Teaching Methods in Education

To achieve the goal of teaching, the teacher must adopt effective teaching methods in education. The teacher has many options to choose from different teaching methods designed specifically for teaching and learning.

Writing lesson plans is a foremost thing that a teacher must do before executing any teaching strategy in the class. The teaching method should be adopted on the basis of certain criteria like the knowledge of the students, the environment and the set of learning goals decided in the academic curriculum.

Students respond differently to different methods of teaching. Also, the students have their unique way of demonstrating the knowledge acquired and absorbing the information that is imparted. So, to aid this process of demonstrating the knowledge, the teacher has to adopt a technique that assists the students in retaining the information and increasing their understanding. There are many teaching methods for children like questioning. modeling, demonstrating, collaborating and explaining that have been discussed here.

Teaching Methods and Strategies

We all know about the importance of higher education, so now let us learn some methods of teaching as well. Here are some of the basic teaching methods for higher education as well as for the middle education.

Questioning
Testing and questioning are always known to be effective teaching methods due to its interactive nature. The questions are asked by the teacher with an intention to know what the student has learnt from earlier discussions and what it helps in deciding what should be taught further.

This can be even vice-verse, students questioning the teachers to clarify the doubts that would enhance their understanding of the subject. The inquisitive instinct of the students evoke them to ask questions and satiate their query.

The teacher should encourage this in a positive way so that the student's critical thinking is developed. Testing differs in one aspect from questioning. Test in done in order to know about the previous knowledge and already taught things to the student.

Explaining
Explaining is one of the very important teaching methods in education. It has taken a form of lectures in teaching methods for higher education where the teacher presents the factual information in a direct and a logical way.

Sometimes the experiences can also be shared as a part of knowledge that would work as a source of inspiration for the students. While adopting this method the teacher should give an introduction and a proper summary. Make sure that the information is specific to the audience.

The explanation should be accompanied with suitable examples for the better understanding of the students. It is like a discourse on a particular subject or topic that is for the entire class or public. Explaining can be clubbed with the modeling process to be more effective and to have a long-lasting effect on the pupils.

Modeling
Modeling is a type of visual aid for teaching as well as learning. It is a known fact that human brain absorbs more and understands better when visual aid facilitates explanation. This method works on three criteria - observing, retaining and replicating. The students learn more by observing the things and acquire it by imitating it time and again.

This is also known as reinforced behavior. This type of learning has very important role to play in the learning process especially during the childhood, though it can happen in any stage of life. This helps the students to visualize the things and, then hypothesize the solution.

Demonstrating
With the help of demonstrative teaching methods in education students get an opportunity to explore the various aspects and understand the theory from a different perspective. Demonstration is a step-by-step explanation along with their reasons and significance for the better understanding of the student. It enhances the student's understanding by practically applying the knowledge and sharpen their skills and hence, they become capable of identifying and organizing the subject matter in a more efficient way. Practical experimentation is a very good method used for demonstrating the subject.

Collaborating
Teamwork is a contemporary form of collaboration. The students are taught to work in a group that makes the instructing easier for the teacher. This method of teaching promotes a sense of mutual responsibility among the students. They learn to put in more effort to research for the topic and apply effective techniques to get the result.

This inculcates patience and develops an ability to critically analyze a subject. It gives an opportunity to the students to solve the problem by a healthy discussion and co-operation. This is what we call 'group discussions' which motivates the students to perform in a team, show leadership skills and enhances the presentation capabilities as well. This is one of the best direct instructional methods.

The teaching methods for special education is a little different from the teaching methods and theories for others. The education is imparted to these students based on their strengths and weaknesses. The teachers cater to the special needs of the students like modification in the regular teaching program, use of supplementary aids that allows students to participate in the learning process. Different effective teaching strategies are adopted on the basis of the disabilities. Four kinds of provisions are adopted in special education and they are inclusion, mainstream, segregation and exclusion. Read more on: teaching children with disabilities.

Apart from these defined methods, nowadays many other teaching methods in education are being adopted to give quality education. The methods like role-play, story or games, seminars, presentations, workshops, conferences, brainstorming, case study, educational trips and modern audio-visual aids like documentary films, computers, internet, etc have been introduced in education. These new methods have increased the pace of learning and understanding. This also enhances the capability of the students to research and logically think for a given problem.

Laboratory Methods of Teaching

Educating students in a laboratory is the best part of teaching profession. Being a science student, I can well perceive the feelings of students when the bell rings for practical sessions. The enthusiasm to perform hands-on-experiments is evident in each face. So long they have been learning lessons theoretically and now it's time to perform the experiments. Usually the basics or the techniques of dry experiments are taught at elementary level. Middle school is the time when they are exposed to wet lab experiments. That was a picture of student's behavior. If we look at the scenario from a teacher's point of view, then we will find responsibilities looming large. Laboratory methods of teaching are entirely different from that of theory. So how does a teacher guide their students? How will she/he take care of the safety? How will she/he teach the right way to perform experiments? Well, any new beginner will think on these lines. Therefore, read the upcoming paragraphs to find out the answer.

Laboratory Teaching Method ~ The Correct Technique

Taking up practical classes is hectic. A sincere guide walks around to supervise his/her students. Therefore, most of the time is spent standing and this is absolutely strenuous. Still one takes care of the students. So what are the considerations to becoming a good lab teacher? Read ahead and know how can you improve laboratory methods of teaching.

Point 1 ~ Self Preparation
You should know everything about what you are going to teach your students. You must know the details of the experiment. Revise the techniques of the lab so that you make your students learn the correct way right from the beginning. You should be well prepared to answer their questions and clarify their doubts. A good start is always needed to begin an experiment. Click on the link to know the correct teaching methods in education.

Point 2 ~ Right Explanation
The worth of teacher is always weighed by students. Knowing everything is not enough. So what are the effective teaching strategies in a lab? You should be capable of sharing your knowledge with your students. You must be able to make them understand each and every scientific cause behind the observations. Your students will be curious to know and so you have to be efficient enough to reply them confidently.

Point 3 ~ Starting Experiments
So how do you start the experiment? There are different ways to start with. The best is to explain the process orally once, explaining the methods as written in the protocol. You should ask your students to follow the protocol before handing the instruments. This way they will learn the correct procedures for performing the experiment. You can also schematically explain the process.

Point 4 ~ Handling Instruments
This is one of the most important aspect to be considered while performing an experiment. Mishandling of instruments might lead to accidents and breakage of expensive lab supplies. Show them how to hold the test tubes, light burners or handle any instrument. Your students should follow you and should not try anything spontaneously if they are ignorant about it.

Point 4 ~ Explaining Observations
Once the experiment is over, you are supposed to explain your students the reasons behind the observations. Explain them the inference in details, so that no doubt remains in their mind. Relate the observation with the text they have learned in their theory classes. Getting accurate results is quintessential for the success of an experiment.

Point 5 ~ Writing Reports
There are different ways to write lab reports. You should teach your student the sequence for writing a lab report format. The typical structure of a thesis or lab reports begins with the aim of the experiment, the requisition and then the detailed explanation of the process, methods techniques and the precautions required. At last, the observation along with a good conclusion is cited. Diagrams, flow charts, formulas, schematic paths, etc. are important part of the report.

Point 6 ~ Lab Safety
You should know the safety guidelines and lab safety symbols before teaching your students. You should explain them the precautions needed for the experiment. Your students should know how to operate safety devices like oxygen cylinders, masks, gloves, head bands, etc. This way mishaps are avoided. You must always keep first aid inside the laboratory to treat minor burns and blisters. Read about the lab safety rules for kids before starting an experiment.

I hope the laboratory methods of teaching written in the aforementioned content has proven useful to you. Last but not the least, if you have taken up teaching as your profession, then you must work on this line, 'a teacher should be a friend, philosopher and a guide'.

Teaching and Learning Styles

In the essence, teaching and learning are very much tied up to each other, teaching being meant to influence the kind of learning a student chooses. Over time, the teaching styles have changed significantly, according to the specific paradigms.

The ancient style of teaching was based on the Socratic dialogue. This would take place in the nature, thus in a less informal environment, and the student was actively involved in the process of teaching. The teacher, or the master, would ask questions which would eventually lead the young student to discover the answers. This type of teaching was effective because it represented a guide for the intellectual development of the students, especially the critical thinking. Moreover, the less formal environment made the students feel at ease and also contributed a lot to build a proper relationship between the teacher and the students.

As time passed by, the way of teaching changed radically, reaching its peak in the beginning of the 20th century when a new paradigm was born. Behaviorism concluded that learning is the result of systematic repetition.

Two laws are found at the base of this principle. The first one is called the law of the stimulus and it refers to the fact that the more a stimulus is repeated the easier it is reproduced later. The second law is called the effect law and it says that the more the effect is reinforced the more it leads to the repetition of the behavior which led to it in the beginning.

Therefore, the teachers began to consider themselves as the only true possessors of the information, while the students were seen as passive recipients of information. There was always a correct and an incorrect answer, and the correct answer was always given by the professor. The students only had to memorize it and then reproduce it the same way. Because of this, their learning strategies were reduced to only acquiring the most prolific memorizing strategies. They were not encouraged to critically think over the information but only to encode inside their mind. If they reproduced it accurately, they were rewarded with high marks and appreciations. On the contrary, if they failed to give the answers expected by the teachers, or if they had different opinions about a subject, they had been punished with low marks and indifference.

Eventually, the students were drawn to learn only by the extrinsic motivation of the reinforcements. Therefore, they didn’t have a self-regulated type of learning, selecting what they like and believe it’s useful for them. This was an unwanted consequence and another one raised from the fact that they were not encouraged to actively processing the information. Because of this, they did not make connections with information for other domains, and what they’ve learned had little applicability to daily life. Thus, those years gave a lot of students who won prestigious knowledge contests, but only few who contributed to the development of science through their critical, innovative and creative thinking.

These above mentioned problems led to the development of another paradigm, the social-cognitive one. They promoted the following principles: each person is an active processor of information and intrinsic motivation is a crucial part of successful learning. Only intrinsic motivation would lead to self-regulated learning and it is only developed when there are different options for one to choose. The teachers were not seen anymore as being the only possessors of information. They admitted other sources and more than that, they encouraged the students to learn from various sources. The classes became less formal and there has been place an important accent over the teacher and student relationship. Teachers became co-workers with the students in the process of learning. Their role was especially the one of guiding the students to develop their critical thinking and also their emotional and social skills. Students were again encouraged to ask questions, to form and express their own opinions and to make connections between the information gathered from various domains. This led to a high degree of transfer of information to daily life.

In conclusion, there is an important connection between the teaching styles and the learning ones, the first one determining the other. A less restricted environment and a less rigid style of teaching bring out of students the most wanted critical and creative thinking.