by
means
of
formal, informal and non-formal education.
An important conclusion to be drawn from the above summary is that
education is not restricted to the home or the school, but that it takes shape
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also in the actions of various other institutions such as the church and youth
organizations.
1.6.1 Formal
1.6.2 Informal
1.6.3 Non Formal
1.6.1
Formal
However, formal education is always associated with the school. It is thus
the term used for all schooling including higher education. It is the kind of
education that takes place in institutions or schools. The term refers to
carefully structured learning in special institutions built for this purpose.
Where home education is primarily directed at the child's emotional
development, the task of the school is of a more formal nature: it lies in more
conscious education for task acceptance in a complex society. It must help
the child to gain increasing insight into the functioning of society, but, above
all, aid him to accept responsibility for the creation of his own life-world
The school, therefore, focuses on the child's perceptual and mental abilities
without ignoring the other demands of adulthood. In other words, the
activities of the school should not be entirely directed at the future
vocational practice of the child because it then tends to become a mere jobtraining centre with the main emphasis on non-formal education (as is the case
with in-service training of artisans).
Because of its formal structure, the school has its own unique and essential
character and task. This includes thorough planning of the time-table, the
allocation of duty to the teaching staff, curriculum and subject matter, and
of classroom routine.
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Characteristics of formal education
1. It is conscious, deliberate and intentional
2. It is divided into levels and grades such as primary, secondary and
tertiary, according to the level of development of the learner.
3. It is characterized by examinations and learners and learners are
promoted to the next level on the basis of their mastery of the curriculum
content
4. It Has well defined content that is structured carefully and suited to the
level of development of the learner
5. Teachers are people who are specifically trained for the job and as such
can be referred to as professional people.
1.6.2
Informal
Extramural activities offer further opportunities for informal education. The
aim of sports teams, dramatic societies, choirs, orchestras, etc. is to bridge
the gap between school and community in a less formal manner. Participation
in the activities of church and youth organizations is not compulsory. The
atmosphere is usually more relaxed and the demands made on children not as
exacting as they are in school. Through active participation within school and
family context, in national festivals, charity undertakings, art and cultural
festivals and other activities of the community, the child becomes familiar
with the greater context of life, experiences the meaning of service to
others, becomes a member of society and does not stand aside as a passive
onlooker.
We must, however, warn against a dangerous tendency: informal education
must not become social compulsion! The child also needs time to go ahead
quietly and peacefully, performing his tasks in the family, doing his homework
and pursuing his hobbies.
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Characteristics
1. This is unstructured learning that takes place unconsciously at all times
within the cultural group
2. It is an unconscious process because its members are not aware that
learning takes
3. It is spontaneous because it takes on and off on its own without anybody in
control of it
4. It is unsystematic and tends to be haphazard
5. Informal education takes place at home, at church, on the playground at
school
1.6.3
Non-formal
When a young person leaves school he is normally accepted as an adult and
should be able to set about obtaining the necessary instruction needed for
the highly competitive labour market. He attends part-time classes, takes
correspondence courses or receives in-service training. The scope of the type
of education known as non-formal education, is very wide, embracing all
learning opportunities specifically designed for adults. It refers to any
activity or programme deliberately designed to satisfy the learning need or
interest that may be experienced at any stage in the life of a person who is
over the statutory school-leaving age and whose principal activity is no longer
in formal, compulsory basic education.
Non-formal education has almost all the characteristics of formal education.
However it differs from formal education as it appears in the following
characteristics.
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Characteristics
1. It takes place anywhere, and not specifically in institutions, can take place
on the job
2. Though also conscious, deliberate, intentional and planned, it does not
include qualified professional teachers.
All people who are capable of
teaching can be invited to come and serve as teachers.
3. The aims are specified and can best be defined as objectives because they
can be tested shortly after the learning act
4. The learners are all people in need regardless of age
5. Non-formal education is skill-oriented in the sense that the emphasis is on
the acquisition of skills rather than the learning of facts
6. It is not characterized by examinations, promotions or certificates
7. The learners is allowed to practice and demonstrate the mastery of the
skill
8. Correspondence schools are one form of non-formal education
Patterns to offer non-formal education
a)
Using sites other than schools
 Work place or home could be used
 Correspondence education
 Media like radio, television may be used
b)
Using non-professional personnel
 Teaching may be carried out by a variety of people including parents.
These have no clearly defined role like teachers
 Learning is less structured than in school
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 Teaching is more varied and flexible
c)
Introducing new type of curriculum
 The curriculum is determined by much more practical and functional means
 Non-formal education may aim at such things as changing people’s attitude
d)
Employing new approaches to learning
 Learners are allowed to withdraw and reenter at own will. They do not
pass or fail as it is in the case of the conventional system
 They take a shorter or longer time depending on their mastery of the skill
 Learning is based on interest or aptitude rather that age
 Co-operative learning is stressed in order to keep motivation alive
e)
Increasing access to education
 Formal education is selective and only offered to those who manage to get
their names on to a school register
 Non-formal education is open to all and is available on a life-long basis
without limit as to entry qualifications, age or length of training
 It offers access to education for a much larger propotion of the
population
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TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Answer the following questions.
1. Which of the following statements is correct?
 Schooling includes education
 Education includes schooling
2. What is the aim of education?
3. Briefly describe the differences between:
 schooling and education
 teaching, learning and indoctrination
4. Work can be divided into different levels according to the amount of skill
it requires. Name the various levels.
5. Name any two differences between skilled workers and professional
workers.
6. What do you understand about the traditional principles of teaching and
how do they contribute to effective teaching and learning?
7. Compare and contrast various basic principles of teaching.
8. How can the various roles of a teacher be integrated?
9. Compare and contrast the three types of education.
10. State three reasons why we say formal education is carefully
structured.
11. How are achievements recognised in formal education?
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UNIT 2
THE PROCESS OF LEARNING
2.1
Understanding learning
39
2.2
Types of learning
40
2.3
Stages in learning
47
2.4
Approaches to learning
55
2.5
The creation of learning groups
58
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The process of learning
2.1
Understanding learning
It is a process by which we acquire and retain attitudes, knowledge,
understanding, skills and capabilities that cannot be attributed to inherited
behaviour patterns. Rate of learning depends on environmental factors.
Robinson (1980: 10 - 12) describes the learning process as follows:
Learning is not as simple as we may think it is. In fact, it is about the most
complicated process engaged in by man. In the first place, there must be a
stimulus, whether internal or external that one must respond to. As number
of factors that one come to in the process are called stimuli that likely arise
a desire to learn.
The next phase of this process is performance or action but in between the
element of stimulation and that of performance or action is that of choice;
the stimulus brings a number of reactions or responses into play and before
the individual acts, it is most likely that he will choose what seems to be the
most suitable and convenient response. But stimuli are not always pleasant.
If, for example, a problem is too difficult, the learner may, with some
difficulty and hard work try to solve it, but there is the possibility that he
will avoid it altogether. It must be pointed out, though, that just using a
stimulus once may not produce a permanent change in behaviour. The stimulus
must be used over and over again to produce a permanent response or a set of
permanent responses.
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One of the most important elements in the learning process is imitation. By
and large learning begins with imitation, and this may be conscious,
unconscious or voluntary.
Repetition may be the next in the scale of importance.
helps to fix the behaviour permanently.
Repetitive action
The other elements in the learning process come through our reaction to our
situation or environment. Our senses react to what is present around us and
make us aware that they exist. The sensation creates an experience which
forms the basis of our future interpretation. We interpret things in the light
of our previous experience. In the learning process, interpreting things that
are directly or remotely connected in the light of previous experience is
termed association. This term should not be confused with transfer of
learning which means using the skills learnt in a particular situation to work
through or solve problems in another situation that is quite different.
2.2 Types of learning
Each type of learning goes by a different name. The following are the various
types followed by the brief understanding of each.
a) Affective learning
This has to do with feelings and values and therefore also influences our
attitudes and personalities
b) Cognitive learning
It is achieved by mental processes such as reasoning, remembering and recall.
It helps in problem solving, developing new ideas and evaluation.
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Psychomotor learning
It has to do with the development of skills which require efficient coordination between brain and muscles.
There are two main ways of
psychomotor learning. They are deductive and inductive learning.
Deductive: the process by which a learner is presented with a general
principle and applies a number of tests to discover whether the principle is
true or not. Deduction is to arrive at a conclusion by logical reasoning. For
instance, a simple example could be: If A weighs more hat B, and B weighs
more than C, it follows that A weighs more than C. When deduction is used, it
means that students are supplied with certain facts that they have to use to
arrive at a logical conclusion by reasoning. One instance of the deductive
method is to provide learners with a rule or general truth and are required to
apply this in specific cases.
Inductive: The learner examines related matters to see whether any general
conclusion can be drawn. When induction is used as a teaching/learning
method learners are presented with observations or examples and they have
to discover for themselves what the rule or law is.
d)
Trial and error
In school it is not easy to solve all problems. As a result of this we use trial
and error and we tend to eliminate those activities that are unsuccessful and
consolidate those that are successful.
Trial and error learning is not an efficient method. In a particular case, it
may be a long time before an individual hits on the best course of action. The
time and effort put into the unsuccessful attempts are wasted. On the other
hand, the element of discovery is of great value. Likewise the conscious
rejection of negative courses and the acceptance only of the positive, produce
a robust type of learning with lasting qualities. The teacher can usually
arrange for a compromise which eliminates much of the waste of time
associated with pure trial and error, but which holds on to the sense of
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discovery. We can call it guided discovery. In this, the teacher sets the
stage for learning by providing all the materials which will help the learner in
his search for truth. Then with a few carefully worded instructions, the
learner is launched into his voyage of discovery. Instead of the unknown
appearing to him as a baffling barrier with no clear path of approach; it is
presented rather like a treasure hunt with the instructions and the various
clues may be presented.
e)
Insight
Insight leads to a deeper understanding than is found with other forms of
learning. Like trial and error, its outcome is discovery. The process of insight
learning can be described by the proverbial ”putting two and two together".
Insight comes when you can step back from your learning and look at it
objectively. The discovery rarely comes gradually; it usually comes as a flash
of understanding so that either mentally or audibly you say, "Aha!"
A simple example is a learner who has been learning his number combinations
for addition and subtraction and suddenly sees that a number like 6 can be
made up not only by the combination of pairs of numbers like 2 and 4 or 3 and
3 but by multiples of the same number like 2 and 2 and 2. Insight of this kind
is necessary for intelligent learning, but a good many teachers are too
impatient to prepare the ground for it and prefer to teach arithmetic in a
mechanical way using mean- gless rules.
Insight can lead to incomplete or inaccurate understanding. For example, a
teacher who introduces the facts of the earth's axis carelessly may leave a
learner with false ideas about the poles and even set him off searching for
the east and west poles!
The search for the link with what has already been learned is like that of a
detective as he seeks a common factor in his evidence. With adults and older
learners this process can be a purely mental activity, but with younger
learners it must be concrete. Thus a youngster looks at a picture of a man
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with a gun and says to himself, "That man is a hunter". He might be right or
wrong in his interpretation but his mind has gone through a moment of fierce
activity to reach this conclusion. He has compared the man with all the men he
has known and compared the gun with all the guns he has ever seen. He has
combined the man and the gun in a massive selection programme carried out in
a flash. In it, he has rejected all the kinds of men who do not carry guns and
who do not carry guns like the one in the picture and finally decided that this
is a hunter with a hunter's gun. So he says, "That man is a hunter".
For a learner to discover by insight the relationship between the length and
breadth of a rectangle in finding its area, he needs to have a certain amount
of previous knowledge such as what a square is, how to draw one and how to
count. For example, if you got him to draw six squares exactly the same size,
you could teach him he meaning of area by getting him to place two side by
side, three in a row, four in a row, and so on, introducing a variety of
arrangements, and asking him in each case how many squares there were. By
insight he might see that different shapes can be made up from a constant
number of squares, but more squares are needed if a shape is to be made
bigger. In this way you could lead him to conceive of area as counting how
many squares in size each particular shape was. From there, the idea of rows
of squares could be in introduced so he sees that the area of a regular shape
such as a rectangle is related to the number of squares in each row and the
number of rows.
The value of insight as a method of learning is its great speed and the depth
of understanding that accompanies it. Understanding that may grow only
slowly with other methods, or perhaps never fully comes, arrives in a flash
with insight. The teacher can assist greatly in encouraging this kind of
learning among his pupils in all the subjects studied in school. It depends
entirely on his presentation of the learning material. The more he can help the
learner to organise in his mind the new learning material with the relevant
knowledge he has gained in the past, the more chance there is of his reaching
the right conclusions and enjoying himself at the same time.
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It requires of the teacher careful lesson preparation with thoughtful
selection of what he presents and of the previous knowledge with which the
new lesson material will be associated. It demands clarity of presentation so
that the relationships within the material presented are easily seen. This
clarity can be helped by the use of good teaching aids, by the use of practical
activities and by orderly presentation. The reward of such teaching is when a
learner blossoms out with new understanding and fresh interest in his
schoolwork.
f)
Conditioning
The new-born baby is fed and nursed by his mother. She is the one who
satisfies all his early needs. Quickly he comes to associate her with the
satisfaction of these needs and even the sound of her voice may be enough to
settle him when he cries. He is learning through association.
Learning by association, or conditioning as it is called, is a useful method for
learning attitudes and habits. It is through conditioning that we react to
certain things in a specific way.
g)
Imitation
This is a quick way to learn that involves adopting opinions, beliefs and
behaviour from others. Demonstration is the best methodology. Imitation
emphasizes the importance of observation. Imitation should thus involve
observation.
h)
Memorisation
This is a special kind of remembering which is usually called committing to
memory or remembering by heart. The value of memorization depends on the
understanding of what is memorized. If that does not happen, memorization
simply becomes the accumulation of words.
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The following principles make memorization easier:

Learning whole: what is memorized should be seen as the meaningful
whole as it makes learning easier.

Pattern learning: Material to be memorized should be arranged in an
orderly way that may make it to be more easily understood.

Mnemonics: These are artificial devices that help people remember in a
quick orderly way.
i)
Learning types based on learning activities
Reference is made on learning activities of learners under different
circumstances. These:












Learning by listening
Learning by imitation
Learning by doing
Learning by discussing
Learning by practice
Learning by reflection
Learning by repetition
Learning by reading
Learning by writing
Learning by playing
Learning by observation
Learning by acquiring insight.
This is not a complete list because there are many other activities which
result in learning and may not be specified here.
j)
Learning based on decree of awareness
There are three important categories:
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(a) Intentional (conscious) learning. This is a type of learning in which the
learner is consciously and willingly involved in learning and in which he/she
has an intention to learn.
(b) Incidental learning. This is a type of learning where learning occurs
unintentionally because the learner does not deliberately try to learn.
Despite this, incidental learning is still a conscious act.
(c) Unconscious learning. This is a type of learning in which there is no
learning intention and the learner is totally unaware of the fact that he is
learning.
k)
Learning based on learning results
The results of learning, generally speaking, are insight, acquisition of facts,
reproduction and automatic usage. On this basis, we may distinguish four
types of learning.
(a) Learning as acquiring insight. The acquisition of insight is one of the most
important objectives of any teaching-learning encounter. Human beings are
capable of reviewing, reorganizing, rearranging and restructuring all the
components of a problem situation, and by seeing how they are connected and
interrelated, they can decide upon the most suitable way of tackling and
solving the problem. The establishment of connection and relationships is
what insight is all about. The learner acquires insight into the problem when
he understands it, when he is capable of solving it and when the results are
meaningful to him.
(b) Learning as acquiring facts. No teaching-learning encounter is ever
undertaken solely for the purpose of training learners to solve problems.
There are numerous historical, geographical, scientific, linguistic and other
kinds of factual knowledge which are essential for a learner's development
and becoming adult. Learning as acquisition of factual knowledge therefore
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combines the assimilation of facts with the realization of how the facts are
held together and interrelated.
(c) Learning as automatizing. A specific feature of this type of learning is
that once a person has completed a specific act of learning he no longer needs
to think about the activities or movements involved. The activities or
movements are now executed "naturally" and automatically. Once he has
mastered the automatism, the learner can turn his attention to something
else. For example, while writing, he can think about the contents of what he is
writing or the solution to the problem on which he is working. Writing then
comes automatically and we refer to it as an automatism.
2.3
Stages in Learning
Gessell’s theory of learning is relevant to the process of learning. Gessell
makes reference to various stages in the process of learning. They are
2.3.1
Paying attention to learning material
In ordinary life, vast quantities of useful experience pass us by unnoticed for
various reasons. It may be that we are not very observant or that we do not
understand very well what we see. Perhaps we are just not interested, or are
so interested in something that we take no notice of anything else that is
going on. Attention is necessary if we are to take note of experience.
For example, in a crowd watching a football match there are likely to be many
who do not notice half of what goes on. Some look at the field and see the
game, but their attention is captured by the physique of the players or their
"nice" jerseys. Their minds are constantly wandering from one thing to
another and are never concentrated for more than a moment. There are
others who enjoy the game but miss completely the skill involved. Their
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knowledge and understanding of football are too limited for them to
appreciate anything more than the most obvious infringements; they cheer
the wild kick rather than the skilful pass. Other spectators may not really be
interested. They may have been brought by a keen football fan but do not
care who wins or what happens, and only want to get home or go to the cinema.
There will be others in the crowd who notice very little of the match because
their attention is caught up with something else – an argument with their
friends over last week's match or, perhaps a pretty girl near by. We all notice
different things and react differently to what we see.
Some experiences may be literally beyond our reach. But education tries to
broaden our experience by making possible not only direct experience, but
also those excursions of the mind into strange places, new ideas and new
fields of knowledge that are made possible indirectly through the medium of
books, films, radio and television. When well presented, such experiences can
be almost as good as the real thing. The teacher must also play a part in
selecting the material from which the learner will learn. He can make the
classroom a place rich in challenging and worthwhile experiences and, by
selecting his material carefully, can save both himself and his pupils time and
effort. He can make the environment of the classroom educational as well as
his lessons. This double approach is most worthwhile.
Teachers must train the attention of their learners if the benefits of
teaching are to have their fullest effect. Hundreds of learners have to be
spoken to twice or thrice because they have not been trained to listen.
Similarly, much is lost through learners not having been trained to observe.
Listening and observing are habits that should be taught in the home, but if
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the home has failed, the teacher must take over. But you should be aware of
young learners' limited capacity for concentration. The length of time for
which a learner's attention can be on one thing is short, therefore give
changes of activity and allow him to focus his attention on objects rather
than ideas. An understanding of these principles will prevent your giving the
type of lesson found all too often in which endless talk instead of real
experience is given to the learners.
2.3.2
Gaining interest in what is to be learned
"You can lead a horse to the water but you cannot make him drink." It is much
the same with learners. Motivation is all-important for getting learners to
learn once their attention has been captured. Once learners want to learn, the
battle is half-won.
What if they do not want to learn? You can always impose force. You can make
them pay attention and compel them to learn with threats of punishment or
promises of reward. But the value of such methods is not to be compared with
that in which voluntary co- operation is gained. Externally imposed motives
always result in a shallower degree of learning than motives that are selfimposed. The study of what makes us interested or what makes us want to do
something, introduces us to many theories. There are some people who try to
explain motivation physiologically as the body's response to glandular
secretions. Others explain it as the individual's response to the basic needs
and drives of the body; or in more psychological terms connected with
emotional and social pressures. Others take it into the fields of philosophy
and religion. The truth is that, although motivation in general terms is a
straightforward explanation of behaviour, when we try to interpret it in
particular cases, we frequently fail to find the real cause. So often, what we
say is our reason, is nothing of the sort, even though we believe that it is.
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For practical purposes, therefore, it is useful to reduce motivation to two
types, externally imposed and self-imposed. Externally imposed motivation
includes the fear that drives learners to slave at their work for a stern
teacher and the hope of reward that spurs them to fresh efforts of
diligence. It includes the emotions roused by the scorn or sarcasm of an
unkindly teacher and the anxiety that attends the approach of examinations
and the day of reckoning. Learners who work hard to get good marks or to be
top of the class or to obtain certificates are responding to externally imposed
motivation. In the same way, teachers who turn learning into games or
competitions are applying external motives. In the absence of any other kind,
externally imposed motives are necessary and useful.
The most common externally imposed motivation in schools is the use of
rewards and punishments. Wisely used, both can be effective and stimulating.
Rewards can be of many kinds. Some teachers give sweets or stars to their
learners for good work. Some offer praise or write words of commendation in
their exercise books or in their school reports. In the same way, punishments
can take many forms. Corporal punishment is forbidden in schools in some
countries, but administered properly, can be very effective and avoid the
harmful effects of some other forms of punishment such as sarcasm and
antagonising attitudes. Non-physical punishments such as verbal rebukes,
giving a learner extra duties in and around the school, making him repair
damage he has done, or the withholding of privileges can also be used.
Two principles to be observed are, first, that external motivation should be
based on a good teacher-pupil relationship, and secondly, that rewards and
punishments should be appropriate to the age and character of the individual.
There is no point in giving stars as rewards to learners whose age makes them
despise them and it is doubtful if a straight forward beating will have any
effect upon a learner already hardened to physical punishment.
Self-imposed motivation, on the other hand, goes deep down into our
personality. We tackle a job because the task itself interests us, makes us
happy or gives us satisfaction. We say we want to do it; we think it is
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important or we think it is useful. These may or may not be our real reasons
but, when we feel them, they provide us with stronger support for learning
than externally imposed motives. Such motivation quite often does not arise
at first. To begin with, the teacher may have to supply the motivation, but he
should always work for and hope that spontaneous self-imposed motivation will
take its place.
The motives which affect our learning may change as the process of learning
goes on. Two learners may play with identical toys but one throws his away as
soon as his initial curiosity has worn off. The other grows more and more
curious about his; curiosity changes to pleasure as the motivation of his play.
Teachers need to notice when the motivation that stimulated their learners's
learning at first begins to falter. It is then that they must supply new and
more vigorous motives. This is a task which requires individual attention.
Teachers need to recognise that motivation is closely linked with aims and
goals, and to remember that the learners will have aims, which may be quite
different from the teacher's. Your skill as a teacher will depend on your
ability to use your pupils' aims to motivate their learning and to direct their
full energy towards worthwhile learning and your own adult goals.
2.3.3
Developing skills and understanding
Skills are physical and mental abilities that require a high degree of coordination between body and brain. Obvious examples of physical skills can be
seen in athletic events such as running, throwing and jumping, and in sports
such as football and tennis where ball control is important. Manipulative skills
are found in the technical aspects of art, craft and writing. Skill in these
leaves the conscious mind free to exercise its creative powers instead of
being taken up partly by the actual control of the paint-brush, knife or pen as
the case may be. Mental skills are needed for proficiency in reading and
computation so that the mind is freed for the conscious process of thinking
and understanding. The mechanical work of recognizing words and phrases in
one case and juggling with numbers in the other must become automatic so
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that the conscious mind is concerned only with comprehending the meaning or
reaching the solution.
If, without thinking, you always behave in a particular way or do something in
a particular manner, psychologists say you have developed a habit, for habits
are established patterns of behaviour. Habits may be physical, such as the
way you walk or take off your spectacles, they may be mental such as the way
you speak, spell or tackle problems; or they may be the more familiar social
and moral kinds such as politeness and honesty. Desirable habits should be
encouraged but bad habits need to be broken as early as possible since the
longer they are left, the more difficult they are to cure.
The value of skills and habits lies in their obvious economy of effort. Once
learned, they have great momentum and continue with little or no effort from
the individual. This leaves the intellect free to tackle the more important
tasks to hand. Thus the more of our behaviour we can establish as skills and
habits, the more our minds will be free for the truly intellectual and creative
activities of life.
Such learning cannot be developed without active participation by the learner.
We learn by doing, and so full provision needs to be made in school for
activities that aid learning.
Activity contributes to learning through the complex interaction it stimulates
within the central nervous system. Through activity, experience is more
readily acquired, skills are more quickly learned and new learning is better
understood. Activity in learning encourages involvement and this aids more
effective learning.
Some teachers think of activity in terms of play, games, jumping about and
lots of noise. This is a misconception; thinking is just as much an activity as
playing. To be effective, activity must be purposeful and not aimless.
A very young learner can experience fully only what he does himself. He does
not have sufficient experience to be able to re-live the experiences of others
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whom he hears of, reads about, or even whom he sees. Older learners, on the
other hand, can be moved to tears by a sad story or become enraged by an
account of cruelty. They feel just as though they personally
were experiencing the actions described because they have sufficient
experience to be able to share the feelings of other people. The lesson for
teachers from this is that they must choose activities suited to the age and
experience of their learners.
The need for activity in learning never ceases. In conscious learning there is
no such thing as the passive learner. There are degrees of activity. The more
active the learner is, the more quickly he will learn, but this is not the only
factor in his speed of learning. Some activities are wasteful because the same
result could be achieved much more quickly by using some other form of
activity. For example a young learner may need to be shown a model of a boat
before he understands what it is like. The older learner will learn just as
effectively by looking at a picture. Adults are capable of getting the right
idea just from reading about boats. The type of activity used in learning
should be appropriate to the age and experience of the learners.
Another feature of activity in learning is in the use made of practice and
repetition. A great deal of our effective learning depends upon repeated
experiences; for example, memorising a poem by heart depends on our
repeating it over and over again. We learn attitudes by repeated experiences
of the same kind; we learn habits and skills by repeated practice. The more
often we do something, the more established it becomes, as a part of our
total learned ability. This helps to emphasise the importance of activity both
in its doing and in repetitive aspects as an integral part of the learning
process. We must ensure, however, that what is practised is correct; to
practise what is wrong is to fix more firmly the error. For this reason the
teacher must always be alert to spot errors in a learner's work, and to
recognise an inadequate grasp or faulty technique at an early stage. If these
go unchecked, wrong habits become established and are more difficult to
correct at a later stage. It should be evident then that practice must be used
with caution. It must never become an alternative for understanding. The two
must move in partnership.
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Experimenting with what is learned
Once we possess a certain amount of knowledge or skill, our immediate desire
is to use it. Thus the boy who has just learned to ride a bicycle soon becomes
daring and tries riding at speed. He takes risks, riding in different attitudes.
Inevitably there are accidents, but these leave impressions which help to
prevent the same mistakes happening again. Gradually, out of his experience,
the boy learns what is safe and what is dangerous and just what he can do on
a bicycle. He passes from the stage where ignorance is bliss, through the
stern school of experience to maturity and wisdom.
What happens is that new knowledge or skills invite experimentation and this
continues until they are fully integrated with previous experience. In
learners this experimentation is what we call play. It is not instinctive.
The play of learners covers a tremendous range of activities. There is much
to support the theory that play is the experimenting stage of learning where
the learner tries out his newly acquired knowledge and skills. It provides him
with scope for making errors when the consequences are not serious and for
finding out by practical experience those activities that are satisfying and
fruitful.
Play involves physical activity and this is one of the main ways in which
physical development is exercised. It involves toys and playthings too and this
is the way in which the learner adjusts himself to the material world in which
he grows up. The make-believe and pretence that occur in play are ways in
which the learner experiments with the activities of people and things. Thus
he becomes now a fierce lion, now a kindly father, perhaps a stern teacher or
a whimpering learner.
From the teacher's point of view, an understanding of play is important
because it helps him to know when it can be best used for learning. Left to
play at what he likes, a learner will waste much time in activities irrelevant to
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the learning programme set by his teacher. But if the teacher guides the
range of play to useful activities and limits its use to experimentation with
and strengthening of useful knowledge and skills which the learner has
already begun to grasp, he will find this spontaneous activity most rewarding,
not only in the interest the learner develops in his learning but in the better
results he achieves.
2.3.5
Applying learning
The ultimate value of knowledge lies in using it. Just as the infant left with
bricks to play with will eventually build them on top of one another to make a
house or tower, so effective learning in school is eventually applied to real-life
situations and events.
There are skills such as reading and writing that you learned at school and
now use almost every day; but there are likely to be other things you were
taught that have not proved so useful and you have long since forgotten. This
points to the fact that whether or not we apply knowledge and skills depends
very largely on our experience with Gesell's fourth stage, experimentation.
We apply the activities that we find useful or that give us pleasure and
satisfaction while those that seem to have little point or give us neither
pleasure nor satisfaction fall quickly into disuse.
This should be a warning to all teachers, for unless learners are helped to see
the relevance of their lessons or taught in such a way that they find these
lessons really enjoyable, they are unlikely to apply what they have learned and
the knowledge or skill will soon shrivel and become useless.
2.4
Approaches to learning
There are four important approaches to learning. They are
2.4.1
2.4.2
2.4.3
2.4.4
Learner- centred
Teacher centred
Resource centred
Integrated learning
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Although these approaches are discussed separately it should be
understood that more than one approach can be used in the classroom.
2.4.1
Learner-centred education
This approach recognizes the importance of matching the content and
methods of learners’ learning to the learner development and the basic needs
and characteristics of learners. There some misconceptions about the term
itself. It is thought of as being a learner power movement where learners
control what goes on in the school. There is also over-sentimental attitude
towards learners that gives them unwarranted and damaging importance in
the school.
Importance of this approach





learners’ needs should determine what they learn at school.
Recognize and respond to the changing characteristics that distinguish
learners of different ages
Train learners in skills that are within the capabilities of their stage of
development
Select what is taught and the methods used so that they are appropriate
to the comprehension and experience of learners
Utilize the strong motivational forces that control much of the learners’s
natural learning
In this method, learners are encouraged to think for themselves in various
ways. In all, they share experiences. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.
Materials are readily available and can exercise their imagination. Teachers
should respect the learner’s individuality and enable each learner to fulfill his
potential
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Teacher centred
The teacher dominates the learning process by determining what is taught,
how it is taught, the sequence and the rate of leaning. The teacher exercises
a major influence on the kind of education that is offered while learners have
a minor say (or no say at all) in shaping that education. The implication is that
the teacher is director of studies and the assumption is that in all matters of
learning the teacher knows the best. This approach focuses on what is taught
rather that the learner that is taught. Education is seen more as working
through the content, than as trying to help each learner develop his/ear
potential. Emphasis is thus on teaching rather than learning.
Characteristics of teacher-centred education
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



Teacher acts as an essential link between the learner and what is learnt
Teachers select what the learners learn, the methods by which they learn
and the pace at which they learn
Teachers see their role as communicating knowledge to the learners
They spend most of their time actually teaching and learners get the
impression that they can only learn when the teacher is present in the
learning situation
Learners are regarded as uniform groups of learners rather than as
individuals with different capabilities, gifts and needs.
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Resource centred learning
This is a system that structures resources into a learning framework enabling
learners to learn independently. Resource based learning encourages the
teacher to take pride in how well he can get his/her learners learn. This is
achieved by stimulating and guiding learners. There are two extreme
approaches within this approach:

Teacher exercises control over what is learn by programming his/her
teaching as a series of work written down on work cards.

Learners directed to specific resources, given questions to which he/she
must find answers.
2.4.5
Integrated learning
Integrated learning can be achieved in various ways:
 through integrated day in which formal time-tables are abandoned and the
learners work individually or in groups at what interests them
 the teacher has carefully prepared the classroom so that it is itself a
stimulating environment for the learners to learn
 the teacher prepares the material that will provide them with the kind of
learning they presently need
 another approach to integration is to learn by topics rather than learning
areas. Learners in this case choose topics that affect their everyday
lives.
 a further method known as integrated studies is more formal and is
essentially content-based.
 another form of integration has evolved from the conflict of aims posed
by the desire that learners should not only be allowed to develop their
talents and personality freely, but should also leave school with a certain
core of basic knowledge and skills.
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The creation of learning groups
It is well understood that the majority of classroom are overcrowded. This
means that the teacher ratio is not an accepted one. This calls for teachers
who are skilled in making learners work as groups. When dividing learners into
groups teachers should avoid grouping learners of the same ability as this may
discourage the slow learners if they are in one group. There are various
methods of grouping learners. They are:
a) Homogeneous: learners of one kind. This may be the same age which is
referred to as horizontal grouping or learners of equal ability known as
streaming.
b) Heterogeneous: learners mixed in composition (age and level of
development). This can be done by grouping learners without considering
their performance.
Although the above groups seem ideal teachers should remain flexible and
understand that the best arrangement for one kind of learning may not be
ideal for the other. This then may result to changing grouping as the
situations and lessons change.
The following are the important groups that teachers can think of:
2.5.1
2.5.2
2.5.3
Large group learning
Small group learning
Individualised learning
2.5.1
Large group learning
The essential feature of large group learning is that everybody in the class is
learning the same thing at the same time and at the same speed. This
method, in its most basic form, involves huge classes, seated row upon row,
taught by a single teacher who is quite unable to allow for any individual
differences there might be among the pupils. The same characteristics of
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teaching have occurred in some universities as the growth in student numbers
has outstripped building.
Advantages
o Saves time, effort and money because only one teacher is required for all
the learners in the class.
o Teacher only says a thing once to a class instead of many times if there
many classes or spoke to each individual
o there is economy in the need for teaching equipment.
o In practical terms, large group learning is useful when economies must be
made in staff or where equipment is very limited.
o On occasions, when the whole class must be told the same thing or have
the same thing shown to them, then large groups are the obvious choice.
o Generally speaking, with large groups management is easier because all the
learners are doing the same thing at the same time
o discipline is easier
Disadvantages
o unless formal teaching methods are adopted in large group teaching, class
control can be very difficult.
o it encourages a good deal of passive learning.
o The teacher is the active member of the unit and, in a normal class
o the learners have only one chance in forty of getting an opportunity to
contribute positively to the lesson at any moment.
The above discussion indicates that using this method only is far from being
an ideal educational practice. Consequently, the method should be used only
for what it is best suited to achieve.
2.5.2
Small group learning
Small groups can be used with learners of similar ability or with learners of
mixed ability. In the former case, the slow can proceed at their own pace
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without hindering the progress of the bright. In the latter, the brighter
learners may be able to assist the slower learners in the group and free the
teacher for other teaching duties.
Grouping is an appropriate means of dealing with practical lessons for which
there is insufficient equipment for every learner. One set of equipment per
group may be enough and will cut your requirements substantially.
Group leaders are an important feature of group work. They provide an
essential link between the teacher and the rest of the pupils and give
opportunity to learners to exercise authority and learn leadership. Thus,
although it is good that the opportunities for leadership should be shared,
there is much to be said for keeping the groups fairly permanent; for much
time can be saved if, in a particular subject, all you have to say to the pupils is
"Go to your groups now and get on with your group assignments".
The social training that results from group learning is one of its most valuable
features. By working in groups, learners learn how to deal with disagreement,
to accept others who hold different views, to co- operate in order to achieve
a bigger output, and to work as a team. They learn through experience the
working of all kinds of government from dictatorship to consensus and thus to
value democracy. By working as a team, they learn the sense of belonging that
membership of a group gives, and they learn how to accept in a mature fashion
the elation of success in competitive tasks and also the pain of defeat.
Teaching skills related to small group instruction:
-
organising small groups effectively
providing for individual differences
encouraging co-operation
encouraging interaction between pupils.
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Advantages
o It gives more learners an opportunity to participate actively in the lesson.
In a reading lesson conducted in groups, for example, as many learners will
be able to practise reading aloud as there are groups, because each group
can work simultaneously, independent of the others.
o As a result, in skill subjects, more learners get a chance to practice, and
each learner has more time for practice than is possible in a single large
group.
o Small groups are also appropriate for tackling jobs too big for the
individual and too restricting for the whole class. For example, in projects,
the task can usually be divided into several parts and one allocated to each
group. In such circumstances, the groups enjoy the satisfaction of
contributing their part and feel that they are truly involved in the project
as a whole.
Like any other method this has its disadvantages as well. READ THESE.
2.5.3
Individualised learning
Individualised learning is used every time the learners in a class are asked to
write an essay or tackle a set of arithmetic problems. Each learner works
alone and his finished work is the result of his unaided effort. It is assessed
and criticized by the teacher individually. When homework is set or an
assignment given, it is the individual method that is being used. It is the
individual method that is adopted for all correspondence courses even though
there is no direct contact between the pupil and his teacher.
A system of individualised learning that has found growing acceptance in
secondary schools and institutions of higher education is the Keller plan. The
method was devised by Professor Fred Keller, an American psychologist, in
the late 1960s when he was working in Brazil. He called it a personalised
system because it enabled each student to work through the course of study
at his own pace.
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The system is, like programmed learning, based on the behaviourist theory of
learning, and it follows an approach in which three basic principles operate.
1. Each part of the course must be mastered before proceeding to the
next.
2. Each student can progress at own speed.
3. The student gets instant feedback concerning his performance in all
tests.
All courses using the Keller plan are prepared in modules or units representing
approximately one week's work. Each unit contains learning materials in a
variety of forms such as print, film, video and audio tape and has a study
guide which lists
- the behavioural objectives of the unit
- the study procedures to be followed such as the references to be read,
the audio visual materials to be studied and any experiments that are
to be carried out
- several self-assessment tasks in the form of problems that can be
solved only by a knowledge of what has been learned.
The trend towards individualised learning methods, though not such
impersonal ones as the first of those described above, is a cause for
encouragement, for we have seen in the study of learner development that
every learner is unique and that, in detail therefore, each learner's needs are
different. Since this is so, it is fitting that each learner should be enabled to
learn what he needs at the pace that is most in keeping with his ability. One
of the causes of boredom and indiscipline in schools that use large group
teaching only, is the fact that bright learners have to mark time while their
teacher perseveres with the less able; the latter get unruly when they cannot
keep up with a teacher who is catering for the needs of the bright. These
problems are overcome when the teacher is able to give individual attention to
all his pupils.
In order to implement individualised learning satisfactorily, the teacher needs
to use methods of teaching that free him from his traditional role of
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dispensing knowledge to the whole class and give him opportunity to attend to
his pupils individually. The simplest method is to give assignments in which
work cards and teaching materials are given to the pupils to work at
individually. But a wide range of alternatives exists which includes anything
from free activity to resource-based learning, and from play methods to team
teaching.
Advantages
o Individualised learning develops initiative and independence in the pupil
o it also gives the teacher a clear idea of each learner's progress.
Disadvantages
o On the other hand, individualised learning denies learners the social and
emotional benefits of group work.
o Without the companionship that doing things together contributes
and the energy that team competition releases, school would be a very dull
place for the learner.
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TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
QUESTIONS
1.


2.
Farrant (1982) lists 33 skills under the seven headings. Read these and
select
Five skills you already have
Five skills that you would like to develop
The first column of the table below indicates examples of learning.
You are required to classify these according to whether they represent
affective, cognitive or psychomotor learning or a combination of three.
EXAMPLE OF LEARNING
TYPES OF LEARNING
A learner learns to ride a bicycle
You memorise a telephone number
A learner learns to write
A girl learns to ship with a rope
A boy grows fond of long distance
running
A boy likes mathematics
3.
5.
For what purposes is large group learning ideal? And for what is it
wholly inappropriate?
Where, in everyday life, are there examples of effective large group
learning?
During your school days try to remember as to how many times you
were taught during the course of one day
(a) in small groups
(b) as a whole class
(c) together with another class or classes.
6.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of small group teaching?
4.
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7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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What factors do you consider make the number of people in a
discussion group too few or too many?
For what kinds of learning tasks are small groups most suited?
For what matters in the school is it wise to have semi- permanent
groups and for what is it better to have frequent changes in the
composition of groups?
What qualities should a teacher look for in choosing group leaders?
What qualities does group leadership help to develop?
What kind of attention should the teacher pay to those pupils who are
engaged in individualised work?
In what various ways can a teacher free himself from class teaching in
order to give time to the needs of individual pupils?
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UNIT 3
TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES
3.1
Introduction
68
3.2
Approaches for selecting Teaching & Learning Methods
68
3.3
Tools for teaching and learning
72
3.4
Factors affecting the choice of a teaching/learning strategy
73
3.5
Teaching and learning methods
75
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TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES
3.1
Introduction
The term ‘method’ is derived from the ancient Greek term, ‘methodos’ which
implies sustained, systematic and scientific research. It is therefore an
indication of a systematic procedure according to a predetermined plan.
A method can be defined as a well-thought-out procedure intended to achieve
a specific aim. In the context of school, some educationists define a method
as the various classroom activities planned by the teacher, which must always
take the main components of the didactic situation (learners, teachers and
contents) into consideration.
3.2 Approaches for Selecting Teaching/Learning Methods
In any problem-solving situation, four different approaches may be followed,
namely the:
3.2.1
inductive approach (from particular to general);
3.2.2
deductive approach (from general to particular);
3.2.3
analytic approach (from unknown to known);
3.2.4
synthetic approach (from known to unknown).
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Inductive approach
According to this approach the learner proceeds from particularizations to
generalizations, from the concrete to the abstract, and from examples to
formulae. This means that the learner is helped to arrive at the general
conclusion, to establish laws, or to formulate generalizations through the
observation of particular facts and concrete examples. When the inductive
approach is used, a universal truth is proved by showing that if it is true for a
number of cases, it is true for all such cases. Through reasoning problems are
solved, enabling the learner to arrive at a formula or generalization. Only
after a number of concrete cases are understood will the student be able to
attempt a generalization successfully. To cite one example: in a geometry
lesson, by measuring the angles of a number of triangles, pupils come to the
general truth that the sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to 180 degrees
or two right-angles.
Advantages of the inductive approach
1.
It facilitates understanding, because it makes it easy to understand a
mathematical, grammatical or scientific principle established through a
number of single examples.
2.
It is logical approach
3.
It creates the opportunity for active participation, because pupils are
active in the discovering of formulae.
4.
It is based on actual observation, thinking, reasoning & implementation
5.
It reduces memorization and promotes insight through meaningful
learning
Disadvantages of the Inductive approach
1. It is limited in range it dos not provide the next step after the discovery
of formulae has been completed
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2. Inductive reasoning is never absolutely conclusive. There is always the
possibility that a case may arise which does not fit into the general
formula.
3. It is a time- consuming method
4. In its advanced stage all the details and explanations may become dull and
boring
3.2.2 Deductive Approach
Deductive: The general rule truth is taken as the starting point, and from it
on deduction is made. This is the opposite of the inductive approach. Here the
learner proceeds from the general to the particular, from the abstract to the
concrete, and from formulae to examples. This means that the pupil is taught
a preconstructed formula, definition or generalization and then has to solve
relevant problems by means of the formula, definition or general truth.
Additionally, this implies that the pupil should know and accept the formula,
definition, or generalized principle, as an established truth. In our geometry
example above, the application of the deductive approach would mean that the
pupils are taught that the sum of the angles. They must accept it as a truth,
and apply it to solve problems.
Advantages of the deductive approach
 It is a short saving method
 It is very during practice and revision stages
 It facilitates and efficiency in solving problems
Disadvantages of the Deductive Approach


It is difficult for beginners to understand abstract formulae and
definitions
Deductive work requires a formula for every type of problem and an
extensive use of this method will demand mechanical and meaningless
memorization of a number of formulae.
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




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Memory plays too important a role, to the detriment of understanding and
insight
The method is not developmental
When a pupil forgets the formula or definition he will not be able to solve
the required problem
The deductive approach very often leads to possessiveness on the part of
the pupils
It is based on actual observation, thinking reasoning and experimentation
It reduces mechanical memorization and promotes insight through
meaningful learning
3.2.3
Analytical and synthetic approaches combined
Using the analytical approach, the teacher proceeds from the unknown to the
known. The problem is broken up into smaller parts and gets connected with
something already known to the learners. Things that are together are
separated, that is, analysis is achieved through unfolding a problem in order
to know its hidden aspects.
With the synthetic approach, the teacher proceeds from the known to the
unknown. Things that are apart or separated are put together. Synthesis
begins from something already known and connects it with the unknown
aspects of a statement. It is put into practice by assimilating known bits of
information until the point is reached where unknown facts become true
information.
Synthesis is the complement of analysis, and the latter must be followed by
the former to make it useful. (Refer to the didactic principle of “totality”
which was discussed earlier). Analysis helps the learner to understand, and
synthesis helps him retain knowledge and understanding through synthesised
memorization. The action can be schematised as follows.
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3.3.1
(a)
(b)
(c)
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Tools for teaching and learning
Teaching as a multi-faceted activity places a huge responsibility
on the teacher.
His/her professional credibility
Academic competence
Managerial skills and strategies
The above characteristics are constantly scrutinized, evaluated and critically
assessed or reviewed by those involved in education (students, colleagues or
those in school management or administration.)
3.3.2
From the professional/academic /managerial phase.
The teacher has to effectively and appropriately plan his/her lessons. He
should be well prepared for the lesson, that’s planning at its best e.g.
- Decide what to teach, what to achieve and the appropriate approaches to
pursue.
- Define goals and objectives: these should be related to the broad
educational policies (simply classroom curriculum).
Best plans may misfire and fail to produce desired results if incorrectly
implemented (teaching should be challenging)
3.3.3
(a)
(b)
Education is a human activity which implies management of
human beings:
People with diverse qualities (the principle of individuality)
Industrial psychologists have expressed that the management of human
beings implies, inter alia:
(i)
Motivation
(ii)
Job satisfaction
(iii)
Group dynamics
(iv)
Participation in decision making
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Leadership styles (power coercive, autocratic, democratic, e.t.c)
REMEMBER: Happy, well organized motivated and interested students tend to team
more and achieve better and quality results.
Commitment and good relations are a good basis for effective management.
3.3.4
The question of how to teach
The teacher should consider how to:
(i) deal with methods and procedures
(ii)
make choices and use instructional resources
Instructional resources include the:
(a)
textbook
(b)
chalkboard
(c)
audio-visual aids etc
3.4
Factors affecting the choice of a teaching/learning strategy
Ever teacher must be fully conversant with the teaching strategies. It should
be remembered that there is no single perfect method for all situations. The
successful teacher is the one who uses a variety of methods a combination of
methods in different settings Methods used should suit the mental ability of
the learners. Also, the content and the aims of the lesson should be seriously
considered. It should be remembered that the method can never substitute
the teacher.
The following are the important factors are the important factors to be
considered in choosing a specific method:
3.4.1
3.4.2
3.4.3
3.4.4
Teacher
Learner
Aim
Subject matter
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3.4.5 Teaching media
3.4.6 Circumstances
3.4.1
Teacher
The personality of a teacher is an important factor. The teacher should use a
method that suits his/her personality. No two teachers can use the same
method to get the best results. The teacher must also give guidance and help
to the learners at all times.
3.4.2
Learner
Two important factors in the life of the learner are his/her individuality (the
fact that no two learners are alike) and his particular stage of development.
Every child’s individuality must be respected and each learner must grow up
according to his/her own talents, needs personality and potential. One
particular method may prove successful with one learner, and unsuccessful
with another. Different learners demand different approaches and therefore
different methods. The ideal must be to help each learner develop his/her
own potential as far as possible. The various development stages demand
various methods. A method used in the primary school with very young
learners cannot be used in the senior classes of secondary school. Every stage
of development demands suitable methods.
The learner’s needs for variety must be satisfied, otherwise, boredom, lack of
interest, poor motivation, laziness, passiveness, and bad results and little
abstract thinking will result. The use of different methods plays an important
part in attaining the variety that is so essential in techniques of instruction.
3.4.3
The Aim
There is a main aim which implies that there are various objectives. In
choosing the method, it is crucial to formulate the objectives and aims. Any
methods should used be meant to achieve the immediate aim.
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The content (subject matter)
The nature of the content has a strong influence over the method. Every part
of the content influences the choice of a method. Successful method for one
Learning Area/subject may prove unsuccessful for another.
3.4.5
Teaching media
The resources that the teacher has will influence the method to be used.
All media used should to be in line with the method
3.4.6
Circumstances
Specific conditions, the time available and the place where the teacher
instructs the learners, will also influence the choice of teaching methods. The
teacher with only a few learners will use more group and class-orientated
methods. If there is not much time to devote to a certain subject, the
teacher may use a more direct method. The teacher who takes his class on an
excursion into the countryside will work differently from the one dealing with
the same lesson in the classroom.
3.5
Teaching and learning strategies/methods
As discussed above, no teacher can use one method for all the lessons. The
following are the strategies / methods that could be used in a classroom:
3.5.1
3.5.2
3.5.3
3.5.4
3.5.5
3.5.6
3.5.7
3.5.8
3.5.9
Narrative/Telling method
Question-and-answer method
Textbook method
Self-activity method and problem-solving
The project method
Discussion method
Discovery method (heuristic method)
Team teaching
Group teaching
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Narrative/Telling method
This method is also referred to as the story or lecture method. Although
there may be objections to this method of instruction, it has its uses,
especially in the primary school and in the teaching of a subject like history at
secondary school level.
Objectives of telling method
It can be used with the following objectives in mind:




To motivate learners, especially at the beginning of a lesson.
To clarify problems or topics that are troubling most of the pupils during a
lesson.
To review the work done during a specific period by summarizing the main
points and indicating some of the important and significant detail;
To expand contents, by presenting additional learning material.
Advantages of narrative methods
-
It strengthens explanation of certain aspects of work done
It leads to integration of the subject matter as a whole
It facilitates the explanation of abstract ideas
It helps younger children to orientate themselves better in the world in which
they feel inadequate
It is time-saving when used for introduction
It is useful in assembling the diverse thoughts of pupils
It can be used as a supplement to all other methods
Disadvantages
-
It can lead to a mere transfer of knowledge, ignoring the importance of selfactivity
The teacher may not be a good narrator
I t can lead to the transmission of lifeless and meaningless facts and knowledge
It leads to passiveness
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The important principle of perception and self-activity can easily be neglected
Only the teacher’s ideas are put forward
Memorization is over-emphasized
Hints with regard to the use of the narrative method:








Teachers should not use this method unless they have thoroughly prepared
the lesson.
The teacher should not discuss too much subject matter.
The teacher should not talk rapidly or continuously. Time should be
allowed for assimilation and reflection.
He should allow time for questions and discussion.
The main points of the lesson should be written on the board as the lesson
progresses.
The teacher should bear in mind the child’s experience, background,
interests, needs and abilities.
He should make use of teaching media, so that the spoken word may
strengthened and interest aroused.
The story or topic related to learners by the narrative method should
often be followed by a written test to measure the success or failure of
the story or lecture.
3.4.2
Question-and-answer method
This method is also known as Socratic method. In the question-and-answer
method teacher and learner are equally active partners in the teachinglearning situation. Questions are important in every kind of a lesson, but
where they are arranged in a logical sequence and around a definite core,
some authors refer to this as the question-and-answer method. Then the
primary means of developing the lesson becomes a series of questions in
contrast to the occasional, more detached, questions asked during other
lessons.
In order to have success with the question-and-answer method, the teacher
has to keep a few basic rules in mind:
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Questions should be arranged in a logical sequence and around a definite
core. The teacher must decide beforehand what he or she wants to
achieve; what rule or truth he or she wants to highlight.
The use of this method must result in new insight for the learners. Merely
asking a series of questions about work already taught, can more rightfully
be regarded as a revision lesson.
The series of questions planned must be within the range of the learner’s
existing experience and concept structure.
When this method is employed, the whole class must be able to take part,
otherwise some pupils will get bored after a while.
Guidelines for questioning procedures in the classroom







Present the questions to the whole class before asking one learner for an
answer. This forces the whole class to pay attention and think about the
answer.
The younger the learners, the more direct and to the point the question
must be. More general questions may be asked of learners in the senior
classes of the primary school and in the secondary school.
Allow for a ‘thinking interval’. Do not demand an answer too quickly, but do
not wait too long that the class becomes restless.
Learners who think that they know correct answers should make it known
to the teacher by some sign or other. Signs which disturb the class as
little as possible are preferable.
Distribute questions evenly in the class, but allow for exceptions.
Inattentive learners should be regularly questioned.
Questions should not normally be repeated. Learners must know that, as a
rule, a question will only be asked once.
There will be exceptions to the above, for instance,
(a)
(b)
When a child really did not understand the first time, or when the
teacher wants to stress an important, thought-provoking question.
When a question calls for prolonged, concentrated thought, it may be
written on the board.
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Sometimes learning aids will be used to help the learners after the
question has been asked. As a rule all questions, once asked, must be
answered either by the pupils or by the teacher.
3.5.3
Textbook method
With this method the teacher uses a textbook for guidance with regard to
the choice and sequence of subject matter with emphasis on components of
the subject matter; planning a lesson and teaching of a subject. The textbook
makes self-teaching possible. As a matter of fact, it is most important in the
situation of instruction, because the best spoken messages are recalled only
partially at a later stage. The more facts presented in the spoken message,
the less are remembered. Even the most attentive listener loses some of the
obvious facts or connections in discourses. By means of the textbook the
pupils will be able to obtain a coherent view and to review the work
meaningfully in its right context.
Textbooks are necessary on account of:
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The very large number of students in most classes;
The fact that teachers have to plan and structure a programme according
to a prescribed syllabus to enable them to finish within the specified
period.
The fact that all learners have different abilities, and that they are all
crowded into one single classroom;
The non-availability or lack of other teaching media and methods of
instruction.
Guidelines for the selection of a good textbook
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It should be of a very good quality and must create a desire to read, to
think and to solve problems.
It must be a means and not an end in itself; and it should be a means by
the pupil is really helped in his study.
It must be well graded, that is, it must suit the capabilities of the pupils
whom it is intended.
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It should refer to other books on the same subject matter in order to
help pupils to widen their outlook, develop their interest and open up new
fields of knowledge.
It should be well illustrated with attractive and colourful as well as
inspiring drawings and pictures.
It should be up to date as far as content is concerned.
It should be free from any basis and should present a balanced and
comparative view of different ideas.
How can the textbook be used?
The teacher can use the textbook in the following ways:
1. Traditional way: Page by page, chapter by chapter, topic by topic. Teacher
reads from the text book and pupils follow by underlining important facts.
2. Pupils do a written summary of a specific part of the textbook at home.
Teacher first gives introduction to the subject and provides framework
from which to work.
3. Pupils summarize the teacher’s explanation of a specific part of the
textbook. The teacher controls the summaries and makes a final summary
on the chalkboard
Advantages
1. Stimulation of thoughts: By deriving challenging questions from the text
e.g. thematic questions.
2. Supportive Instructional Design:
 Gives students an opportunity to develop more insight, or understanding of
concepts presented in class
 Source book: a book from which students can draw illustrations, examples,
assignments etc
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3. Foundation for design
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May form a basis upon which t establish/ build a teaching activity.
4. Individualized Learning
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Students can go over text material at their own rate.
5. Alternative source of information

Students can always refer to the text to gain better understanding of a concept,
which was not fully understood during class presentation.
Disadvantages
1. Be easily misused
o where the textbook becomes the syllabus or classroom curriculum for
teaching
o it becomes the Bible – teaching becomes the cycle where the teacher and
students read and copy the lesson notes from it.
o teacher who adopts the ‘copy-cat’ approach, do so under the false
assumption about the use of the text as a teaching tool.
o they view it as a text that is conclusive, covers all aspects of the
classroom curriculum
o that the authors are distinguished authorities in that field, can never be
challenged.
NB: It should be remembered that:
o textbooks can never replace the teacher, syllabus and the lesson plan
o textbook may never make incompetent teachers competent
OR
o a device that permits lazy teachers to escape their professional obligation.
2. Textbook information easily becomes outdated
3. Prescribed texts may become the be-all and end-all in terms of student
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enrichment i.e.
o Students may become hesitant to move beyond the textbook knowledge
groove.
4. Language quality: badly written texts are irritative, have obscure meaning,
lack clarity and fail to enhance learning
3.4.4
Self-activity method and problem-solving
With this method the pupil’s activity predominates. The teaching is pupiloriented and demands active participation by the pupil. Self-activity means
that the pupil, by his own initiative and of his own free will, learns,
investigates, discovers, researches, experiments, creates and invents. He
learns to think independently, reason logically and to work on his own.
Advantages of the self-activity method
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The child’s character is moulded.
The child’s interests are cultivated.
Independence of thought is created.
Self-confidence is acquired.
The child sets his own pace.
One of the most typical characteristics of self-activity is that it always
concerns a problem to be solved, a difficulty to be overcome, and a confusion
to be resolved. This is why the problem-solving method can really be treated
as a subsection of self-activity.
It may be useful at this stage to make a few remarks about the inductive and
the deductive methods of teaching and learning. The inductive method
proceeds from particular case to the general rule: many examples of a certain
kind are examined and then a conclusion is drawn. In the deductive method
the general rule or truth is taken as the starting point, and from this a
general statement is deduced.
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Teaching through the deductive method would mean that the general rule is
supplied first, after which one goes to the concrete case in order to have the
rule confirmed. The new education, where the accent is on the child and
his/her active role in the teaching-learning situation, has led a greater
emphasis on the inductive method along the board front of teaching, and
especially in the primary school.
It would be a mistake to conclude that inductive methods are always to be
preferred to deductive methods. Actually, in most lessons both methods are
employed, with the presentation part of the lesson given inductively and the
application part deductively.
Problem-solving goes hand in hand with a critical attitude, healthy questioning
and doubt. This method cannot be practised with all children with equally
favourable results. The more gifted pupils will experience it as a real
challenge and they should be encouraged to work independently towards the
resolution of problems.
The following suggestions should be taken into consideration.
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It is the teacher’s task to create genuine problem situations.
The teacher should not hesitate to offer help and guidance up to a certain
point. At the same time he/she should avoid providing the actual solution,
because the essence of the matter lies in the independent discovery by
the pupil.
Explain to pupils that problem-solving is not limited to the natural science
areas of investigation.
Help keep the pupil’s attention on the problems.
Pupils must be trained to analyse their problems.
Avoid showing impatience with a pupil who flounders around with a problem.
Teachers should answer pupil’s questions in a way that will stimulate
further thinking and reasoning.
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The project method
The project method offers excellent opportunities for self-activities as well
as for problem-solving. Generally, a project is seen as a problem taken from
real life and studied in detail from all possible angles. The child’s immediate
needs play and important role in the choice of a project. The consideration is
not the child’s future needs as an adult, but rather whenever the task has
meaning for him/her here and now.
Essential features of the project method
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There is a real problem
The pupil is responsible for the planning and carrying of the problemsolving activity.
The problem-solving activity is practical by nature.
The teacher is the leader, counselor, judge, friend and representative of
authority.
Important factors in the choice of a project
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The teacher must not leave anything to chance. He must know exactly what
he wants to achieve with a project.
The pupils must have a say in the choice and formulation of the problem.
Opportunity must be provided for every pupil to work as a member of the
group.
The project must have education value, that is, it must increase the
knowledge of pupils and help them to acquire skills and aptitudes.
Every project must have individual and social value. For each child, as well
as the group, it must have a meaning and value.
The time, energy and cost must be justified by significant results.
Every project must fit into the normal organization and administration of
the school.
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Advantages of the project method
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It stimulates the pupil’s interest.
It relates to the problems of real life.
It encourages the pupils to tackle and solve problems independently.
It offers opportunities for effective study methods.
It helps with the child’s socialization.
Disadvantages of the project method
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Direct communication between teacher and pupils in reduced.
It is difficult to cover a syllabus if this method is used too often.
Projects are time-consuming and have to be carried out with the
availability and cost of materials in mind.
Projects are quite often too ambitious and beyond the pupil’s capabilities.
Opportunities to relate projects to academic subjects are very limited.
3.4.6
Discussion method
The discussion method assures active participation by all members of the
class. It is, therefore, a socialization method. The previous lesson is revised
by means of questions and answers. This serves to introduce the new topic,
which is recited by the teacher or one of the pupils. A summary of the work
which has been discussed is then made with the help and guidance of the
teacher. Finally, assignment for the next lesson is given. The teacher
becomes a special member of the class. He must prepare his work thoroughly,
give assignments, and lead the questions in such a way that all the members of
the class can participate. He must maintain a balance between memory
questions and thought questions.
Essential features of a discussion
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Discussion is not just talking, nor is it purposeless conversation, and it is
not casual.
Discussion is organized talking.
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Discussion is a sharing and weighing of all the views and values of the
participants by the participants themselves.
Discussion is a way of instruction that puts the question mark to work.
Discussion is a means of increasing pupil involvement.
Preconditions for an educationally accountable discussion
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An atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding.
Good human relations in the classroom.
Discussion of a topic that stimulates the interest and imagination of the
pupils.
Self-discipline.
Careful preparation by the teacher.
A situation where the discussion is not dominated by the teacher or some
of the pupils.
A situation in which all the members of the class are involved.
Advantages of the discussion method
1. It helps pupils to discover what they did not know and what they have
overlooked
2. Through discussion, uncertainties are clarified
3. It helps pupils crystallize their thinking, it activates thought and shows
the teacher how pupils think
4. pupils who have the potential for becoming leaders are discovered
5. pupils learn to make suggestions, share responsibility and respect the
opinion of others
Limitations of the discussion method
1. The discussion is not always productive and the rate of progress may be
slow
2. the true situation of instruction may disappear
3. the discussion is always dominated by the teacher or the more talkative
pupils
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5.
6.
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this method is unsuitable for large classes
there is little opportunity for original thinking
individual differences are not considered
this method can lead to poor organization, incoherence, lack of integration
and waste of time
3.4.7
Discovery method (heuristic method)
Problem-solving is a combination of two methods, namely the inductive and
deductive approaches. As was indicated earlier that the inductive method is
an approach according to which a sufficient number of facts first have to be
collected, and form this general truths, laws, rules, formulae or definitions
are derived. According to the deductive approach, general truths, laws, rules,
formulae or definitions are supplied to obtain an explanation for a related
problem. Inductive follows a pattern from particular aspects to general rules,
and deduction goes from the general to the particular.
Let us suppose the teacher wants to explain the phenomenon of expansion due
to heating. If the inductive method is used, a variety of metals will be
heated. After careful observation of their expansion by the teacher as well
as the pupils, a general rule is formulated, namely those metals expand when
they are exposed to heat. If the deductive approach is used, the general rule
will be stated first. After this the metals are heated and the expansion of
each is carefully investigated.
These details should be combined by the teacher to form a comprehensible
and meaningful whole. Analysis should always be followed by integration. This
means that the deductive approach (from the whole to the detail), should
always be complemented and followed up by the inductive approach (from the
detail to the whole).
In reality we can speak of the deductive and inductive phases of a lesson.
In the inductive phase, the pupil is encouraged to collect sufficient details
and facts. He then selects and organizes this information. By means of
questions he is then guided towards the general rule, law or definition. This
phase can be divided into five steps:
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preparation or introduction;
presentation;
comparison or association;
generalization or summary; and
application.
The pupils are guided from one step to the next by questions and answers,
listening to the teacher, and making their own observations.
Here
independent thought required rather than memorization. The purpose of the
preparation or introduction is to formulate (lay down) the aim of the lesson.
The pupils must know what the lesson is all about and must be made to
recognize the problems by means of questions. Their existing knowledge is
used as the basis for new knowledge.
In the presentation, information by the teacher (questions and answers) and
the pupil’s own observation is used to lead to the information of the general
rule or definition.
In the third step (comparison and association), the existing knowledge that
was recalled in the introduction and the new knowledge that was provided in
the presentation are compared and brought into association with each other
to form a new unity.
In the next step (generalization or summary), the discovery or formulation of
a general law, rule or definition, takes place. This step is very important.
Unfortunately, it is often neglected. If the general law, rule or definition is
not discovered by the pupils, the teacher must return to the presentation.
The last step (the application) is actually the bridge from the inductive to the
deductive of a series of questions which gives the pupils practice in the use of
the general rule, law, definition or truth. The object is to find out whether
he has assimilated (understood) the new knowledge to such an extent that he
can use it independently.
The chief objective in making use of the heuristic method as method of
instruction is not so much to teach the facts of a subject, but to teach how
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knowledge of the subjects may be attained, systematized and used. This
implies that the act of obtaining knowledge in more important that that the
end result, namely the acquired knowledge.
The pupils are led to discover the facts for themselves through personal
observation and experimentation. The object is to instill and realize a
heuristic or scientific attitude in the pupils
Advantages of the heuristic (discovery) method
1.
2.
3.
4.
It helps to constitute a scientific attitude and spirit of investigation.
It encourages self-discipline, self-confidence and verification.
Knowledge is gained through experience.
It provides scope for individual attention by the teacher.
Disadvantages of the heuristic method
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It is uneconomical in the use of time.
It allows mistakes of a approach, argument and verification.
It is not all suitable for beginners.
It is very technical and scientific and some teachers experience difficulty
in using it.
The learners, because it shows them how successful they are and how are
evaluated by the school;
Teachers, because information is transmitted back to them in respect of
the efficiency of their teaching and the efficiency of the course;
Parents and society, because they receive and indication of the skill and
ability of successful pupils.
It encourages proper study methods. The topic is studied as a whole,
summaries are made, and important aspects are distinguished from less
important ones, relationships and possibilities for application are pointed
out. Mechanical memorization is discouraged.
Individual problems are discovered and can be followed up.
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Team teaching
o This is an appropriate instructional organization where teachers cooperate
to work, plan and present lessons jointly.
o It is seen as an empowerment strategy where teachers focus their
collective attention on specific instructional material.
o Solutions they come up with are considered valid and realistic and are
based on collective effort.
o This method encourages use of modern approaches to teaching
Aspects of team teaching
(a) 2 or more teachers cooperate deliberately and methodically on particular
aspects of tuition.
(b) Teachers plan to work together
o present lesson jointly
o evaluate the teaching process jointly
Rationale (Aims)
-
To uphold and use identical teaching strategies
To promote better standards of teaching and learning
To enable teacher to organize students jointly either on :
(i)
ability,
(ii)
friendship,
(iii)
random selection.
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Through coordinated effort, students’ effort/performance can be
enhanced(improved)
The role of the team leader
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Plans team’s work (strategy)
Supervises entire operation
Controls other structures of the team
Presides on assessment discussion
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Planning and implementing team teaching
Emphasis is on:
1. identifying and selection of appropriate concepts as per the syllabus
2. on weekly meetings discus the pedagogical implications on certain concepts
3. formulate objectives to guide teaching (team)
3.4.9
Group teaching
This is the splitting of a class into smaller sub-groups. It is a social form of
teaching.
Various forms of work strategies
o individual work
o work in partnership
o class teaching
Purposes of group teaching
1. Venue for practicing skills –practical & reading
2. enables the teacher to group students on their varied abilities, giving
more attention to the less-gifted group
3. facilitates learning that is not teaches dominated
4. promotes responsibility and commitment towards work
5. promotes creativity and originality amongst students
6. gives them an opportunity to develop their cognitive skills
Planning for group teaching
Group teaching requires planning
Teachers should ensure that the following aspects are promoted by group teaching:
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(a) Work given to students should demand or ensure that they acquire these skills:
1. Analyses
2. Training
3. Construction
4. Comparison
5. Decision making
6. Co-operation
(b) Aims for group work should be well defined
© Guidelines should be provided to enable pupils to pursue their tasks effectively
- Such guidelines should make reference to the resource material they need
to use.
Formation of groups
There are 4 possible ways of forming groups:
1. Performance/ specific skills
2. social relationship
3. academic interests
4. chance (Random selection)
In group teaching, students are more involved than in face to face teaching
situation.
N.B: The abilities, ideas, patterns of behavior become part of a learning
process.
Evaluation strategies
Groups may be required to participate in the following aspects:
1. Giving results in writing
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2. collecting newspaper articles
3. Participate in pools – discuss issues as a class
4. Variants- where a representative of a group takes charge of the
discussions
5. Interrogation process- where members of the class pose questions on the
concerned topic
6. Acting /role play- the group makes up a play to present the results of
their task
7. Exhibition of results- work undertaken > can be in pictures, models etc.
8. Intermingled groups – exchange of results by various groups
Teacher’s role in group teaching
1. INITIATORY FUNCTION: development and the arrangement of the work
assigned to students
2. INFORMATIVE FUNCTION: selecting factual data,
explanation, procuring appropriate media and materials
encouraging,
3. REGULATORY FUNCTION: Responsible for the direction of what the
participants do, changing aims where applicable
4. EVALUATE FUNCTION: Encouragement towards meta-communication,
aids to self-control, role distribution etc
5. STIMULATORY FUNCTION: Introduction
enhance positive thinking and tolerance
of solutions to conflict,
Purposes of group teaching
7. Venue for practicing skills –practical & reading
8. enables the teacher to group students on their varied abilities, giving
more attention to the less-gifted group
9. facilitates learning that is not teaches dominated
10. promotes responsibility and commitment towards work
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11. promotes creativity and originality amongst students
12. gives them an opportunity to develop their cognitive skills
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UNIT 4
THE SOUTH AFRICAN CURRICULUM
4.1
Introduction - The concept ‘Curriculum’
96
4.2
Historical background of Curriculum 2005
96
4.3
Principles guiding the development of the SA curriculum
97
4.4
The concept outcomes-based education and Curriculum 2005
100
4.5
The Revised National Curriculum Statement
101
4.6
The National Curriculum Statement
105
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN CURRICULUM
4.1
Introduction
Curriculum is an important component in the educational situation. The word
curriculum is derived from the Latin verb “currere” meaning a race course and
all that goes along with it. When applied to education, the word curriculum
refers to a course of study with a beginning and an end. Curriculum refers to
all that takes place in school.
4.2
Historical background of Curriculum 2005
A curriculum is everything planned by educators which help develop the
learner. It can also be understood as everything that happens in schools. It
is thus, about how schools are managed. It also refers to both what is
intended to Take place and what actually takes place. This can be extra-mural
sporting activity, a debate, or even a visit to the library. When the
curriculum is planned, the physical resources, work programmes, assessment
criteria and extra-mural programmes should be taken into account. A good
curriculum produces thinking and caring individuals.
In the past curriculum was divided into subjects, each with defined syllabus
that described content to be followed. Teachers were left on their own to
implement the syllabus.
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The first democratically elected government which assumed office in 1994 in
South Africa had committed itself to overcoming the devastation of
apartheid and provides a system of education that builds democracy, human
dignity, equality and social justice. This is so because curriculum of the
former dispensation was regarded as irrelevant to some learners. This was
marked by the introduction of Outcomes-based education (OBE) under the
framework of Curriculum 2005 (C2005).
Curriculum 2005 is an OBE
curriculum derived from the nationally agreed outcomes. It includes aspect
of knowledge previously ignored in the curriculum. It does not provide detail
about content. It is based on a vision of a future South Africa. It challenges
teachers and learners to take charge of their teaching and learning.
4.3
Principles guiding the development of the SA curriculum
The following are the principles that inform curriculum design. They are:
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.3.4
4.3.5
4.3.6
4.3.7
4.3.8
4.3.1
Human resource development
Learner-centredness
Relevance
Integration
Differentiation, redress and learner support
Nation-building and non-discrimination
Critical and creative thinking
Flexibility
Human resource development
Societies require citizens with a strong foundation of general education with
the desire to learn apply and develop new knowledge, skills and technologies.
This should involve a desire to accept responsibility for personal performance
with willingness to work co-operatively. Education should thus prepare
learners to be such citizens by acknowledging that they are resources of
knowledge. The process of learning should be regarded as a process to
expand the boundaries of knowledge and build capacity.
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Learner-centredness
The development of learning programmes should put learners first by
recognizing and building on their knowledge and experience. All teachers
should respond to the learners’ needs, knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.
Different learning styles and rates of learning should be accommodated by
motivating learners.
Their achievement should be acknowledged by
encouraging them to reflect on their learning process.
4.3.3
Relevance
The curriculum should be relevant and appropriate to future needs of the
individual and society. Teachers should assist learners develop new skills by
expanding knowledge to include areas with which learners are familiar. In the
development, design and delivery of learning programmes, cognizance should
be taken of different cultures, languages and religious beliefs. Of most
important is the relevance of curriculum to the level of development of the
learners.
4.3.4
Integration
An integrated approach to education and training implies a view of learning
which rejects a rigid division between academic and applied knowledge
between theory and practice, between knowledge and skills, and between head
and hand.
Integration as a curriculum strategy could facilitate the
achievement of particular aims in more effective ways.
4.3.5
Differentiation, redress and learner support
Learning programmes should facilitate the creation of opportunities for all
learners, recognizing relevant differences among individuals. It should be
understood that learners are unique individuals with different abilities.
Differences in learners’ interest and abilities should challenge teachers to
explore alternative instructional methods and approaches. Programmes should
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acknowledge that learners have special needs and include special measures for
redressing the neglect.
4.3.6
Nation-building and non-discrimination
Education and training should promote the development of national identity
and the awareness of South Africa’s role and responsibility with regard to
Africa and the rest of the world.
Learning programmes should thus encourage the development of:
-
mutual respect for diverse religious and value systems
Multilingualism and informed choices regarding the language’s of
learning
Co-operation and ability to participate
An understanding of national, provincial, local and regional
development needs
Learning programmes should also protect and advance basic human rights,
irrespective of gender, race, class, creed or age.
4.3.7
Critical and creative thinking
Programmes should promote learners’ ability to think logically and analytically.
Learners should be able to balance independent, individualized thinking with
social responsibility. They need to be valued as equal and active participants
in learning and development process. Critical thinking should be encouraged as
early as in foundation phase.
4.3.8
Flexibility
Flexibility means to reach the provided frameworks which are determined by
the providers in accordance with the needs of the learners. Learning
programmes should be flexible and not be overloaded as an overloaded
programme makes it difficult to meet the needs of particular learners.
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The concept outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005
OBE means focusing and organizing an education system around what is
essential for all learners to be able to succeed at the end of their learning
experiences. In involves starting with a clear picture of what is important for
learners to be able to do. Developing a clear set of learning outcomes around
which all of the system’s components can be focused and establishing the
conditions and opportunities that enable and encourage all learners to achieve
those essential outcomes.
What exactly are outcomes?
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Learning results that teachers want learners to demonstrate at the end of
significant learning experiences.
What learners actually do with what they learnt.
Tangible application of what has been learnt.
Actions and performance that reflect learner competence in using the
content, information, ideas and tools successfully.
Having learners do important things with what they know is a major step
Represent the ultimate results that are sought from the learning.
Broad performance capabilities, rather than as specific curriculum skills.
Ensuring that alllearners are equipped with the knowledge, competence,
and qualities needed to be successful after they exit the educational
system;
Structuring and operating schools so that those outcomes can be achieved
and maximized for all students.
OBE’s key assumptions
OBE is based on three assumptions:


All students can learn and succeed, but not on the same rate - – it must be
understood that they can not learn and understand at the same pace and
time.
Successful learning promotes even more successful learning.
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Schools control the conditions that directly affect successful school
learning.
OBE principles
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Clarity of focus
Design down
High expectations
Expanded opportunity
Clarity of focus: this refers to a clear picture of the learning process. This
concerns the student’s own successes. One way to attain this is through
sharing with others.
Design down: is the approach that can be used in building the curriculum.
This starts with the abilities, skills, knowledge, and attitudes that one wants
students to demonstrate and ensure that the assessment focuses on what the
learner has achieved in relation to learning outcomes. Teachers can initiate
the curriculum they could use as well as the strategies to follow. This will
help them replace what does not work in practice.
High expectations: the expectation must be that learners are able to
achieve the outcomes. Those who work in the system should behave and
structure what they do in their working with learners.
Expanded opportunity: there are rigid blocks created around education.
These are blocks of time and the traditional organization of learning
institutions. This principle advocates that there has to be a move to go
beyond these blocks.
4.5
The Revised National Curriculum Statement
Curriculum 2005 (C200S) was first introduced in 1997 to be phased into all
grades by the year 2005. Curriculum 2005 was not implemented as was
expected. This led to the then Minister of Education, Kader Asmal,
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commissioning a review of C2005 in 2000. The Review Committee headed by
Linda Chisholm presented their findings in May 2000.
They reported that many teachers, trainers and officials support the
underlying principles of C2005 (learner participation, activity-based
education, emphasis on relevance, flexibility, holistic development, critical
thinking and integration). But there is much confusion about the design and
implementation of C2005. C2005 has been criticised for:
 complex language and confusing terminology
 'overcrowding' of the curriculum (8 learning areas means too little time
for reading, Maths and core concepts in science)
 lack of focus on content has led to neglect of conceptual
coherence
 assessment: no alignment between curriculum and assessment policy and a
lack of clarity regarding assessment policy and practice
 training of teachers has been inadequate
 learning support materials often unavailable and of poor quality
 implementation has been too rushed
The review proposed a revised and streamlined outcomes based curriculum to
be introduced within manageable time frames.
Recommendations regarding structure and design of C2005, amongst others,
include:
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Retaining the critical outcomes - these provide a scaffolding for
learning outcomes for the curriculum, and learning programmes should
be 'designed down'.
The eight learning areas
A streamlined National Curriculum Statement for ECD, GET, FET and
ABET, which is expressed in clear terms.
Inadequate orientation, training and development of teachers
learning support materials that are variable in quality, often unavailable
and not sufficiently used in classrooms
policy overload and limited transfer of learning into classrooms
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shortages of personnel and resources to implement and support C2005
Inadequate recognition of curriculum as the core business of education
departments.
The introduction of the Revised national curriculum Statement (RNCS)
All these areas require attention. Their weaknesses are underpinned by and
require adequate resourcing, manageable time-frames for implementation and
regular monitoring and review.
Critical to a strengthened implementation process are:
 A revised and streamlined outcomes-based curriculum framework which
promotes integration and conceptual coherence within a human rights
approach which pays special attention to anti-discriminatory. anti-racist.
anti-sexist and special needs issues
 a national teacher education strategy which locates teacher preparation
and development for the new curriculum in higher education and
identifies, selects and trains a special cadre of regional and district
curriculum trainers working with NGOs and higher education for shortterm orientation
 the production of learner support materials - especially textbooks - which
should become the responsibility of publishers and dedicated units or
institutes as proposed in the White Paper on Education and Training (1995)
 ring-fenced budgeting for the curriculum
 re-organisation and reinforcement of curriculum functions both in the
DOE and in the provinces
 relaxation of the pace of implementation
 a managed process of phasing out the current C2005 and phasing in RNCS
 the establishment of a task team to manage the phase out and phase in
process
The development outcomes envisage learners who are able to:
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Reflect on and explore a variety of strategies to learn more effectively;
Participate as responsible citizen in the life of local, national, and global
communities;
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Be culturally and aesthetically sensitive across a range of social contexts;
Explore education and career opportunities and
Develop entrepreneurial opportunities.
Issues such as poverty, inequality, race, gender, age, disability and challenges
such as HIV/AIDS all influence the degree and way in which learners can
participate in schooling. The Revised National Curriculum Statement GradeR-9 (Schools) adopts an inclusive approach by specifying the minimum
requirements for all learners. All the Learning Area Statements try to create
awareness of the relationship between social justice, human rights, a healthy
environment and inclusivity.
Learners are also encouraged to develop
knowledge and understanding of the rich diversity of this country, including
the cultural, religious and ethnic components of this diversity.
The Revised Curriculum Statement is aimed at promoting commitment as well
as competence among teachers, who will be responsible for the development
of their own Learning Programmes. In order to support this process, the
Department of Education will provide policy guidelines based on each Learning
Area. Provinces will develop further guidelines where necessary in order to
accommodate diversity.
The kind of teacher that envisaged
All teachers and other educators are key contributors to the transformation
of education in South Africa. This Revised National Curriculum Statement
Grades R-9 (Schools) envisions teachers who are qualified, competent,
dedicated and caring. They will be able to fulfill the various roles outlined in
the norms and standards for Educators. These include being mediators of
learning, interpreters and designers of Learning Programmes and materials,
leaders, managers, scholars, researchers and lifelong learners, community
members, citizens and pastors, assessors and Learning Area or Phase
specialists.
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The kind of learner that is envisaged
The promotion of values is important not only for the sake of personal
development, but also to ensure that a national South African identity is built
on values very different from those that underpinned apartheid education.
The kind of a learner that is envisaged is one who will be inspired by these
values, and who will act in the interests of the society based on respect for
democracy, equality, human dignity, life and social justice. The curriculum
seeks to create a lifelong learner who is confidence and independent, literate,
numerate, multi-skilled, compassionate, with a respect for the environment
and the ability to participate in society as a critical and active citizen.
4.6
The National Curriculum Statement
(The following information is adapted from the Department of Education
website – a statement on Introducing Outcomes-Based Education in
Grades 10 – 12)
In 1997 the Council of Education Ministers (CEM) made a decision to replace
the old apartheid curriculum with the new Outcomes-Based Education (OBE)
in the General and Further Education and Training Bands. The new curriculum
was introduced in 1998. 2005 was set as a year in which the curriculum would
be implemented in all grades.
As was discussed earlier that C2005 had to be reviewed, amongst the
recommendations of the Review Committee was an introduction of the Revised
National Curriculum Statement for Grades R – 9. It became evident that
when learners move to the Further Education and Training Band (FET) there
is no coherence with what is done in the GET Band. Even the methodology
used has nothing to do with OBE. It was on 15 April 2002 that CEM decided
that OBE will be introduced in Grade 10 – 12 with different timeframes. This
is a way to establish coherence in the work done in Grade 9 and that of Grade
10. The curriculum to be offered in this level was referred to as the national
Curriculum Statement (NCS)
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The National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General) represents a
policy statement for learning and teaching in schools located in the Further
Education and Training band. It aims to replace A Résumé of Instructional
Programmes in Schools, Report 550 (2001/08) as the document that
stipulates policy on curriculum and qualifications in Grades 10-12 (General).
The National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General) gives expression
to what we as South Africans regard to be knowledge, skills and values worth
learning. It is based on the assumption that knowledge in itself is not neutral,
but is underpinned by the collective vision, mission, values and principles of
people. The principles of democracy, human rights, social justice, equity, nonracism, non-sexism, and ubuntu have guided the development of this
outcomes-based National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General).
The Further Education and Training (FET) band is located between General
and Higher Education and Training (GET), and alongside the world of work.
This requires the National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General) to
show progression from General Education and Training and, at the same time,
provide access to Higher Education. The curriculum should also lay a solid
foundation for lifelong learning and different career paths. Therefore, it is
crucial that a balance is struck between these different purposes of the
curriculum in Grades 10-12. The National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12
(General) will ensure that learners acquire and apply knowledge and skills in
ways that are meaningful to their own lives. In this regard, the curriculum
promotes the idea of grounding knowledge in local contexts, while being
sensitive to global imperatives.
Principles and design features
The NCS is based on the following principles:
- social transformation
- outcomes-based education
- high knowledge and high skills
- integration and applied competence
- progression
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articulation and portability
human rights, inclusivity, environmental and social justice
valuing indigenous knowledge systems, and
credibility, quality and efficiency
The above principles are not discussed here. To understand them please refer
to the National Curriculum Statement (Overview)
Structure and design features
The National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General) consists of an
Overview document, the Qualifications and Assessment Policy Framework, and
the Subject Statements. The subjects in the National Curriculum Statement
Grades 10-12 (General) are categorised into Learning Fields.
What is a Learning Field?
A Learning Field is a category that serves as a home for cognate subjects,
and that facilitates the formulation of rules of combination for the Further
Education and Training Certificate (General). The demarcations of the
Learning Fields for Grades 10-12 took cognisance of articulation with the
General Education and Training and Higher Education bands, as well as with
classification schemes in other countries. Although the development of the
National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General) has taken the twelve
National Qualifications Framework organising fields as its point of departure,
it should be emphasised that those organising fields are not necessarily
Learning Fields or ‘knowledge’ fields, but rather are linked to occupational
categories.
The following subject groupings were demarcated to help with learner subject
combinations:
 Languages (Fundamentals);
 Arts and Culture;
 Business, Commerce, Management and Service Studies;
 Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology;
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Human and Social Sciences and Languages; and
Physical, Mathematical, Computer, Life and Agricultural Sciences.
What is a subject?
Historically, a subject has been defined as a specific body of academic
knowledge. This understanding of a subject laid emphasis on knowledge at the
expense of skills, values and attitudes. Subjects were viewed by some as
static and unchanging, with rigid boundaries. Very often, subjects mainly
emphasised Western contributions to knowledge. In an outcomes-based
curriculum like the National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General),
subject boundaries are blurred. Knowledge integrates theory, skills and
values. Subjects are viewed as dynamic, always responding to new and diverse
knowledge, including knowledge that traditionally has been excluded from the
formal curriculum. A subject in an outcomes-based curriculum is broadly
defined by Learning Outcomes, and not only by its body of content. In the
South African context, the Learning Outcomes should, by design, lead to the
achievement of the Critical and Developmental Outcomes. Learning Outcomes
are defined in broad terms and are flexible, making allowances for the
inclusion of local inputs.
What is a Learning Outcome?
A Learning Outcome is a statement of an intended result of learning and
teaching. It describes knowledge, skills and values that learners should
acquire by the end of the Further Education and Training band. Learning
Outcomes are packed into subjects.
What is an Assessment Standard?
Assessment Standards are criteria that collectively provide evidence of what
a learner should know and be able to demonstrate at a specific grade. They
embody the knowledge, skills and values required to achieve the Learning
Outcomes. Assessment Standards within each Learning Outcome collectively
show how conceptual progression occurs from grade to grade.
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Subjects in the National Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General)
The following Table contains the subjects that are part of the National
Curriculum Statement Grades 10-12 (General), under their respective
Learning Fields.
LEARNING FIELD
Languages (Fundamental)
SUBJECTS
All Home Languages
First Additional Languages
Arts and Culture
Dance Studies
Design
Dramatic Arts
Music
Visual Arts
Human and Social Studies and
Languages
Geography
History
Life Orientation
Languages (that are not taken in the
Fundamental
Component)
Physical, Mathematical, Computer,
Life and
Agricultural Sciences
Agricultural Sciences
Computer Applications Technology
Information Technology
Life Sciences
Mathematical Literacy
Mathematics
Physical Sciences
Business, Commerce, and Management
Studies
Accounting
Business Studies
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Economics
Services
Manufacturing, Engineering and
Technology
Consumer Studies
Economics
Hospitality Studies
Tourism
Electrical Technology
Engineering Graphics and Design
Mechanical Technology
Civil Technology
NB: To understand NCS more please refer to the policy
statement.
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UNIT 5
ASSESSMENT
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
Introduction
Outcomes-based assessment (OBA)
Assessment principles
Purposes of assessment
Types of assessment
The importance of continuous assessment
Recording progress and achievement
Reporting
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ASSESSMENT
5.1
Introduction
Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering, and interpreting
information about a learner’s achievement as measured against nationally
agreed outcomes for a particular phase of a learner.
It involves four steps:
 generating and collecting evidence of achievement (measurement),
 evaluating this evidence against the outcomes,
 recording the findings of this evaluation and using this information to
assist the learner’s development and
 improve the process of learning and teaching.
 It involves generating and collecting evidence of learner achievement.
5.2
Outcomes-based assessment
Outcomes-based education (OBE) is a learner-centred, result-oriented
approach to education and training that builds on the notion that all learners
need to and can achieve their full potential, but that this may not happen in
the same way or within the same period.
It implies the following:
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What learners are to learn is clearly defined;
Each learner’s progress is based on demonstrated achievement;
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Each learner’s need is accommodated through multiple teaching and
learning strategies and assessment tools; and
Each learner is provided the time and assistance to realise his or her
potential.
Assessment is OBE focused on the achievement of clearly defined outcomes,
making it possible to credit learner’s achievements at every level, whatever
pathway they may have followed, and at whatever rate they may have acquired
the necessary competence.
Assessment in OBE requires the use of tools that appropriately assess
learner achievement and encourage lifelong learning skills.
Continuous
assessment (CASS) is considered as the best model to assess outcomes of
learning throughout the system and enable improvements to be made in the
learning and teaching process. It must be used to support the learner
developmentally and to offer feedback into teaching and learning. It should
not be interpreted merely as the accumulation of a series of traditional test
results.
OBE assessment:
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involves a way of finding out what a person knows, understands and thinks,
and what he/she can do.
is continuous. It is a matter of being constantly aware of how learners are
developing and keeping a record of this development.
Provides evidence of competence which often emerges during normal daily
class work or from homework.
Involves watching the learners working in groups.
Helps teacher listen to the learner explaining a concept.
Assist with reading learner’s evaluation of a model, drawing a graph.
Involves any other activity used for teaching and learning.
Provide information to support learner’s development,
Enable improvement to be made in learning/teaching process.
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Assessment principles
Effective assessment will be underpinned by the following principles:
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The purpose of assessment should always be made explicit.
The criterion-referenced approach will be used.
Assessment is an on-going integral part of the learning process.
Assessment must be authentic, continuous, multi-dimensional, varied
and balanced.
It must be accurate, objective, valid, fair, manageable and time-efficient.
Assessment takes many forms, gathers information from several context,
and uses a variety of methods according to what is being assessed and the
needs of the learner.
The methods and techniques used must be appropriate to the knowledge,
skills, or attitudes to be assessed as well as to the age and developmental
level of the learner.
It must be bias free and sensitive to gender, race, cultural background and
abilities.
Assessment results must be communicated clearly, accurately, timeously
and meaningfully.
Progression should be linked to the achievement of the specific outcomes
and should not be rigidly time bound.
Evidence of progress in achieving outcomes shall be used to identify areas
where learners need support and remedial intervention.
5.4
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Purposes of assessment
Improves learner achievement.
Focuses on performance of learner and appropriateness of learning
environment.
Indicate learner’s strengths and developmental needs.
Involves recording the finding, reflecting & reporting by giving positive,
supportive and motivational feedback to learner, and other stakeholders.
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The general aim of assessing learners in OBE is for growth, development
and support.
Facilitate further learning in terms of expected knowledge, skills,
attitudes and values.
Provides information about learning difficulties and remedial action
necessary to support learners who may be experiencing learning
difficulties.
Facilitates reporting to parents and other role-players and stakeholders
on the levels of achievement during the learning process and to build a
profile of the learner’s achievement across the curriculum;
Provides information for the evaluation and view of learning programmes
used in the classroom; and
Maximizes learner’s access to the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values
defined in the national curriculum policy.
5.5 Types of assessment
Different types of assessment serve important functions within OBE:
Formative assessment
It takes place during the learning process or when the need arises and can be
used to get information about the learner, teaching and materials. It can lead
to the improvement of teaching and learning. It is used to support the learner
developmentally and to offer feedback into the teaching/learning process.
Through formative assessment, strengths and weaknesses of the learner may
be recognized and discussed and the appropriate next steps may be planned in
the teaching and learning programme.
Diagnostic assessment
This is the process through which learning difficulties may be scrutinized and
classified so that appropriate remedial help and guidance can be provide.
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Summative Assessment
It is used to provide ‘snapshot’ information about a learner’s level of
competence at a given time, usually at the end of a learning experience to
determine if a learner is able to move to a new section of a learning
programme or class.
Norm-based assessment
This is a relative interpretation of a learner’s performance, it evaluates
learner’s performance against the performance of a group.
Criterion-based assessment involves telling the learners exactly what they
have to do to succeed in any task.
Assessment should be done continuously.
5.6
The importance of continuous assessment (CASS)
Continuous assessment refers to the kind of assessment, which takes place all
the time, throughout the year, sometimes quite unexpectedly, without any
prior warning. It includes short class tests, period tests, class work,
homework, questioning in class, discussions in class, observation of pupils by
the teacher, etc.
CASS develops a profile of a learner’s development over time. Its procedures
provide the teacher with up-to-date information regarding the efficiency of
his/her teaching; which assists him/her to know at all times what he may
reasonably expect of his/her learners; serves as sound basis to identify those
learners who are not progressing satisfactorily or those who are actually
performing at a level of under-achievement, at a very early stage; and
provides learners as well as their parents with information regarding their
(children’s) achievements. Effective remedial work can be done meaningfully
and in a planned way have when teachers have gathered information about
the learners’ achievements.
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Features of CASS
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Enables teachers to use any planned learning experience to assess learner
achievements and progress
Is an essential aspect of the total evaluation of every learner.
Takes place over a long period, virtually continuously.
Is diagnostic, enabling the teacher to monitor strengths and to address
the needs of the learner.
Enables teachers to pace learners and to provide enrichment for fast
learners.
Sets well defined targets (outcomes) for learners.
Ensures that the learning programme is significant for the learner, by
providing positive outcomes and prevents teaching for a test.
Covers a wide spectrum of learning activities and tasks.
Is transparent as learners are aware of the criteria against which they are
assessed.
Involves assessment of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, ensuring
that content is not the only focus.
Encourages teachers and learners to appraise their own work.
Ensures that learners are exposed to a wide range of assessment
techniques.
Ensures that summative assessment is only one component of the evolution.
5.7
Recording of progress and achievement
When CASS and collection of evidence takes place, the teacher needs to keep
and maintain the learners profile and progress on an on-going basis.
Cumulative evidence of learner achievement must be recorded and these
records should accompany all learners throughout their learning paths.
Cumulative records should also include information on the holistic
development of the learner, such as the development of values and attitudes
and social development. Portfolios should be built over a period of time and
be retained as visible proof of the development and improvement of learner
achievement. Samples of learner’s work included in the portfolios should show
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that they are able to integrate knowledge, concepts and skills, and that
learners have not been assessed only on memorization of information.
Informal records
These are short comments that an educator writes based on day-to-day
observations of future planning and any judgment an educator makes about a
learner’s performance.
Formal records
These are systematic records of the assessment tasks performed by
learners.
It involves gathering of information and progress of the
performance of learners over time. These records are about the stated
outcomes for specific assessment tasks.
The formal records help in:
Planning
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The performance of learners in one learning experience determines the
kinds and levels of activities to be set in that. All learners’ progress
should be directed towards the achievement of outcomes.
Making judgments

Keeping records of how learners performed in respect of the assessment
criteria helps to eventually make a decision about the overall ability of
each learner in relation to the outcomes.
Teacher’s records:
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Recording learning achievement over an on-going lengthy period of time
Achievement of relevant outcomes recorded by teacher to show learner’s
progress towards achieving Critical and Specific Outcomes
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Learner’s profile:
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Record written by or kept by the teacher about the learner
Cumulative records of learner’s progress
Medical reports
Any evidence of learners progress written by the teacher
Portfolio:
Collection of samples of learners work over a period of time
5.8
Reporting Assessment
What is reporting?
Reporting is the process of sharing information about the learner’s
achievement. Reporting constitute a written confirmation of the learner’s
achievement at regular intervals, usually a quarter. Effective communication
about learner achievement is a prerequisite for the provision of quality
education.
Why do we report?
A report must convey, through the educator’s comments, a clear impression of
personal knowledge of the learner, summarise achievement and progress.
Comments from parents and, where practicable, from learners themselves,
should be encouraged to:
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Provide learner and parent/guardian with regular feedback on learner’s
progress and achievement
Indicate learner’s strengths and developmental needs
Motivate learners and parents to participate in the teaching and learning
process
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Serve as an opportunity for teachers to provide regular feedback to
learners as part of the everyday teaching and learning process;
Provide an accurate description of progress and achievement;
Allow for comment on the personal and social development and the followup steps for learning and teaching;
Encourage motivation through a constructive approach;
Become a focal point for dialogue between home, learning site, and (where
appropriate) work and Further Education and Training;
Enhance accountability at all levels of the system; and
In the case learners in Grade R- 9, must be sensitive to the needs and
responsibilities of parents.
How do we report?
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We report through interviews, portfolios, orally during parents’ days,
correspondence, formal written reports
Reporting should be positive; it should describe what the learners can do
rather than what they cannot do.
When do we report?

When ever necessary, but at least once a quarter.
To whom do we report?
The teacher has to continuously report to:
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The learner on his level of progress and developmental needs.
Parents on the learner’s level of performance must be done periodically.
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The teachers in the next grade on the learner’s level of performance in
respect of the outcomes. This is done at the end of a calendar year
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BIBLIOGRPHY
Arends J 1994 Learning to teach. New York: Mc Graw Hill, Inc
Farrant JS 1980 Principles and Practices of Education. England: Longman
Fourie DI, Oberholzer MO and Vester TL. Education 1: Advanced College
Series. Pretoria: Via Africa.
Kasambira KP 1993 Lesson Planning and Class Management. England: Longman
Steyn PJN,
Badernhost
DC and
Yule
RM 1998
Teaching Methods.
Johannesburg: Lexicon Publishers.
Van der Stoep F and Louw WJ 1992. Didactics. Pretoria: Academica
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