Teaching (B.ED)

 

1. Concept of Teaching 

Teaching can be defined as an activity that causes the child to learn and acquire the desired knowledge and skills and also the desired ways of living in society. Teaching is a process which can be carried out formally or informally. Informal teaching takes place within the family while formal teaching takes place outside the family. Formal teaching should be carried out by experienced faculty, teachers, editors etc. 

2. Characteristics of Teaching

Below, we have listed down the crucial characteristics of teaching:

• Teaching takes place in a dynamic environment.
• Teaching is a cognitive activity.
• Teaching includes a lengthy period of study and training.
• It has a high degree of autonomy.
• It is a continuous profession.
• It is an art as well as science.
• It is closely related to education, learning, and training.
• It is a type of social service and has different levels of teaching.

3. Factors affecting Teaching

Following are the factors that affect the process of teaching:

• Educational qualification of the teachers.
• Adequate skills are required for a teacher to carry his work effectively.
• Experience teachers better handle the student's queries and classroom management.
• The classroom environment should support the teaching-learning environment and the teacher plays a vital role in handling this activity.

4. Methods of teaching

Here are some important teaching methods:

(a). Teacher-centred strategy

Following are the teacher-centred strategies:

• Lecture Method: Lecture Method is a process of teaching in which the teacher tells his/her students about the planned facts. The students listen and take notes. The success of this method depends on the ability of the teacher to speak fluently in a good tone and style.
• Team Teaching: Team teaching includes a batch of instructors which help a group of students regularly and cooperative them to learn the different concepts. Teachers together prepare their course, frame the syllabus, prepare the lesson plans, teach, guide and evaluate the results of the students. They share student's analysis and also suggest students to decide which approach is better.
• TV or Video Presentation: It is an improved method in which it involves radio or audio presentation, and it can virtually bring the whole world inside the classroom. Screening of video presentation is followed by the discussion of a task.

(b). Mixed strategy

Following are the methods of this strategy:

• Group Discussion: Discussion methods set a platform for the open-ended, collaborative exchange of ideas among the teacher and students with the motive to increase the student's thinking, learning, problem-solving, and understanding. Participants present their unique points of view, listen to other's ideas and then present their ideas in a better way as to increase their knowledge, understanding, or interpretation of the matter or topic.
• Brainstorming: It is group creativity in which efforts are made to find a relevant conclusion or solution for a particular problem by listing out different ideas or suggestions spontaneously contributed by its members.
• Project method: Project method is one of the advanced methods of teaching in which, the student’s point of view is given importance in the design of the curriculum and content of studies. This method is based on the philosophy of Pragmatism and the principle of 'Learning by doing'.

Some other methods of small group teaching method are the role-playing method, simulation, demonstration method, tutorial etc.

(c). Student-centred strategy

The following strategies cover the following method of teachings:

• Assignments: An assignment is a teaching method which can be done both individually or in the group, that assist the students to acquire individual academic competences. No contact hours are offered for completion of the assignment, and the students have to carry out the task in their own time.
• Case study: The case method is the most powerful student-centred teaching strategy that imparts students with critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills. Working in different case study helps the students to research and evaluate multiple sources of data, fostering information literacy.
• Programmed instruction: It is a research-based system that helps the students to learn in a graded sequence of controlled steps. It is discovered by Sydney L. Pressey.
• Computer-assisted learning: In this method, the computer is used to present the instructional material and monitor the learning that takes place.
• Heuristic method: This method was discovered by Dr H. E. Armstrong. It is an approach to problem-solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method but instead sufficient for reaching an immediate goal.

(d). Teaching Aids

Teaching aids are the aids used by the facilitator or a teacher in the classroom to make his/her teaching effective and easy so that the students can be understood easily. There are different types of teaching aids:

• Audio Aids: These aids find the usage of the sense of hearing for example radio, tape recorders, language laboratories etc.
• Visual Aids: These aids use the sense of visual only. For example chalkboards, soft boards, maps, pictures, flashcards, maps etc.
• Audio-Visual Aids: This makes use of both sense of hearing and vision. For example television, films, computers,film-strips etc.

Characteristics of  teaching 

1. The concept of Teaching: Teaching involves the purposeful direction and management of the learning process. It is a planned activity or a process in which the learner, teacher, and other variable are planned in a particular order to attain some predetermined goals. Teaching can be both formal and informal. 

• Informal teaching is carried out within a family or in a community, during initial years of life, for example, homeschooling.
• Formal teaching is carried out by paid professions called teachers or faculty.

2. Basic Teaching Models: Generally, there are two models of teaching. These are:

(a). Instructor-centered Teaching

• When an instructor or a facilitator is in actively involved in teaching while the learners are in a passive, receptive mode listening as the instructor or a facilitator teaches is known as instructor-centered Teaching.
• In this teaching, an instructor is fully responsible for what is taught and how it is learned.
• The learner is fully dependent upon the instructor for all learning. Here the instructor is responsible for the process of evaluation.

(b). Learner-centered Teaching

• When a student or a learner is more emphasized in a classroom than others is known as learner-centered teaching.
• It also involves each student's interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the learning instructors for individuals rather than for the class.
• It includes self-evaluation.

3. Nature or Characteristic Features of Teaching: The main characteristic features of teaching are given below:

1. It tends towards the self-organization.
2. It involves different levels of teaching.
3. It is a continuous process.
4. It is related to education, learning, instruction, and training.
5. It generally takes place in a dynamic environment.

4. Different Levels of Teaching

Teaching takes place at three levels progressively- memory level of teaching, understanding level of teaching, and reflective level of teaching

(a). Memory Level of Teaching (MLT): The first level of teaching is a Memory Level of Teaching. This level is concerned with memory or the mental ability that exists in all living beings and is considered as the lowest level of teaching.

• Herbart is the main proponent of this level.
• It induces the habit of rote memorization of facts and bits of information.
• Here the teaching-learning process is basically 'Stimulus-Response'(S-R) here.
• Here the evaluation system mainly includes oral, written and essay-type examination.

(b). Understanding Level of Teaching (ULT): The second and thoughtful level of teaching is an understanding level of teaching. This level is concerned with understanding something i.e., to perceive the meaning, grasp the idea and comprehend the meaning.

• Morrison is the main proponent of this level.
• It goes beyond just memorizing of facts as it is memory plus insight.
• Here, the instructor and the learner both play an active role.
• Here the evaluation system includes both objective and essay-type examination.

(c). Reflective Level of Teaching (RLT): The third and highest level of teaching is a memory level of teaching. This level is concerned with both MLT and ULT. Here the teacher thinks over their teaching practices, analyzing how to teach and how the learning process can be changed or improved for better learning outcomes.

• Hunt is the main proponent of this level.
• In this approach, the learners are motivated and are active.
• Here the students occupy the primary place and teacher assumes the secondary place.
• Here the evaluation system includes an essay-type examination.

5. Important Concepts related to Teaching

(a). Education: The process through which a learner has facilitated learning and acquired knowledge, beliefs, habits, values, and skills is said to be Education. It includes teaching, training, discussion, storytelling etc.

(b). Instruction: It is a main part of teaching. It includes the delivery of contents by the instructor. It doesn't play any role in the interaction between the teacher and the learner but it facilitates achievement of teaching.

(c). Learning: It involved both activities and experiences. It can be defined as a relative change in the behavior of an individual as a result of experience or practice.

(d). Training: The process of developing in oneself's any skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies is known as training.  The main purpose of imparting training is to equip oneself's with specific skills.

(e). Syllabus: An academic document that used to communicates course information and defines responsibilities and expectation is said to the syllabus. It helps to supervise or controls the course quality. It may be descriptive.

(f). Curriculum: It is defined as a course of study developed by school authorities.

(g). Indoctrination: It is the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

Models of teaching

a. Pedagogy model: In this method, the teacher, more or less, controls the material to be learned and the pace of learning while presenting the course content to the students. It is also called instructor-centred approach. In this, the learner is dependent upon the instructor for all learning.

b. Andragogical model: In this model, the learner is mostly self-directed and is responsible for his or her own learning. In this method, the instructors facilitate the learning of participants and help them by offering opportunities to learn themselves and acquire new knowledge.

Objectives of teaching

A good objective should be specific, outcome-based and measurable. The objectives of teaching and learning must integrate at the end of the instruction. The objectives of teaching are:

• To bring desired changes in students' attitude.
• To shape behaviour and conduct.
• Acquisition of knowledge.
• To improve the learning skills of students.
• Formation of belief.
• To become a social & efficient member of society.

Levels of teaching

a. Memory level of Teaching

• It is the first stage of teaching.
• This level of teaching assists the learner to retain the topic and also to reproduce the material which the student learnt.
• Good memory includes rapidity in learning and recalling the stability of retention, and the ability to bring only desirable contents to the conscious level.
• Herbart is the main exponent of the memory level of teaching.

b. Understanding level of Teaching

• This level of teaching is known as ‘memory plus insight’, as it goes beyond just memorizing of facts.
• It focuses on the mastery of the subject.
• It makes pupil understand the generalizations, principles and facts.
• It supports a lot of opportunities for the students to develop ‘intellectual behaviour’.
• Morrison is the main endorser of the understanding level of teaching.

c. Reflective level of Teaching

• Reflective level of Teaching: It is considered as the highest level of teaching and it includes both Understanding Level of Teaching (ULT) and Memory Level of Teaching (MLT).
• It is a problem-centric approach to teaching.
• The aim of this teaching is to develop a reflective power of learning such that this teaching can assist to solve problems by reasoning, logic and imagination, and lead successful and happy lives.