METHOD OF TEACHING

INTRODUCTION
Teaching is a complex multifaceted activity often requiring the teacher to
juggle multiple tasks and goals simultaneously.The term “Teaching
Method” refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management
strategies used for instruction by the teachers to achieve the desired learning
by the students. Teaching method depends on what fits the teacher’s
educational philosophy, classroom demography and subject area. Teaching
method can be categorised into four types-teacher-centered methods,
learner-centered methods, content-focused methods and interactive methods.
Teacher-Centered Method
In this approach, the students are viewed as “empty vessels” whose primary
role is to passively receive information with an end goal of testing and
assessment. The teacher is looked upon by the learners as an expert or an
authority. Examples of such methods are expository or lecture method which
require little or no involvement of learners in the teaching process. Due to
the lack of involvement of the learners in what they are taught, such method
are also called “closed-ended”. In this teaching model, teaching and
assessment are viewed as two separate entities. Student learning is measured
through objectively scored tests and assessments.
Learner-Centered Method
In learner-centered method, the teacher plays a dual role as a teacher and a
learner at the same time so that the classroom extends rather than constricts
the teacher’s intellectual horizons.While the teacher still holds the authority
figure in this teaching model, the teacher and the students play an equally
active role in the learning process. The teacher becomes more a resource
rather than an authority and his primary role is to facilitate student learning.
In the process, the teacher also learns and discover new things. Examples of
learner-centered methods are discussion method or discovery or inquiry
based approach.In this method, teaching and assessment are connected and
student learning is continuously measured through both formal and informal
forms of assessment, including group projects, student portfolios, and class
participation.
Content-focused method
In content-focused method, both the teacher and the learners have to fit into
the content that is taught. Generally, this means the information and skills to
be taught are regarded as sacrosanct. Emphasis is laid on the clarity and
careful analysis of the content and both the teacher and the learners cannot
alter or become critical of anything with the content. A method which
subordinates the interests of the teacher and learners by the content is the
programmed learning approach.
Interactive Method
The interactive method borrow a bit from the aforesaid three methods
without necessarily laying undue emphasis on either the learner, content or
teacher. These methods are driven by the situational analysis of what is the
most appropriate thing to do in a given situation forthe learners and the
teacher. Interactive method require a participatory understanding of varied
domains and factors.
SPECIFIC TEACHING METHOD
The specific method of teaching can be applied during the course of
classroom instruction. It is however, important to note that the choice of any
form of method should not be arbitrary, but needs to be governed by the
criteria as mentioned before. At the same time each method is not fool-
proof, but has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Lecture
We usually consider lecture as the normal method of teaching as it is
convenient and the most suitable with large classroom sizes. Lecture is the
oral relaying of factual information which includes principles, concepts,
ideas and theories about a given topic. The lecturer actively tells, explains,
describes or relates whatever information the learners are required to learn or
understand. It is therefore teacher-centered. The learners on the other hand
are very inactive, doing all the listening and understanding. Teachers usually
use whiteboards or chalkboards to emphasize important points in their
lecture. Today, many lectures are accompanied by some sort of visual aid,
such as a slideshow or a film.
The lecture method of instruction is recommended for presenting an
organised body of new information to the learner. A good lecture should not
be too long as to exceed the listeners’ attention span. It should address a
single theme. In a good lecture technical terms are carefully explained using
illustrations with familiar examples and analogies. A good lecture should
build on existing knowledge.
The lecture method has a few advantages that has kept it as the standard
approach to teaching for so long.
 The lecturer is the authoritative figure who alone shapes the course.
Therefore, lectures remain highly consistent when it comes to the kind
of information and the way it is delivered.
 Lectures are literally expanded explanations of information deemed
important by the lecturer. As such, students can absorb large
quantities of new material.
  Little effort is required by the students as they need only to pay
attention during the lecture and take notes. It is the most
straightforward and uncomplicated way to expose students to large
quantities of information.
Despite the popularity of lectures, the lack of active involvement of learners
limits its usefulness as a teaching method. Not being actively engaged in a
discussion over certain material can make the material itself seem worthless
to a student.
Classroom Discussion
Discussion in classroom is the most common type of interactive teaching
and involves a two-way communication between the teacher and the
learners. The teacher gives equal opportunity for every student to interact
and put forth their views. A discussion could also follow a presentation or a
demonstration. It is therefore, a more active learning experience for the
students.It helps to foster learners’ involvement in what they are learning
and consequently enhance student understanding, broaden student
perspectives, highlight opposing viewpoints, reinforce knowledge and build
confidence. Discussion may also be used in the classroom for the purpose of
lesson development, making trainees apply what they have learnt or to
monitor the learners by way of feedback (Petrina, 2007).
Cooperative Teaching
Cooperative teaching refers to a method of classroom management that
emphasizes group work and reciprocal teaching. Students learn best from
their peers when working in groups.Cooperative learning establishes a
personal connection between students and the topic of study by allowing
students to actively participate in the learning process by talking with each
other and listening to the views of one another. Group projects and
discussions are examples of this teaching method. Teachers may employ
cooperative teaching to assess students’ abilities to work as a team,
leadership skills, or presentation abilities. A group discussion may cover the
whole topic of study with the teacher acting as a resource for the students
answering questions and reviewing their progress as needed. Cooperative
teaching is more effective than lectures in motivating learners and
fosteringthem a sense of autonomy.Cooperative learning falls under
the student-centered approach because learners are given responsibility of
their learning and development.
Demonstration
Demonstration is the process of planned teaching of occupation skill or
scientific principle through examples or experiments. A demonstration may
be used to prove a fact through a combination of visual evidence and
associated reasoning.Demonstrations help to raise student interest and
reinforce memory retention because they provide connections between facts
and real-world applications of those facts.
Brainstorming
The purpose of a brainstorming session is to discover new bright ideas very
quickly by encouraging participants to let ideas flow freely, building on and
improving from previous ideas. No idea put forward, however crazy, should
be rejected. The ideas are listed exactly as they are expressed on a board or
flipchart, or written on bits of paper. The combination of swiftly generated
ideas usually leads to a very animated and energizing session. Even the more
reserved participants should feel bold enough to contribute. After a
brainstorming session, the ideas can be discussed further and evaluated, for
example listing the best options in a systematic way. Ideas when grouped
and analysed may lead to innovative ideas. A brainstorming session can
work well with a large group and usually takes less time. It is best to limit
the time for plenary brainstorms, as you might lose the attention of some
participants (Makokha and Ongwao, 1987)
Role play
In role play, participants use their own experiences to play a real life
situation. When done well, role play increase the participants’ self-
confidence, give them the opportunity to understand or even feel empathy
for other people’s viewpoints or roles, and usually end with practical
answers, solutions or guidelines. Some trainees may feel a role play is too
exposing, threatening or embarrassing. This reluctance may be overcome at
the outset by careful explanation of the objectives and the outcome. Some
role play can generate strong emotions amongst the participants. It is
therefore essential that a role play is followed by a thorough debriefing. This
provides the opportunity for the trainer and the participants to raise and
assess new issues.
Inquiry based teaching
Inquiry-based teaching is a pedagogical approach where the students explore
academic content by posing, investigating, and answering questions. Also
known as problem-based teaching, this approach puts students’ inquiry at the
center of the curriculum. The role of the teacher is to help students generate
their own content-related questions and guide the investigation that follows.
The teachers commit to provide rich experiences that provoke students’
thinking and curiosity; to plan carefully-constructed questioning sequences;
to manage multiple student investigations at the same time; to continuously
assess the progress of each student as they work toward their solution or
final product; and to respond in-the-moment to students’ emerging queries
and discoveries. An inquiry-based curriculum develops and validates ‘habits
of mind’ that characterize a life-long learner. It teaches students to pose
difficult questions and fosters the desire and skills to acquire knowledge
about the world. Students are given opportunities to take ownership of their
own learning, a skill necessary for one to succeed in college and in most
professional settings.
Experiential learning
Experiential learning is a learning process whereby students “learn by
doing” and by reflecting on experience. Experiential learning activities can
include, but are not limited to, hands-on laboratory experiments, practicums,
field exercises, and studio performances. Learning from experience might be
called "nature's way of learning". It is "education that occurs as a direct
participation in the events of life" and includes learning that comes about
through reflection on everyday experiences.Experiential education is
implemented across a range of mediums- outdoor education, internships,
group-based learning projects, excursions, etc.
Conclusion
An individual’s learning style refers to the preferential way in which the
student absorbs, processes, comprehends and retains information. For
example, when learning how to build a clock, some students understand the
process by following verbal instructions, while others have to physically
manipulate the clock themselves. Individual learning styles depend on
cognitive, emotional and environmental factors, as well as one’s prior
experience. It is generally accepted that student learning styles fall into four
categories: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing preferences and Kinesthetic
popularly known as Neil Fleming’s VARK learning model in short. The
VARK model acknowledges that students have different approaches to how
they process information, referred to as “preferred learning
modes.”Allowing students to access information in the manner they are
comfortable with will increase their academic confidence.
OBJECTIVES
The main objectives of this chapter are to acquaint students about:
• the different teaching methods;
• the difference between teacher-centered method and learner-centered
method of teaching; and
• the different learning styles of the learners.
SUMMARY
The term “Teaching Method” refers to the general principles, pedagogy and
management strategies used for instruction by the teachers to achieve the
desired learning by the students. Teaching methods can be mainly
categorised into four groups-teacher-centered method, learner-centered
method, content-focused method and interactive method. The common
specific teaching method are lecture, demonstration, classroom discussion,
cooperative teaching, brainstorming, role play, inquiry-based teaching,
experiential learning, etc. For effective teaching, it is important to know
one’s learning styles which depend on cognitive, emotional and
environmental factors, as well as one’s prior experience. An individual’s
learning style fall into four categories: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing
preferences and Kinesthetic popularly known as Neil Fleming’s VARK
learning model.
GLOSSARY
i)Teaching: Teaching is undertaking certain ethical tasks or activities with
the intention to induce learning.Teaching includes all the activities of
providing education to other. The person who provides education is called
teacher.
ii)Pedagogy: Pedagogy deals with the theory and practice of education and
thus concerns the study of how best to teach. Instructive strategies are
governed by the pupil's background knowledge and experience, situation,
and environment, as well as learning goals set by the student and teacher.
iii)Reflection: We also learn by reflecting on experiences (Dewey 1933).
Reflection is thinking for an extended period by linking recent experiences
to earlier ones in order to promote a more complex and interrelated mental
schema or patterns. The thinking involves looking for commonalities,
differences, and interrelations beyond their superficial elements.
iv)Kinesthetic learning: Kinesthetic Learning is one of the four different
learning styles popularized by Neil Fleming in his VARK model of learning.
In a nutshell, a kinesthetic learner needs to be actively doing something
while learning in order to understand the topic. Individuals with a kinesthetic
learning style are often uncomfortable during sedentary instructions like
lectures because most of the time, they need to get up and move to put
something into memory.
v) Cooperative teaching: Cooperative teaching refers to a method of
classroom management that emphasizes group work and reciprocal
teaching.
FAQs
1. Why is lecture considered as teacher-centered method of teaching?
Ans: In lecture, the lecturer actively tells, explains, describes or relates
whatever information the learners are required to learn or understand. The
learners on the other hand are very inactive, doing all the listening and
understanding. It is therefore considered as teacher-centered method of
teaching.
2. What is the importance of cooperative teaching?
Ans:Cooperative teaching and learning allows students to actively
participate in the learning process by interacting with each other and
listening to the views of one another about the topic.Students learn best from
their peers when working in groups.A group discussion may cover the whole
topic of study with the teacher acting as a resource for the students
answering questions and reviewing their progress as needed. Cooperative
teaching is more effective than lectures in motivating learners and fostering
them a sense of autonomy.
3. How does brainstorming helps in the teaching-learning process?
Ans: A brainstorming session encourages all participants to discover new
bright ideas very quickly by encouraging participants to let ideas flow freely,
building on and improving from previous ideas. Even the more reserved
participants should feel bold enough to contribute. No idea put forward,
however crazy, is rejected. The ideas are listed exactly as they are expressed
on a board or flipchart, or written on bits of paper. The combination of
swiftly generated ideas usually leads to a very animated and energizing
session. After a brainstorming session, the ideas can be discussed further and
evaluated. Ideas when grouped and analysed may lead to innovative ideas.